How to cope with moving stress

Every move brings with it stress. You may plan it as well as you can, you may set aside ample time, still, the process itself is inevitably stressful. Now imagine a situation where you must move at a short notice or, due to other factors, you have been forced into a quick move situation. The stress here only increases. However harmless it may seem, stress is a real strain on the body. Additionally, there are many stressful situations in day-to-day life, making it even more important to ease our stress whenever we can. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to cope with moving stress. Precisely that is what we are going to explore in this article.

Why is stress dangerous?

There is a whole underlying physiological mechanism to stress. In layman terms, it is your body’s natural fight or flight response leading to a chain of bodily functions meant to protect you from danger. Even though we rarely face mortal danger in our daily lives, we still react with stress to things like deadlines, bills and even dating. Stress in small doses will not kill you, but chronic stress leaves a strain on your body that may worsen other factors. Everything from headaches to heart problems may be caused by stress. That’s why it is important to avoid it.

Moving related stress

A relocation in itself brings a lot of stress. There are deadlines, there’s the change of environment and there’s the worry about your belongings reaching their destination safe, just to name a few. This goes double for seniors relocating, as stress can have a major impact on them. As you can see, learning how to cope with moving stress will play a major role in helping you get through this period as easily as you can.

How to cope with moving stress

There are two ways how you can cope with moving stress. One involves avoiding as much of it as you can through careful planning and organization. On the other hand, you might find yourself in a situation where you don’t have the time to plan out your move to the last detail. And then dealing with stress becomes very important.

Avoiding moving stress

Time is one of the crucial factors when moving

Time will be one of the most important factors in avoiding relocation stress. To ensure enough of it, do not wait for the last moment to plan your move. You need to do your research, prepare a plan, declutter, find reliable interstate movers, deal with paperwork, pack your stuff, and much more. If you wait too long, there is no doubt that you will have to deal with moving stress along the way. Make sure that you have enough time to finish everything in a relaxing manner. Give yourself at least 8 weeks to plan, organize, and execute your move. This period is usually enough to close everything without haste. Now that this is clear, take a look at how to do it.

Research your move before your start planning

The first step that you can do to cope with moving stress by avoiding it is doing your research. There are a lot of possible hurdles and nasty surprises in a move that can range from unexpected expenses to missed fine print. Don’t know what a binding estimate is? What about which moving company to choose? How do you even compare them? All these can be answered through research. There are also other things you should research before moving, to avoid additional stress, like:

• The area you are moving to, including the vibe, the job opportunities, the schools, etc.
• What kind of items can you bring with you to your new home
• How does your moving company of choice rate
• What are all the legal requirements for your move
• Look into the expenses you might run into during the relocation
• What are the items you should keep with you during the move
• What kind of weather can you expect during your move

Planning your move is the best way to avoid moving stress

Step two, after doing all that research is planning. With good planning, your move should go as easily as it can. Take a look at your schedule and plan your time accordingly. Not setting aside enough time for rest, moving preparations and any other obligations you have will land you in a stressful situation. Simply put you will be rushing everywhere and be constantly out of time. So take a realistic look at your obligations and make a plan with enough room for everything. Even if it means starting weeks before your move. Having enough time will mean you will have less stress. As mentioned above give time is one of the crucial factors. Therefore it is clear how planning ahead helps you cope with moving stress.

Prepare your moving budget to avoid moving stress

Besides time, there is one more very important factor. That is the finance factor. Moving is very expensive. Especially long-distance moving. Even if you manage to hire cheap movers, there are also, packing expenses, insurance, gas, cleaning decorating, and more. Can you imagine the feeling when you realize that you are financially drained? Imagine if that happens in the middle of your move. Stress triggered by finance is probably the worst kind. To avoid it, prepare a moving budget. However, it is not an easy job. Besides paying your movers, packing expenses, insurance, you will also have to learn about hidden moving costs. Moving services are one of the major sources of unexpected costs. Make sure that you understand which services you need to pay extra before you start crafting your moving budget.

Declutter to reduce moving stress

Finally, there is the actual organization of the move itself. While good planning will leave you with enough time to prepare, a good organization will mean you will have to waste less time on the move. So, take the time to declutter. Decluttering is one of the best ways to ease your move, thus reduce pressure. But only if you do it first. Choose the things you will actually need in your new home and those that will fit and pack only them. This way you will have fewer items to pack and move. But, besides being a good way to simplify your move, decluttering is a great way to help your finance. But how to do it right?

How to earn on decluttering

• Organizing a garage sale is one of the most efficient ways to earn money on your excess items. But it takes a lot of time and items to organize.
• The internet could be a great place to sell your stuff. You should do this when you have only a few items to sell. Unfortunately, it can also take a lot of time.
• If you have a lot of furniture to sell, and you want to finish this fast, you can try at your local used furniture retailers. The downside of this approach is fewer earnings.
• You can also donate your items. Find local charity organizations and give them a call. They will usually come to you to pick up the stuff. Besides feeling good, donating sometimes means that you will become eligible for certain tax deductions. Fighting stress more efficiently.

Additional financial benefits of decluttering

• Removing your excess items also means that you will have to buy less packing supplies.
• Having fewer items means that your inventory will weigh less. This means a lower moving estimate.

Dealing with moving stress

Alright, so now that we covered the ideal situation it’s time to look at the one that is not that ideal. That is – moving on a tighter schedule. Whatever caused you to find yourself moving at the last moment, you will experience stress. However, there are methods that will allow you to cope with moving stress even in situations such as these.

Get your friends to help you

See if you can get your friends to help you with moving. Doing this on your own is one thing. But having your friends to help you out is totally another story. Not only that friends can help you with the physical part of the work. But they will also create a great atmosphere. This can be one of the best ways to avoid stress completely. However, sometimes having your friends around means that you can lose focus on what is your primary goal. Make sure that doesn’t happen. But even if it does, having more hands means that you can do things quicker.  If you can find anyone, hire professional help.

Hire professional help

The easiest way you can cope with moving stress when you’re out of time is by getting professional help. Having last minute movers pack your belongings will leave you with more room to take care of your other obligations. It will also mean that you will be able to focus on move-related issues that depend solely on you. Also, having a reputable moving company move you will reduce your stress as you will know your belongings are well taken care of.

Professional packers could help you out

Decide if you will hire professional packing services to pack your belongings. Packing is probably the most difficult and stressful part of the moving process. Hiring packing services will remove the packing from the equation entirely. This means that you are removing the biggest obstacle in one stroke. Of course, hiring packing services will cost you. But professional packer will use their packing materials. This means that you will not have to buy boxes, wraps, tapes, and such. In the end, hiring or not hiring packing services won’t make such a financial difference. But it will do much on easing your moving process.

Get proper moving insurance and forget about relocation stress

Even though hiring reputable movers and packers is a good way to feel safe about your belonging there is a more efficient way for this. Of course, that is moving insurance. A lot of people make mistakes with this. They do not do their research well and think that coverage given by a moving company is the same as insurance. However, the usual moving coverage will only protect a small part of your inventory’s worth. Therefore it is very important to get proper moving insurance. If you already calculated it in your moving budget, this will be a good way to stay relaxed during the move.

Packing smart and quick

Ok, you already know that hiring packing services is a good choice. However, what would you say if we told you there is a way to pack your entire home in a day on your own? While we don’t recommend doing this, there are ways you can make your packing really quick and cheap. Using blankets, clothes, and newspapers to wrap up breakables are just some of the ways you can make an expedient packing. And the less time you spend on packing your items the more you will have for other activities, meaning you will have to deal with less stress. Not mentioning the saves you will make on packing materials.

Play some music while you pack

Packing is a long process, even if you pack smart. You can speed up your time and reduce stress with music. Play your favorite playlist. You will move much quicker, won’t feel tired, and the time will pass faster.

Taking a breather

When it comes to ways to cope with moving stress on a tight schedule there is one tip that may seem counter-intuitive – taking a break. When it comes to this hectic scenarios, giving in to panic will only make your stress worse. So, do not panic. Even if things start feeling overwhelming, it is smart to take a breather and step back. Rationally look at all the things that you still have to do. Then assign priority levels and do the tasks in that order. Even taking a full break without thinking about the move is smart. As long as you don’t overdo it. In these situations, it is very important to rest, as you will need the energy and clear head to move swiftly.

Organize a party to forget about the suffered moving stress

Finally, even if you suffered a lot of stress during the whole process there is one thing that could help you to forget about it. And that is by throwing a party. It can be a farewell party, but a move-in party could lift your spirit much more. Of course, it all depends on where your friends are. Throwing a party is the best way to relieve the pressure, relax, and forget about the troubles.

Productively cope with moving stress

Having read through all this, you should be ready to cope with moving stress. Whether you’re moving on a tight schedule or have enough time, take it easy. It’s smart to take steps to minimize stress. After all, moving is just one of life’s events and you should avoid stress whenever you can.