Moving During the Holidays - Tips Guide

 

If moving wasn't stressful enough, the holidays add extra stress to those moving during this season.  Combine moving and the holidays together and your level of stress could shoot through the roof. But circumstances can make a holiday move necessary, and some people prefer to move during the holidays when they can more easily take time away from work and school.
 

If you are planning a residential move during the holiday season, take extra measures to reduce your stress and make the move a joyous journey toward a new beginning. Here are a few tips to help:

 

• Hire a reliable, certified ProMover as early as possible. ProMover is the American Moving and Storage Association’s consumer protection and certification program designed to help consumers identify quality, professional movers. Dodge Moving & Storage is a certified ProMover.  By only hiring residential movers with the AMSA certification, you can avoid becoming the victim of a moving scam. Keep in mind that some movers prefer not to make long distance moves during the holidays; many others are short of staff.

• If you are moving right before Christmas, put extra thought into packing. When combining the busy holiday season with a move, you may prefer to only unpack necessary household items in your new home until after the holidays pass. If that is a possibility, pack and label those items separately from ones you won’t likely need until after the holidays. Keep holiday decorations and gift wrapping materials in boxes separate from your household items. If you already started shopping for gifts, keep those separate, too, along with your decorations and wrapping materials.
   
• Don’t let the moving process damper your spirit. Play holiday music while packing and do your best to create a festive atmosphere – yes, even while moving.
• If you have young children, put together a box of age-appropriate holiday coloring books, puzzles and other activities to keep them occupied. Also make sure they understand that Santa will find them in their new home. They may be worried, yet not mention it.
• Take time out to relax, watch a holiday film, bake cookies, or simply soak in the tub. Consider the quote by Jill Bolte Taylor: “To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” Although moving during the holiday season creates more chaos than normal, it helps to keep the quote in mind.

Have other holiday moving tips? Share them by leaving a comment below!