If you were to think of the single most stressful period in your life, what would it be? Some would choose school exams, some would say pregnancy, but more often than not, you’re going to hear moving house as the answer. Because in general, trying to pack up your entire life and move it to a new home is something pretty much impossible to do without breaking a sweat.

But there’s definitely a difference between breaking a sweat and freaking out. Although moving house is never going to be easy, there are ways that you can make it a little less stressful for yourself. So if you’re about to move house and you want to get through it without losing your mind, here’s what you need to do.

How to make moving house less stressful:

1. Plan ahead

Your first step that’s always going to save you is being well prepared. If you’ve ever heard the saying 'fail to prepare and you’ll prepare to fail' before, then you know exactly why this is important. Moving house can be made so much easier if you just prepare for it properly. In some circumstances, this isn’t always possible. But in most, you can plan ahead. You should have enough lead time to work on all areas of the move so you’re not too stressed out nearer the time. Because leaving everything to the last minute is a sure fire way to make things worse.

2. Pack ahead

While you’re keeping yourself busy with plans, you’re then going to want to think about packing ahead. Packing for a house move isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But you have to do it at some point - that’s a fact that you can’t escape. Of course, there’s always going to be things that can’t be packed in advance, but most things can be.

Read how I organise things here: My top tips to prepare for a house move 

3. Call in the experts

If you try to do everything yourself, you’re also going to burn out. It’s common to try and cut back in any way that you can, but when it comes to the moving process, working with experts can be in your favour. You’ll be less stressed with professionals helping you, and the move will be more efficient too.

4. Have an overlap

One of the best things you can do when you move is to try and get an overlap between your places. If you have only one day to move in, it’s going to be stressful. However, if you can start moving stuff to the new place before you have to be out of the old one, it’s going to be much more of an easier ride.

This is easier said than done and most house moves, especially when buying, take place on the same day if in a chain.  Just make sure you're up super early and try to hire the van the day before so you're not having to waste time picking vans up.

5. Take your time

And finally, try to take it steady and enjoy the entire experience. If you get a new home hamper from your neighbours, even if you’ve only unpacked a little, kick back and relax with some of your new goodies. Once you’re in, you’ve got all the time in the world to unpack. Just be sure to take your time and don't put pressure on yourself to do everything immediately.  Stay calm and you’ll always stay sane.