How to Move Into a New Home While Planning a Wedding
I’m currently in the middle of moving and it made me think of the dozens of clients that have chosen to make two huge life hurtles at the same time. A lot of my clients bought a home while planning a wedding—it’s just the thing to do. Planning a wedding or moving somewhere is so difficult by themselves. Together is a recipe for a nightmare. This guide to moving while planning a wedding will give you a list of things to tackle and will hopefully make things easier for you to figure out!
Look at some of these hacks. They’re GENIUS, especially the trash bags around hung clothing.
Set a budget for both
This is so important! Moving takes careful budgeting and weddings require one too! Doing both at the same time is going to take some real intentional care. First, make a list of things you need to do for moving (suggestions below). Then reserve a day to do some of those. For example, taking one whole day and changing your address on everything is an efficient way to do it. The next list, for the wedding, write down the main tasks you need to do i.e. hiring the main vendors, tasting food, creating a guest list. Then it’s time to sit down and reserve days on your calendar to do these things. p.s. especially with movers, make sure to get multiple quotes before you decide on a company!
Donate your items
For some, this might be difficult. While I began to prep for my move, I spent literal weeks going through overstuffed boxes, emptying closets, donating oodles of clothing, and spending time filling my registry with my dream apartment items like an iridescent kettle. But if you never get rid of anything, you’ll just be accumulating more and more things. Stuff, really. Just Marie Jondo that shit and throw it away!
Munch on Your Snacks
Moving with food for distances longer than an hour or so is difficult. So is carrying it up flights of stairs if you aren’t on the bottom floor. Take time to eat as much as you can from your home. Save the boxes, time, and energy! Also, consider wedding food leftovers! Often, caterers let you take food home but make sure you have somewhere to put it. Try to have some space between the wedding and moving day.
Take Inventory
Even if you’re moving without professionals, it’s a good idea to take photos of everything valuable in case you need to apply for an insurance claim. On that note, if you’re moving out of an apartment and/or moving into one, ALWAYS take photos of the space. Rental companies don’t care about you and will try to leech out as many pennies from your pocket as possible. Always stay armed and at the ready!
Organize!
I’m a massive fan of plastic organizational boxes. They’re clear and let you know what’s inside. As someone with an object permanence issue (thanks ADHD), I need to see things to know they exist. Clear boxes are so helpful on this front. You don’t have to be a minimalist to value the organization of things. My kitchen is filled with labeled containers of my plentiful amount of cooking ingredients. My pans are organized in a cabinet with shelves. My photography closet is carefully stacked with various items I might need one day. It just feels better to have an uncluttered space and moving is a fabulous time to do this!
Check on Tax Write-Offs
Unfortunately, thanks to Big Government, you can no longer write off moving expenses on your federal taxes. If you’re self-employed, your company can reimburse you for some of the costs but generally, normal folx cannot.
Places to Change Your Address
-
- Utility Bills
- Credit Cards
- Insurance
- Banks
- Your delivery apps, including Instacart
- Amazon
- Internet Webpage Autofills
- Voting registration
- Drivers License
- Memberships
- Pet microchips
- Wedding registries (make sure to decide where the gifts will be sent)
Make Sure to Change Your Address Ahead of Time
Take five minutes and change your forwarding address now. You can set the date ahead of time on the USPS website. Doing it ahead of time ensures less blooper time for missed mail. This can cause issues with wedding gifts—even more important of a reason to take care of it!
Make Your Wedding Registry the Same as Your Housewarming!
Moving into a new place is essentially starting a new life together. When you’re working on your registry, it might be tempting to ask for a HoneyFund. If you have to choose, consider whether or not a honeymoon is more important than having things you actually need in your new home.
