Moving is stressful. In fact, the Employee Relations Council ranked moving as life’s third most-stressful event (death and divorce were numbers one and two). So why is moving so stressful, and what’s the best way to cope?

Sources of Moving Stress

While there are many reasons for moving stress, here are some of the biggest:

• Fear of the unknown
• Loss of control
• Loss of community
• Overwhelm
• Time pressures

The remainder of this article focuses on specific steps you can take to address these issues and reduce your overall stress level.

Moving Stress Source 1: Fear of the unknown.

You need to learn a lot about your new place, your new neighbors, your new schedule, etc. You may also be facing a change in jobs or family situations. All of these factors mean that many comfortable routines you were able to follow without thinking now involve lots of questions. Primitive centers of the brain respond to unknowns with fears.

Stress Buster 1

First, realize that this fear of the unknown is normal, and that most everyone goes through some version of it.
Second, there are several steps you can take to minimize the unknowns:

• Ask lots of questions of your realtor, apartment manager, moving company and everyone else associated with your transition.
• Take detailed notes from your conversations regarding your move and record them in a single notebook to keep information organized and easy to access.
• Plan time to explore your new neighborhood.

Moving Stress Source 2: Loss of control

Let’s face it: seeing all your possessions go into boxes or furniture pads can be pretty upsetting. It requires you to turn over a lot of control, or perceived control, over to others.

Stress Buster 2

Unfortunately, part of the stress reduction process for loss of control is acceptance. Trying to “control” every last detail of a move is a recipe for stress overload. Instead, try to focus on a few basics that will have the biggest impact on your move’s success:

• Verify your mover’s credentials with the Better Business Bureau, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Protect Your Move” website, MovingScam and Epinions.
• Focus on making sure all your boxes are fully cushioned, labeled and inventoried.
• Recruit only reliable people to help out.

Moving Stress Source 3: Loss of community

Moving can mean saying goodbye, at least temporarily, to neighbors, friends and family. It can feel quite lonely at times, and that can add to your anxiety.

Stress Buster 3

There are a few tricks for taking some of the loss of community out our move:

• Plan a “Farewell Packing Party” in which offer great food, reminiscing and lots of picture taking in exchange for help with a few boxes.
• Create and follow a plan for keeping in contact, including dates by which you’ll make phone calls or send email updates.
• Make sure you leave everyone with plenty of ways to contact you, including street address, phone numbers and email addresses.
• Take lots of pictures before the big day.
• When practical, schedule an “Open House” at your new place before you leave, including sending invitations and directions.

Moving Stress Source 4: Overwhelm

One of the most common sources of stress during moving is just general sense of being overwhelmed. This has more to do with the number of tasks you need to accomplish than the nature of the tasks themselves. It’s marked by feelings of not knowing where to begin or jumping from task to task without completing any of them.

Stress Buster 4

Here is the best plan I know for defeating the sense of overwhelm:

• Start with a complete moving checklist (there are several good ones available for free download).
• Break the project down into smaller and smaller chunks until you have tasks assigned for each day from now until the move.
• Focus on the tasks for each day instead of stressing over the entire list.
• Place a big, red check mark next to each task accomplished, and give yourself credit for everything you’ve accomplished so far.

Moving Stress Source 5: Time pressures

Once you’re moving day is set, there is some understandable time pressure involved with your move. And you don’t want to feel rushed at the very end of the process.

Stress Buster 5

First, it’s important to realize that some of the stress you’re feeling is legitimate, and perhaps a little motivating to be ready on moving day. To keep yourself on track, I recommend this plan:

• Read and follow the steps in Stress Buster 4 above regarding “Overwhelm.” This should put you in good shape for knowing what tasks need to be accomplished and how to lay them out day-by-day.
• Cram in the beginning, not the end- if you are laying out your tasks on a calendar, schedule large blocks of time in the beginning to get the biggest “pains” out of the way well in advance.
• Keep one or two “emergency” blocks of time in your schedule toward the end for handling the unexpected.
• Delegate some of your tasks to family members or willing friends so you don’t have to do it all yourself.
• Do something every day on your task list.

While some level of moving stress is to be expected, these guidelines should eliminate a great deal of it.

For more, FREE moving tips and articles, please visit our website on . Two of our most popular articles are:

* Moving checklist: The Ultimate Moving Checklist. This checklist is free, printable, and has all your important tasks broken down across a 4-week calendar. Tasks are separated by category, and identified by priority (critical vs. optional).

* Moving tips: The 101 Best Moving Tips. We have collected moving tips on dozens of topics from moving handbooks, articles and websites, sorting through to provide you with only the “”best of the best.”" You can pick and choose which categories are most relevant to you and choose which ones will be most helpful to you and your move.

Good luck on your move!

Moving can be a very stressful process. There are dozens of tasks to accomplish in a short period of time, as well as many important decisions to make. This leads to a high potential for making mistakes.
Most moving mistakes turn out to be minor, but there are a few that can have long-term implications. This article can help guide you past the 7 worst moving mistakes.

The 7 Worst Moving Mistakes

1. Moving without a plan or a moving checklist.
2. Allowing too little time for packing.
3. Hiring the wrong movers.
4. Not recruiting the right kind of help.
5. Not labeling and itemizing boxes and their contents.
6. Not packing items safely.
7. Insuring incorrectly.

The Details

Major Moving Mistake 1: Moving without a plan or a moving checklist.

Mistake Description: Many people facing a move simply jump right into the process without fully planning ahead. Similarly, they try to manage through tasks without having a detailed moving checklist.

Why It’s A Mistake: There have been endless productivity studies demonstrating that having a written plan boosts productivity, and similar logic implies that a moving checklist helps you manage the details of a move.

Mistake Impacts: The biggest impacts are loss of time, added stress, and the chance of forgetting critical tasks.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Use one of the many free, excellent download able checklists as your preliminary moving plan

Major Moving Mistake 2: Allowing too little time for packing.

Mistake Description: People tend to drastically underestimate the amount of time required to pack a home, meaning they have too little time to complete their packing.

Why It’s A Mistake: This causes a mad rush just before moving day to get everything accomplished in time for the truck.

Mistake Impacts: This is a recipe for stress and for sloppy packing, potentially resulting in damaged goods at your final destination.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Allow at least 5 hours per room, and pack the 3 most cluttered rooms first. If they are completed faster than that, you can scale back your schedule. If not, you’ll have enough time to complete all your packing.

Major Moving Mistake 3: Hiring the wrong movers.

Mistake Description: Many first-time movers hire the wrong moving company, usually looking for the cheapest quote they can find.

Why It’s A Mistake: Moving scams are all too frequent, and many times the movers offering an abnormally low quote will hold your goods hostage on their moving truck until you come up with much more money than your original quote indicated.

Mistake Impacts: You can be in for quite a mess of fees and legal issues in these circumstances, and often the moving company will dissolve before you get to court, leaving you with no recourse.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Check out the federal government’s website titled “Protect Your Move” along with websites by MovingScam, the Better Business Bureau and Epinions. Only ask for quotes from movers who come out positively reviewed on each resource. That way you’ll eliminate disreputable moving companies from the very beginning.

Major Moving Mistake 4: Not recruiting the right kind of help.

Mistake Description: You decide to move yourself along with friends and relatives, but either recruit the wrong type of help or assign them to the wrong types of tasks.

Why It’s A Mistake: The wrong type of help can actually make moving go slower instead of making things easier.
Mistake Impacts: You can end up enormously frustrated and wind up doing a great deal of the work yourself.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Only recruit people who meet the profile of a good volunteer. That profile has three characteristics:

• They have a talent or ability (packing, watching kids or pets, lifting heavy furniture)

• Their talent or ability matches a need you have for your move

• They are willing to apply that talent or ability to your need in a way that helps you.

Major Moving Mistake 5: Not labeling and itemizing boxes and their contents.

Mistake Description: In an effort to save time or work, people tend to skip the process of properly labeling and cataloging their boxes and contents.

Why It’s A Mistake: The time saved by not labeling boxes and cataloging their contents is almost always erased by the amount of time lost looking for things at their new place.

Mistake Impacts: There are few things that waste more time or cause more frustration than the inability to find a needed item in a sea of moving boxes. That causes you enormous upset when trying to settle in.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Mark at least 2 sides and the top of every box with an abbreviation for the room, a box number (start a new set of numbers for every room you pack), and the general contents (e.g., “Juan’s shoes”). It doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed, but it should be sufficient to narrow any search down to, at most, two boxes.

Major Moving Mistake 6. Not packing items safely.

Mistake Description: In a hurry to get everything done, some people end up in a mad dash to get everything packed, and don’t sufficiently protect fragile items.

Why It’s A Mistake: Moving involves a lot of stacking and jumbling, even when done by caring professionals. Packing correctly takes more time but drastically reduces the number of items that will get ruined.

Mistake Impacts: Not packing things carefully can result in damaged or destroyed items.

How to Avoid the Mistake: Here are a few guidelines on safe packing:

• Use heavy duty moving boxes for fragile items.
• Limit boxes to no more than 50 pounds each.
• Try to get each box to be exactly filled to the top to avoid either box crushing or damage.
• Fragile items should be wrapped in at least 1″ of bubble wrap.
• Double box (meaning box the item and then put that first box in a second box, both with cushioning materials) sensitive equipment like computers and other electronics.
• Use biodegradable packing peanuts, towels, rags or other old cloths to fill in gaps around items in boxes.
• Mark “FRAGILE” on boxes with delicate contents.

Major Moving Mistake 7. Insuring incorrectly.

Mistake Description: Many people facing a move either over-insure or under-insure their furniture and other items.

Why It’s A Mistake: Standard moving coverage provides only $0.60 per pound of declared value, and more expensive insurance may not provide replacement value. Further, most moving insurance EXCLUDES items in boxes you packed yourself.

Mistake Impacts: Insuring incorrectly can result in serious disappoint and financial woes.

How to Avoid the Mistake:

• Check with your current insurance company to see if your homeowner’s policy will cover your move or if they have another full replacement value coverage policy or rider. This is often your least expensive coverage option.

• Verify in detail exactly what is covered and what is not.

• Look for “full replacement value” for any items you would need replaced if damaged or destroyed.

• Document the contents of each box while you’re packing, including specifics such as manufacturer names and serial items where they apply.

And there you have the 7 biggest moving mistakes and how to avoid them. For more, FREE moving tips and articles, please visit our website on moving. Two of our most popular articles are:

* Moving checklist: The Ultimate Moving Checklist. This checklist is free, printable, and has all your important tasks broken down across a 4-week calendar. Tasks are separated by category, and identified by priority (critical vs. optional).

* Moving tips: The 101 Best Moving Tips. We have collected moving tips on dozens of topics from moving handbooks, articles and websites, sorting through to provide you with only the “best of the best.” You can pick and choose which categories are most relevant to you and choose which ones will be most helpful to you and your move.

Good luck on your move!

There are certain steps that everyone who’s moving needs to follow just to get set up for the process. This article walks you through the details of the next phase, which forms the bulk of the move up through settling in. Here are some of our best recommendations:

The Steps

1. Start packing!
2. File your change of address.
3. Eliminate items from your move.
4. Manage your moving day.
5. Start settling in.

The Details

How to Move Step 1: Start packing!

Packing always seems to be most laborious and time-consuming part of a move. We all seem to have many more possessions than we first estimate, and the time involved with packing them seems to constantly grow. Here are some basic packing tips:

• Start packing as soon as you can- it always seems to take longer than you’d expect.

• Eliminate as many items as you can by donating to charity and holding a moving sale- it will save you a lot of time in the long run.

• Pack a suitcase for each family member as if you were going on a 3-day trip, and keep the suitcases with you instead of on the moving truck.

• Create one or two “Open Me First” boxes for each room, containing the items you’ll need immediately on arrival at your new home. This will save you a lot of time and stress.

• Label each box and all 4 sides and the top with an abbreviation for the room and a box number for that room. You’ll avoid lots of frustration constantly answering the question of, “Where do you want this box?”

• Focus on just one room at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed.

• Hold a “packing party” with friends, family, and anyone else you can recruit. Have lots of free food and music to entice the party-goers.

• Keep all boxes to under 30 pounds where possible and always less than 50 pounds. Having a bathroom scale by your side when packing makes this much easier.

These packing tips should get you off to a great start.

How to Move Step 2: File your change of address.

It’s important to let everyone know when and where you’re moving. Follow these basic guidelines to ease the process:

• Confirm you new address.

• Create a contact list by collecting names and addresses of people you want to notify.

• File your change of address with the post office.

• Set up your phone number for your new place.

• Decide if you want to block “junk mail” and telemarketers, and file with the correct agencies to protect your contact information.

• Start notifying your contact list.

• Notify anyone whose mail arrives at your new address with a yellow address correction sticker.

This should get your change of address process running quickly and smoothly.

How to Move Step 3: Eliminate items from your move.

We recommend that people moving eliminate as many items as possible from their move. In fact, we recommend that you have eliminating 1/3 of your possessions as a goal. Have a charity donation truck (such as Disabled American Veterans, The Purple Heart or The Salvation Army) come and take away any items that you no longer need.

Better still, have the truck come pick up items immediately after you hold a moving sale. A moving sale is a great way to eliminate unwanted items and pick up some spare cash in the process.

Here are some of the basic steps for holding a successful moving sale:

• Pack separate boxes in each room for your “moving sale” items as you pack up everything else.

• Stuck on how to price things? Start by dividing the original price by 5 and then discounting for any
damage.

• It’s easier to make categories of items all the same price, such as “all clothing $4 each.” It also saves hours of time creating tiny price tags!

• Make arrangements in advance to have a charity donation truck arrive at the closing time of your moving sale to take away anything that wasn’t sold. The charity gets donations, and you clear out of any items that didn’t sell by the end.

• Price everything to be easily divisible by 2. This allows you to hold a “1/2 price clearance” during the last hour of the sale, and clear out lots of remaining items and pocket cash you might have missed otherwise.

• Have lots of spare change (bills and coins) on hand on your person (not in a box that can be stolen at the sale).

• Start advertising at least 2 weeks prior to the sale.

• Recruit as much help as you can stand for the big day. You can use assistance for watching tables, helping customers move items and answering question.
Following these simple guidelines should help make your moving day a successful one!

How to Move Step 4: Manage moving day.

• Make sure your cell phone is fully charged. One thing you definitely don’t want to be on your Moving Day is “unreachable.”

• Start your day early. You’ll want to make sure that one of the things you don’t pack ahead of time is your alarm clock.

• Recruit as much help as you can stand.

• Use sitters- Kids and pets are your treasures, and they deserve to have full attention, but on moving day you’ll have other priorities.

• Food is your friend- Whether you have professional movers or friends and family, having coffee, orange juice, and bagels or donuts available will make it easier for everyone to get started on Moving Day.

• Keep cell phone numbers ready and programmed into your phone. Be certain you have the cell phone number of the driver of the truck entered into your cell phone, and that the driver has yours.

• Have correct payment ready and waiting. If you’re using professional movers, on Moving Day keep in mind that almost all of them will expect and demand payment in full and in cash before they will unload a single box from the moving truck.

• Directions- You need to have directions and a map ready for anyone will be driving between your old place and your new place.

• Label the rooms at your new place.
Following these steps should make your actual moving day easier to manage.

How to Move Step 5: Start settling in.

Once you’ve completed your move it’s time to begin the settling in process. One of the best ways to feel more settled is knowing where key locations in your new neighborhood are. Here’s a list of 12 key places to locate near your new home:

• Shopping center/ mall
• Hospital/ emergency care center
• School
• Day care center
• Library
• Post office
• Grocery store
• Pharmacy
• Convenience store
• Hardware store
• Dry cleaner
• Car repair center

Once you know where each of these locations is, you’ll start to feel much more settled and less “up in the air” after landing at your new place.

And there you have the 5 basic steps for how to move after you get set up.

For more, FREE moving tips and articles, please visit our website on moving, movers and relocation. Two of our most popular articles are:

* Moving checklist: The Ultimate Moving Checklist. This checklist is free, printable, and has all your important tasks broken down across a 4-week calendar. Tasks are separated by category, and identified by priority (critical vs. optional).

* Moving tips: 101 Best Moving Tips. We have collected moving tips on dozens of topics from moving handbooks, articles and websites, sorting through to provide you with only the “best of the best.” You can pick and choose which categories are most relevant to you and choose which ones will be most helpful to you and your move.

Good luck on your move!

Moving just seems to come naturally for certain people. They seem to have every detail perfectly planned, memorize the exact contents of every box with ease, and have all their belongings unpacked within hours. This article isn’t really for those people.

Instead, this article is designed to offer the basic steps of moving to those who are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the moving process.

This first article focuses on the important steps for getting set up for your move so you’re prepared for the hard work ahead!

The Steps

1. Plan your move using a moving checklist.
2. Decide whether you will be moving yourself or hiring professional movers.
3. Select your moving day.
4. Reserve your moving truck or moving company.
5. Get your packing materials.

The Details

How to Move Step 1: Plan your move using a moving checklist.

Moving is an exercise in managing a large number of details in a short period of time. You need a powerful tool to help you in that process. Fortunately there are several free moving checklists available to fill that role. Be sure to download one and use it to manage those details effectively.

How to Move Step 2: Decide whether you will be moving yourself or hiring professional movers.

Professional movers offer an enormous amount of convenience. However, they are often fairly expensive. Here are some factors to consider:

• If money isn’t a consideration, reputable, professional movers are the way to go.

• If you have a smaller place currently, such as a studio apartment, you’re much less likely to need professional movers.

• Many heavy pieces of furniture should point you toward using a moving company.

• Having lots of friends and family willing to help limits your need for professional movers.

• If you’ve lived in your current location for more than 3 years, you’re more likely to have accumulated more boxes that might require movers.

• If you have a medical condition such as a bad back or heart condition, moving is NOT the time to test your recovery- let the professionals handle it.

How to Move Step 3: Select your moving day.

Your moving day will influence many of your other decisions. Here are some guidelines:

• Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekends are the hardest and most expensive times to rent. You typically need to book these months in advance.

• Weekends are more difficult to book than weekdays.

• Weekdays are often better options in case you need to reach other businesses (during their business hours

• The middle weeks of the month are easier to reserve than the first and last weeks.

How to Move Step 4: Reserve your moving truck or moving company.

The best moving companies and moving truck rentals fill up quickly, so you’ll want to make sure reserve yours early.

If you’re going to hire professional movers, you’ll want to follow these steps for finding great movers:

• Get referrals from local real estate agents and friends who have moved recently.

• Only consider movers that are licensed, bonded and insured.

• Investigate your potential movers through the U.S Department of Transportation, MovingScam.com and the Better Business Bureau.

• Evaluate a minimum of 3 movers based on in-home estimates of goods to be moved.

• Price isn’t the only factor- extremely low bids indicate a desperate mover.

• Ask for written “Binding Not-To-Exceed” estimates.

• Avoid “rogue movers”- if you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts!

If you’re going to rent a moving truck, here are the basic steps:

• Determine days you can move.

• Identify how large a truck you want.

• Select your rental agency from nationally recognized chains.

• Confirm your reservation and put down a deposit, if required.

How to Move Step 5: Get your packing materials.

You’ll need to have some basic packing supplies before you begin packing. These include:

• Moving boxes
• Packing tape
• Bubble wrap
• Biodegradable packing “peanuts”
• Packing paper (like newspapers, but without the damaging inks)

And there you have the 5 basic steps for getting set up for your move.

Please visit our FREE moving tips and moving checklist website at http://www.Movers-Edge.com. Two of our most popular articles are:

* Moving checklist: The Ultimate Moving Checklist
* Moving tips: The 101 Best Moving Tips

Good luck on your move!