Moving is insanely stressful. There is so much going on and it can get overwhelming quick. Check out these 15 tips we came up with to help make the moving process a smooth transition!

After you sign the listing agreement with your agent, you should start the decluttering process right away to get ready for professional photography. The idea is to pack as much as you possibly can. Less = More! Think of it like this, you are moving anyway, so just look at it like you are getting a head start. You don’t want to pack everything up at once. Trust me, that sucks!

This isn’t a dire need but make sure you do give your utility companies a heads up you are moving and get them scheduled to transfer. Don’t wait until the last minute to do it. The last thing you want is to move into a new house with no electricity or running water in the middle of summer. We actually have a moving concierge that helps with the transfer of all of your utilities so it’s one less thing for you to worry about! If you would like their info, let us know!

Alright ladies, this one is for you! And some of you men too. If you’re anything like my wife you probably still have clothes from high school. Take this opportunity to purge those closets of anything you haven’t worn in years! If you haven’t worn a shirt in a decade, you probably won’t wear it in the next decade. So gather all of the pieces of clothing, shoes, and other items you no longer wear and donate them to a charity or person of your choosing. You are knocking out 2 birds with one stone: less for you to pack up and take with you to the new house, and contributing to a good cause for those who need help.

Are you going to hire a moving company to help with this move? If you are, then go ahead and give them a call to get something scheduled. Don’t wait until the last minute to get on their books. If you are moving in the summer time they can get booked up quick! There are several moving companies in Houston, like 2 Men and a Truck, Bay Area Movers, and more. If you want recommendations let us know! A quick moving companies in greater houston area will also suffice. Just pay attention to those reviews!

Okay, so movers can get expensive depending on how much stuff you have and how far they have to drive. On average you are looking around $1,200 for the move. So set a budget and call around to get quotes. One thing you can do to help save some cash is have everything packed up in one location in the house, garage, dining room, etc. so it speeds up the process, and have them take only those boxes and the heavy furniture. Leave all of the smaller loose items for yourself and some friends to help with.

Houston is hot and humid in the summer time! Have a good breakfast in the morning and make sure you stay hydrated when you start packing up and moving! If you haven’t been to the gym in years, well you are about to get a good workout in. Especially if you aren’t hiring movers to help with the big stuff.

Here’s a nice little tip to save some money – make a post on Facebook and ask around if anyone has any boxes that they would like to get rid of. Most of the time people will have something for you. Post on your neighborhood page if you have one. You would be surprised the amount of responses you get and how many people still have boxes left over from their move. Boxes aren’t cheap, so do what you can to save a buck!

This goes hand in hand with purging the closets. You will be surprised at how much stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, and it becomes reality when you start boxing everything up. Take a look around at some of the items you have and ask yourself if you would buy that same thing again. If the answer is no, then donate it or trash it. The less you have to take with you the easier the move is!

This is for all my parents out there. Moving is stressful enough, so if you have toddlers what do you do? Make your plans accordingly.  Is there someone who can watch your children while you move into the new house? Will they be at school or daycare? OR are the kiddos old enough to help out without getting hurt or in the way? You only know the answer to these questions so plan accordingly!

Even if you are hiring movers, things can happen. You are always taking a chance on something getting broken or stolen. So from that perspective, any valuables like jewelry, computers, TVs, and other electronics, you may want to consider taking yourself to prevent any damages or theft.

When you start boxing everything up make sure you try and stay somewhat organized. You can color code your boxes or simply label them with a sharpie. Keep things separated the best you can. Like all kitchen stuff only goes in kitchen boxes, sheets and blankets, office stuff, etc… label them that way the movers or you know where to place them when you get into the new house.

The last thing you want is for something to break during the moving process. So do your best to package them up accordingly. For example, you can buy packing paper and wrap all of your glassware, then place them in a box with some padding. Use your sheets, towels or blankets if you need to. But the idea is to pack them in such a way that it makes fragile items less likely to break. You can find packing paper at your nearest Home Depot.

Once your closet is properly purged, leave the rest of your clothes that are hanging up on the hanger. You don’t need to take off each piece of clothing and fold them up to put in a box. Leave them on the hanger and move them into your car or in the moving truck. They even make special wardrobe boxes now to hang your clothes in a box if you want to be fancy and do it that way. Doing this prevents you from having to put hangers back on every shirt to rehang them and keeps them from getting wrinkled.

If the items you are moving won’t all fit into your next destination, consider a short-term storage unit rather than selling off everything or throwing it away. Everyone is different here so this part really depends on where and what you’re moving into. If you are moving from a 5,000 square foot house into a 800 square foot 1 bedroom apartment, you might have some difficulty there!

Maybe you are moving into the apartment temporarily while you build a new house, so it would make sense to rent a storage unit in the meanwhile.

We covered some of this at tip #2, but double check everything is scheduled to transfer utilities from one house to the next. Water, trash, sewage, electricity, cable, and internet. Also, make sure you delete your old address from online retailers that you shop at, like Amazon. You don’t want to accidentally ship a package to your old house!

I hope these tips were helpful to you. Use this as a guide during your move! If you have any questions or need some recommendations, give our team a call. We are always here to help. If you found this article or video helpful, do us a favor and share it with your friends and family on social media. It could help them too!