The worst part of downsizing is often moving day. Downsizing families do not always have a problem cleaning out and making plans for a new home. They don’t always experience the pain that comes with leaving behind a home they’ve lived in for decades. But nearly every family we’ve worked with in a downsizing situation feels at least a little stress on moving day. It comes with the package.
We are happy to be able to assist downsizing families with a variety of services, including help on moving day. We truly enjoy making moving day as easy and stress-free as possible. We invite you to contact us if you are facing a pending downsizing situation. We would be happy to help.
In the meantime, here are a handful of tips for making moving day a bit more enjoyable:
1. Get Plenty of Rest
One of the worst things you could do in preparation for moving day is not rest the night before. Conversely, one of the best things you can do is get to bed early. Getting enough rest will go a long way towards making moving day more enjoyable.
Along those lines, make sure you don’t do anything to interrupt your sleep. Your mind will already be racing as you think about all those last-minute things that still need to be done. Do not make it worse by drinking coffee in the evening, eating chocolate, or spending time on your mobile device just before bed. Do everything you can to make sure you’ll be able to sleep once your head hits the pillow.
2. Have Drinks and Snacks on Hand
Food has this funny way of making us feel better in stressful situations, doesn’t it? Knowing that, it is a good idea to have drinks and snacks on hand throughout the day. A pot of coffee and a box of donuts is a good way to start the morning. A cold cut plate with some sandwich rolls works well for the midday hours, followed by a pizza and some soda in the evening.
The idea here is to offer drinks and snacks that can be consumed without interrupting the flow of work. In other words, you don’t want to stop for huge a sit-down meal when you’re trying to get the truck unloaded. A better idea is to grab a slice of pizza and eat on the go.
3. Designate Some Leaders
This next suggestion is one that often engenders disagreement. Nonetheless, here it is: designate one or two key people to be leaders for the day. Why? Because if no one is designated to make final decisions, there will be a plethora of decisions that never get made. The entire crew will be standing around doing nothing because no one can decide what to do.
We have found it helpful to designate one person to take charge of loading the truck and another person to manage how things are carried out of the house. On the other end, the two swap positions. Just designating two people to make decisions really tightens things up.
4. Make a Point to Have Fun
Lastly, we all know that moving day comes with a lot of hard work. There might even be some sweat and tears involved. That’s fine but make a point to have some fun while you’re working. Crack a few jokes, make some silly faces, etc. By making an effort to keep things light-hearted, you’ll reduce the stress that naturally comes with moving.
If you are planning to downsize this year, moving day will be here faster than you think. Start getting ready as soon as you can. And if you need help, do not hesitate to contact us.