How to Make Your Move Easy: 6 Helpful Tips

Planning a move or recently bought a new home? Whether you’re moving in with your partner or to a new place, moving can be one of the most stressful experiences. With the countless to-do items, sheer volume of “stuff”, and the intensity of moving day itself, it’s no wonder people want to tear out their hair! But how can you make the move easy? I recently asked myself that same question!

As I shared on my Instagram account, we just moved yesterday from a small one-bedroom condo to a two-storey home, so this advice is near and dear to my heart! After moving 4 times in the last 10 years, I’ve learned some tips and tricks for making the process less stressful, and more seamless. Here are some of my best suggestions.

Start Early

As soon as you know you’re moving, you can start on your to do list. This includes:

• Notifying people, companies, and organizations of your new address (there’s a great list here!)
• Booking a moving elevator if you’re moving from or to an apartment or condo building
• Booking a moving company or UHaul
• Ordering moving supplies or rentals
• Cleaning and purging (starting early on this one can make a big difference!)
• Packing moving boxes and boxes of items for donation
• If required, hiring a locksmith to change the locks in your new place
• Booking time off with your employer (some companies offer a Moving Leave which is great to take advantage of)
• Ordering any new furniture and coordinating delivery times
• Transferring utilities
• Transferring services like TV, internet, and home phone and coordinating installation

Getting everything out of your head and down on paper (or on your phone!) is a great first step in making the process feel more manageable.

Schedule Your To Dos

If you’ve started early, not everything on your to do list will need to get done right away. Add your to-dos to the calendar, set reminders on your phone, or use whatever other system works for you to space out and track your must-dos. This will let you tick off one or two items a week and make for a more seamless lead up.

I use Asana for my to do lists and scheduling (both business and personal) but you may find the Calendar app on your phone or something physical like a planner to be a good space for tracking.

Rent Your Moving Supplies

When I first moved to Toronto, I used to buy cardboard moving boxes and packing supplies. They were expensive, often flimsy, susceptible to tearing, and a pain to store once I had moved in.

Last year when I moved in with Curtis, I ordered Frogbox moving boxes (see my complete review here!) and it was a complete game changer. Frogbox delivers durable, reusable, eco-friendly moving boxes and supplies and then picks them up after you’ve moved. Their service is reliable and stress-free, allowing you to book online in a matter of clicks.

Renting your moving boxes and opting for durable bins will save the headache of going out to buy boxes, makes packing much easier, reduces waste, and eliminates having to toss or store empty boxes at the end of the move.

Frogbox has been kind enough to offer Beyond the Safe Harbor readers a unique promotion! Use code SAFEHARBOR for a free 50 square foot roll of recyclable bubble wrap, free 140 sheets of recycled packing paper, free delivery, and free pickup. This is available on orders of a minimum of a one bedroom kit.

Get Your Label On

Labelling your moving boxes is another great way to stay organized. Not only will you have less lifting and carrying to do since you’ll be moving boxes to the right room the first time, but you’ll also save a lot of time.

Frogbox includes large labels in every order, but you can also buy labels at most big box stores or on Amazon (these ones are pretty cool!)

Do a Little at a Time

One of my favourite sayings is “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”

Packing can feel like a huge, overwhelming project, and it often is. As much as you can, split up your packing work. You can tackle one room each day, or even a few drawers at a time. The key is to go through your place in chunks so that each packing session is more focused, letting you avoid burnout. It also means you’ll be fresher and less likely to just throw everything in a box for the sake of getting it over with.

Plan Unpacking Time

It’s easy to get so caught up in the moving arrangements that we forget that we need time and space to unpack, clean, organize, and decorate. Build in some buffer time for these activities, including setting up any new furniture and decor. Moving into a new space is an exciting step, and the process of getting it all set up can be a fun one!

I hope these tips help as you plan your next move. Wishing you a stress-free move and happy packing!