Moving brings up so many emotions – excitement, stress, joy, sadness, maybe even some fear. For me, I tend to feel overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done and often wonder if it’s even possible – and if it is – where do I start!? So, I usually wait and do most of the hard work at the last minute and end up just tossing things into boxes with no real plan as to how it is going to go. But, I just successfully completed a move which was much smoother and easier than my moves have been in the past. Which got me to thinking – why was it so much easier this time?
After going over in my mind what I did differently – I came up with this list of the 5 major things I did right this time.
- Take time to purge, waste not want not
Most of the time, instead of taking the time to go through everything and remove the things I don’t use anymore, I fall back on the ‘I don’t have time now, I will do it later’ excuse. This time though, I realized that ‘later’ never comes and If I purge now – it is less to try to put away (or stuff somewhere) in my new house. I ended up filling up my entire car with things that I no longer use, don’t want or don’t really need. Some things that I had NEVER used. I was able to donate these things to the halfway house that I used to live in – which felt really good. Its good to give back and I know that the women who receive my old things will be incredibly grateful. Many people move in to halfway with nothing except for the clothes on their back.
- Plan your attack
Never, never, discredit the power of planning. I am HUGE on lists. (It’s a big part of my personality) Lists and plans give me a starting point. It breaks things down so that I can take one step at a time without being overwhelmed by the big picture. It also helps to keep me from forgetting things or getting sidetracked.
- It looks worse before it gets better
As I was sorting through all of my things – my house looked like a disaster zone! It will look pretty scary – but trust the process and keep moving forward. I had designated piles for ‘keep, give away and throw away’. As well as lots of sub piles under keep – like the general area that the items should go in the new house.
- Slow and steady wins the race
Take the time to do things the right way – You will appreciate it later! I lost count of how many bags of garbage I threw out of my room. I had thought I was such a clean and organized person! While I may be pretty organized – I tend to hold on to things that aren’t necessary. Things like birthday cards from five years ago or pay stubs from two years ago! I have this nagging feeling that If I throw something away, I will need it in the future. But I took a big step towards conquering that fear during this move and I threw tons of stuff out!
- Don’t lose your head
As with everything in life, your thinking and mindset make all the difference! So, make a game out of it! Set goals and rewards! For me – I made goals of how many bags I could load up with things to give away. Or how many boxes I could get packed in one day. It makes it fun, which helps you get more done! I also made sure to have fun music or some personal development audios going in the background. Sometimes it is hard to get rid of things – but think of it as cleansing and making room for new memories!
Hopefully these tips can help you as much as they did me!
Keep moving forward, Jorjia