Things that get me stressed: Moving

By Picture taken by Justin McIntosh, [CC BY 2.0 or CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

My life has been such that I have had to move house a few times, not a lot but still enough to know how stressful it is. The thing about moving is that it’s not just one big event/task that you need to do, it’s a bunch of medium/big tasks that congregate together to make a gigantic one. Now for the sake of simplicity I won’t be talking about reasons why people move (that is a different topic altogether even if it does tie in with this one) but the actual act of moving and the tasks you need to do before and after.

So let us break this into parts:

1. Finding a new place to live: The first thing you have to do when you are moving is to find a new place to live. Depending upon your situation this may involve a lot of work. If someone else has done this for you (like a friend or family or someone from work) then you don’t have to worry. Otherwise you will need to find available places, find out how much they cost, see the place so you know whether it works for you and then meet the seller/landlord and work out payment options and sign a contract. All a lot of work which can cause a lot of stress, and we’re not even done.
2. Working out how to move your stuff: This one may differ again depending on your situation. If say you don’t have that many things to move, you are not moving that far away, you have your own means of transport, and all of the things you want to move can fit in said means of transport then you can move pretty much by yourself. However if you have a lot of stuff, maybe even some huge stuff like cupboards and beds that you can’t fit in a car or a jeep, then you will have to hire a moving service. You’ll need to look around, find an affordable moving service that can take all your stuff and will go to wherever you are moving to and then work out a schedule with them, when they will come to pick up everything, when they reach the other place, etc. Perhaps more stressful is to decide what to throw away or leave behind since you may not need it in your new place!
3. Packing: Oh look, more stuff that depends on the situation! If you’re lucky and if you can afford it you will get a moving service that does the packing for you. Otherwise you are going to have to pack everything yourself. This means getting packing materials, boxes, and of course putting everything away safely. It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress, trust me.
4. Getting there: Again depending on your situation, you might be able to hitch a ride with the moving people or you’ll have to find your own means of transport (more stuff to do). Then of course there’s the fact that you might start worrying about whether your stuff will make it safely or will something happen to them. Also if you are moving to a gated community, you’ll probably have to talk to the managers of the community so that they will let you in without problems. This might also involve adjusting your schedule to fit theirs because some communities don’t let in moving trucks except during certain time periods.
5. Unpacking: Well you did it, you’re at your new place and all your stuff is here, now you have to face a new dread, unpacking. Depending on the type of person you are and how much stuff you have this can take anywhere from days, weeks, months to maybe even years. Nobody likes the task of unpacking, especially the part when you have to decide what goes where, sometimes it’s easy maybe even self-evident, but sometimes it’s not and you have to work it out. Once again it’s a lot of work and a lot of stress; my advice is to unpack the essentials like bedding, toiletries and some clothes first, then you can start working on the rest slowly.

Moving is tough and stressful no matter who you are, but also it may be necessary and a part of life. Just remember it is only a part of life and that once the moving is over you can go back to living your life. So grit your teeth in the meantime and get on with it!