Stress Free Move

Good neighborhood services can be hard to locate, especially if you don’t know anyone in the area who can refer you. Enter a service like Angie’s List, which offers reviews from people who have actually used a service in your area. This is especially good for large cities.

Let’s say you’ve just moved across the state or even the country. How will you find a doctor? What about a veterinarian?

Angie’s List collects reviews, then offers them to individuals like you to help them find the best (and warn about the worst) providers in your area.

A friend of mine pulled a cross-country move this weekend, by car. Naturally she prepared a playlist to suit the occasion. This is something I usually do, too. Here are a few tunes that you’ll want to include on any moving-related playlist:

* On The Road Again ~ Willie Nelson
* Leavin’ on a Jet Plane ~ Chantal Kreviazuk
* Ready to Run ~ Dixie Chicks
* America ~ Simon & Garfunkle

Sometimes your travels take you back to where you began. A homecoming requires a special kind of moving mix. Think about these great tunes to keep you company on your travels:

* Homeward Bound ~ Simon & Garfunkle
* Green Green Grass of Home ~ Tom Jones
* The Bitch is Back ~ Elton John
* Mama I’m Coming Home ~ Ozzy Osbourne
* Country Roads (Take Me Home) ~ John Denver

Personally, I like to pack to Prince. It wasn’t a conscious decision - it just kind of occurred to me that my last two or three moves had all been done to Prince. So I kept it up as tradition. Of course, now when friends stop by and hear that I have Prince on, they immediately suspect I’m getting ready to move again. Not always the case, since he’s also my official “dying my hair” music, too!

My forthcoming e-book on stress-free moving will give you lots of tips and tricks to get through the big day. In the meantime, there’s this article out of the Miami Herald.

• Pare down. ”Clean, cull and downsize before you even start the process. It’ll be easier to set up afterward,” Theriault said.

• Create a system. As you pack, put room labels on each box — ”kitchen” on the box of dishes and ”living room” on the box containing trinkets for the coffee table. This system will save steps whether you use professional movers or friends.

• Start a portable tool kit. Easy-to-reach tools and supplies are useful for emergencies and necessities as you pack, move and re-assemble your possessions. Creating a portable tool kit ”is a great way to hit the ground running in your new location,” Theriault said.

That last tip, about the toolkit, is one that I do on auto-pilot. I should be sure to jot it down for the book. To me it seems to natural to fill a tool belt with everything I’ll need and have it with me for the move from one place to the next. Others may not think to do it, and it can save a lot of hassle and expense, especially when hanging curtains and putting bed frames together.

Like the Boy Scouts say: Always be prepared!

Moving house is stressful. It is rather unbelievable, but at just 32 years old I am about to make my 30th move. This one will be from Kansas to Denver, traveling light. Light means a couple of boxes and a couple of suitcases. Plus a dog.

I hope that if I impart some of my experience, people will be able to have less stress in their house moves - whether it is across town or across an ocean. A low stress house move can keep you from losing your hair, your mind, and valuable years from your life! At the rate I move, I expect to be dead by 50!

Right now homes are being foreclosed throughout the western world, and people are moving. Others are downsizing. To be able to do all this as a low stress house move would enable them to save their sanity and save some money.

For all the students, military families, gypsies, nomads and others affected by wanderlust, this low stress house move blog is for you.