Guide to Dealing With Moving House Stress

Written by Martha Lott Reviewed by Dave Sayce

6th Nov 2019 (Last updated on 26th Mar 2024) 8 minute read

10 Tips To Cope With Moving House Stress

Here are some of our best tips to reduce house moving stress. These will help to ensure you are fully prepared for moving day:

1. Create A To-Do List

Before you begin your move, it’s a good idea to create a moving house checklist of everything you need to remember to do. This will significantly help to relieve any moving house stress you may have. You can follow it from point to point to ensure you haven’t forgotten any steps.

Here are some things you can add to your to-do list:

• Choosing a moving day
• Booking a removals company
• Purchasing packing materials
• Creating an inventory of items to pack
• Making time to pack items
• Create a list of items to get rid of or sell

2. Start Packing Early

Packing early will help you to stay organised and on track. It will make sure everything is completed before your moving day.

How early you pack is down to personal preference. It’s recommended to start packing for a move around 7 weeks before your moving date. This will provide you with enough time to get everything packed and organised.

Here are some quick packing tips to follow:

• Pack items room by room to keep everything organised and in the correct places for unpacking
• Pack clothes you wear the least as it’s unlikely you will wear these before your move
• Pack books you won't read. Place these in a suitcase as this can hold more weight than a cardboard box
• Pack kitchen utensils and equipment that aren’t used every day
• Pack important documents such as birth/marriage certificates in one box. Label the box clearly to ensure it doesn’t get lost.

Read more on Moving House Packing Tips

3. Plan Ahead

It’s important to plan well in advance for all potential eventualities. Careful planning will help you to avoid additional moving stress. Make a list of everything that needs doing so that you can plan accordingly.

Here are some things to consider doing before your move:

• Book time off work
• Book your removal company in advance
• Organise moving with pets
• Have a deep clean of your old home
• Begin the packing and decluttering process well in advance
• Contact a new school if you’re moving with children
• Use up any perishable goods and food you have
• Cancel bills and contracts connected to your current house
• Change your address for important documents/deliveries
• Set up essentials like gas/electricity/water/broadband for your new house

Planning can help to prevent any unexpected or additional expenses. Keeping track of your budget and having money saved to cover expenses can remove the stress of unexpected costs. It also helps to prevent money worries.

4. Use a Removal Company

Choosing the right removal company for your move will help to reduce moving stress and anxiety. Removal companies can relieve pressure as they carry out all the organisation and heavy lifting for you.

A removal company will:

• Be fully experienced in moving heavy items, they will avoid damage to walls and floors
• Lift, load and unload boxes for you
• Provide a partial or full packing service to avoid moving stress
• Offer to disassemble/reassemble your furniture
• Often provide storage services

By using Compare My Move, we can help you save up to £700 on your removal costs. If you’re worried about the cost of moving house, it’s useful to put aside money in advance.

In addition to this, using a comparison website will allow you to compare and contrast quotes, helping you to find the best deal. Many removal firms offer packing services and storage facilities.

House clearance services can be useful to consider when moving house. The clearance company will collect any unwanted goods for you and dispose of them safely and legally. This means you don’t have to worry about transporting large items such as white goods and unwanted furniture to your new home.

5. Focus on the Positives

Concentrating on the positive aspects of your move is a useful way to help reduce moving house stress. Not only will this help your mental well-being, but it will also help to offset any negative emotions you may have.

Some pros for moving house include:

• A chance to start fresh in a new neighbourhood
• You’ll have a blank canvas to decorate
• You may have more space, a garden or a spare bedroom to utilise
• Moving nearer friends or family
• Opportunity to make new friends and find new hobbies
• Commute to work may be shorter
• Getting on the property ladder

6. Get Help

Whether it be from an insured, removal company or your friends and family, getting help is essential in tackling the moving stress. Even if you are an experienced mover, the more people you have on hand to help, the easier your home-buying process will be.

Here are some ways you can receive help:

• Get your friends/family to help pack and clean your old home
• Hire a cleaner to clean your old home
• Hire a removal company. They will carry out the difficult aspects of the move for you. This can include packing, lifting and loading
• Accept help from your neighbours if they offer
• Use Compare My Move to compare removal quotes. This will help you to save time and money. Our services eliminate the stress of having to find a trusted and verified removal company yourself.

7. Pack a Bag of Essentials

There are some essentials you won’t want to be packed away with everything else. This is why it’s useful to have a bag of essentials to hand during and after your move.

Items to keep handy for the first few days include:

• Medication
• Toiletries (e.g. toothpaste, shower gel, soap, and face wash)
• Toilet and kitchen roll
• Underwear, a change of clothes and pyjamas
• Phone charger/laptop charger
• Toys for children or pets
• Kitchen essentials (e.g. milk, cutlery, tea and coffee)
• Anything that you use daily (this can vary from person to person)

8. Get Rest

Moving home is an extremely busy and tiring time. You mustn’t push yourself too hard throughout the moving process. Ensuring you get enough sleep and rest during this time is important.

You can look after yourself by:

• Make sure you’re getting enough sleep
• Take regular breaks from packing and unpacking
• Take your time with packing and do not rush the process
• Eat well and keep hydrated through the process

9. Choose a Moving Day that Best Suits Your Needs

To help combat stress, it’s best to choose a moving day that best suits your needs. It’s useful to work the move around your schedule and choose a time that will provide a moving day that’s as relaxed as possible.

It’s always best to book your move with a removals company as early as possible if you are opting to use their services. This will help you to choose the best time and day for you.

Compare My Move's research has shown that our most popular day for moving is a Friday. Moving on a Friday will give you the whole weekend to get settled in. If you move on the Friday before a bank holiday, you will have an extra day to unpack and adjust to your new home.

10. Meditation

Moving house requires a lot of physical labour. This is why it can often cause stress and anxiety. Will Williams, the founding teacher at Beeja Meditation, describes moving home as "a classic example of a ‘positive’ life event putting so much strain on the nervous system". Williams also stated that it can cause people to “feel "overwhelmed" and "emotionally very challenged".

One example he suggests to help beat the stress of moving is meditation. It is one form of professional advice to help you through the process and reassess the situation, helping you see things more clearly.

Williams describes mediation as "incredible for calming the nervous system down and giving you so much extra bandwidth that you can take these big life events in your stride, enabling you to enjoy your achievements and keep your relationships happy and nourished even when there is so much on."

Why is Moving House So Stressful?

Here are some reasons why you might feel stressed when moving house:

• It’s a big life change for all family members
• The packing process
• Leaving friends and family behind
• Feeling unprepared
• Physical labour of the move
• Financial strain

The stress of moving house affects everyone differently. For some, it may be a task you’re used to, and cause little stress. For others, it can be a major source of anxiety.

Moving house can inevitably have a psychological effect on individuals. This is because it brings change with it. Often you’re uprooting your life and potentially leaving behind important relationships. If you’re worried, it’s important to identify the areas of the process that have the potential to cause anxiety or stress.

The official Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale ranked a 'major change in living conditions' as only 28th on the list of most stressful life events.

Enjoy A Stress-Free Experience With Compare My Move

Here at Compare My Move, we can help to make your move as easy and as stress-free as possible. Simply fill out our online form to be connected with up to 6 trusted and reliable removal companies.

All our removal partners have passed our strict verification process. As a result, you can rest assured knowing you will be provided with the best possible service. We can help you to save up to 70% on your move.