Are you moving? If you are, you’re probably suffering, or will suffer from moving stress at some point. Why? Because moving can be a stressful time…But there’s opportunity in that stress, and you can make it less stressful on yourself.

Packing sucks. I’ll be honest, I hate it when it comes time to move house sits. And because I’m the Tetris champion in our small family of two, I get to pack our two medium sized suitcases. One thing that never fails; within an hour of finishing packing, my wife, Shelly, will ask where’s the (fill in the blank with something, anything, it doesn’t matter what it is, it’s the fact I’m expected to take inventory when packing to move across town).

Moving stress occurs for even the shortest of moves. For us, there’s the moving stress of a new house sit and the questions that surround said new house sit. Will it be to our standards of cleanliness? What will the animals REALLY be like? What’s the cookware like? Will the homeowners leave a fully stocked bar and fridge full of perishable foods that must be eaten? And so on. We’ve had both ends of the spectrum, and I’d like to think we’ve seen it all, or almost all, but we still get the odd surprise. That being said, we still suffer from moving stress when it comes time to switch houses.

When moving to another house, town, country, or if you’re a teen boy moving down to the basement, it can be even more stressful than simply moving house sits. New neighbours, new classmates, new language, new climate, new…everything!

But there are ways to deal with that moving stress. It takes a bit of work on your part, but it’s do-able.  It’s really more about changing your thought process. All that aforementioned “new” stuff should be looked at as opportunities to experience something new.

And don’t dwell on the daunting tasks of packing, the wrapping of fragile items, the re-opening of boxes, the organizing of cabinets, the “ah crap, where did I put the slap-chop?” Oh, by the way, when you’re packing for a move, make an inventory list on the outside of each box. That’ll lower your moving stress tenfold. Confession, I don’t know how much tenfold is, but it sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?

Instead of stressing about all the things you have to do to prepare for your move, think of all the fun stuff you’ll get to look forward to.

What fun stuff am I talking about?

• Scoping out your new neighborhood…
• Dining at new/hidden gem restaurants…
• Cheering for and attending new sports events/teams…
• Trying a new gym/yoga studio…
• Exploring the parks, bike paths, playgrounds, pools, and/or splash pads…
• Walking the beaches, trails, or main streets…
• Checking out the eclectic neighbourhood shops selling overpriced stuff where nobody ever seems to buy anything yet the shop somehow stays in business…
• Studying traffic patterns (yup, nerd)…
• Discovering coffee shops offering the best carrot cake (this may take multiple visits and multiple carrot cake samplings)…
• Finding new or improved vantage points to people watch…
• People watching in general from the confines of you new humble abode…
• Meeting your new neighbors…
• Talking $hit about your new neighbors when you return home after meeting them…
• Inviting aforementioned new neighbors over for drinks to get into a drunken stuper and wake up with an epic and much talked about hangover with your new friends.

See, moving stress doesn’t have to exist if you don’t want it to. As Monty Python sang; always look on the bright side of life/death!

Now go sell all your stuff – just don’t stress about it!