10 Ways to Keep Your Sanity When Moving Out of State

My husband and I are moving from Ohio to Tennessee. We built a house there on top of a small mountain. Building a house is stressful, takes longer than planned, and did I say stressful? Even so, moving from one state to another is even more stressful. Here are 10 tips I’ve figured out to keep my sanity during the move.

1. When it comes to moving companies, cheaper is not better. Find the company that specializes in interstate moves and has lots of good reviews. I learned this the hard way when I was helping my mom move. Some things to look for:

• Price by weight not by box.
• If they are packing you, they will charge you only for the boxes they need.
• They will give you a couple of days to get to your destination before they arrive.
• They give you a non-binding estimate. Stay away from companies that want to give you a binding estimate. They will make sure the estimate is high enough that they will  get the good end of the deal.
• Make sure they use one truck per customer. Some companies try to load as many homes as they can on one truck.
• Make sure they have employees who will unload. Some companies use transient workers at the final destination to fill in gaps.

2. Pack as much as you can before moving week. Decide what you absolutely need before the big day, and pack everything else. Moving week is a lot easier if you already have most of your stuff packed.

3. Lowes has the best prices on moving boxes and supplies. Their boxes are even cheaper than the moving company. And they have giant roles of bubble wrap. Bubble wrap is your friend when packing.

4. Declutter. Get rid of stuff you don’t need before the move. Trust me. You don’t need 3 gallon bottles of bleach or 5 sweepers. Have a garage sale, give it away, or throw it out.

5. Wrap fragiles in smaller boxes and use lots of bubble wrap. If you wrap too many breakables in a larger box, it will become too heavy. If its too heavy, it is easier to drop. If it drops, things will break. It’s worth the cost of a few extra boxes to protect that coffee cup your husband gave you on your first anniversary and the clay fingerprint paper weight your thirty year old son gave you when he was five.

6. Pace yourself. Don’t do too much at one time. Spread the moving project over weeks.

7. Get help if you need it. You’re not superman or superwoman. If you don’t have friends or family to help, pay the moving company to pack.

8. Decide what will go in each room and pack accordingly. Label boxes well. Also use a red magic marker for the boxes you’ll open first. When unpacking, you’ll be so happy to not have 50 boxes marked miscellaneous when you’re trying to find the toilet paper.

9. Don’t pack away things you’ll need as soon as you get to your new home (like toilet paper, paper towel, medicine, and underwear. Keep a suitcase or laundry basket out for items like this, and don’t let the moving company touch them. These are items you’ll want to take with you in the car.

10. Take time to relax. Moving is an exhausting activity. Free your schedule so your not overloaded, and take some time to visit friends and family before you pack up and leave.