A Designer's Tips for a Long Distance Move {Lessons Learned}
Whether it's long distance and local, I'm sure anyone reading this will agree that thorough planning can make a significant difference in the overall process of moving. Just like I do for our design projects, I also like to look back and do a project "autopsy" where we review things that went well, things that could use improvement, and things we learned along the way. Herewith are lessons learned from my recent long-distance move and based on my experience as a residential interior designer that I wanted to share with you tips for a long distance move to help make yours easier, better organized, and definitely more enjoyable and a little less stressful.
Tips for a Long Distance Move
1. Planning is Essential
One of my favorite sayings is "make a {good} plan, then work the plan!" so when the hubs and I decided to relocate to Bluffton, SC, the first thing we did was pull out a calendar. We looked ahead at the estimated start date for my husband's new job then worked backwards to figure out things like when would we need to get the house on the market, how long would it take to prep the house for sale, when would we need to move by, what were the kids school schedules like, when would we need to find a new house in the new area by, all the things. As we dug into a master plan for everything we wanted or needed to do to both get ready to move out of our old house and into a new one, we gave ourselves deadlines and goals to keep us on track.
Designer Tip: Create a detailed calendar timeline and checklist to ensure nothing is overlooked. The hubs like old fashioned paper calendars while I prefer something more aesthetically pleasing and made a color coordinated spreadsheet with dropdowns and checkboxes. You do you, but just do something to keep yourself organized. You can thank me later.
Remember to include things on your long to do list like arranging for address changes, vehicle and voter registration, new drivers licenses, new car registrations, and of course, new utilities.
3. Partner with Professionals
Another valuable tip is to trust the expert and partner with trusted professionals! Just like I want my clients to trust me as their design expert in creating a beautiful home, I both needed and wanted support from other professionals like real estate agents to help us with our multiple moves. We used two fantastic female agents, one in Houston and the other in Bluffton, both of whom provided valuable expertise and helped guide us as to said timelines, recommendations, and local referrals as needed.
Another expert we hit the easy button on was a professional packing company and professional movers. In our case it was one in the same but in some cases, you might find it better to hire two different companies depending on your actual needs.
4. Research Moving Companies
Invest time in researching and comparing moving companies. Read reviews, ask for recommendations, and ensure the company is licensed and insured. When reviewing moving estimates, ask for a detailed estimate and for clarification if you have questions in order to make sure you're comparing apples to apples. Don't just go with the cheapest mover and always, always go with your gut.
Fun fact: The first estimate I got for our move from Houston to Bluffton was for over $55,000. I know, take a minute if you need one but I kid you not. 55k. Ouch. Listen, I am all for people running their businesses the way they want to and I am all for making a profit and paying employees fairly, and overall running a profitable business. All. For. It. BUT. I also handle procurement, deliveries and logistics on the daily and the numbers on that estimate did not jive with my experience, my own calculations or what my gut was telling me was even remotely reasonable for what we were moving and how far.
After I recovered from the 55k quote stroke, as it is now famously referred to by anyone in my orbit, I got a great referral from a trusted industry colleague then did my own due diligence before reaching out for an in person estimate. You can get online estimates that will guestimate based on your home's square footage or sometimes by rooms but to get an accurate quote you'll need to show them your stuff. So for us, the moving company we used came to our home and walked every room including the garage. It took about a week before I received the most thoughtful detailed estimate. That's when I knew this was the company for me. The rave five star ratings on their website was another and of course the solid referral by someone I know and trust. Note: If you're in the Houston area and need a fabulous moving company feel free to reach out and I'd be happy to send you their deets.
5. Declutter Before Packing
As you may have read in previous posts like "Expert Decluttering Tips for a Smoother Move to Your New Home", moving is a fabulous time to get organized. As a matter of fact, I cannot stress how important a pre-move purge can be.
Take the opportunity to declutter your belongings. Whether its clothing or furniture or decor, remember if there are items that you absolutely don't love anymore, items that don't fit or are out of proportion for your new space, or items that have seen better days, ask yourself if you want to pay to have them moved or if it might be best to part ways with them before your big move. Donate or sell items you no longer need, which can reduce the volume of what you need to move.
Designer Tip: Scan. Shred. Purge. Repeat.
One of the best things we did in preparing to move was to scan and organize old photos from pre-iPhone days. We had thousands and in duplicate. I actually hit the easy button on this too, having started this project multiple times over two decades of parenthood and never succeeding, to an expert professional electronic organizer. It was worth every penny and then some. I also took the opportunity to scan paper documents before shredding and recycling papers when possible. Believe me, once you start purging it kind of becomes cathartic...at least it does to me. In fact, we did a pre-move purge and are already planning another purge post-move. We're enjoying less is more and highly recommend it.
6. Budget for Unexpected Expenses
Moving can come with unexpected costs. Set aside an extra line in your budget for any surprises that may arise during the process. Of course its not a fun line to think about but keeping that overage amount in mind when thinking about your overall budget might help in the long run since everything is more expensive these days and only climbing higher. For me I always consider an overage buffer to be around 10-20%.
In our case, we ended up deciding to take more furniture than we originally planned and with that yelled plot twist on packing day. This meant we had to rent two trucks rather than the original one. This last minute addition added about 10% to the overall cost of the move and in the end I was happy to do it.
7. Pack Strategically
Use a strategic packing method, such as packing room by room or by category, to make the process more organized and efficient. We hired our moving company to also handle the packing for most items. I am still blown away that they managed to pack our entire home, furniture, decor, artwork, down to the spoons in the kitchen, in one ten hour day. Every single item, including my treasured collection of blue and white porcelain, arrived in perfect condition, not one single thing was broken.
I will say that there are certain items that I considered irreplaceable and most treasured so for those items, long before the movers arrived, I reviewed and segregated them in order to put them in my car which we drove ourselves on a separate trip after the initial big move to Bluffton. In the end, our car was chockablock full and I wish I had put more stuff on the moving truck but alas I don't think we have another cross country move in our future (or if we do, we've already said we're selling the house full furnished and we'll start fresh where ever we end up, ha).
8. Keep Important Documents and Medicines Accessible
Ensure that important documents (e.g., passports, medical records) are easily accessible during the move to avoid any last-minute stress. You'll also want to have an ample supply of any medicines you take on the regular close at hand rather than packed away out of sight and mind.
Even if you're doing a local move, do like we did and pack a to-go bag so that you have urgent supplies when you first arrive at your new house. Pajamas, a fresh change of clothes and underwear, toiletries...anything you want or need after you come home from a long day at work, think about those things as you pack a suitcase to go with you to the new house so you won't find yourself searching through boxes at the end of a long moving day. That said...
9. Label Boxes Clearly
Labeling boxes with their contents and the room they belong to can simplify the unpacking process and help you find essential items quickly. I did this for the boxes I packed personally and was tickled to find that our professional moving company did the exact same thing.
10. Stay Hydrated and Take Breaks
Moving can be physically demanding. Remember to stay hydrated and take regular breaks to avoid burnout. I did this for myself but I also made it a point to ask the moving company for a list of drinks and snacks that their crews might like and had those on site at both the old and new houses. As soon as the crews arrived for the day I also asked for lunch orders so I could arrange for that before things got busy. I can tell you it will be greatly appreciated.
11. Familiarize Yourself with the New Area
Before the move, research your new neighborhood. Look into local amenities, schools, and transportation options to ease the transition. You might join local community groups in person or online in order to make fast friends. I started following different social media accounts of local businesses including local real estate agencies as some offered guides to the area. Soon enough I'm sure IG will send stuff your way about your new area just like it did to me. Creepy but cool at the same time.
12. Be Patient with the Transition
Adjusting to a new location can take time. Be patient with yourself and allow time to settle in and explore your new surroundings. Give yourself grace and also allow yourself to grieve. Even if you're moving to a gorgeous new home and place, leaving a house or a home that you've lived in for any length of time can be a good thing but also a sad thing. On the last day in my Houston house, I literally walked through the empty rooms checking for any left behind items and said thank you.
13. Start a new email address for your new house!
Brilliant, right?! Its true, you should start a new email address for your new house! Send all your closing correspondence, home inspection reports, maintenance contracts, warranty or service documents, you name it, if it concerns your new house, send it to a dedicated email address separate from any others you might have. Send yourself a reminder email with any pertinent info like paint colors, sheen, grout colors, anything and everything about your house that can be easily searchable in the future should something come up. If you ever go to sell your house, believe me your future self will thank you.
14. Expect the unexpected!
Even with the best of planning, my last (but not least) lesson learned to you would be to always expect the unexpected! Something is always going to go wrong, even with the best of planning. It's just the way it goes. When you're dealing with people and equipment, things are bound to glitch. Try to be flexible, try not to fly off the handle, try to put yourself in the other person's shoes, do whatever you have to do to try, try, try.
I had to remember all of these things during our big move. Let me set the scene: there was a tropical depression of sorts hanging over Houston the week we moved. Our local movers arrived on a Monday to pack, Tuesday packed the truck and both days it rained cats and dogs. On Monday, while his crew was packing, the fabulous owner of the moving company, since it was an out of state move, rented a moving truck. He personally went to inspect said truck and lucky for us, discovered the back of the truck had a leak in the ceiling. He spent all. day. long. searching and inspecting moving trucks for one that didn't leak. He found one. One. It was a nailbiter he would have to repeat on Tuesday for a second truck. It took just as long. On Wednesday, they started the long drive from Houston to Bluffton. The rain followed them every single mile. The drive was long and arduous with the rain and they arrived long hours late at night but were up and at the new house Friday morning where the rain continued.
We had arranged for a crew of local movers to meet the Houston drivers with dollies and tools to help unload and assemble and place everything in the new house. One little problem. They never showed up. NEVER. SHOWED. UP. They did call repeatedly or rather we called them repeatedly to ask what the deal was. They kept assuring us they'd be there, just running late, just this, just that and finally they called to say they could come on Saturday not Friday like we had reserved. But we also had a reservation that agreed for the moving trucks to be returned and return plane tickets for our Houston based movers were already purchased. We'd made the plan, a perfect plan in fact, if only this local so called moving company hadn't thrown a wrench in the plan.
Now here's where my previous advice of "to try to be flexible, try not to fly off the handle, try to put yourself in the other person's shoes," morphed into my inside voice reminding me to take a deep breath and reflect before cursing, try not to act like a lunatic, and all that jazz that day. In the words of the comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, I "shoved that {$h!#} down" inside and bit my tongue. I told our Houston driver/mover that I would rather die than have the local so-called movers come help and I was willing to do whatever I had to do to get my stuff in the house. We high fived on the can do attitude and together with his trusted associate, myself, and my strong as an ox, baby doll of a water polo playing son, we moved two moving trucks full of stuff into our new house over the course of 8 hours. In the soaking rain at times I might add, followed by an afternoon of full baking sun that soon felt sauna like and oppressive as all get out. And I tell you what, I smiled the whole damn day even though my 55 year old back was breaking because when the going gets tough, I'm a strong southern woman who gets even tougher. #bulldawgsnevergiveup
I sincerely hope these tips encourage and inspire you to get ready for your next big move in life. If you have a moving tip that you found especially helpful, feel free to share below in the comments or send me a DM on IG.
In the meantime, feel free to peruse some of my favorite recent finds here including our "favorite finds: moving edition" below:
