No matter how many times you’ve moved, you’re bound to make mistakes here and there. Moving is one of the most stressful and exciting times in someone’s life and it’s easy to overlook essential details or rush to do things last minute.

Luckily, people who came before you have made these mistakes so you don’t have to. If you’re one of the countless people who are planning to move into a new home this year, here are some mistakes to avoid at all costs.

1. They don’t protect their valuables

When it comes to valuable goods, some things are simply irreplaceable. Even if you don’t have antique jewelry left from your third aunt twice removed, keeping your important documents and materials safe during a big move is essential.  

Getting a watertight safe is the best way to ensure your valuables are protected. After all, you wouldn’t want these items to get into the wrong hands. You might want to put some of the following materials in your safe:

• Passports
• Social security cards
• Small, luxury items like watches and jewelry
• Valuable coins
• Stamps
• Prescription medications

2. They pack up everything — and we mean everything

Moving is the perfect time to declutter your home and perform a little “spring” cleaning. If you catch yourself wondering about the purpose of an item or document, your best bet is to throw it in the trash or feed it through a paper shredder. If you’re struggling to decide whether or not to kick it to the curb, keep this in mind: have you used it in the last two years? If not, don’t hesitate.  

For items that are still in great shape, however, you can always make an event out of it. Throwing a yard sale is the perfect way to save time and effort while making a couple extra bucks for your trip. You’ll be able to streamline your move with fewer items to pack and your new home will benefit from a less-cluttered space. Donating to charity is a great option for items that didn’t sell well. If you can’t use them, someone else can certainly benefit from your donation.

3. They do it all alone

Sometimes people think that doing things on their own will save them time and money. Why would I need a mover, a professional organizer or moving coordinator when I have two perfectly good hands, myself?

Professional movers, organizers, and relocation specialists are trained and experienced.  They know how to coordinate a move properly so that your goods will remain safe and arrive undamaged to their destination.  They’ve dealt with hundreds of moves and know the best strategies for packing up your home in a manner that makes the most sense. Boxes may be labeled and inventoried so items are unpacked with ease.  Experienced movers will know how to disassemble and reassemble furniture and maneuver around corners and through doorways. Moving coordinators and professional organizers understand how to efficiently unpack the contents of your home and settle you in with as little stress as possible. You’ll be delighted when you see how simple and fast your boxes will be emptied and for your belongings placed in your new home in a tidy, logical and well-organized manner.

Related: How to Choose a Moving Company

4. They procrastinate

Moving takes a lot of time, patience, planning and effort.  If you wait until the last minute to get started, you’ll likely lose things, pack items incorrectly, or break valuable items in the process.

Beat back procrastination by following a daily packing routine. Instead of doing a bunch of packing at once, intersperse is throughout your day or follow a routine to ensure each room of the house gets done. On Monday, focus on items adorning your shelves and surfaces. Tuesday, pack up your kitchen appliances. Wednesday, do the guest bedroom. By starting to plan your move in advance, you’ll prevent procrastination. You’ll also feel great ticking off each item on your checklist.

The relocation specialists and professional organizers at In Order to Succeed have created a comprehensive home moving checklist that you can download to make your move easier.

To Download In Order to Succeed’s Relocation Checklist  Click Here

5. They don’t forward their mail

You think you’ve done it all: you’ve canceled cable, dismissed the electric company, sent in your two weeks to the job you hate, and finally told off your landlord (okay, maybe not the last one).

However, many people forget to forward their mailing address. Not only can you be missing out on important documents, you might also be putting your personal information at risk. When no one is available to pick up your mail, it might end up in the wrong hands. Don’t forget this vital moving step.

Relocating to a new home may be an experience of a lifetime, but it can be overwhelming if you’re prone to stress. To streamline your packing process, avoid these common mistakes people make while moving. Give yourself sufficient time and enlist the help of a solid team so you can sail through your transition with calm and ease.  

Don’t make these same mistakes when moving. Hire our professional moving concierge in the Hamptons, New York, New Jersey, Saratosa, Minnesota, or Connecticut. Contact us now to learn more.

This article was written by Casey Ribek of Colonial Van Lines.

With moving comes packing, unpacking and everything else that makes relocating to your new home stressful. And while you may have the fortitude to withstand the stress, your furry friends might find it very unsettling. The good news, however, is that you can make the moving process much more bearable for your pets. How you might ask? Well it’s easy, all you have to do is adhere to these simple tips;

Brace yourself – and your pet

Pets have the unique ability to sense the emotional state of their owners; it’s why your cat buddy cuddles up to you (even when no one else will) when you come down with the flu. In the same manner, your pets will most likely pick up on any bits of anxiety, franticness or anger you let loose during the moving period; to prevent this, it is imperative that you stay calm. TripsWithPets.com Kim Salerno summarises the importance of maintaining your cool in an email correspondence with the New York Times;

‘It’s about letting your pet know that you will keep things stable and under control, which allows him to worry less,’

Try to start the prepping and packing early and take breaks throughout the process with your pet as this will alleviate stress for you and them.

Introduce your pet to its makeshift home

And by makeshift home, we mean your pet’s kennel, cage or carrying crate. Whichever way you choose to ferry your pets as you move, it’s vital that they are comfortable with the setting even before the D-day. In the words of Rebecca Wallwork, columnist for Vetstreet.com;

‘A crate is a pet’s home during transport. Getting them used to it early can help relieve stress.’

The first step to getting them comfy is selecting a suitable and correspondingly comfortable enclosure. Once that’s settled, set up the enclosure at home and encourage them to take naps or entire night rests in it. Don’t forget to incentivize them with treats.

Continue with this until your pet earmarks the enclosure as its new makeshift home.

From experience, we’ve found that it’s good practice to send your pets in their temporary housing to somewhere without the shake-ups that accompany the final D-day packing; could be your friend’s place or even the vet’s office. Once you’re through and ready to move simply pick them up and head off on your trip.

Planning your road or air trip

Road essentials

If you’re moving by road prepare to make a few pit stops on the way, this allows your pets time to pass out wastes. It’s also a good way for them to get a breath of fresh air. Don’t forget to pack up the water and food. And depending on the moving distance and your pet’s needs you might also require a few on-the-road pet care extras. AirHeart pet hospital recommends packing; a collapsible water bowl, extra dry kibbles and treats, a small blanket, extra poop bags, an empty water bottle, and prescription medications when traveling by air. This applies to land travels also.

Be conscious of where you place your pets as you drive, make certain that they are secured in place in a ventilated area and as far from the windows as is possible.

Moving by air

Unlike land trips, air travel can be a tad bit complex. Although many airlines do allow for under seat carriage of small pets, bigger pets will most likely fly as cargo. In both cases you’re required to pay a fee, the latter being more expensive. Note that depending on the carrier, many other rules and regulations still apply. Word on the marble from DR Patty Khuly of Vetstreet is to always verify your airline’s pet policies before the actual of day flight; ‘you’d be surprised at how much you need to know if you’re planning to take your pet aboard a plane,’ she says.

Finally, getting settled in

Sure, you might feel the need to slide onto your new couch and doze for hours on end. Moving is tiring, we understand, but the moment you arrive at your new home is perhaps when your pets need you most. The melange of new smells and scenery can be hard to take in at once, help it settle in by unpacking and setting up their space, ideally at the point you’d want it to be in the long term.

Once you’re rested completely, you can then go on to do some home touring and neighborhood sightseeing. By now your pet should be getting tuned to its new environment, and if that’s not the case, give it time, some pets might need a few more days to settle in properly.

In a few short weeks, holiday gluttony will give way to guilty feelings and itchy fingers.  That’s when we will all sit down to write a set of aspirational goals for 2018.  Working out more and spending more time with family are commendable objectives, but if you are disorganized, you often mismanage the time necessary to achieve these new goals.  Amy Esper, professional organizer, move manager and co-head of In Order to Succeed’s moving services in Sarasota, FL will let you in on five new habits that will improve your life quality and make the time it takes to get to the gym and play with your kids.

1. Don’t Let Guilt Hold you Captive to Things.

Being sentimental is commendable.  Holding onto everything that is sentimental is a slippery slope.  Throw away that shredded duck pillow that your mother had on her couch 20 years ago.  Your memories are with the person, and not the thing.  Share your stories of the fun you had on the couch chatting with your mom as you laid your head on that pillow.  It is not enough to put it in your basement or attic.  Get rid of it!  Slowly go through items that you stored and part with them.  Your loved ones will be so proud that you did!

2. Don’t Bargain Hunt for High End Moving Companies!

Frank Woolworth opened America’s first discount variety store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in June 1879.  Today there are over 250 discount chains worldwide and countless online stores constantly advertising sales.  Saving money on things you need is smart.  Buying things on sale that you don’t need is not.  Practice smart shopping.  Don’t go to the store without a list- even if it’s just in your head!  Resist the temptation to go off list.  You will have more money in your pocket and less clutter in your home to clean around.

3. Get your Children on the Chore Train.

It’s never too late to teach your kids to do for themselves.  Tired of making four beds in the morning or packing three lunches at night?  Me, too.  Start small and give your kids incentives.  For toddlers, get a jar and let them fill it with pennies after each completed task.  If your kids are older, increase their bedtime or curfew for chores well done.  New research shows that it takes 66 days to create a habit, so get going!  The kids will feel proud and you will have more time to do fun things with them. Check out our other tips on the Five Ways to be More Organized Parents.

4. Don’t Wait to Put Everything in its Place.

Stop putting things in temporary spaces.  When you walk in the door of your home or office, put everything in its place.  Your keys go in the dish or on the hook.  Your briefcase goes on your desk. Your coffee mug goes in the dishwasher.  Your shoes belong on their shelf and your clothing goes in your closet or in the dry-cleaning bin.  Why wait?  It’s only going to accumulate.  Keeping things in their place avoids the large clean ups that occur on the weekends when we want to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

5. Sell It!

Those kindles your kids bypassed for iPads?  The jeans you can’t quite squeeze into?  Don’t let them clutter your surroundings.  Recoup some money for them and make way for new hobbies you can share with your loved ones.  Facebook marketplace has replaced Craigslist as the best place to sell your goods locally.  You can post anything from an old camera to a car in less than five minutes.  It feels so great to free up space and get your items to people who will use them!  There is also a new game in town when it comes to clothing sales.  Move over eBay, the Poshmark app is here. Place your item for sale with a few clicks and when it sells, print the emailed label, package your item in envelopes (available for free at your post office) and place it in your mailbox.  The best part?  Poshmark allows you to transfer your earnings to your bank account in minutes!

Here at In Order To Succeed we’ve moved countless clients from state to state. We are at a point where not much surprises us – but every once in a while we encounter something new & add it to our arsenal of “learning experiences”.

Below five tips before you move that may not be at the top of your list, but preparing for them before an out-of-state move will save you time and ease your transition. Get these items out of the way so you can spend your time finding your favorite coffee shop, settling into to work, and enjoying your new home.

1) Utilities. Call your utilities companies at least a week ahead of your move-in date and find out what they need to make the switch. In one very significant learning experience, our client learned too late that they needed to visit the water provider IN PERSON (to get it switched on since it was a new account. The water company was a 45 minute drive away and they had no running water! Adding to that, it was 90 degrees and we had six movers, two toddlers, one babysitter, our team, and NO water which means…no operating toilets. We hope this never happens to you, or anyone.

2) Budget. Add an extra $3000 to your moving budget for the first few weeks of the move and just call it “unexpected costs”. You anticipate the big costs (moving trucks, flights, etc) but the little things add up too: tips for the movers, frequent take-out meals, babysitters while you decorate/unpack/run errands, start up fees for utilities, dump fees for garbage removal, first big grocery shop, etc. The list goes on.

3) DMV Requirements. You know you have to either drive or ship your car, but what about registration, licensing, etc. when you get there? Find out the DMV requirements ahead of time and make a plan for when you arrive. States have different requirements for registration transfers (i.e. you must change your registration within as little as 10 days upon establishing residency) so just google your local DMV and/or Tax Collector and make a plan.

4) Purge. In weeks before before you move – spend the time purging the things you don’t need: clothing you haven’t worn in years, old books, games, toys, electronics. If you aren’t using it now, you will not want to unpack it. Hire a professional organizer to help you do this. Their fees will be less than the cost to move all the items that will just to go back in storage. Unpacking is not fun for most people. The knowledge that you are unpacking only what you need and/or love is priceless.

5) Network. Join a local Social 5  prior to the move and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. This is a great way to find like-minded individuals. Be specific and you will be surprised at what’s out there (such as: New Moms, Tennis Groups, Dog Walking Clubs, Wine Lovers, Alumni Groups) and how willing people are to connect. If you don’t find what you are looking for – create it!

Finally, I’ll dispel a piece of advice I received when I left for college and that I’m still using. Say yes to everything for a while. Try new restaurants, make plans with new friends, take out that bucket list, talk to everyone, force yourself to get out there. You will make a new happy home for yourself, – you just have to say YES!

No move comes without unexpected challenges. Don’t stress over what could go wrong, anticipate potential hiccups. Moving tips to avoid to disasters.

You snagged a great job, found a good place to live and are thrilled to explore a new city. But every well-planned move isn’t without its unexpected challenges. Instead of pulling your hair out and stressing over what could go wrong, anticipate some of the potential hiccups so you can plan ahead. Here are a few moving tips that will help avoid disasters.

Buy Extra Boxes

It’s the day before your move and you just ran out of boxes and packing tape. But don’t freak out. There is a solution. U-Haul, hardware stores and office supply stores are open late and carry the supplies you need. To be proactive, buy more moving supplies than you need, and then return whatever you don’t use. Just make sure you keep your receipts.

Hire Movers

Admit it. You laughed last week when you watched Tom guilt his friends into helping him move on “Parks and Recreation.” And then you laughed even harder when he goes on a huge power trip watching them carry his things. Of course, you are not like this to your friends, so you’re wondering where everyone went on the day of your move. Other than your bestie, all your other friends are suddenly “busy.” Avoid this disaster by hiring your own help. Besides having bodies to carry boxes, professionals are better at packing and handling fragile items. After all, you don’t want your one of your friends to accidentally drop your grandmother’s antique tea set.

Build in Cushion Days

The paperwork takes forever, your daughter has a mental breakdown and the cat goes missing. Then, Mother Nature throws you a curve ball and it starts to rain. There are any number of things that can delay your move. Anticipate this before it happens, and build in a few cushion days so you don’t have to hurry to get into your new place. Although it’s difficult to plan for unexpected delays, making lists and staying organized can help. And when it comes to weather, plan for the worst. Have ponchos, gloves, jackets and whatever else you need depending on the weather you face in your city. Regardless of all your preparations, having a few extra days built in can drastically reduce your stress about getting to your new place on time.

Rent a Bigger Truck

You’ve done all the legwork. Your boxes are organized, labeled and ready to be loaded onto the truck. But no matter how you stack the boxes, there isn’t enough room for all your stuff. To avoid this situation, rent a bigger truckprior to moving. You tend to underestimate the amount of stuff you’ve collected over the years, but it adds up quickly. Although the cost may be a little more, it is worth avoiding this headache on moving day.

Moving is about the details. Make lists, use labels and pack ahead of time to cut down on last-minute stress. But don’t forget to keep the big picture in mind. Unexpected hurdles will happen, so try to keep it all in perspective.

Moving clear across the country can seem daunting. From packing up your home to the long drive, it’s difficult to keep everything organized. And you don’t want to forget anything! So how can you keep all your ducks in a row? Here are some moving tips to make your cross-country move less stressful.

Packing

Leave some baggage behind. Go through all the things you own — from furniture to clothes — and decide what you really need. Got crates and crates of books you’ll never read again? Take them to a local used bookstore. Clothes you haven’t worn since 1980? Donate them to Goodwill. If you have items that might be worth something, hold a moving sale or list items on Craigslist or Ebay. Craigslist tends to work better in cities where demand is high. Ebay works best in rural areas, though consider shipping costs and logistics before posting.

Sometimes it’s difficult to part with nostalgic or sentimental items, but part of moving is letting go of the past and finding something new. The less you have, the less you’ll have to haul across the country. Parting ways with some of your less-than-essential possessions helps you prioritize and focus on what really matters.

Your Car

While moving cross-country, your car is your tool. You wouldn’t try to cut down a tree with a dull or rusty chainsaw, so why would you try to drive a car on a long trip without a tune up? An oil change, new spark plugs and maybe even some new tires are a good idea before you hit the open road.

Old tires can be a safety hazard — especially if they’ve ever experienced extreme weather conditions — and cause you loads of time and trouble. Check the wear of your tires by measuring the tread using a penny. With so much on your mind already, you don’t want a distraction like a blowout or flat.

If you’re moving somewhere rural, all-terrain tires might be a good idea. All-terrain tires are smooth on paved roads, but also have the tread to handle muddy and rocky tracks. Order them online from a retailer like TireBuyer, and have them delivered to a specialist for easy installation before you leave.

Your Route

Plot out your route. By having defined directions, you’ll save yourself worry, time and money. Getting lost can slow you down, waste gas and be stressful if you end up on shady roads in unfamiliar cities. With an in-car GPS navigation system, you’ll take the most efficient route.

Along the way, call in some favors. Friends, family, family friends — you can save money on hotels and visit people. Don’t let the experience of moving go by too fast. Take a few days off and enjoy the trip. If you’re moving to a city without permanent house plans in mind, arrange a temporary place to stay before you get into town. A friend or inexpensive hotel can be your base of operations until you get your bearings.

About In Order to Succeed Staff

In Order to Succeed is a full service Professional Organizing firm providing Home and Business Organizing Solutions, Moving/Relocation Coordination Assistance and Time Management help to people throughout New York (NY) and Connecticut (CT) and across the US. Our Professional Organizers, Relocation Specialists, and Productivity Experts will make your home and office more efficient and attractive. We can help create a zen-like, less stressful environment giving you the time and calm to focus what you enjoy. Our Professional Organizers and Project Managers can work with you to declutter your home, office or calendar ~ creating sustainable systems to simplify your life and keep it organized and clutter-free. You’ll find that you will boost productivity, save time, and optimize your resources. If you are moving from your home or office we’ll facilitate this process and plan your move with you by obtaining moving quotes, providing packing assistance, coordinating the sale or donation of unwanted possessions. We’ll work with you and your movers to help you work through the details and get you and your family settled into your new home. We assist clients who wish to organize an office, tame their paper piles and manage technology. Organizing and removing clutter is our specialty whether at home or work so we’ll take on projects that you don’t have the time, interest or resources to do yourself. Whether you’re a homemaker, business executive, small business owner, senior or student – we’ll show you how to become more productive and recapture balance & time. In Order to Succeed offers a wide array of professional services and organizing solutions so let us take the stress and complexity out of your life by turning over any home, business or relocation project to us.

If you’re getting ready to move, you have some big decisions to make. One of them is figuring out which items to take with you and what to leave behind or sell. These tips can help you decide what to keep when moving:

Appliances

There is no broad-brush explanation as to when major household appliances should be replaced. The 5-10-15 rule, by Stanford University doctoral candidate Rachel Adams, is a good starting point:

Keep any refrigerator, washer or dryer that is less than five years old.
Consider replacing 10-year-old appliances after calculating their daily energy consumption. Refrigerators, for instance, can account for up to one-fifth of monthly electric bills. Replacing an old refrigerator with a newer model that is Energy Star-compliant could drop your monthly electric bills substantially and pay for itself within a few years. EnergySavings.com features four steps to estimating energy usage.
Replace any appliance that is more than 15 years old.
Another factor to consider is storage costs. The more appliances you keep, the larger storage facility you’ll need while between homes. A 10 X 10 unit costs around $70 per month (depending on where you live), whereas a 10 X 20 will be double that amount. But if the items you’re storing are worth keeping, then the price difference doesn’t matter.

The best time to buy new appliances is late September and October when retailers are introducing the latest models and slashing prices on last year’s merchandise. Holiday deals, particularly Black Friday and the days following Christmas, are also good times to find bargains.

Furniture

We typically buy furniture based on the space in which it will be placed, and your old furniture may not fit physically or aesthetically in your new home. But you can always make current furnishings feel new to you.

First consider the quality and sentimental value of your furniture before deciding to reupholster. The labor and materials that go into reupholstering can equal the cost of buying new furniture in some cases. If it’s the couch that you and your spouse had your first kiss on, then perhaps you’ll want to keep it. The same goes for a comfortable bed that you fall asleep on as soon as your head hits the pillow.

But don’t reupholster a couch or chair with wobbly legs and a cheap wood frame. Vitian Robinson, who owns a reupholstery business in Indianapolis, told Angie’s List that many furniture manufacturers have lowered their wood standards in recent years. Today they use materials that would have been deemed garbage for furniture 20 years ago. In other words, if your furniture is relatively new, it’s usually better to replace it than restore it.

New Additions

Moving to a new home usually means more space. Now is the time to decide on some new items you’ve always wanted, but never had the square footage to make happen. Hot tubs are not only great for relaxation and pain relief, but are also conversation and party starters. An exercise bike or elliptical trainer can help you take control of your health and eliminate gym membership fees.

Moving can be a stressful, drawn-out process. But having a picture in your mind as to what your new home will look like when finished is a great motivator.

“Domestic migration” is on the rise and has been the highest in five years. In 2012, about 16.9 million people moved to a new county. As the nation’s economy recovers, more Americans are on the move. Home prices are lower, and the number of people moving within the U.S. is up 5 percent from 2010, reports USA Today. Whether you’re moving to a new town or across the country, moving (and packing!) is a taxing undertaking. If you’re headed to a new home, be prepared and stay organized with these packing tips to ensure a stress-free moving experience with as few disasters as possible.

Plan Early

Waiting until the last minute to pack is easy to do, but if you start early, you’ll be less rushed and stressed. And on a tight deadline, you be less likely to strategically categorize items. Items can get misplaced, or lost forever, at the new house. Martha Stewart’s Website offers moving and packing checklists that can map out the packing process, keeping you organized and on track even months before the move. At least two months before moving, start to sort, organize, de-clutter and downsize. Then create an inventory and gather the moving materials — even ship discount moving boxes directly to your doorstep to conveniently collect the essential moving supplies.

Clean Before The Move

Without proper packing, unpacking can turn into a miserable experience. Simplify the unpacking process and ensure all items are clean and dust-free before they’re boxed. It may be faster to pack everything as-is and worry about cleaning dirty things later. But you’ll be happy, and less stressed, to unpack clean items in your new home. Also, try to visit your new home a few days before you move-in for a preliminary clean in the bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms. Dust, dead bugs, and cobwebs are common in vacant homes, and it can become overwhelming to clean as you are trying to unpack and get settled.

Prepare Large & Delicate Items

Your over-sized belongings like mirrors and televisions are bulky and easily breakable. Maneuvering these items throughout your move can be complicated and time-consuming. Use quilted furniture pads to wrap and safeguard these large items, recommends Real Simple. Special wooden crates can help you safely and efficiently ship televisions and other large breakables as well. For extra padding, use heavy blankets or fill large trash bags with soft items like stuffed animals, towels and pillows to help protect your delicate belongings and keep them clean.

If you’re moving large electronics, landscaping tools, and equipment or vehicles, such as a motorcycle or ATV, that need a new part or to be repaired, wait until you arrive at your new home to mitigate extra hassle. Your lawn mower or dirt bike is susceptible to damage during the move. You can even order parts or accessories online before you move and have the components delivered to your new address.

Label & Organize Boxes

Take the time to label and create an inventory of your boxes. The organization is a time-saver for when you’re unpacking and can’t find a television cable or drinking glasses. Inventory helps track smaller items likely to get lost. Also, label and organize boxes by room and categories to help make unpacking more efficient. Right before moving day, pack belongings that you’ll need immediately in a clear plastic container so you can see and access these essentials quickly.