What You Need To Consider Before A Long-Distance Move

Making that long-distance move is an exciting venture for anyone, but it’s also a stressful one.

From the moment you start to pack your first box, to the last minute, panic may set in around whether you remembered everything when you arrive at your new home.

Moving over a long distance can leave even well-prepared individuals pulling out their hair. When it comes to any move, the key is preparation – whether you’re looking for international parcel services to ship some of your things or are seeking out a moving service to get your stuff from A to B, knowing what to expect can help everything go much more smoothly. To help you get started, here’s what you need to consider before your long-distance move!

Make A Plan Before You Even Start Packing

While labelling the box with its designated room or contents is usually a pretty safe bet, planning takes a little more than that. You need to work out what needs to be packed first and last, what you’ll need access to first and last, and ideally, you need to develop a system before you start, too.

Go room by room, and make sure that as you go, you’re organising them into things you want to keep and pack, things you want to sell, things you want to donate or give away, and stuff that can just be thrown away – by following this system while you’re packing, you’ll save yourself valuable room and ensure that you aren’t leaving yourself more work when you arrive.

Don’t Be Afraid To Be A Little Ruthless

Linked to our first point, it’s okay to be ruthless when it comes to throwing things away or putting them aside for donation or selling. In fact, we encourage it.

When you’re moving long-distance, it’s likely that it’ll be easier and probably cheaper to move less and re-buy stuff when you arrive than it will take everything with you. It’ll also be a lot less stressful! We collect junk over the years, and chances are a good 50% of it hasn’t even been looked at in the past 12 months. Use the ‘one-year’ rule – if you haven’t used it or even looked at it within a year, then you might as well throw it away!

Make Sure You’re Packing Everything Properly

Correct and clever packing might mean that you have to take more boxes, but it’ll also save you from having to deal with any breakages or damage upon arrival to your new home. Brand new, sturdy cardboard boxes are a good place to start, and ensuring that they’re filled with packing peanuts or bubble wrap around the items inside will stop them from breaking or getting jostled too much during transit.

Make sure that you leave room for a layer of padding around the edges of the box inside, too – this will provide extra peace of mind knowing that you’re items aren’t going to be damaged by your travel.

Let The Right People Know

Your long-distance move is much more than just picking up your stuff and moving it abroad – you’re leaving a life behind. As a result, you’ll need to let a whole list of people know that you’re leaving and, in some cases, where you’re going too. These people can include utility providers, your employer, your doctor, your dentist, your bank, your credit card company, insurance companies and even the postal service. This will once again save you a lot of stress when you arrive at your new location!

Don’t Do It On Your Own

As tempting as it might seem to do it all on your own and save money on a removal service, believe us when we say that getting help from a professional is an investment well worth making.

Many of these companies provide packing services for your valuables and your furniture and will often deal with all of the customs forms and other paperwork that you might need to travel. If nothing else, they can help you carry the boxes from the van to the house, and trust us when we say you’ll appreciate the help!

Moving over a long-distance can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be.

While there are some stresses, you might not be able to escape, having a better idea of what you’re going to be facing can help you better prepare and hopefully, this post has helped you find your starting point!