Moving stress is often ranked as one of the top sources of stress that people experience, alongside big-ticket stress items such as the death of a loved one, divorce, and job loss. It’s easy to understand why moving is stressful — there’s a lot of planning, preparing, and exhausting heavy lifting to deal with, not to mention the emotional toll of leaving a place you’ve called home for years. People living in Canada move, on average, between 5-6 times throughout their lives. We think it’s important to take some time before you move to plan your own stress management as part of your moving planning, so we’ve created this guide with our best tips on dealing with moving stress.
Here are our top 5 tips for managing your stress levels before, during, and after your move!
Accept that moving is stressful, and plan for it
This may sound obvious because you already know that moving is stressful. But knowing and accepting are two different things, and it’s natural to fight against future stress for something that hasn’t happened yet. No one wants to be stressed out, after all! Once you accept that this is a normal part of moving, it will be easier for you to recognize and deal with stress leading up to moving day, during the move, and even afterward.
You know better than anyone how you react to stress, so take some time to be mindful of what issues you need to be aware of when it comes to your stress on moving day. Ask yourself questions. Do you shut down when stressed? Do you lash out or feel angry? Do you lose focus? When you know what reactions to expect from yourself, you can identify those feelings when they’re coming up and plan to bring your stress levels down before they climb too high.
Create a game plan to set expectations for every step of the move
Knowledge is power, and one of the best ways to mitigate stress on moving day is to plan ahead. If you know what to expect, you have a much better chance of knowing how to deal with the unpredictable little snags and changes that come with complex events such as moving. We recommend our Ultimate Moving Checklist to help you plan as early as a month out from moving day. If you’re moving with your family, get everyone involved in the planning so you’re all on the same page. This is also a great way to distribute responsibilities such as who’s going to mind pets, check that windows are closed at the old place, do a final sweep for left behind items, and direct boxes at the new house.
Plan your budget (and plan wiggle-room within that budget)
We can probably all agree that money is one of the biggest stressors in our lives, full-stop. Planning a detailed moving budget is going to help you avoid increasing financial stress during an already-stressful time. You should add a bit of wiggle-room in your budget for unexpected extra costs, and make sure you even include small purchases like ordering post-move takeout. By the time you’re crossing that finish line, any cost that isn’t built in to the budget has the potential to feel ten times more stressful than it should.
Adding wiggle-room might not feel great in the beginning, but with any luck you’ll come in under budget — and if not, at least you’ll be relieved that you planned for the extra costs!
Hire a Moving Company
It’s normal to go back-and-forth on whether or not you want to take on the cost of hiring movers, and we understand that! If you really want to avoid as much stress as possible on moving day, hiring movers is a fantastic option. Professional movers are trained and experienced to move your items quickly and safely. You don’t want to spend 45 minutes figuring out how to pivot your sofa around a stairwell corner when local movers could get that job done in 5, for example!
If you have room in your budget for the cost of hiring a moving company, we can’t recommend it enough.
Take care of your health
When there are stressful events on the horizon, we tend to stop taking care of our needs in favour of convenience and focusing our energy entirely on the upcoming event. Make sure you don’t do this during the period of time in which you’re preparing to move. Keep yourself hydrated, eat proper nutrient-rich meals, and make sure you’re taking care of your sleep schedule. Even if you’re on a tight timeline, working on little sleep is going to result in you being stressed out, packing and prepping far less efficiently, and possibly even harming your health. In short, you’ll have a better overall moving experience if you prioritize your personal well-being!
At the end of the day, moving will come with its own unique set of stressors. By planning ahead, you can avoid unnecessary additional stresses. Lean on your community for support when needed — your family and friends are going to want to be there for you, so take them up on it!
Ready to book? Get in touch with our Move Coordinators for your quote by clicking here!