How to Make Moving Easier: Simplifying Your Move

We accumulate quite a bit of stuff over years or decades in the same home. In fact, the average household has over 300 thousand items in it.¹ To some, this figure may feel exaggerated. But to those who have moved recently, or are in the process of moving, 300,000 items may feel a bit low. 

Moving forces us to consider just how many possessions we have accumulated –– then pack them away into dozens of cardboard boxes –– but this aspect of moving is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s also the challenge of hiring a moving service (or enlisting friends), setting a moving date, and timing the sale of your home with the purchase of your next place to ensure the transition is seamless. 

If you’re looking for how to make moving easier, we can help! A sell and stay transaction allows you to move when the time is just right and eliminates the need for some of the exorbitant costs associated with moving. It’s not only a great moving tool, but it’s just one of the many ways to simplify your move. Read on for more moving tips and tricks.

Pre-Move Planning

If you choose to follow a single one of our moving-simplification tips, it should be to plan accordingly. When you’re going on a trip, you can spend the night before jamming outfits into a suitcase and be no worse off. With a move, however, this level of procrastination simply won’t cut it. 

Pre-move planning is a multi-faceted endeavor. Knowing the best time to move can ensure your plans run smoothly. Here are a few steps you should take when planning for a move: 

Establishing a Timeline

Timing is everything, and knowing how much time you have will allow you to plan more effectively and accurately. For your moving timeline, pin down your target move date –– then work backward, placing goalposts along the way. Consider the best time to start packing ( lock off at least a week, assuming each room takes a day or two), the deadline for hiring a professional mover, if applicable, and when you’ll need to complete your change of address forms.² As you piece together your timeline, you can use the closing dates of your current and new home to smooth the transition. If necessary, you might want to research how to find temporary housing if the transition doesn’t line up. 

Creating a Comprehensive Moving Checklist & Budget

Armed with a clear understanding of your ideal timeline, you can draft a moving checklist that outlines every single moving responsibility, from sorting and packing your fragile items in plastic wrap or packing paper to setting up utilities in your new space. Depending on your timeline, you can break down tasks by week or month to make them more manageable –– increasing their likelihood of being completed. 

Alongside your checklist, be sure to include a budget that accounts for all expected costs: moving company fees, packing supplies, and a little extra for unexpected surprises. This proactive, comprehensive approach will help you avoid last-minute scrambling while keeping your moving costs to an absolute minimum. 

Consolidating Your Items

If the thought of potentially boxing up and transporting 300,000+ items gives you pause, you may want to take the opportunity to declutter. This process happens naturally during the move, but if you’re intent on making a meaningful reduction to your belongings you’ll have to approach this step with purpose. 

Sort your items into categories –– keep, donate, sell, and discard –– and be as objective as you can. If you haven't used something in over a year, and it doesn’t have deep sentimental value, it might not be worth moving. This will not only simplify packing but also reduce your moving costs, meaning it’s one of the most effective ways to make moving easier. 

Selecting a Moving Company

If you’re not relying solely on the generosity of friends, you’ll likely have to enlist the help of professional movers. And while it may seem like all moving companies are created equal, choosing the right moving company can make or break your overall moving experience. Look for moving companies with: 

• Excellent reviews on Yelp, Google, or Angie’s List, a platform for home services
• Transparent pricing and free estimates
• Current insurance coverage, to protect your belongings
• Up-to-date USDOT credentials, ensuring the moving company is legitimate
• Experience in moving old furniture and heavy items

Throughout your search for the right movers, don’t be afraid to shop around for the best deal and ask as many questions as necessary –– this will ensure you choose the moving company that best suits your needs. 

Packing Tips and Tricks

The act of moving –– the transport of your belongings from one location to another –– can take as little as a few minutes. It’s packing that tends to eat up the most time. But with the right strategies, you can pack efficiently, protect your belongings, and make unpacking as painless as possible. 

Start with a Plan

In the same way you should have a moving plan, you’ll also need a packing plan. This will determine the order in which you'll pack items (from non-essential to vital), in addition to creating a clear system for labeling boxes. Your plan should also outline any necessary materials, down to every roll of tape and Sharpie. 

Gather Quality Packing Materials

No one wants to dump a box full of books –– or worse, fine china –– in the middle of their new driveway. To set yourself up for success, invest in well-built packing materials: sturdy boxes, tough packing tape, bubble wrap, and specialty containers for items like dishes and valuables. If you don’t feel like splurging on heavy-duty containers, look to your existing items (like suitcases and bins) to reduce waste and make your belongings even easier to transport. 

Consider asking family and friends if they have any leftover free moving boxes or packing material to reduce the expenses of your moving process. Doing so can help cut moving costs significantly. 

Pack Room by Room

In many ways, packing is a mental game. Looking at an entire home’s worth of belongings, fitting it all into boxes can feel like an insurmountable task. Tackle one room, however, and this huge task is dramatically reduced. This approach also makes it easier to keep your items organized –– ensuring delicate kitchen items don’t end up with the power tools, etc. –– while making for a smoother unpacking process. Win-win! 

Label Everything Clearly

After spending 20–30 minutes carefully filling a box and sealing it shut, scribbling out an essay in Sharpie may be the last thing on your mind. However, the more descriptive you can be in labeling boxes, the easier your life (or your friend’s, family member’s, or spouse’s life) will be when it comes time to unpack. Label each box with its contents and the room it's destined for, if possible. And if something is fragile, delicate, important, or heavy, do yourself a favor by making that inclusion, too. Want to go above and beyond? Consider using color-coded stickers for an extra layer of organization –– just make sure you’re not the only one who knows the code. 

Prepare an Essentials Box

There are few things worse than unpacking in a new home and not knowing where you boxed up the phone chargers, medication, bath tissue, or snacks –– then having to rip into several boxes to find them. Avoid this by creating a specially packed “essentials” box. This box should be the last thing loaded onto the truck and the first thing you unpack, ensuring you’ve got your most important items handy. 

In this same vein, keep your important documents (passports, birth certificates, etc.) in a clearly marked box or overnight bag. If you have room, you can include these items in your essentials box –– just be sure they’re in a padded envelope or similar for added safe-keeping. 

Clean First

Okay, technically this isn’t a packing tip. But it is an unpacking tip, and a valuable one at that. You’ll want to take the time to do a deep clean before your new home is littered with boxes and furniture. Even though you’ll likely see trails of footprints and small piles of dirt accumulate from people constantly stomping in and out all day long, this clean-up will be easier if you’ve already got a deep clean behind you. 

Managing Moving Day

You’ve planned, budgeted, packed, and labeled, all in anticipation of this: moving day. Today is your Super Bowl, and bringing home the championship –– a smooth, efficient, minimally stressful day –– will require the right mindset and the right moves. 

Morning

Start moving day off with a cup of coffee or tea and a filling breakfast. Considering you’ll be in “go” mode all day, you’ll want to make sure you’re fueled up for whatever the day throws at you. Take this time to review your plan with your team (the family and friends you’ve enlisted to help) and get everyone in the right spirits. If you’ve got pets, ensure they’re kenneled or with a pet sitter. 

If you’re using a moving company, quickly circle up to ensure everyone is on the same page and make any necessary specifications before the process begins. Ask if/when you’ll be needed to ensure you’re managing as much (or as little) as needed, and get ready for kickoff.  

Consider starting to move larger objects and heavy furniture first to ensure you have the energy, patience, and attention to protect anything in your old or new place from damage. 

Afternoon

By this time, the action will be well underway. While it can be easy to get caught in the frenzy of it all, remember that, sometimes, slow can be fast. Take the time to make thoughtful, deliberate decisions –– for yourself, for the movers, and for anyone else helping with this process –– to ensure you’re adhering to the plan and being safe. Check-in with yourself and others periodically, keeping your moving team hydrated, motivated, and feeling appreciated. 

Evening

Moving day has come to a close. If the job is done, give yourself a pat on the back, sit down with a beverage, and bask in this moment. If this is merely day one of a multi-day move, think about what went well and what could have been improved. Maybe there were communication breakdowns that could have been avoided, or maybe one person stepped up and was a natural facilitator. This information will help you optimize the process going into day two. 

Whether your move is complete or still in progress, resist the urge to overwork yourself or your team. You’ve worked all day –– it’s perfectly fine if you unpack the essentials and focus on recovering. Tomorrow is a new day. 

Settling Into Your New Home

The essentials are unpacked, the last small boxes have been gently placed in your new home, and the moving truck is bouncing away down the street. You have officially moved –– now comes the fun of settling into your home. 

After you’ve vacuumed and swept up the aforementioned trails of footprints, approach unpacking just as systematically as you did packing. Go room by room to avoid feeling overwhelmed, and reward yourself with periodic breaks –– great opportunities to explore the new neighborhood and meet your neighbors. 

Post-Move Considerations

The physicality of moving might be behind you, but there are still several important steps to take to establish yourself in your new home and the surrounding community. Consider the following to start your new chapter on solid ground.

Update Your Address

In many states –– including Ohio and Missouri –– your ID or driver’s license must be updated within 30 days of relocating, but the sooner you tackle this task, the better.³ While you’re at it, be sure to update your address with: 

• The postal service, ensures your mail is forwarded to the correct location
• Your banks and credit card companies for continuity of service
• Insurance providers (auto, health, life, etc.)
• Paid subscription services and magazines 
• Your employer's HR department

Updating your address doesn’t just ensure you continue to receive your magazines. Failure to update your address can result in sensitive information being sent to the wrong location, leading to potential fraud or even identity theft. 

Register for Local Services

Whether you moved a street over or to a different time zone, you may need to research and register for local services. These can include: 

• Registering to vote
• Finding new essential healthcare providers
• Enrolling children in new schools, if applicable

Enhance Home Safety and Security

Even if a home was just recently built, many home security experts suggest changing the locks when you move into a new home. This may seem paranoid to some. But considering how many different hands one set of keys may have passed through, it’s a wise decision –– and one that only costs a couple hundred dollars, on average.⁴ In addition to changing the locks on your new home, consider: 

• Installing or updating a home security system
• Checking smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, replacing batteries if needed
• Locating the main water shut-off valve and the fuse box, in case of emergency

Feeling at Home

A new home means more than having a new place to hang your hat and kick your feet up. It can mean a new start, a new community, and even a new life. Once you feel settled, consider hosting a housewarming party to welcome friends and neighbors into your new space and celebrate the beginning of this next chapter. This can be a great way to forge connections and make memories in your new space –– marking the true completion of your move. 

Move On Your Own Terms with Truehold

If you’re looking for how to make moving easier, the above tips provide many ways to not just smooth the process but even make moving enjoyable. If you want to move on your own terms and timeline, however, there’s one suggestion that unlocks greater flexibility: Truehold’s sell and stay transaction.

A sell and stay transaction allows you to sell your home, cash out your equity, and continue living in your home as a renter. This eliminates the need for figuring out where to live between buying and selling or building your timeline around the closing of two sales. Instead, you can minimize stress and move when you’re ready—no need to list your house or host open houses either. 

Most importantly, you avoid uprooting your family for multiple moves and can stay with all of your belongings to ensure a smooth transition.

Learn more about how Truehold can be the moving tool you’ve been looking for. Connect with a representative and receive a cash offer on your home within 48 hours. 

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Sources: 

1. LA Times. For many people, gathering possessions is just the stuff of life. https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2014-mar-21-la-he-keeping-stuff-20140322-story.html 

2. Moving.com. How Long Does It Take to Pack for a Move? https://www.moving.com/tips/how-long-does-it-take-to-pack-for-a-move/ 

3. USA.gov. State motor vehicle services. https://www.usa.gov/state-motor-vehicle-services 

4. Forbes. How Much Does a Locksmith Cost in 2024? https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/home-security/cost-to-hire-a-locksmith/