Even under the best of circumstances, moving is a hassle and can be cause for a great deal of stress. Thankfully, technology can help ease your pain during the moving process. There are a number of apps and services now available that are designed to help people throughout their move. These tech tools, in combination with some common sense recommendations, can help make moving much less stressful than it used to be. Try these tips and see for yourself!
Create a Game Plan
If you have a plan and stick to it, you will find that moving is a lot easier – and a lot less stressful – than you had anticipated. Much of the stress and hassle associated with moving is actually due to the unknown. When we are uncertain of our future, we tend to get a bit frazzled. Put together a solid plan so that you are prepared for every step of the process. Tools like ForRent can help you find potential places to live (say, apartments for rent in NYC), while apps like Wunderlist allow you to keep track of related tasks and obligations (for example, changing your address with the post office). If you are prepared, your stress will wash away.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Items
Moving is a great opportunity to purge things that you no longer want or need. And there’s a practical benefit, too. The less that you have to move, the easier (and more affordable) your move will be. Determine what items you can get rid of, and then take things one step further and determine how best to get rid of those items. Some items can likely be sold on Craigslist or Ebay (or even in a yard sale), while others may be best to donate. If there is a Goodwill or Salvation Army location near you, you may find that you can offload boxes of unwanted goods in a single afternoon.
Utilize Rentable Storage Containers
Whether you need a POD or a Redibox (only available in Chicago as of this writing), rentable storage containers can greatly reduce your stress levels because they help solve an age-old problem: having sufficient storage for all of your things. One of the hardest parts about moving is finding the boxes actually necessary for moving. And while they are easy to source if you’re willing to pay for them, there is the added issue of what to do with them when your move is over. With rentable storage containers, they show up ahead of your move, and disappear afterwards, as if by magic!
Sort and Organize Your Things
Apps like Sortly make it easy to catalog your items prior to your move. This makes it easy to determine whether or not everything made the journey to its new home safely. We have all been there before: we know that an item is missing, but we can’t put our finger on what that item is. With Sortly, there’s no longer any confusion. Take the added time to sort and organize your things – you will find that it’s not only practical to do so, but that it helps with your peace of mind too.
Begin Researching Your New Hometown
Conduct a bit of research online to gather a picture of your new hometown. Sites like City-Data, for example, provide detailed information on everything from resident demographics to crime statistics, while apps like Yelp and Instagram (#yourtownhere) can help you get a feel for the local culture. Discover interesting restaurants nearby, find points of interest, and see what the locals like. Again, anything that you can do to eliminate the unknown will help lower your stress and anxiety. Thankfully, the Internet is tailor-made for just that purpose.
Recruit Friends and Family
Okay, so this may not be a technological solution, but it is one that will work: invite your friends and family members to help you move! Pizza, beer (or Coca-Cola), and a little bit of pleading will go a long way. With friends and family members surrounding you, you’ll not only have additional help, you’ll have a support group as well. And remember, the ultimate antidote to stress is love and laughter. When it comes to moving, there’s no reason that you should have to do it alone.
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