Tag: moving

5 Things You Need to Do Before Moving Into a New Home

Written by Marybeth Heckler on February 26, 2023. Posted in Homeowner.

Congratulations on your new home! Owning your own home is a significant accomplishment and a thrilling milestone in life.

Tips for Moving with Children

Written by Marybeth Heckler on July 24, 2022. Posted in Motherhood.

Moving to a new home can be an exciting but challenging experience for children. Children often form strong bonds with their environment and may feel a sense of loss and insecurity when they leave the familiar surroundings of their home. As a parent, it’s essential to provide support and guidance to help your children cope with the change.

Tips for Moving with Your Pets

Written by Marybeth Heckler on February 6, 2022. Posted in Homeowner.

Moving to a new home can be a daunting and overwhelming experience for both you and your pets. Pets can experience stress and anxiety due to the changes in their environment, routines, and daily interactions with their owners.

The Best Way to Unpack When Moving into Your New Home

Written by Marybeth Heckler on August 2, 2020. Posted in Homeowner.

There’s only one thing worse than having to pack up your house for a move and that’s getting to your new house and being faced with stacks of unopened boxes. But don’t worry about that—there’s actually a way to get yourself organized so that the process won’t be as bad as you imagine.

Here are steps you need to take so you don’t end up finding unopened boxes months after your move:

Organize Before Your Move — The first thing you need to do is get organized before you even move. When you pack up your house, be sure to label every box. It should include the room (kitchen, master bedroom, guest bathroom, etc.), the number of the box (Box 5 out of 6), and whether or not the items are essential. This last one is important. Prioritize what boxes you know need to be opened and unpacked immediately so you have a starting point when you arrive.
Clean Your New House — Before you get started unpacking, clean everything in your new house. Once you unpack everything, it will be harder to get down into the nooks and crannies and get things cleaned up. Also, do anything you would like to start off with like lining your cabinets and cupboards for easier clean up later.
Open the Priority Boxes — Before you tackle specific rooms, make sure that you open up those boxes you deemed as essentials. This should include anything that you know you will absolutely, positively have to have in the first day or two. Then, you can move on room-by-room.
Start in the Kitchen — You’ll hear a lot of different debates about which area you need to start with. We believe the best bet is the kitchen. Let’s face it—you can live out of boxes for a day or two, even going so far as to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags if you have to. But at some point, you’ve got to eat so having that kitchen unpacked is your best bet. Chances are, this is also your biggest challenge since you will have so many boxes filled with heavy items and appliances. Get these items in place and (most importantly) get that coffee maker going so you can have the energy to conquer the rest!
Move on to the Bedroom and Bathroom — Next, you need to move to your master bedroom and bathroom. Get the bed assembled and in place and then arrange your other furniture. (One big tip for getting clothes unpacked easily is to leave them in the drawers when you move. Just put plastic wrap around the drawers with the clothes inside and then you don’t have to use boxes or unpack them when you arrive.)
Other General Tips — There are a few things that will help you out with this process. If you have kids that are old enough, have them unpack their own bedrooms and bathrooms. This will give them a sense of ownership of the new place. Also, save the utility rooms like laundry and the garage for last. These will be important but not right away.

Once you’ve got the essentials unpacked and set up, take a break. You don’t have to have this all done in one day (or even one weekend). No, you don’t want to leave it for months, but enjoy yourself and your new home before you tackle your other boxes.

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Working Remotely? Creating Your Home Workspace

Written by Marybeth Heckler on July 16, 2020. Posted in Homeowner.

This has been the year of working from home. For some, this is a fabulous turn of events, and for others, they can’t wait to get back to the office and share gossip around the watercooler.

If you find that you aren’t loving working from home, or perhaps you feel you’re less productive, it very likely could be due to your workspace. Home, by its very definition, is not your workplace, however, it now needs to function that way in some small way.

You can create an office vibe in your home, for not much money, and organize it to increase your productivity. Here’s how:

Plan Out Your Space – There’s a LOT you can do in your home to create a very organized, efficient workspace so you need to identify what’s important for you and what you need to do. If you previously worked in an office, you can begin by listing items you had there. What did you need and what was not necessary?

Next, what would you LIKE to have in your office? You can make it very warm and intimate since it’s your house. Or, if you feel like the rest of your home functions as the warm and inviting atmosphere and you want your work area to be all about getting things done, you can try a minimalist approach. Whatever you choose, write it out ahead of time.

Look at Your Workspace from the View of Your Webcam – Most everyone who works from home needs to have video calls and conferences from time to time. As you set up your workplace, keep in mind the backdrop.

Create a Space You Love but Declutter – This is your place to work and no one can tell you exactly how to create it. You have creative license here. That said, you will want to declutter the areas around your workstation. If every time you log into your emails you look over and see piles of mail that need to be dealt with or tons of books you intend you read but don’t have a place for, you will feel as though you are behind before you even begin.

Organize and File – This will be so important. You may be tempted to just lay something aside and come back to it later, but these are the thoughts of those who end up on the show HOARDERS. I’m only slightly kidding. Seriously, if you want to be more productive and to keep your mood high during the whole workday, being able to find things right away while not staring at clutter will ensure better days and well-rested nights.

These are the big steps to take to make a workspace you’ll love in your home. In no time, you’ll be more productive and look forward to “going to work” each day!

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The Most Effective Way to Relocate

Written by Marybeth Heckler on March 8, 2020. Posted in Real Estate.

Relocating to a new city or even a new state or country can be an exciting prospect as it has the hopes and promises of a fresh beginning. However, it can also be terrifying to many people who have to pick up everything and start over somewhere else.

What makes this transition even more daunting is the move itself—the organizing, the planning, and the packing!

Let’s take a look at ways to make this type of transition a bit smoother with packing and organizational tips that can really help you keep your sanity during this major move.

Get organized — You will just drive yourself crazy with a move if you are doing everything in a haphazard fashion. The good news is that there are a lot of apps and other resources that can help you get organized. You will need to create a timeline or calendar of all of the things that you need to get ready before you start loading a single box into a moving truck. You should also use this time to plan your budget for the move and decide if that budget allows for the hiring of professional movers.
Get rid of “junk” — The next big step in this process is to declutter your house as much as possible. I suggest doing this room-by-room. Go into your bedroom closet, for instance, and start three separate piles. The first will be the stuff you want to keep and take with you. The next would be items like clothes and other things that are in good condition that you don’t want or need anymore. These will be your “donate” pile.

The last pile will be for stuff that you don’t want or need that isn’t in good condition. Just toss this pile straight into the trash. The more stuff you can get rid of, the better because it’s less hassle for you. (You can also toss the donate pile into a yard sale and try to make a few extra bucks before donating them. This money can help buy pizza for your friends as you entice them to help you move.) Once you’ve done the first room or area, move on to the next in a systematic fashion.

Create an essentials bag — When you get to your new location, you will need a few days to unpack your stuff. Pack a bag of the essentials that you will need immediately. This will include 2 to 3 days of clothes, toiletries, your electronic devices and chargers, and other essentials such as medication. If you have children, make sure that you pack one for them as well and include a couple of cherished toys or a book to help keep them occupied.
Stay organized — Once you start boxing things up, be sure to stay organized. Keep a running list of how many boxes you have for each room and put this information on the outside of the box. (For instance, a label might say “Kitchen 5 of 16” meaning that is the fifth box out of a total of 16 that are headed for the kitchen.) This way, you can keep up with everything and know if you are missing any boxes quickly and easily.

One of the most important things that can help make any relocation easier is advanced planning. Trying to throw everything together the night before a move isn’t going to be successful. By staying ahead of the game, you will not feel rushed and frustrated and your move will be a smooth one.

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