3 Packing Mistakes Home Buyers Make (And What To Do Instead)

There are many stressful elements about buying a home, but some are more obvious than others. Most people expect their cortisol levels to rise when they’re frantically working to have their bid accepted, for instance.

Once the deal is all but gone through, many people assume that the journey to moving into their home will be mostly smooth sailing. But actually, it’s often just before moving day that one of the most stressful elements, having to move an entire home’s worth of belongings, kicks in.

Packing and moving your items is rarely a walk in the park, but there are ways to make the process considerably easier to manage. In this post, we’ve put together a few of the most common mistakes, as well as their solutions. 

Not Starting Way Ahead of the Move

Trying to do anything is more stressful when you feel that you’re racing against the clock. When it comes to moving, you’ll have a deadline for having everything packed up, but you’ll also likely have time on your hands. It can take months for property deals to go through, and that gives you a great opportunity to get a major head start on packing. There’s no reason not to start as early as you can, even two to three months ahead of the move.

Packing Things They’ll Never Use Again

It can be difficult to move your all-important items from your current home to your new property, but at least you’ll know that it’s worth it. What’s not worth it is moving items that you may never use again. That’s just unnecessarily giving yourself extra work at a time when you already have a lot on your plate.

Decluttering your home well in advance of moving day can make the moving process a lot easier to handle. To begin, look at donating or selling items that are still in good condition, but which you no longer need. For bulky items that you can’t sell/donate, there are dumpsters for easy cleanup that can streamline the decluttering process, especially since many rental companies will pick up the dumpster and dispose of the items for you. Through both these methods, you’ll be amazed at how much stuff you can throw out — and remember, every item that you clear out is an item that you won’t have to transport with you. 

Waiting Too Late To Arrange Movers

Hiring movers is the best way to reduce moving-related stress, but only if the right movers are hired. Hiring the wrong ones can actually make the process even worse, since they may show up late (or not at all) or damage your items in transit.

Many homebuyers put off hiring a moving company because they already have a lot on their plates, but it’s important to remember that the best-rated movers will likely be fully booked up many weeks — or even months — in advance. As such, it’s recommended to book your movers as soon as you know your moving date. Most well-rated movers make it as easy as possible to make a booking on their website, which means the booking process can take as little as a few minutes.