Moving to a new home later in life involves a series of decisions, as noted in the prior installments of this. If you’ve finally decided to take the plunge, now is the time to prepare for the big event.
Moving without age 50 differs from your younger days when you could recruit a friend with a pickup truck and pay with pizza and beer. Moving later in life presents a increasingly significant logistical challenge. For one thing, you probably have increasingly stuff. Second, your older soul may be unable to haul that stuff virtually as hands as it did when you were younger. Third, your friend may still have a pickup truck, but it won’t fit all your belongings, and she’s no spring yellow herself.
Moving now requires increasingly planning and will involve variegated players. To simplify this, let’s unravel lanugo the process into four phases:
- Planning
- Downsizing
- Pre-moving day preparations
- Moving day
Planning
Every move planning situation is unique and specified in part by answers to a couple of crucial questions:
- Where and how far yonder you are moving?
- Are you downsizing, upsizing or “samesizing”?
Then, depending on your situation, here are some tips to support the planning process.
What’s Your Budget?
A long-distance move can set you when well-nigh $5,000, while moving locally may forfeit $1,000 or less. Alimony track of expenses since some might be tax deductible.
Hiring a Moving Company
The value of stuff to be moved and the loftiness to the new home will determine whether to rent a mover. Here are some ideas for finding and working with a moving company.
Do Your Research
Make an initial list by searching the internet and scanning the reviews to segregate the top three candidates.
Check Government Credentials
Reputable moving companies have a state or federal registration number. In addition, ask for proof of insurance.
Get Written Quotes
To increase the probability of a precise quote, require an onsite or video inspection of your stuff. A quote may or may not be binding. Learn well-nigh the differences so you can make the weightier decision.
Understand the Bill of Lading
The BOL serves as your contract with the mover. Read it thoughtfully and ask questions surpassing signing. Ensure you have ready wangle to it during the move and alimony it for future reference.
Will You Need a Storage Unit?
Sometimes, temporary use of a storage unit can help reduce the stress of a move. For example, if you want to downsize but don’t have time to sort through all your belongings, put items in storage so you can go through things at a less hectic time. Look into storage options early in the process so it will be misogynist as you need to move items into the unit.
Scope Out the New Location
Learn well-nigh the new geography surpassing you move. For instance, find out the location of grocery, hardware and drug stores. Also, trammels into local ordinances regarding moving trucks and parking to stave problems on moving day.
Sizing Your Stuff
Many people moving later in life realize all their stuff will not fit into the new home. Here are some ideas for tackling the downsizing monster.
How Much Needs to Go?
Measure your new home and determine what living style you’d like to maintain without moving in. Would you prefer a roomy finger or a well-appointed scramble with your familiar things tropical at hand? With these ideas in mind, sketch out what items will fit in the space.
Know Your Options
Once you know what you’re going to get rid of, there are four possible downsizing choices:
- Keep it
- Donate it
- Sell it
- Trash it
For each option, create a plan. For instance, identify donation alternatives and learn what items they will take. For selling, decide on how you’ll market your items and indulge zaftig time to alimony up with inquiries from interested buyers. As for trashing, you may need to rent a dumpster. Make your weightier guess on how much will be trashed to procure the right dumpster size. You may also read this: 6 Steps to Manifest Your Dreams in 2024
Keepsakes
Many of us have prized possessions we’d like to pass lanugo to younger generations. However, make sure your relatives and friends know your wishes beforehand. Perhaps you can plane requite them the items right away. If no one is interested, alimony the written information with each item, so in the future, people will know what the object meant to you surpassing they toss it.
Furniture
There are several ways to handle these larger items.
- Offer to whomever buys your current home.
- Offer to relatives or friends.
- Sell items at a garage sale or online.
- Donate to charity.
- Place items on the prorogue with a “free” sign or place ads on online resources like Freecycle.org.
- Transport things yourself to the dump, rent a dumpster or rent a junk hauling company.
There are moreover situations where a move is either upsizing to a larger dream home or “samesizing” to similar square footage as the current home. In both cases, it pays to measure the new home thoughtfully to ensure that the items you bring will fit the intended spaces.
Pre-Moving Day Preparations
Communicate with the Mover
Verify dates, times and pricing with the mover leading up to moving day.
Packing
Packing and unpacking chores slosh the biggest share of moving time and energy, with packing taking the most time. Here are some packing tips:
- If you use a commercial mover, know what items they prohibit. For example, most professional movers will not winnow hazardous materials like yard chemicals, gasoline, propane tanks, and fireworks.
- Label all boxes and, on a separate sheet, make notes describing the contents. The labels should indicate the room in the house to facilitate unloading and unpacking.
- Don’t pack items from multiple rooms in one box.
- Packing one room at a time will make the process less stressful.
- Heavy items should go in the smallest possible boxes to stave overloading.
Let Others Know Where You’re Going
Arrange write changes, mail forwarding and ending services like refuse pickup and landscaping. Also, inform utility companies of your move and transfer service to your new home.
Be Kind to Pets
Pets can be distracting on moving day and wilt stressed with so much activity. Consider lodging your pet with a sitter for the duration.
Cleaning
Be prepared to wipe the current home once it’s empty on a moving day. If you’re a renter, the return of your forfeiture petrifaction may depend on cleaning job quality. Consider hiring someone to handle cleaning so you can concentrate on unpacking at the new residence.
Moving Day
Here are some ideas to make the big day go as smoothly as possible.
Essentials Packing
Pack all the daily items such as a few days of food, kitchen and washroom basics, clothing, toiletries and medications. Mark these boxes as among the first to be opened. Also, pack an hands wieldy box with moving day essentials like tools, paper towels, bottled water, toilet paper, hand soap, cleaning supplies, scissors, box cutters and a first-aid kit.
Cash Is King
Having mazuma on hand can help with unanticipated problems. For example, it could facilitate a quick run to the store or paying the pizza wordage person. Also, if you’re using professional movers, you may need mazuma for a tip which can run from 10-20%.
Protect Floors and Walls
Moving can hands forfeiture a home’s interior. Protect the floor and walls to reduce forfeiture and minimize post-move cleaning.
Make a Final Inspection
After everything has been loaded, a final walk-through helps ensure nothing is left behind. Look in storage areas like cabinets and closets for anything forgotten in the packing process.
Unloading
Before the unloading commences, walk through the new home with the movers. This will ensure they know where to put things. This is an spanking-new time to note any repairs that may be needed surpassing furniture and boxes fill up the space. Also, if there’s time surpassing unloading, vacuum and do any other necessary cleaning. Finally, set up protection for the floors and walls.
Take Charge
Movers need unvarying guidance during unloading, so be misogynist to wordplay questions to alimony the process flowing smoothly.
First Furniture
Set up your bed surpassing any other furniture is reassembled. You’ll fathom it at the end of a tiring day. Next, move the kitchen table and chairs to indulge for a resting place during the rented move-in activity.
Celebrate
Yourwell-laid plans have paid off, and you can rest now that everything has been unloaded, essentials unpacked, and vital furniture assembled. It’s time to take a unravel and gloat a successful day of moving into your new home.