Moving to a new home is a very exciting experience in a person’s life. It marks a new beginning. Whether it is moving on your own for the first time, the first home with your new family, or moving from an old family home to a more modern one, moving signifies starting over a new leaf.
However, preparing to move is the polar opposite of exciting. People describe their moving experiences as tiresome, frustrating, and a total pain in the rear! Luckily CPC Real Estate Solutions Ltd. (a Belize Real Estate company), have put together some really helpful moving tips to make your move easier and more organized on a whole.
- Create a Master List
This is the most important step in keeping your move organized and keeping track of all your stuff. This list will be your “Master List”, so it needs to be very specific. Label every box and make a log of them on your Master List with additional details of which room the box will go in and what contents are in it.
- Always have extra supplies
Nothing is worse than saying you’ll pack up on this day then halfway through your out of boxes or tape. Always keep extra supplies on hand to maintain your pace and stick to your plan. Often times things get forgotten when you break your focus by stopping to go buy more supplies.
- Don’t get distracted
It’s common to stumble across old pictures, gifts and other sentimental items while packing up. Don’t get distracted and waste time reminiscing on all these old items. If you haven’t thought about them nor used them in years DO NOT take them to your new home. All these items will do is take up valuable storage space in your new home and you’ll probably end up forgetting about them just like before. Instead of reminiscing, use this time as an opportunity to get more organized. Categorize unwanted items into three piles – “sell”, “trash” or “donate- then deal with them accordingly after your move.
- Pack essentials in an overnight bag
You’ll definitely be too tired to unpack all your stuff on moving day. To make things a bit easier, keep an overnight bag with extra clothes and toiletries for everyone in your home so you can all rest the first night and tackle the unpacking on the next day.
- Clean ahead of your move
This comes under the same concept of being too tired to do anything in your new home on moving day. To avoid moving into a dirty home, go in and make sure everywhere is clean a couple days before your move- especially the kitchen and bathrooms.
- Start packing with the items you use the least
It’s always best to start packing in advance so you don’t feel overwhelmed trying to get everything done the day before you leave your old home. Start with items you hardly use like extra comforters, curtains, dishes and out of season clothes. We often have more of these items than we think and can save a lot of time by packing them up beforehand. Remember to keep these boxes properly labelled and logged in your Master List!
- Change your address
This important step is often overlooked when moving. Save yourself a lot of headaches by notifying your post office and bank at least two weeks in advance about your address change. Also, schedule with the utility services to stop service in your old home the day after your move and turn on these services in your new home a couple days before your moving date.
- Save on supplies by using household items to pack
You can save on buying boxes and padding by packing items in your laundry baskets and suitcases. Clothing is great padding for your glassware. Use socks as padding for drinking glasses, while shirts and sweaters can easily pad dishware inside. This is a great option to kill two birds with one stone.
However, if you choose this method it is even more important to properly label items. Use similar clothing as padding for similar items in the same container. For example, use only your shirts and socks to pad the blue kitchen dishware in the red suitcase. The key to staying organized is to be specific.
- Keep the kitchen bare and defrost the fridge
You should make your last shopping trip about two weeks before your move. This will leave you with less food to throw out on moving day. Make sure to defrost your fridge the day before you move and wipe away any liquid to avoid a mess and keep bad odors away.
- Use sandwich bags to pack small assembly items
There will always be screws and bolts rolling around when dismembering appliances, like curtain rods or TV mounts, around your home. The best way to keep all these parts together is to put the smaller ones in a sandwich bag and tape it behind the appliance. This same method can be applied for electronics with chords.
Bonus Moving Tip: On the day of your move, be sure to have a locksmith scheduled to change the locks on your new home and remember to check your Master List to ensure everything came over to the new house.
If you’re moving here and need a Belize shipping agency, BTALCO provides international shipping to Belize. Other real estate companies to consider in Belize are Caribbean Property Development Ltd. and Private Islands. We also know great Belize attorneys and Belize offshore institutions.
If you want to check out an area before settling in, there’s a great hotel in Hopkins Belize. A lot of new development is happening in that area right now and there is a lot of beach front real estate available there.
Has our list helped your move? What other moving tips have you come across that makes this process easier? Share them with us!
