Moving Tips
A few years back, the trend was to expand, promoting the boom of the affectionately termed McMansion. After years of maintaining these massive spaces, as well as paying to heat and cool them, many are going back the other direction. Today, more Americans are opting for smaller spaces. In fact, the real estate site Trulia found homeowners would rather have a smaller space to live in and maintain than a larger one. In addition, when homeowners currently living in homes 2,000 square feet or larger were polled, 60% of them said not time they would rather go for a smaller space. If you find yourself in agreement and have decided to downsize your current living space, consider the following tips:
Know It Will be an Adjustment, For Everyone
You will have to adjust to living in a smaller space. This might take some time. It will be an adjustment for every person in the family. After all, everyone will likely have to reduce their possessions to ensure the family fits in the new smaller space. There will be less room to spread out, meaning families will have to get used to spending more time together. Bottom line is it will be an adjustment, be prepared for it and be patient with yourself and your family as they adjust.
Understand Not Everything is Going to Fit
When you have your new smaller space all picked out, measure, measure and then measure it again. Make sure that all your current furniture will fit within the new space. You will likely find yourself having to get rid of some items. Measure your largest piece in each room and then work from there. It might be better to buy smaller furnishings for your new space and either sell or give away your current furnishings. Of course, you may be able keep most of your possessions, but you will probably find that some will simply have to go. You are downsizing after all.
You Don’t Have to Get Rid Of What You Can’t Fit
Although living in a smaller space means you can keep less of your possessions, this doesn’t mean you have to give them away. If your aim is to minimize your life, and reduce your possessions, you will most likely benefit from either donating items to those who need it or selling them and making some money. You could opt to store unneeded items instead. This can get pricey when you use off site storage, but if something is dear to you, perhaps a family heirloom and you simply don’t want to get rid of it, it can be an option.
Disassemble Furniture During Move
Once you have decided what furnishings you’re brining along to your new place, make it as easy as possible to maneuver in your smaller dwelling by disassembling them. For example, remove the legs if possible from couches or tables, chairs, etc. This will make it easier to load, move and then place into your new, more comfy home. With a smaller space, it will be harder to maneuver larger pieces.
Moving into a smaller space can be a freeing experience. You will find yourself with more time and money to spend doing other things when you don’t have to worry about maintaining a massive living space. The above are just a few tips to make the downsizing process easier on everyone.
Moving Tips
If there is anything that’s true of kids 100% of the time is that they love consistency. When it comes to changing their whole lives, in the form of where they live, this fact can become problematic. If you plan on moving anytime soon and have kids, especially younger kids, consider the following tips:
Be Sure to Let Them Know What is Happening
Before you begin packing or anything like that, let kids know what is coming. Be prepared for them to react less than enthusiastically. Keep in mind, kids get attached to their living space, memories are associated with every square foot, so if they push back some against you on the move, don’t panic. They will adjust, but don’t expect an instant acceptance. If you can find a book on moving you can read to them, it might help them visualize what’s going to happen.
Make It Fun
If you are upgrading your living situation, such as getting a pool, or meeting new kids in the neighborhood, be sure to tell your kids about these upgrades. Make it seem fun. Make it seem like an adventure. Think like your kid and be sure to “advertise” your new place and all its benefits.
Commemorate Your Current Dwelling
Put together a memory book of your current place before you begin packing up. Allow your kids to include their most special memories. If they loved climbing a specific tree in the yard, take a photo of it, grab one of its leaves to keep, laminate it so it will stay nice. This book can go along with you to your new place, and give them something tangible to hold when they feel sad about leaving it behind.
Make Sure They Understand They Don’t Have to Leave Any Possessions Behind
Most kids have precious possessions. Make sure your kids understand that these possessions are going right along with them to your new house. Make sure they understand they also don’t have to leave friends, even if they are moving away from them. They can still see them. Assure them you can meet and let them spend time with their friends and make sure you follow through. This is, of course, unless you are moving too far away from your current location.
Let Them Help, Make Them Feel Involved
No, you can’t leave the total job of packing or choosing a house to your kids, but if possible, make them feel a part of the process. Give them the task of boxing up the Tupperware or their stuffed animals, for example, or allow them to go on visits with you to see potential homes. The idea is to make them feel they have a say and a part in the whole process of moving.
Promote the Moving Process
When it finally comes time to move, make the process as fun as possible. If you use a moving company or rent a truck, let them see the big truck that will carry all their belongings to your new home. Of course, you might not be able to actually let them help you, at least let them hang around for part of the time.
Understand It Will Take Time
Know that the adjustment process will take time. Your kids will have to create new favorite places and make friends within your new neighborhood. Help them out when you get settled. Walk around and introduce yourself. Ask neighborhood kids over so hopefully you can encourage some friendships to develop. Remember, it will get better, your kids will adjust and will end up loving your new place just as much as the old one. It just takes time.
Sources:
https://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/family-life/moving-help-child-adjust
Moving Tips
Moving into a new neighborhood can be intimidating. This is especially true when your current neighbors have already formed friendships and don’t seem interested in getting to know you. However, whether your new neighbors seem approachable or standoffish, there are some ways you can make friends as the new family on the block.
Introduce Yourself
It’s probably not the first thing you feel like doing after unpacking what seems like a million boxes, but you really should introduce yourself to your neighbors, at least those living right next door or directly across the street as soon as possible after moving in. If you are outside and are in the middle of something and can’t introduce yourself at that exact moment, be sure to at least smile and offer a friendly wave. The idea is to create a friendly first impression. The last thing you want to do is communicate that you aren’t interested in knowing your neighbors, when, in reality, you are just worn out. This is your chance to make a good first impression, and you only get one chance, so make it good.
Walk The Neighborhood
You can’t really expect your neighbors to approach you if you lock yourself indoors like a hermit. Get out and about in the neighborhood. Taking a walk is a good way to do this. It serves two purposes. One, you get some exercise and two, you will have a built in opportunity to talk to your neighbors if they happen to be outdoors when you are walking by.
Ask Questions
If you want to make friendships, do so by asking questions. When your neighbor is outdoors, during your walk, introduce yourself and then ask for suggestions on nearby restaurants, dog parks, community events, etc. Break the ice by asking them their opinion. Most people love to share that, so it’s a win-win.
Compliment Them
When standing in your new neighbor’s yard, compliment something. Everyone loves a compliment, so this will do wonders for creating a relationship. Tell them you like a certain plant in their yard, compliment their shutters or the color they chose for their door, etc.
Exchange Contact Information
You can use the necessity of exchanging vital contact information with your neighbors as a way to become more acquainted. It’s a good idea for neighbors to know how to contact each other for safety purposes. What if your house alarm or fire alarm is going off, what if there is a fire, what if your dog gets out of the fence and is running amok in the subdivision? It’s a good idea to exchange numbers, and it presents a perfect opportunity to introduce your family and begin a relationship.
Provide Food
If all else fails, cook something delicious like a batch of cookies and take it over to your neighbors. Sure, there are allergy concerns to consider, but in most cases, everyone loves a heart felt gesture. This can be another way to break the ice if you haven’t the courage to walk up and introduce yourself outright.
Be patient. Friendships take time to develop. Don’t force yourself on your neighbors, but remain open, friendly and courteous, and they should come around quickly enough.
Sources:
https://www.updater.com/moving-tips/8-secrets-to-making-friends-with-the-new-neighbors
Moving Tips
Moving isn’t always the easiest task in the world. After all, you are in essence, boxing up all your earthly possessions and moving them to another location. Talk about overwhelming! Thankfully, there are some hacks that will help make this sometimes sizeable process a little easier to handle:
- Ask Local Businesses For Boxes: When you begin your move, you will need boxes, and plenty! Ask local retailers to give you some boxes. They often have more than they can use and have to dispose of them, so it will usually help them as well.
- Opt For Magazines Or Newspapers Over Peanuts: Protecting your valuables during a move is important. The last thing you want to do is lose a priceless treasure during the process. Use newspapers and/or magazines instead of packing peanuts to offer your breakables the best protection. Be aware of the ink, though.
- Pack Your Closet As Is: Instead of taking everything out of your closet, off their hangers and then into bags, why not bag it up just as it hangs? Use a trash bag to group clothing and tie it around the hangers. Then, you simply hang it back up in your new closet, remove the trash bag and its in the same exact order as before. Much easier than unpacking and rehanging every item.
- Use Linens For Cushioning: Another way to protect breakables is to use sheets, pillow cases and even clean socks for extra padding or cushioning when packing. This serves two purposes. You protect the item, and also have your linens packed for the move.
- Utilize Other Items in Addition to Boxes: In addition to boxes, use trash bins, laundry baskets and suitcases as boxes to pack with. They will go along with you anyway, so might as well use the space inside for packing.
- Label and Organize Furniture Pieces: To ensure all the pieces of any furniture you have to disassemble to transport make it successfully to your new place, put all the screws and hardware in a small plastic bag. Label that bag and then attach it with tape to the corresponding piece of furniture. If you are afraid you might lose the bag, label it and then have a small box that contains all screws and hardware pieces for all furniture in one location. Just make sure you label them well, so as not to confuse which items go with which piece of furniture.
- Keep an Inventory List: It’s a good idea to create a list of what is in each box as you move. You can do this using the old-fashioned hand written method or step it up to an Excel document. Either way, inventorying items will allow to find whatever you are looking for easily and ensure you don’t leave anything behind.
- Make Sure to Label Sides of Boxes Too: Most people will take the time to label the tops of boxes as they pack, indicating what’s inside. However, they might fail to label the side. When boxes are stacked, though, you can’t tell what is in a box if only the top is labeled.
- Use Pots Pans: Instead of simply packing your pots and pans, why not use them to transport your dish towels, spices and other kitchen related items?
- Take Pictures of Electronics While Assembled: Before disassembling your TV, computer, or any other complicated electronic, take a picture of which cords are in which ports. That way, when you get to your new place, you have a guide to follow to reassemble everything as it was.
These are just a few helpful hacks to keep in mind that will make the moving process less stressful. Happy moving!
Sources:
https://www.updater.com/moving-tips/top-50-moving-hacks-of-all-time
Moving Tips
Moving into a new place is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. However, sometimes, things just don’t work out as planned and you find yourself living in a nightmare moving scenario. Thankfully, you can take some steps to avoid these situations beforehand if you plan ahead…
Nightmare Moving Situations & How to Avoid Them
Nightmare Scenario: How Can You Possibly Pack Up All This Stuff?
You are overwhelmed with your stuff. How can you possibly get it all packed up and moved in a timely manner? You are, in essence, paralyzed because you don’t know what to do first.
Solution: Start small. Pack a duffel bag as if you are going out of town for a weekend. This will give you the necessities that you don’t want to pack away. Then, begin to gather materials you will need to pack up the rest of your belongings. This includes the following:
- Padding or bubble wrap.
- Scissors.
- Labels
- Tape
- Markers
- Boxes
After you have gathered everything you need, start with one room. Place items in boxes or bins within groups. Then, move to the next room and slowly make your way through your whole house. Remember, “the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time”. Don’t look at your house as a whole, just look at it as small sections.
Nightmare Scenario: Your Lease is Up Before Your New House is Ready
You find out your lease is up before your new place is ready. What can you do? Where do you go?
Solution: Talk to your landlord. Ask them is you can stay where you are and pay for a portion of the next month. Take the amount you pay monthly and divide it to see what you pay daily. Offer to pay for the days you need to stay. If this won’t work, you can stay with a friend or family member and move your stuff into a storage unit, moving pod or even someone’s garage. Just know this isn’t ideal as you will have to move everything twice. So, try to plan ahead and get your landlord to agree to let you stay the few extra days necessary.
Nightmare Scenario: Your Current Stuff Doesn’t Fit in Your New Place
You are so excited to get unpacked and in your new place. Unfortunately, you realize to your horror that your current furniture doesn’t fit in your new space, it won’t fit in the doorway or down a hallway. What can you do?
Solution: Before moving, measure the hallways and entries of your new place. Then, take the measurements of your largest pieces of furniture to ensure they will fit through the doorways and hallways. If possible, break your furniture down into smaller pieces to make them fit and then reassemble. If the worst happens and you still can’t get your furniture into your new place, you can always remove the doors in your new place to give just a bit more space. Try a window or balcony entrance if this still doesn’t give you enough space.
Nightmare scenarios as listed above sometimes do come up during a move. Thankfully, by thinking outside the box and preparing ahead of time, you can counteract most of these scenarios.
Moving Tips
Having family living nearby offers a variety of benefits. They are usually supportive, often ready to lend a helping hand and can even serve as free babysitters should the need arise. However, sometimes, due to financial needs, job availability and other various scenarios, you might be forced to move away from those you love most. Thankfully, there is some good that can come from this situation, as you will learn below:
Four Benefits of Moving Away From Family
1.) Forces Independence
Even as adult children, it’s not uncommon to call on mom and dad to help when in a bind. Whether it’s being stuck on the side of the road with a broken-down car or needing an experienced hand when repairing something at home, parents are valuable assets. However, this support can become somewhat of a crutch. We can automatically reach out to our parents instead of trying to figure things out for ourselves. In many instances, we grow as people much more when we have to struggle a bit to find a solution for a problem, instead of getting help.
2.) Encourages Deeper Relationships With Friends and Spouse
Another good aspect of moving away from family and perhaps your hometown is the fact that it encourages deeper growth when it comes in a marriage or significant other relationship. The person who you live with will now become your primary support, so in general, this will encourage a deeper relationship to develop than was present before. You might even develop new relationships with friends that grows deeper thanks to the fact that you are away from those who have always served that role previously in your life.
3.) Exposes You to New Ideas and Ways of Life
If you only stay put where you grow up and don’t get out there and see what the world has to offer, there is a lot of potential good things you might miss out on. When you move away from your family, hometown and previous relationships, you are embarking on an adventure. Even if you only move a state away, some of the ideas that hold true in your new place of residence might be vastly different than your old. Moving across country will be even more adventurous. This makes moving away a great opportunity for you to expand your horizons and embrace other ideas, ways of life and grow as an individual and immediate family.
4.) Allows You to Make Your Own Identity
Another benefit of moving away from family is the opportunity it creates for you to fashion your own identity as a person. Especially in small towns, people are often known by their family name and reputation. If you come from a small town, perhaps you can relate. In essence, this means you are given some form of identity, simply based on your name. Even if your family’s reputation is good, this can get frustrating if you want people to think of you as an individual, not one of a group. Therefore, moving away and making a life somewhere other than your current home can be advantageous.
Although it can be great to have family just down the road, or at least in the same town, there are some advantages to living life on your own as are outlined above.
