by Daryl Hoole

Is relocating to another house in your future? If so, whether it will be a cross-country move or to a house next door, fortifying yourself up front with some tips and tricks can save lots of frustration and hassle later on.

On this subject my advice has been enhanced through consulting with relatives who have made a number of international moves and who speak from much experience.

To begin, remember, every organizational and efficiency skill you already practice will be put to good use in this huge undertaking. Furthermore, if your current home is organized and clutter-free, there will likely be a carryover into your new home that will put you weeks, even months, ahead, as you settle in and seek comfort and happiness in a new location.

It's smart to be thinking and planning ahead. You've undoubtedly already determined a number of ways to smooth out your move, and this list will only serve to underscore their importance. There may be a few fresh suggestions that will further help reduce the stress. Following are some pointers that hopefully will be useful to you.

Plan in Advance

Make a “to do” list. There is power in list-making — it helps you put the pressure on paper rather than on your mind. A list enables you to get a clear picture so you can delegate tasks to others and it energizes you as you cross off items and see the progress being made.

A list also helps you not only do the essentials, but also to work in some extras, such as saying goodbye to that sweet older lady down the street who has been so kind to your children. Thoughts will come at odd moments, so keep paper and pencil handy to catch them.

Following are a few examples of items for your list:

• Notify services to be discontinued, such as newspaper delivery and lawn care.

• Give instructions to the new residents about turning off the water for the winter or spraying shrubs and trees against insects or fungus.

• Inform the new residents about idiosyncrasies of the house and property such as the need to clean out the floor drain twice a year by running a plumber's snake through the pipe.

• Pass on the name and phone number of an especially helpful neighbor if he/she has given you permission to do so.

• Contact agents for your homeowner's insurance and other home-based policies for necessary changes. Have new insurance in place before you cancel the old. Do not leave yourself exposed for even five minutes.

• Apply for separate insurance (in addition to that of the moving company's) on antique or heirloom furniture and valuable items such as a piano, paintings, and other types of artwork.

• Begin changing your mailing address weeks in advance. As periodicals and catalogs arrive, notify the sender of your new address or cancel them. Alert the post office when to either stop mail or forward it. In this way, few if any pieces of mail should arrive at your house after you leave and you should receive mail at your new location without undue interruption.

• Arrange to have utilities working and a landline telephone connected upon arriving at your new location. Take with you all the telephones in your current house; they are yours.

• Prepare your children, as much as possible, with photos, information, and maps about their new home and surroundings. Act like you're a realtor or a representative from the Chamber of Commerce, and “sell” your children on all the good things that will come with the move.

• Look for good, well-illustrated storybooks available for young children about moving, such as The Berenstain Bears' Moving Day , Random House, New York. Consult local bookstores and libraries about other helpful books.

Before You Begin Packing

• Obtain some packing materials such as boxes, paper, and tape so that you, yourself, can pack items that need special handling.

• Place important documents in a briefcase or some such container and hand carry it throughout the move. Never leave it unattended or in your car. This will keep the contents safe and the information available to you, rather than packed away in a box, at any time you need it.

• De-junk your entire household . You certainly don't want to carry items with you, only to toss them when you arrive. In the process of de-junking, by all means haul the stuff away from your premises to a charitable organization or to a landfill so that the next occupant doesn't have to deal with your trash. This is the thoughtful, responsible thing to do. (And hope that the same thing is happening at your next house so you're not faced with a garage, basement, or yard full of someone else's stuff that you have to haul away.) Alternatively, you could join a local Freecycle ( www.freecycle.org ) group and give your stuff away to someone local who is willing to come pick it up. This will save you time hauling the items away yourself.

• Consider, as you select what to take with you, the amount of cupboard, closet, and storage space in your new house as compared to the one you now live in. Will it be a larger house, or will you be down-sizing?

As You Pack

• Box things up according to rooms, keeping related items together. Use labels freely, marking every side of the container, as well as clearly labeling the top and bottom of each container. List contents as well as the room where it should go. For further convenience, it would be smart to number the boxes and make a master list of the contents of each box that could be easily read regardless of the location of the box. This is especially helpful when making sure all the contents of a storage shed or moving van have arrived safely.

• Mark the priority boxes that you will need to open first and keep them easily accessible.

• Pack a separate supply of essential kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom items to get you through the first couple of days. For instance, make sure you have paper plates, cups, bowls, plastic spoons, knives, and forks, and a can opener as well as personal items at your disposal. Have some basic tools available.

• Pack items requiring special handling yourself. It's also important to have separate insurance on antique pieces or expensive items such as a piano, paintings or other types of artwork. In one case, all the pieces of an heirloom dining set were damaged. In another situation, a highly valued grandfather clock was dropped and totally destroyed.

• If you plan to use a professional moving company, select it very carefully. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find reliable companies who have trained employees. Regardless of who packs you up, professionals, family members, or neighborhood helpers, there is no substitute for being present, yourself, to oversee both the packing and the unpacking . Packers will only be as careful as they see you watching them. It will be worth every minute of your time.

• Don't accept the packers' offer to take the furniture and pack it at the warehouse. It needs to be packed in bubble- or quilt-wrap under your watch, before it leaves your premises.

What to Avoid

Avoid typical problems such as the following:

• Disorganization of items. Papers, home office supplies, kitchen items, medication, and tools are among items that need to be kept organized. In one case, hardware from furniture was just dumped all together in a box instead of its being placed in small self-sealing bags and labeled. It took the family hours to unscramble the mess that was created.

• Loss of items. Valuables should be carried with you, as mentioned above. Care needs to be taken so no items are inadvertently thrown away or hopelessly misplaced. For example, after one move brackets from a set of bunk beds were never found. The beds could not be set up until another system was devised for supporting the beds, which took considerable time and effort.

• Damage to possessions. Proper packing and handling are essential. Packers were observed placing books in boxes so they were standing up. Books should be laid flat in a box to prevent damage to the spines. Furthermore, if books are going to be trucked any distance, they need to be packed in paper so as not to rub and wear against each other.

Advice from the Pros

Speaking of professional movers, I looked up one on the Internet ( www.redmanmovingandstorage.com ) and following are several of their moving tips:

• Be reachable by phone as you travel in case your carrier needs to contact you. Have your carrier's full name, ID, and truck number for fast and easy communication.

• Carry valuables with you such as cash, coins, jewelry, photographs, and important papers. Or send them ahead via a traceable service such as FedEx and UPS.

• Segregate personal travel items. The items traveling with you such as clothes and papers should be put in one place or in the vehicle you are taking with you. Avoid having those items loaded on the truck and having to find them later.

• Try to relax. No matter how prepared you are, things occasionally go wrong. Moving is one of the most stressful times in your life. Take a deep breath, be patient, and get a good night's sleep before moving day.

One must be a little wary and extremely cautious as you relocate your household. Analyze the situation from every angle, with this thought uppermost in mind: “How can I best secure my belongings and protect myself from costly problems in both time and money?”

Upon Arrival

• Remember, once again, your frustrations will be fewer and your progress faster if you work from a “to do” list.

• Be present and supervise the unpacking process. You are in charge!

• Double check that no items, especially small parts and pieces, have been left in the packing boxes.

• Make certain your communication systems, such as telephones and computers, are promptly established.

• Check on any prior arrangements you've made to ensure that utilities are up and working and a landline phone has been connected.

• Give yourself a boost of hope and heart as you enter your new house by promptly hanging a picture or putting one on the mantle, or setting out a centerpiece or holiday decoration — some item that is beloved by the family. This is a way of saying, “This is home and all is well.” This same principle could be applied on each child's level; the very first thing, even before setting up the beds, let your children put a stuffed animal or a favorite toy in the room that is to be theirs.

• Start out ahead by wiping off shelves and cleaning the refrigerator and other areas, as necessary, so that you can immediately put things away.

• Mentally determine a place for everything so you can put things where they belong as you unpack. You only want to move the items once!

• Request that movers place the boxes according to the rooms where they belong. Think ahead and save time and energy.

• Don't unpack any box or container until you can put away everything, where practical. Otherwise you'll just spend your time climbing over stuff and rearranging piles. Every house has its own configuration and requires different arrangements and various adjustments. Just do your best according to the situation.

• Enhance storage space and facilitate organization and order throughout the house by using drawer dividers, closet and cupboard organizers, and portable shelving, if necessary.

• Try to avoid working yourself into a mess. Keep everything under control as much as possible. Messes can be immobilizing, causing you to put all your energy into just walking from room to room and wringing your hands. And once you get behind, it's so hard to catch up.

• Don't push yourself or family members to the point of exhaustion. It's better to take a break or quit a little early rather than working so slowly you're barely moving, or taking out your frustrations on others or losing your temper.

• When children are involved, arrange for a phone call, a letter, or an email message to reach them the very first day from a grandparent or a special friend. Or, there could be a small package for each child from a loved one that contains a “comfort” treat or an item for their new room.

• Assure your children that distance can be quickly narrowed through modern telecommunications. It's easy to stay in touch.

• Graciously accept if someone offers to give you a housewarming party. Or, hold your own family housewarming the first Monday night. Serve simple refreshments and present a family gift, something that would be needed and enjoyed in the new house. It could be something you've purchased or a favorite item from the “old” house that you've secretly saved for this occasion.

• Introduce yourself to the neighbors and the mail carrier. As for the neighbors, “borrowing” an egg or asking questions can be a good opener. If you borrow something, return it promptly!

• Establish new traditions and create new memories. Take photos and start another section in your family album.

• Attend church. It's good to introduce yourself to the bishop and other members, rather than waiting for them to greet you. Bear your testimony in fast meeting. It's also helpful in becoming acquainted to immediately be of service by signing up on lists that are circulated. Join the choir. Support ward activities.

• Have the neighbors over or invite someone you've met at church to visit and serve something simple such as root beer floats or banana splits, even if you're not “perfectly” settled.

• Visit the local sites and points of interest, and take advantage of the cultural and sporting events of the community. Even though you're pressed with much to do and your schedule is tight, take time to enjoy your new surroundings. Looking forward to an outing can motivate your family to work a little harder and faster, or the outing can be a reward for completing tasks.

• Become a good community citizen by doing such things as registering to vote and ordering new license plates. Support local business establishments.

A thought once expressed by a young child about moving describes the prevailing attitude you would hope to maintain as a family throughout your major relocation. The child said, “We've always had a home; it's just that we sometimes haven't had a house to put it in.”

Even in the best of situations, moving is a challenging, time-consuming experience. Plan on weeks, even months, before being completely settled in. Hopefully some of these tips will make things work out as smoothly as possible, giving you and your family a relatively stress-free move and happy days ahead in your new home!