I just recently moved…again. It seems like the only thing I have been doing for the past two years is packing up my stuff to move to one place, get everything unpacked and the way I want it, only to pack everything back up and start the process all over again. See I travel for my job, and sometimes that traveling is actually relocating. Suffice to say, I am in a constant state of moving. In all my moving adventures, I like to think I have become something of an expert in the area. I have moved myself, and hired movers. I have used long distance movers to get all my stuff across the country, and I have packed up my car and trailer and done the hauling myself. I have used pods to store my stuff when I knew I would only be gone for a short amount of time, and I have literally thrown out half my belongings because I was sick of moving them. All in all, it has been a tying experience. But I have come up with a few ways to mitigate the experience on the way, and I want to share a couple tips that I think will help.

First thing to remember when moving is that making a pre moving checklist will save you a lot of hassle later on. Keeping track of what is in what box, what costs you are going to incur, what mode of transportation you are going to use, and what utilities you need to still have turned off might all seem like commonsense things, but in the hustle and bustle of moving, things will always get forgotten. Keeping a moving list will ensure that you do not overlook some minor detail that you will kick yourself for down the road.

Second, make sure you explore all your options beforehand to find the best deals. Regardless if you are having professional movers do the work, are renting a van yourself, or making the move in your own car, figuring out which way will be the most cost effective can literally save you thousands. Moving is always an expensive ordeal, but there is no need to pay more than you have to just because you have not looked into all your options. I have been there and I know.

Follow these tips and your moving experience should be as painless as possible.