The commotion of moving - tips to managing stress and time
People go through several periodic changes in their lives. Some are easy to adapt to, some less so. Perhaps one of the hardest things to do is relocate your family to a new home since the stress that comes with moving can seriously take its toll on your mental state.
Most people look forward to a brand new day somewhere new, it's just the moving part that gets us down. Fortunately, we gained some inspiration from blogger Liza Perold's (lizaperold.com) tips for moving that we think carries some exceptional advice.
Step One - Preliminary decluttering
When it comes to packing up all your worldly possessions, it's important to take stock of the items and accessories you still use and those you don't. Moving from home to home is an excellent opportunity for you to go through old unwanted items and sort them for donation or storage for later use.
Think about the items you need and go through each room in your house and keep a separate pile open for all the items you wish to donate or give away.
Step two - Donating unwanted items
Some of the more needy charities that will make use of your old blankets, clothes, and even toys are childcare foundations and animal shelters. If you have one in mind then be sure to keep supporting them. However, if you're unsure, here are some of our recommended charities.
Children's Charities
Animal Charities
Step Three - Packing & getting it right
As the weeks turn into final days, it's time to start packing the remainder of all your items. When boxing items room by room, be sure to organise similar items like knives, forks, and other kitchen utensils and label every box by room and item. For example - Kitchen - Cutlery, Bedroom - Winter Linens. Sometimes colour coordinating the labels may also be useful.
Purchasing coloured dayglow stickers to demarcate certain boxes makes it much easier to figure out what box goes where. For example; pink stickers for the kitchen, chartreuse for the bedroom, etc. Dayglow stickers are easily identifiable thanks to their bright, neon eye-catching hues. Be sure to keep an accurate and updated list of box numbers per room and colour coordination on a Google Document or a Spreadsheet to keep track of everything.
You will need to mark certain boxes as "unpack first" to keep track of everything once you're at your new home. Items like rubbish bags, scissors, paper towels, bedding, and snacks for night one are important. Also, be sure to pack an overnight bag so you have easy access to clothing and toiletries since the unpacking process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
Tips to keeping your stress down
While you're busy trying to turn your life the right way up during the hassle of relocating it's important to keep a level head and stress levels low. Rather than stressing about cooking food for lunch or dinner, order out. Consider playing some calming music to keep yourself motivated and keep a gallery of pictures recording your progress from when you first started packing to when you're fully settled in your new home.
Keeping track of your progress helps you take in how much you've achieved so far as well as keep you motivated to stay on course to finishing the unpacking process. Change is hard to adapt to but it need not be unenjoyable. Take a moment to just be present in the current situation and think about the marvellous adventures you will have in your new space. Focus on the positives and keep looking forward! You've come so far already.
Read our previous article here: https://www.hamiltons.co.za/news/five-luxury-electric-cars-coming-to-sa-in-2022/
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Or email to reception@hamiltons.co.za
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08 Mar 2022
Author Lisa