Household relocation planning
California Relocation Services can provide many services to help make moving easier. These can include helping with the actual move, or simply helping to make the process less of a hassle. Depending on the situation, it may be beneficial to only use a California Relocation Service for a few services instead of using one to completely move. Some of these services may include:
- Sorting belongings room by room
- Making a list of valuable/important items
- Helping with coordinating transportation/packing
- Coordinating recycling/donation/drop off services for unwanted items
- Preparing your home for rental/sale/new tenants/owners
- Helping unpack/set up rooms once moved
Plan Beyond the Packed Boxes
Relocation help isn’t just about getting things packed up in boxes and moving them to a new location. It may involve figuring out where heirlooms or other personal items should go, how to best utilize the rooms in the new space, deciding what to keep, getting important items/documents packed up safely, figuring out how to best utilize the help of friends/family, coordinating donations or other ways to get rid of things you no longer want, etc.; the practical side of this Los Angeles Relocating and Moving team from Caring Transitions starts there.
There are a lot of little things involved in a move, especially if you have lived in a home long enough to collect lots of items or if your family dynamic is in flux. Having help with making a game plan and timeline, even just to start with, can help take some of the stress out of the situation so that things don’t snowball in the last week before you have to move.
Decide What Fits Your New Space
Household moving supplies
When downsizing, it’s easy to want to bring everything with you since it won’t fit in the new location. That’s understandable, especially when it comes to large furniture items that may have sentimental value (I bookmarked https://www.jstor.org/stable/2489522 for this), but may not be practical in your new situation. Downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean getting rid of things, however, it just means figuring out what makes sense to bring with you.
Consider accessibility, storage space, furniture size, how you go about your day-to-day life, etc. to determine what should go with you to your new home. If you need help downsizing or sorting through things, try to tackle the easy decisions first (duplicates, items that are broken, things that are expired, clothes that don’t fit, etc.) and leave the more emotionally-charged items for last.
Consider if you have a need for the item, or if it’s more of a sentiment item, take pictures of some items instead of keeping them all, give some items away to friends/family, or find other ways to showcase certain items instead of taking them with you just because that’s the way things have always been done.
Start with the things you will use right away after moving, like kitchen items, medication, clothes, paperwork, favorite things for comfort, etc. and work your way out from there. Figuring out what you need to function in your day-to-day life can help make moving easier, especially if you can get those things set up first thing once you get to the new space.
Coordinate the Move From Start to Finish
Whether you’re getting help from family/friends, a realtor, professional cleaners, donation services, moving companies, etc. there are a lot of moving parts involved when it comes to coordinating a move. If no one is keeping track of everything that needs to be done, things can easily fall through the cracks or get done multiple times by different people.
This could be anything from setting up utilities to making sure boxes are labeled to having rooms ready for furniture to be delivered. It can help to have someone coordinating everyone’s efforts, especially if family/friends are out of town and can’t be there for every step in the process.
Try to plan ahead as much as possible to avoid last minute decisions. Ideally, it can help to start the process a month out from your moving date, if at all possible.
Set Up the Essentials First
Once you get to your new space, set up the essentials first, like the bed, items for the bathroom, kitchen, phones/chargers, important paperwork, etc. so you can easily find them. From there, arrange furniture to make sure there’s ample walking space and it’s functional for you.
Reassess any items you thought you needed but realize you may not need/want to deal with unpacking, as needed. It’s better to do this right away than deal with unpacked boxes for months!
Not everyone’s needs are the same when it comes to moving assistance, some people need help with the entire process, some need help just sorting through belongings, some need help with just part of the process, etc. The best way to get started is to take inventory of your space and belongings, and note any sticking points to help determine what kind of assistance would be most helpful for you!