In my less than thirty years, I’ve moved around a lot, twice during childhood, and at least a dozen since I moved out on my own at a very young age. You could say that I’ve become a pro.
In fact, you could call me one of those people: who looks forward to moving, has everything arranged seamlessly, and gets the new home unpacked and arranged on moving day. But actually, it’s really easy to do.
I take notes
When I go to the new home to sign the lease, I bring a pen, paper, measuring tape and a camera. This way, I can measure and photograph each room, sketch it out quickly with outlets and windows noted, and be able to walk away until the day I get the keys, remembering how everything looks.
I give lots of notice
It’s easy to forget the details, like forwarding your mail to the new address, when you leave it until the end of your moving plans. I typically alert utilities, important contacts and arrange for mail forwarding the next business day after signing the lease. Gets it out of the way, right away.
I get nerdy
I take that quick sketch, the photos and the measurements, and I plot each room to-scale on graph paper. Why? I can only assume it’s because my brain wants to play Tetris, because then I cut out to-scale pieces of furniture for each room and move them around until they fit how I’d like them to.
I pack, room by room
That nerdy Tetris moment had a purpose, because now I know what’s going, where in the new place. I pack everything that will live together in the same boxes and then label boxes accordingly. That way, on moving day, the movers can simply drop all of my daughter’s stuff in her room, the bathroom’s in the bathroom, and so on.
I pre-clean
You know the killer clean-up you have to do before vacating a home? Most people tend to leave the entire job until the house is empty, thinking it’s easiest that way. I don’t. I do a massive spring clean about a week before moving, then simply tidy up anything that needs it on moving day.
I wake up early and feed the moving team
I usually move with the help of friends, and I make sure that there are drinks, meals and even sometimes a small gift as thanks. Think of it this way: toddlers tend to throw tantrums when they’re feeling tired, hungry, thirsty or unappreciated. Us grown-ups aren’t really all that different, are we?
I unpack, room by room
Now, the fun part: I go through each room in order of importance – usually starting with my daughter’s so that I can keep unpacking while she plays and later, after she’s gone to bed – then I move onto the next most important room, and so on.
I smile
After looking around at my new home, where everything has a place, already.