Moving is the pits and everyone has been there at some point in their life. There is a solution to making it a better experience for you and the whole family. They key is to be organized. Read our tips below on how to take the load off

Planning ahead takes the stress out of moving. First confirm the date you’ll be moving in and when you can get the keys. Ask your friends and family to help you pack and if possible, to move on the day. This way you’ll save costs of hiring a moving company. If friends and family isn’t an option, make arrangements with a reliable moving company with good reviews. You want to know your belongings will be in good hands during the whole process.

Start asking around for boxes. Medium to large boxes will work best. You can get them for free from your local grocery stores. Alternatively look on Gumtree or ask your Facebook friends for boxes you can have. Start collecting newspapers or bubble wrap to individually wrap fragile items within your boxes.

If you ever considered getting rid of some of your stuff, now is the perfect opportunity. After all, it is easier and faster to move less. You can do this by donating to a local charity or sell your things on Gumtree or OLX. If the things aren’t of value to anyone, try recycling them. The remainder of the stuff can go into the trash. Depending on the quantity, you can hire a dumpster company to get rid of it.

While packing, imagine where you would like each item to go in the new home. Consider if there is going to be a spot for it or if you are moving things unnecessarily. For instance, moving from a home with many walls to one that is open-plan, reduces space for wall decorations, artwork or even furniture. With this in mind, you can decide to give more away before you move. This saves you the hassle of moving items only to get rid of them after moving in.

Leaving everything for the last minute will only cause added stress. Start packing things into boxes as soon as you can. Pack things you can live without like decorations, books, extra linens, off-season clothing etc. The aim is to keep the basics to save you a lot of work the last few days before moving.

When you pack you have to keep in mind where these items will go. For example, your laundry and kitchen could have been open plan in your current home. Now you have a separate laundry room. Pack these items in their own separate boxes and label them accordingly. This method makes it easier to find specific items.

With so many boxes, you are bound to forget what’s inside each one so proper labelling is crucial. First, pack all things that are similar together. Get organized by labelling everything that’s inside the box. This takes slightly longer while packing but you will be glad that you did. It’s frustrating when looking for specific items and having to open all your boxes to find it. Labelling boxes according to their new rooms, makes it easy for movers to know where they go while offloading.

Now that you have these helpful tips, we hope that you will give them a try. Hopefully it will make your life simpler the next time you move.