Four Stages of a Stress-free Move

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People consider moving to be one of the most stressful moments of life.  From trying to find cheap moving boxes to trying not to get ripped off by a moving company, it really is a harrowing time.  However, there are definitely things we can do to walk ourselves through the process with as little hair-pulling as possible.  When we are prepared and organized it really diminishes a lot of the feelings of chaos, and that is a really important thing to keep in mind.

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Here are the four stages of moving and how to manage them with the least amount of stress:

Stage One: Preparing

This is the part of the “move” where you want to be procrastinating because it doesn’t feel like a move yet.  This is also the part of the move that is going to make it or break it for you.  Moving is not as simple as packing up your house and unpacking in a new one.  One of the first things you should do is start calling your insurance providers, and anyone else that sends you a monthly bill, and notifying them of your change of address and when its taking place.  This is also the time to start trying to find a reliable moving company, or the best deal on a moving truck.  Keep the lookout for cheap moving boxes (ask department stores, Craigslist, and other freeby sites).

Stage Two: Packing

You should start preparing to pack long before it’s time.  This is also going to save you some serious grey hairs.  If you start packing early enough, you should be approaching moving day with a much lighter heart.  This is when you will become thoroughly grateful that you gave yourself plenty of time to get your hands on cheap moving boxes, because moving boxes are NOT cheap, and you wind up needing WAY more than you think you will.  Purge your belongings and hold a garage sale.  Pack as you.

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Stage Three: Moving Day 

Be prepared that things are not going to go as smoothly on moving day as you would like.  This doesn’t mean to have a negative attitude; it just means to have a realistic attitude!  And then, if things go positively swimmingly, you will be pleasantly surprised and incredibly relieved.  If they don’t, you will be no worse for the wear.

Stage Four: Unpacking

In your new home, as you begin to break into all of those boxes, and a giant pile begins to accumulate, you are going to be really glad you saved so much money on them.  Because after the move is over it all just feels like a giant waste.  There’s no rule that says you need to be unpacked immediately.  Take some time to explore your new surroundings!

 

 

Some Helpful Tips for Adjusting after a Move

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There are plenty of helpful tips and tricks out there about how to pack for a move and how to conduct a move.  If you hop on the internet you will find no shortage of blogs, articles, and posts all about organizing, ordering packaging supplies, choosing a mover, ordering packaging supplies, shipping via air or ground…did I mention ordering packaging supplies?  But what about after you move?  Does everyone just expect that you move and then you are happy because you moved?  Where are all of the helpful tips and tricks for how to adjust after a move?

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Thankfully, there is some information, and the amount is growing.  Here are just a couple to help you along the way:

First of all, before we can go any further, we have to establish a positive mindset.  That might sound cliché, but it’s true.  If you want to have a healthy adjustment for your move, than you need to have a healthy mindset about the whole thing.  No, maybe you didn’t want to move, maybe it’s not ideal, and maybe you can find negative stuff all about it.  But there are definitely some positives, and the key is to put those positives first.

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Be prepared.  Once you find out where you are going to be relocating to, try to learn as much as you can about that place.  It will begin to feel familiar before you even get there, and that’s the whole point.

Set up your home.  Prioritize setting up your home before you prioritize anything else.  You want your home to feel safe and inviting, so you need you to make it that.  Get fully unpacked so that you can begin to learn where everything is.  It will make you feel more at home to have all of your familiar surroundings around you, and it will be less stressful to have an uncluttered environment to go back to after you come back from exploring.

Make friends.  This is the easy part for a lot of people, and for some people this is the hardest part.  It is not cliché to introduce yourself to your neighbors.  In fact, it should set everyone at ease to become accustomed with your smiling, friendly face.  If there are work parties, or you get invited to a function by a colleague or fellow gym member, than go.

 

Be flexible.  A lot of this has to do with being open to new experiences.  A move is a really big change, and most of us don’t do well with change, so it helps to keep in mind that you are going to have change after change after change for quite a while after you move.  But don’t worry, it will all even out soon.  Enjoy those new experiences, but keep your favorites close, too.

Five Tips for Sending Holiday Packages

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We are coming up no the holiday season, and that means lots of packages.  Lots of receiving packages, but also lots of sending them!  That means lots of time dealing with boxes, packaging tape, lines at the post office, and just plain old the cost of it on top of the cost of everything else…  Now is the time to start talking about all of the tips and tricks out there for shipping holiday packages.

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Tip #1) Don’t procrastinate!  Sometimes we think we have plenty of time left to send our gifts but then we get to the post office and realize that everything ships slower during the holiday season because everyone is sending stuff.  Be sure to send your packages out extra early.  You should make sure that you already have a nice stack of shipping boxes off to the side so that you can pack your boxes at home, minimizing the amount of time you are going to need to spend in the post office.  By leaving yourself ample time for shipping, you can save a lot of money by choosing the slower routes.

Tip #2) Shop online!  Shopping online is one way to completely avoid post office lines and shipping costs.  Most online retailers off free shipping during the holiday season, and a lot of them even offer gift-wrapping at a small cost.  You could probably save money on the same item by buying it off the internet, too.

Tip #3) Choose well!  The shipping boxes you choose are going to set the tone for your shipping experience.  You want ones that are new and strong.  The USPS offers flat rate shipping boxes that will ship anywhere in the United States for the same amount, and these are a fabulous option during the holiday season.  You can stuff them to the brim and not wonder how much it’s going to cost you in the end.

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Tip #4) Pack smart!  Choose packaging supplies that are going to work in your favor, and don’t skimp on them.  Make some investments in bubble wrap or packing peanuts.  There is no point for the gifts you are sending to wind up broken in transit simply because you skipped a step.

Tip #5) Be prepared!  If you are sending perishable items, send them at the beginning of the week so there isn’t a chance of them sitting around over the weekend.  Make sure that whatever they are can handle the extreme temperatures that will come from being shipped.  If you are sending expensive items, spend the extra money by sending them next-day.  Make sure the box is small, and get it insured through your own insurance company.  Obviously, don’t advertise what is inside of the box.

A Safe Halloween and Trick-or-Treating

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What kid doesn’t love Halloween?  I think I have known only one, and he has such a profound fear of masks that the entire weeks surrounding the holiday are pretty much torture for him.  Okay, so I guess there are kids out there who don’t like it, but for the most part even the faint of heart still like to go out and knock on doors and have their costumes oohed and aahed over.

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Unfortunately, there are definitely some safety precautions that need to be put into place in this day and age.  Halloween might be a really fun time, but it’s also a good opportunity for people who are up to no good, and the busyness of it all can have us off our game.  Here are some helpful things to keep in mind:

  • Most of us probably know that you should inspect all Halloween candy before opening and eating. Even items that look sealed (skittles, little candy boxes of nerds, snickers…).  If a wrapper looks a little weird, like it’s faded, torn, or even unwrapped, you should absolutely throw it away.
  • Eat a good dinner before you go trick-or-treating so you don’t fill up on too much candy while you’re out. Those little candy boxes of nerds that I mentioned earlier won’t seem nearly so detrimental if you already had mashed potatoes and meatloaf.  Make it fun by coming up with a meal that you can make as a tradition each year.

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  • Do not homemade treats that people are passing out, unless you know the people.
  • Remember that chocolate is poisonous for dogs, so make sure they can’t accidentally get into your stash.
  • Be aware that a lot of costume jewelry made outside of the United States may contain lead, which can be toxic if it is ingested.
  • Have the number for poison control on hand just in case you think you’ve been poisoned.
  • It’s going to be dark, and there are going to be a lot of kids running around. Even crazier- they are all going to be in disguise!  Find a way to distinguish your kids from the others.  Maybe have them wear a glow bracelet or necklace, and be sure that they have a copy of your name, phone number, and address in their pockets or pinned somewhere to the inside of their costume.  Be sure you go over what they should do if a stranger invites them into their car or home.
  • Finally, what do you think 10 candy boxes of nerds equals? A stomach ache!  You can get pretty ill off of all the sweeteners from candy, so if you overdo it and wind up feeling terrible, chances are that you haven’t been poisoned and just overdid it.

Quirky Packaging Plus Clever Marketing Equals Successful Sales

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Did you know that people have been packaging their products for thousands of years?  As technology has advanced the process has only gotten that much more complex…and necessary!  We now live in such a competitive business world that your packaging design and marketing strategy are what is going to set you above your competitors and bring you in sales.  This is done by brainstorming, choosing the right packaging supplies, and having a team of qualified people (whether or not that includes you.  Sometimes you just gotta let other people do what they are good at, and you stick to what you are good at).

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As a matter of fact, packaging has evolved into its own industry.  The qualified people I was just talking about?  Their entire career is based on packaging and sales.  Ever seen that show Mad Men?  While I don’t know how or why the show ended the way that it did, the entire thing was based off of people in the advertising industry.

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When it comes to packaging design you need to decide what kind of packaging supplies you are going to need, and how you are going to utilize them.

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Have you ever seen the sandwich baggies or brown paper sacks that are covered with fake mold so that no one will want to steal your lunch?  That’s pretty stinking genius.  So the packaging supplies are pretty basic: plastic bags, paper bags.  It’s the creativity, the quirky idea of putting fake mold on the packages to deter lunch thieves, and the clever marketing campaign that calls them “anti-theft lunch bags” that makes this incredibly simple idea a huge success.

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It’s not always going to be that obvious, or that easy, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be possible.  Quirky packaging ideas and clever marketing strategies can be applied to any and all products, no matter how basic or mundane they may be.

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A colorful, shiny, meticulous design will speak of quality.  People want to buy something of quality.  I would sooner by a more expensive candy bar that uses muted tones, professional font, and pictures of the ingredients than I would buy one from Hershey’s.

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What are some ways that you can really attract customers to your product?  The ideas you come up with don’t even necessarily have to correlate with your product, they just have to draw people in.  Like the little tubs of ice-cream that you set on a mechanism and they essentially become bobble-heads.  This is because there would be the face of a monkey painted on the side of the cup and the mechanism is the bottom of the monkey.  Neither monkeys or bobble heads have anything to do with ice-cream, but people will choose this product purely for the novelty.