I have lived in 19 different houses, in 12 cities and in 3 different countries and it’s all in the span of 3 decades.
In fact, I have already moved houses twice since the pandemic hit. You can say I’ve had my share of mishaps and victories when it comes to relocating and resettling.
Transitions in life are never easy-peasy, there are several challenges that may come your way. But I’m glad that we truly do learn from our mistakes, and when we get a chance to do something all over again, we do it with growth, maturity, and improvement.
I’d like to share with you just a few practical tips, if you are planning to move houses in the near future.
1. Plan ahead
Prioritizing and scheduling important services (such as internet and moving companies) are the keys to success.
In the country we live in, transferring our WiFi to a different location can take weeks, even months, so this was at the top of our list — especially these days when it’s almost impossible to accomplish work or school without the world wide web.
Next, book the most reliable moving service available to you. We’ve used the same company to help us transport furniture and items from our home 4 times in the past 8 years.
Who needs the added stress of broken, misplaced or stolen items during a move?
2. Keep important documents in order
Important documents such as passports, certificates, diplomas, and the like can easily be misplaced during a move.
Having them in a labeled folder and packed in a specific bag will save you the hassle of searching for it when the time comes.
As the years go by, you’ll notice this folder will get thicker and will need to be transferred and reorganized into a bigger binder — categorize properly with labels to avoid misplaced documents in the future.
Tip: Consider investing in a label maker to help organize items including school paperwork, office documents, kitchen odds and ends down to active gear in your garage.
3. Never underestimate the power of large garbage bags
For as long as I can remember, we have used garbage bags to pack up comforters, pillows, shoes and clothes and anything else that’s light enough to carry.
They’re easy to stuff and transport. Not only that, but once you’re done with them, you can simply store them away until you have to use them for their actual purpose.
But make sure that when you pack your things in the bags, that they are still easy to untie and reuse.
Bonus tip – Plastic, recyclable and paper bags are lifesavers.
I have recently become a “plantita” (lover of plants) and I was worried that transferring my plants to a new location would be incredibly challenging not to mention messy.
Placing each individual potted plant in a plastic or recyclable bag (with handles) eliminated the possibility of getting the soil all over the place and also enabled the movers to carry the plant with less effort and damage.
4. Learn to let go
Pack things from the least used items to the most frequent ones. This step took the longest time to do, not just because of the quantity of things to pack but also because contemplating what to bring and what to leave behind took some soul-searching.
I bought these boots at half-off in an outlet store in Canada, this was before we moved to the Philippines 8 years ago. I have dragged it to all the houses that we’ve lived in since, and not once did I wear it.
One of the beauties of moving is getting a wider perspective of your belongings.
This is the proper time to contemplate if you are making wise decisions about your possessions — just like the boots that I promised myself I would use but never did.
Lesson learned, I ended up selling it online and making a profit. Yay! Don’t wait years before you decide to let go of things you don’t really use. Decluttering before you move to your new home will help you start with a clean slate and will open up more shelf space for items you do use.
5. Celebrate
Once we were all moved into our new place, we celebrated. Yes, the house was a huge mess! There were bins, boxes and garbage bags all over the place and we didn’t know where any of our items were (except for our important documents) but it was a cause for a celebration.
Over a delivery food order, we uttered our thanks, first and foremost to God, for protecting the whole event and to my dear husband, who carried most of our things — he was a superhero! And, of course, to my kids, who were ever so patient and so helpful.
Tip: Including your children in this kind of project will teach them more than just learning how to pack, but more importantly, it assures them that they are a part of the team, your family’s team.
With these moving hacks, I hope I have contributed something to you in my own personal way.
Do I love moving houses? Not even the slightest, but I do look forward to the joys of learning and growing while doing it.
I do believe that transitions are part of fulfilling the purpose that God has for us.
We wouldn’t want to miss out on what He has in store for us now, would we?
