Moving Across The Country: 5 Things To Plan For a Big Move

This article is made possible by Gameday Moving Services Houston.

Harried, stressed, and physically exhausted–those are the memories I have of our recent move from Chicago to Austin. Although it has been over three months since we moved, I will never forget that experience. We did a great job planning it but needed more time to pack. When we look back, we often refer to the night before the movers arrived as “that night.” That day we ran out of time and just began packing items in any box.

 

We learned several lessons throughout this process. If you plan on moving—locally or long distance—below are five things to better plan for a big move.

1. Take time to find a moving company – Finding a moving company was the first thing we did—even before packing. I thought it would be simple to get a mover, but it takes time to find the right one, especially for cross country moves. There are factors to keep in mind, such as:  Do you need them to pack your belongings? What type of neighborhood will they be arriving?

 

In certain residential areas, 14-wheelers are not allowed. This was our situation. The moving company partnered with a local company to take our belongings to our new home. Moving companies are used to this and know which companies to partner with in your area.

 

If you live in Texas, Gameday Moving Services Houston can assist you with moving locally, as well as long distances. This Houston labor moving company is full-service long-distance movers that can assist you with every aspect of the move—packing, loading/unloading, keeping to a timetable, and paperwork services, if moving out of the country.

 

2. Declutter before packing. Packing is a lot of work. You do not want to have to pack items that you are no longer using. Plan and get rid of the items you are no longer using or do not plan on using. If you do this ahead of time, you may even be able to make some extra money by selling some items. We decluttered while packing and ended up giving away a lot of items that could have been sold because there was not enough time to sell them.

 

3. Pack way ahead of time – It may seem like this is a no-brainer, but if you have a full-time job or have young kids, you will have limited time available to pack. When you account for all the things you do daily outside of work hours—cook, clean, watch kids—you are not left with much time to pack. In our case, we both work full-time and have a very active 3-year-old who needs a watchful eye. Therefore, we were unable to pack whenever we wanted. We could only pack one at a time or do it together after we put him to sleep. That meant very little sleep for both of us and not enough time towards the end.

 

I recommend starting at least two months before so that you do not end up putting items into random boxes. We did that towards the end when we ran out of time and ended up inadvertently sending some items to the storage locker.

If you do not want to do the packing, some moving companies offer packing services. Gameday Moving Services Houston offers packing services that provide convenience. They can pack your entire house or help with a few items in a way that saves you time, materials, and space.

 

4. Label your boxes as much as possible. Moving is stressful. The last thing you want when you arrive at your new home is to unpack. We did not begin to unpack until a week later, as we were extremely tired. But I was able to label our kitchen and bathroom boxes very well so we could easily find the items we needed for daily use.

 

5. Prepare to purchase various packing materials. When people think of packing, they usually think only about boxes, but you need to factor adequate packing for computer screens, televisions, and dishes. This not only takes time to calculate, but also takes up a lot of time to pack well. If you do not have time to figure it out or do not want to do it, some movers can do it for you. Gameday Moving Services Houston, for example, can determine the best packing for your items and packs them safely for transport.

 

Moving is an exciting time. Making this big move was one of the best decisions we made as a family. It was also a crazy period that had the potential to be better. I wish I could say that we are done moving, but we will be moving again in the Spring of 2022—to our forever home. Moving is not stress free, but we are better prepared and ready for it.