Moving could be a source of great joy; it could mean that you finally got your dream job in another city, or you just closed on your dream home and you can’t wait to move. Nevertheless, despite your excitement at the thought of taking this huge step, you might be feeling some underlying frustration at having to pack your belongings in preparation for moving into another home.

We’re aware that moving can be very stressful, but there are ways to survive it without going through the attendant stress associated with this process.

Check out these seven hacks on how best to manage the stress associated with moving into a new home:

#1: Organize a Purge.

There’s nothing as stressful as clutter especially when you’re in the process of moving. Reduce the number of junks in your closets and you’ll be surprised at how much relief you get from that simple action. You can also reduce the clutter around your home by arranging those things you don’t need into a pile of three; toss, sell and donate.

The valuable or big-ticket items can be classified under your “sell” pile. Take pictures of those items and have them listed on Craigslist, Facebook or eBay.  And if the weather permits, you can also organize a yard sale.

You can also donate some of the items to Goodwill or even a local thrift store around you. This way you get to reduce clutter and get some tax deduction. Another option is to hand down some of the items to family members or friends.

Then recycle or throw away those items that are damaged beyond redemption.

This is probably the most enjoyable part of this entire process: Consume the contents of your pantry and refrigerator. You can spend the weeks leading to your move getting creative with the contents of your fridge and creating meals from what you find in your cupboard.

#2: Clear out your Calendar

Another way in which you can handle the stress of moving is to map out time on your calendar to be devoted exclusively to the task at hand. You can get somebody to watch your kids (could be a family member), to give you the time you need to concentrate on that singular task.

You could clear your schedule for an entire weekend or take some time off work. Packing continuously for hours is a lot more effective than trying to fit this task in between other activities.

You can also get your friends and family to help if they’re available. Bribe them if you have to, by promising them dinner or whatever you think will catch their fancy.

#3: Gather Boxes

One of the most cost effective and convenient ways to pack is to rent plastic moving totes. They will come delivered right to your home and the company will pick them up when you are done unpacking. But if you want to keep stuff in storage then the traditional cardboard box may be a good option too.

Start gathering boxes and newspapers weeks before your move. You’re probably wondering if it is possible to get print media in today’s world of electronic media, don’t worry they still exist. You can get free copies of your community newspaper from your local grocery store. (it could be something as simple as those weekly tabloids that provide information on the happenings around town.)

You can also ask your friends for left over boxes from previous moves. Or visit retail outlets or grocery stores and ask for some of the boxes they use for unpacking their inventory. Outlets like CostCo and Trader Joes, always have a good number of those boxes.

And if you can afford it, you can purchase boxes from any of the shipping and packing stores around or from any home-improvement store around. Purchasing these boxes means you get to use standard sized boxes (ranging between small and large sizes, and sold in 3-4 sizes), which are usually easier to load and stack.

#4: Plan Ahead

As with everything else in life, you need a good strategic plan to help organize your packing. An example of a good plan is to move from one room to the next, methodically packing the contents of each room. You can start by packing up the living room before moving to the bedroom.

Allocate a suitcase where you can keep items that your family will need to access immediately, like toothbrush, socks and clean underwear for each person. In essence, you’ll be packing what appears to be a vacation suitcase separate from the other items.

Label all the boxes according to the rooms they were packed. This makes it easier for you to know what goes where when you’re arranging the boxes into their assigned places in your new home.

#5: Keep Your Valuables Safe

Nobody wants to start their journey in their new home searching for their valuables like passport or wedding ring! This is probably one of the most stressful aspects of moving!

Make sure your valuables are kept safe in a secure location; it could be on your person (by securing it in a money belt to be worn around your waist), or inside a purse or even inside a safe-deposit box in a bank.

#6: Set Adequate Time and Deadlines For Yourself

There are few things as stressful as having to pack your things when the time allocated for packing is limited. This can be very frustrating.

You can avoid this be allocating enough time to enable you make a smooth transition. This could mean paying “double mortgages” or “double rent” for a few weeks. But this will give you much needed time – which will definitely help reduce stress.

You can also give yourself some mini-deadlines. Set a daily target for yourself, you can make up your mind to work at least two hours daily or pack one room each day.

#7: Learn To Delegate

Delegating or outsourcing is a great way to release stress. You can check out online sources like Craigslist or Facebook where you can hire people to help you. Make sure they start by packing off the big stuff like furniture. You can even hire neighbors or coworkers.

Two heads are definitely better than one in this situation, and when you’re packing you need as many pair of hands as you can get.

#Bonus Tip: Sell Your House with the Least Amount of Stress

A lot of the stress of moving is tied up in the real estate deal itself. When you are showing the house and trying to pack belonging at the same time can become so stressful. Then you have real estate agents calling you and giving you one hour notice to have the house ready to show. That gets old quick. The real stress happens when you get a contract on your house and the deal falls through because of repairs that need done to the property. Real estate contracts give buyers a way out of the deal if their is any decent amount of repairs. The problem is most houses need some repair and fixing up before selling and if you are not willing to to this then selling to a we buy houses company in Tulsa may be a good option. For example if your house needs $20k in foundation repair, $20k in cosmetic upgrades, and a $15k new roof, then you are a good candidate for selling to an investor. You will likely not get any traditional buyers with all those repairs. So meet with a local house buyer and save yourself the stress of the traditional selling process.

We designed some local football schedules for everyone…ENJOY!
Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kansas Jayhawks and Arkansas Razorbacks

Don’t forget to rent our easy to pack totes when it’s time to move!!

 

Tulsa is a beautiful town. Very clean but yet industrious. Here is a perfect shot of the downtown area with some slight graphic effects and typography. Feel free to download the high quality version to print off or use as a screensaver for you phone or computer. Just click the download link below… all we ask is that you support us by liking our Facebook! And don’t forget…you will SAVE TIME & MONEY when you rent moving boxes with us!

Download Downtown Tulsa Picture

 

We have a poster printer so if you want this as a 20″x16″ poster just let us know. Only $15

 

Not everyone can keep a house super organized and clean. If you can, then good for you, but for the rest of us (with more than 1 kid) our goal is to pull off the appearance of clean.

If you’re like me the biggest issue isn’t the grown up stuff, it’s the kids mess. Now that Christmas is past I bet the toys are scattered everywhere at your house. This can make showing your home to potential buyers even more difficult. Then when you get a last second call that someone want to view your house, you have to turn into super-maid to get the house presentable. Then after all that hustle the mess comes back out.

You can’t throw away all the toys, but some toys don’t have great value and you can trash them. We all have countless Happy Meal toys spread around the house, yard, and minivan that we can discard. Then there are the toys that they don’t play with but has sentimental value. That’s your call. I like to keep that kind of stuff in a box of its own where the kids can’t get to it till after the move.

But what about books, Legos, Ninja Turtles, GI Joes, Army-Men, Barbies and My Little Ponies scattered abroad? It may be worth your while to invest in some storage boxes or wooden chests that add character to their room and makes for a quick place to throw everything into when the last minute call to show your house happens. Also consider bins or play tables with storage areas underneath them.

Remember, it’s all about the “Appearance of Clean”. Below is a link to some pictures of great storage ideas for your kids rooms.

And don’t forget to rent our moving boxes when your Tulsa home sells. See HOW IT WORKS!

Pinterest Images of Kids Toy Storage Ideas

 

 

 

Making your house look spotless and de-cluttered should be one of the first steps before you take pictures and put your Tulsa home on the market.

Over the years our homes can become a big storage facility for oddball stuff we like to collect. Maybe you like to hit the awesome Tulsa garage sales every weekend. You then come home with a little bit extra junk to store somewhere in your living room, bedrooms, or kitchens each week. I know from experience that much of the stuff we get at sales or on clearance we hardly use. In fact we many times end up giving them away later.

Then there’s the furniture we collect. It’s nice to have a well furnished house but if all the furnishings don’t complement each other then it can be an eye sore. Perhaps selling a chair or some old shelves may be what’s in order.
Putting stuff on Tulsa’s craigslist is a great way to make some money and get rid of clutter. Or you can give it to the Goodwill and get a donation receipt to write off on your taxes.

The whole point is to make your space seem bigger and cleaner by eliminating pieces that take up space and don’t add to the overall decor of that space. A good place to get ideas on what a good staged house should look like is from HGTV. Check out these Home staging tips and visual ideas to make your house more appealing so it sells fast.

But what if your home is beyond repair. Perhaps the repairs are just too much money. Or maybe because of a job transfer you have to sell your house fast. Maybe you inherited a Tulsa property and don’t have the money to fix it up. If you find yourself in this scenario then it may be best just to sell your Tulsa house as-is to a local Tulsa real estate company or investor. It has saved many sleepless nights to sell a house this way.

I hope these ideas and options have been helpful and can get you started on your decision to de-clutter a home or just sell it fast as-is.