Moving. I’ve written about it before, but this time it’s different. This time, I had a moving plan that would ensure a stress-free move, but alas: plans went awry as they often do! There are so many things we can’t control in life, and that’s why I think it’s important to try to control the things you can. My move into my first home wasn’t exactly as I had pictured it, but thankfully, because of a few seemingly insignificant actions, it wasn’t as disastrous as it could have been. I’d like to thank Organization and Efficiency for that!

Let’s start at the beginning: my original plan. We closed on our house on April 4, and didn’t have to be out until April 30. My plan was to take a few weeks to paint and refinish floors, then move in slowly, without any fuss or stress at all. That didn’t happen, of course. Because our contractor took longer than he’d estimated (as the daughter of a Master Carpenter/Contractor, I can assure you: whatever your contractor says, double the time and triple the price!), the job wasn’t finished until April 28. But the house was still covered in sawdust and three bedroom floors had a fresh coat of polyurethane, which meant we couldn’t walk on them for another 48 hours. This resulted in all of our furniture jammed into the living room and the basement. Not what I had planned. It was mass chaos, and it smelled like chemicals and dust.

A week later, after working 14 hours a day every day for a week to move furniture, organize stuff, and clean, finally, a week later, the house is livable. It could have been worse, too, if I hadn’t done the following:

1) DON’T PROCRASTINATE. DO WHAT YOU CAN, NOW!

While the contractor was still working, I would drive over every night with a carload of non-essential stuff. I moved our bins of sentimental items over, storing them in our basement storage room. That saved me hours of hauling on moving day. Even though I was exhausted, I’d still pack the car at 6pm, drive over, unpack, and return home. Every night for two weeks. I could have said, “I’ll move it all on moving day,” and rested every week night, but instead, I decided to do a little every day. That added up to less energy and time spent on moving day. Because I had brought over the entire kitchen while the contractor was still working,  when we moved in the kitchen was already completely moved and organized. Aside from your bedroom, your kitchen is what you want to unpack and organize first!

2) SOMETIMES YOU SHOULD DO THE LITTLE THINGS FIRST.

Similarly, because I couldn’t get to the big projects while the contractor was still working, when I had free time, I worked on the little things, like cleaning windows and closets in rooms he had finished. Rather than saying, “I’ll do the little things after the big things,” I did the little things first. By painting trim, pulling down the blinds and putting up curtains before we even moved in, I saved myself time and headaches. Don’t put off tomorrow what can be done today.

3) CREATE A SPREADSHEET FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.

My brother-in-law suggested this to me, and it’s brilliant. Create a spreadsheet for every project you need to complete and rank it by priority level. Does it need to get done ASAP? Or just eventually? Is it essential, structural, cosmetic?

4) DON’T GET SIDETRACKED.

It’s so easy to start working on a project and then notice another project calling out to you. Focus. Don’t start another project until you finish the one you’re working on. It seems simple, but it’s hard to do, and really important to adhere to if you don’t want to be completely stressed.

5) TAKE IT ONE ROOM AT A TIME.

There are still so many projects I need to complete, as every homeowner can attest to. Along with checking my spreadsheet and completing each project by level of importance, I’m also going to organize and clean room by room. Sometimes it’s easier to take a step back from looking at the huge, overall picture. That can be overwhelming. If you take it room by room, cleaning and organizing can seem more manageable.

I’ve moved three times in less than five years, and renovated two spaces within two years. In the midst of moving and renovating, I often feel frustrated, stressed, and disappointed, wondering why on earth I decided to take on each project. However, after a month or two of absolute chaos, I find myself taking a step back and thinking it was worth it. If you can remain organized and optimize your time and energy to be most efficient, avoiding procrastination, moving and renovating will be less stressful.