Moving Into a New Home - 5 Ways to Make Your Move Fast, Easy, and Painless!

1. Planning
Lots of people will probably scoff at such an obvious suggestion, yet they end up with a poorly planned move that costs them more money or time than it should've. Or maybe they just don't know the best way to go about it. You have to take on this task with a strategic mentality in order to move in as fast and conveniently as possible. You'll definitely want to plan as far in advance as you can. Planning too much is better than planning too little! Get your move-in and move-out dates sorted out first. This will determine most of the planning - whether to keep your belongings in storage, whether to get accommodation before moving in or whether to move straight in. The more time overlap you have between moving out and moving into your new home, the better. Of course, an excessive amount of overlap will result in superfluous renting costs, but a few weeks of overlap works perfectly. This will give you enough time to make desired renovations or to move your belongings in several trips instead of a single day of torture.

Start Recruiting Your Own Movers
Whenever your buddies need help moving, volunteer yourself immediately! This is a great way to save money on hiring movers because these good deeds will increase your chances of getting free moving help. Not only will volunteering your services put you in their favor, but word will spread around that you are a helpful person, and most people enjoy helping those who deserve it. At the very least you're friends will be receptive to doing favors for you in the future. Even if it isn't when you're moving into a new home, you can't complain about that!

2. Renovate Your New Home Beforehand
Before you move in, when space is cleared out, is the best time to fix problems with your new place. Does it need new paint? Do you want wood flooring instead of vinyl? Perhaps you want full-length French windows in your bedroom for your new spectacular view! Whatever it is, these can be major projects, but this is the best time to do it because if you don't you'll have to move all your furniture, then back again. That's like three separate moves! Save yourself the hassle and do any renovating ahead of time. Better yet, hire a nearby contractor to do the job for you while you plan or work on other tasks. These days you don't have to spend days finding an excellent contractor to hire. A few online websites, such as Angie's Contractor List, provide real ratings and reviews of nearby contractors. Using websites like these will prevent many headaches because you won't have to worry about receiving poor service and then searching for someone else to do the job.

3. Start Packing Up Well in Advance.
Planning your packing is a key step in this process. Good planning goes a long way. Be liberal with what you get rid of because the less stuff you have means less work involved not only in the actual move, but also in arranging your new home. Determine what you absolutely must keep and what is just clutter. Be sure to label your packed boxes because this will save you time in the unpacking process.

Gathering supplies
Get boxes from people you know who work in a diner, pharmacy, or retail shop. You can also go to local stores and ask for their boxes. You might also be able to get some bubble wrap or packing supplies too. Also, start accumulating newspapers as they are great for packing.

Finding Short-Term Storage Space
Designate a place for short term storage. Seldom used dishes can be packed in advance. Leave out just enough utensils and supplies for a few days of use. Start throwing out food you don't need or that has gone bad.
Start packing unused clothes and put clothes that you don't want or rarely wear in a bag to donate or giveaway. You can leave clothes in your dresser because when you move you can simply take the drawers out and put them in the trunk or back seat. Blankets and sheets can also be packed far in advance.
Take down posters, artwork, decorations and pack them up. Do the same with anything you don't use often, such as DVD or CD collection. Determine how you will get rid of your clutter. You can give away your stuff to friends and family or charity. Keep in mind, Craigslist is great for selling big furniture items. If you have belongings you're not sure about, put them in a box and if after a week you haven't gone back and decided, just drop it off at your nearest Salvation Army.

4. Buy Your Furniture Online and Have it Shipped to Your New Home.
Some pieces of furniture just aren't worth the hassle to move, in which case you should buy new furniture. You can do most of your shopping online for things like tables, chairs, and beds. Keetsa eco-friendly beds are perfect if you want one less piece of furniture out of the equation. They are an environmentally conscious company that provides free shipping on their all of their beds. What's unique about this is that they compress your bed into a (relatively) tiny box that has rollers on the bottom, so you don't have to carry anything. The only downside of shopping online is that you can't feel the furniture before you buy it, although some online furniture retailers have local storefronts too. Submit your order about a week before you move in depending on their estimated shipping time.

5. Deal With Information Changes
The excitement of being done with your move may push you through the final phase without too much stress, but don't forget that there are still phone lines, internet, names on bills to change and much, much more! Most people don't even think about a small thing like forwarding their mailing address.
Once again, I suggest doing these tasks online because it is faster and more convenient. Here's a simple tool you can use to quickly change your USPS forwarding address: YourChangeAddress is a free address forwarding service. Like a lot of Web 2.0 website these days, they compensate for the expense of their free service by giving you the option to choose special offers from different businesses. This is only a simple example of how you can go about updating your address information. Then there are the more apparent information changes like your credit cards, bank accounts, and monthly bills, which you can all make online. Moving into your new home without updating your information could result in you not receiving important mail, so make sure you do it because it's too easy not to!

When moving into a new home the prospect of living in a new place can be quite exciting. Soon enough you realize all of the work involved in making the move, but if you apply the above advice you'll be settled in no time. And the sooner you make this place your own home, the faster you will be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.