Moving Preparation June 14, 2022

How to Make Last-Minute Moving Easier?

Lucy Lucas

Born and raised in Miami Lucy is a content writer with a love of moving and packing. She is an expert at making sure everything fits into her suitcase.

Not everything in life can be planned and done in a timely manner. Sometimes last-minute moving is the only option, and you have to adapt to it in the best way possible. Moving overseas is already hectic enough, especially when you don’t have lots of time to prepare for it. If you are wondering, “How do I move immediately?” keep reading to find out.

Last-minute moves can be super stressful, but there are plenty of ways to make them easier. Focus on the most crucial parts of your relocation first and start by writing down a checklist and decluttering all the unnecessary items from your home. You should also find some last-minute moving tips to help you pack easier and faster, or consider booking professional help that will finish everything for you as fast as possible.

When You Are Last-Minute Moving Organization Is the Key to Success

Relocating across the world is a really complicated process, which often requires months of preparation and organization. However, if you’re in a situation where you must move abroad in the shortest amount of days possible, you’ll require some last-minute moving help. One of the essential things would be to organize really quickly by figuring out what is the most necessary thing that must be done.

If you want to move efficiently, you must organize well and think of a proper strategy. If you start rushing into packing without thinking through all your steps, you will probably end up making tons of relocating mistakes, which will cause you too much relocation stress. So before you start with the work, quickly think of the most fantastic strategy you can use, and keep reading to learn some of our top advice.

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You Are Going to Need a Last-Minute Moving Checklist

When it comes to complex tasks and processes, such as moving internationally, a proper checklist will be your biggest lifesaver. If you are wondering – How do I move at the last minute? Preparing a relocating abroad checklist would be your most important task. Try and keep the list as short as possible, and focus only on the most necessary tasks. If this is your first time relocating, and you don’t know how to prepare a to-do list, here is an example of what your list should look like:

  • Preparing a relocation budget and counting relocation expenses,
  • Gathering all the packaging materials,
  • Finding a new place to live in,
  • Making travel arrangements,
  • Transferring utilities and updating your documents,
  • Preparing all the documents needed to travel abroad,
  • Preparing your home for a sale and calling an agent,
  • Preparing your car for shipping overseas,
  • Booking professional movers.

Schedule Each Task on Your Checklist

If you want to make your organization extra fast and efficient, consider scheduling each task on your checklist. Figure out how many hours you will spend approximately finishing each job off of the list. So if you know exactly when your relocation date is, arrange the tasks around that date. This will help you organize your days in the best way possible, and you will know what you must do each day. You won’t be wasting hours wondering what to do while waiting to move.

Packing list for moving internationally
Preparing a checklist is a super important step in the organizing process

Declutter to Save Time and Money

What is the easiest and cheapest way to move? One of the essential relocating tips when it comes to moving abroad is decluttering your household. Most people believe that, when relocating to a new city and a new house, they must bring their entire household with them. This is totally unnecessary and a waste of time and money.

When you are relocating to another country, shipping expenses can be pretty big, and the more stuff you have, the more you will have to pay. So if you are willing to move on a budget, and cut down unnecessary expenses, consider decluttering your house. It will be easier for you to pack, and the whole process will save you lots of hours.

When decluttering, it is wisest to start by examining each room in your house, one by one, and sorting out piles of stuff you wish to keep and the ones you want to throw away. If you do not feel like throwing away certain elements, you can either decide to sell them or give them to the people in need. You can easily do this by going on the website of the Goodwill organization and finding a local spot where you can drop off the goods you wish to donate.

How to Decide Which Items to Keep?

If you are not sure how to decide what to keep when relocating and which stuff to get rid of, there are a few simple tricks you can apply to make this decision easier. It is helpful to ask yourself specific questions, such as:

  • When was the last occasion you used this item?
  • How often do you use it?
  • Is it broken or damaged?
  • Does it work properly?
  • How expensive is this?
  • Is this easily replaceable?
  • Does it have any sentimental value?

You can ask yourself these similar questions when decluttering your wardrobe. Think about how often you wear something, does it fit you properly, and similar questions like that. Also, be sure to get rid of all the stuff movers won’t move on time, so you don’t have any problems later when they arrive at your home. Making these common mistakes can cost you many hours later, so you want to be careful.

If you want some more tips on decluttering, you can find them on YouTube. Here is one interesting video that offers you some useful hacks for decluttering your house.

Packing Should Be Fast and Smart

When it comes to packing for relocating abroad, it’s always essential to have a few tricks up your sleeve that will make the entire process easier for you. Packaging is the most complex process and takes many hours to arrange. Even if you are hiring professionals to help you out, it’s always a good thing to know some tips for fast and smart packaging. Here are some clever ways to speed up the packaging process when relocating overseas.

Throw a Packing Party and Invite Your Friends and Family

One of the most fun things you can do when preparing for a move is to throw a packing party. This is not only a fun way to pack up your entire household in a short amount of days but also gives you a great opportunity to say goodbye. Ask your friends and family if they are willing to help you out, and prepare some food, snacks, and drinks. You can also do this with the decluttering process, so your friends can help you choose what to keep and what to throw away. It can be an excellent way to get together before you move overseas.

Friends at a packing party
Boxing up is so much more fun with friends by your side

Pack Your Belongings as They Are

When you are trying to pack up in a day or two, you need to work super fast. This means that you won’t have a lot of space during the day to take every single thing from its place, wrap it up, and place it into a particular container. If you’re trying to do this as fast as possible, you should keep stuff in the place where they already are.

This means you do not have to take clothing out of the drawers. You can just take out the drawers, secure them with plastic wrap and some tape, and transport it like that. You can leave your clothes on the hangers as well, and pack them like that. This also goes for drawers with other personal belongings or decorative boxes in your house, which are already filled with certain pieces.

Use Household Items to Protect Your Belongings

Relocating on short notice means that you probably want to have all day to go through retail and supply stores in order to purchase protective materials, such as bubble wrap, plastic wrap, packaging paper, and other similar stuff. Instead of those things, use the things you already have in your household.

Towels, blankets, clothing, socks, and other similar household belongings can be used to secure fragile items, protecting them from getting damaged during transportation, especially since your belongings will have to travel a long distance. Instead of professional packaging paper, you can also use newspapers and old magazines to fill in the gaps in the containers. This won’t allow any movement in the container, which will prevent things from breaking during transportation.

Label Each Box in the Simplest Way When Packing

Labeling each box is not a necessity, but it will help you a lot when unpacking all of your stuff once you arrive at your new home. Make it simple so you don’t spend too much time on this task. It is recommended that you at least write down what is inside the box and which room the stuff was taken from. This will only take a few extra minutes, but it will help later.

Pack Your Relocating Essentials Bag Along the Way

Something most people forget about when they are relocating is a relocation essentials bag. This bag is the one thing you must keep by your side for the entire trip, as it will be the first thing you are going to open once you arrive at your future apartment. When it comes to international relocating by sea, your items will almost certainly arrive at your place after you.

That’s why it’s super helpful to have a bag with necessities that you will need in the first few days in your future home. Generally, when preparing an essentials bag, think about which stuff you use daily and which you can’t go without. Here are some of the things you should consider putting in your bag:

  • Personal hygiene stuff,
  • Cleaning supplies,
  • Nonperishable foods and snacks,
  • Water and beverages,
  • Pet food and pet dishes (if you are relocating with pets),
  • Your children’s necessities,
  • Garbage bags,
  • Few pairs of fresh clothing pieces,
  • Essential documents (passports, identification documents, leases, medical records, bank documents)
  • First aid kit,
  • Medicine (if you or your family take some prescribed ones).

Hire Movers That Can Help You Move on Short Notice

How do you move house in 3 days? Better yet, how do you move in 24 hours? While you may not know the answers to these questions, professional movers surely will. If the last-minute move is too stressful for you and you don’t have the energy or enough free hours to finish everything on your own, hiring a reputable moving company is the best choice you can make. It’s hard to find movers at the last moment, which is why this should be the first thing you should get done. Be sure first to contact them and check if they are licensed and reputable companies, and then you can get down to business.

 

Ask Your Movers to Recommend You Services and Inform You of the Moving Cost

When it comes to relocations like this, it’s wisest to contact your international moving company and ask them what type of services you should book and what the prices are, so you know how to organize the budget. They probably have different types of packing services which you can choose from. Ask them to recommend which one is most efficient and can be done in the fastest way possible. They can also provide you with storage service, which can be super helpful if you haven’t found a place that can fit all your belongings.

These Moves Can Be Stressless With a Good Plan and Some Help

Who says relocations must be stressful? Even if you have to move in a single day, with a good plan and an intelligent strategy, everything can be done without any hustle. Remember our tips once you are getting ready for a fast international move. We wish you the best of luck!

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