Making a move go smoothly is one of life's little dreams. Moving can be stressful on the entire family. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make the move as stress free as possible.
Get a home inspection
The last thing you want to happen during a move is to find out your new home has a major problem. A home inspection prior to buying should be on the must-do list. The inspector will look at the structure of the home as well as the plumbing, electrical, HVAC, fixtures and appliances. His focus is on finding problems that require repair.
Finding out these problems prior to purchase means you can either get them fixed before moving or move on to a home with fewer problems.
Have pest control come in
Besides a home inspection, you should have pest control come out before you purchase a home. They can ensure the home is free of pests like termites or carpenter ants, both of which can cause a lot of damage. Depending where you live there may be rats, scorpions, cockroaches living in the house. This is specially the case when the last tenants were not clean or if the house was in the market for a long time. They can also give you a treatment plan for preventing those pests and others from moving in at a future time. This would be best done before there is any furniture, boxes and without kids or pets in the home.
Change the locks
When you move into a new home, there is always a nagging suspicion that the previous occupants might not have given you all the keys. This is easily remedied by getting the locks changed or re-keyed. Locksmiths can come out to do the work prior to moving in. That way, you can ensure your family is safe from unexpected guests who have a key.
Get organized before the move
Being organized during a move will make the entire process go a lot smoother. Go through the house and get rid of things that you no longer need or want. Get rid of things that are broken. Make sure your existing furniture will fit into your new place.
Use a system to keep track of which items need to go into each room in your new house. Color coding or written labeling both work. An easy way is to get bright colored duct tape on every box. Make a sign for the movers so they know what color goes in what room. This will save lots of time and maximize time with whoever helps you move. It will keep you from guessing what’s in each box. Keep track of the number of boxes you have for each room and in total.
Start packing seldom used items first. As moving day nears, start packing up items you won't need for a few days. Make sure you pack necessary items in clearly marked boxes so you can find them easily.
These tips will help your family's move go smoothly. Let us know about any other tips you've used to make moving less stressful.
