The ideal moving strategy goes like this: begin planning months ahead, choose a moving company long before hand, and take your time to pack and organise your stuff. What happens when life gets in the way, and you cannot avoid the last minute move? Moving house in a hurry can be challenging, but you can still get it done. Here are some tips to help you out.

1. Do Not Panic

The first thing you really need to do is to calm down, and get yourself mentally prepared for the move. Moving would be less stressful if you had more time on your hands, but there is little you can do about it at this point. Resist the temptation to go into panic mode, and try to maximize the little time that you have left until moving day.

2. Contact a Moving Company Right Away

You need to choose a moving company. You should go for a reliable and experienced company that can deliver on short notice. While you do not have enough time to research properly, it is important to be sure that you are engaging the services of trustworthy movers.

Given the circumstances, you may have to pay a little more than you expected. Resist the temptation to go for a cheap option, as it might cost you more in the long run. Remember that even though you are rushed, you are still moving your valuables and belongings.

3. Ask for Help

You need all the assistance that you can get at this point. It is a good idea to get family and friends to lend a helping hand.

4. Organize and Pack in Record Time

A moving checklist helps you organize as much as possible within the limited time that you have. A good idea is to stick to a strict moving calendar. Consider getting a notebook and writing down all the pressing tasks that need to be accomplished by moving day, and allocating each day to clearing out and packing specific items.

A strategy to help you survive this mad rush, especially as you may not be able to accurately update your moving list as you pack, is to take pictures of your belongings as you put them in boxes. This way, you are able to keep record and save time.

Remember to properly protect fragile items and breakables by padding them with soft clothing. Also, don’t forget to label boxes appropriately and add handling instructions, for example ‘fragile’.

5. Do Not Forget Your Essential Box

Ideally, if you did not have to rush your move, packing non-essential items would have been the first move. However, with limited time, you cannot abide by this rule.

When moving in a rush, the first thing you should pack is a box containing all essential items that you will need for the few days within which you need to pack.  Consider items that you can hardly do without when packing this box. Some clothes, utensils, prescription drugs, chargers for your electronic gadgets and so on, will surely be required.