Ways to Reduce Stress During Your Move

Whether you’ve decided to accept a new job offer in another city, found the perfect apartment, or finally closed on the home of your dreams, a fresh start is always exciting. Packing all your belongings into boxes and lugging it all to a new home? Not so much. We get it. Moving in Montreal can be crazy and stressful but there are ways to survive the process without aging yourself prematurely.

Here are ways to manage your stress before, during, and after you’ve boxed up your life.

Get Organized

To stay organized during your move, make a list of all the tasks you need to do, then divide them into weeks, allowing yourself enough days to complete everything on that week’s list. If you’re unsure where to start, check out an eight-week plan that will ensure you stay on track.

Give Yourself Time

Time is not always in your control. Sometimes a move sneaks up on you, forcing you to move last minute, and you have to act fast. If you can plan, try to allow yourself at least eight weeks. It’s best to plan for 12, especially if you need to hire movers and/or if you’re planning a summer move. But everything can be done without too much stress within eight weeks. It’s often that deadlines make us feel as if there’s not enough time to get everything done, which only adds more stress. Getting an early jump on things is a valuable method you should remember. Even if it means starting two or three months ahead, you need to remove the pressure of sticking to a deadline and doing everything last minute.

Clear Out the Clutter

It’s best to tackle this one first: getting rid of the clutter will help you be, and feel, more organized. It will also ensure that when you begin packing, you’ll only be packing the things that you need to. There’s nothing more frustrating than packing items you’re going to get rid of after the move. There are plenty of things you can get rid of months before, such as kitchen equipment, clothes, tools, or even broken items on sites such as eBay or Craigslist. There is no point in keeping all that stuff. New home, new experience, new life. Clutter simply creates stress. Have a garage sale for your old things, give them to your friends, or sell them online. It will enable you to look at it as an opportunity to sort out useless items and earn some extra cash while you’re at it.

Ask for Help

Sometimes it’s difficult to ask for help. But remember, most people have been through at least one move in their lives and understand how hard it can be. Reach out. Ask friends and family if they can spare a couple of hours to help you sort, pack or move. If you’re moving far away, this could be one of the last opportunities you have to spend time together. You can also hire movers. They will remove the worries of carefully packing valuable items or carrying heavy cargo. Have someone there to help you to make it a more efficient, fun, and calmer experience.

Envision The End Result

While it’s easy to focus on the monumental list of things you need to do, it’s equally important for your stress level to envision the end result. For the time being, you’re likely going to live in a chaos of boxes, so it’s easy to get lost in the anxiety of the present. By focusing on the pleasant result instead of the stressful moment, the psychological changes will be easier through the transition. Visualizing it a few times will also aid in identifying and preventing potential risks during the move.