Moving house is a life-changing experience. Not only do you get to experience a totally new location, which in many cases is more suitable for your needs and the needs of your family (as that is generally the reason that people move), but it is a chance to leave behind any negativity from your old home and start fresh. I like to look for the life lessons in all big life changes, and moving house is such a poignant time where there are countless lessons to learn. Here are some of the things I learned about myself by moving house.

I don’t need everything that I thought I did

I definitely wouldn’t consider myself a minimalist – I’m someone who tends to collect things and keep them for ‘just in case’, often telling myself I’m saving money by buying things in bulk. The idea of packing up everything that I own and then unpacking it again in a whole new location, honestly made my stomach sink. This forced me to think about the things that I actually use on a daily basis, and only keep the things that are meaningful to me. I stopped short of asking myself if my belongings sparked joy, but I definitely took a look at what I owned and asked myself if this was really worth packing, moving, and unpacking again. 

It is okay to pay for help

When I last moved I was living by myself in the middle of the city, and I didn’t know how I was going to get everything back and forth, short of taking multiple train journeys with lots of bags on my back. Even though the tube journeys would be relatively short, London felt like the largest place in the world when I was carrying all of my belongings in increments. When I found out about the man van London felt much smaller and more manageable, and I realised that paying for help was much better value than the stress I would have imposed on myself for the sake of saving that money. I also took on free help, such as that of my closest friends (or if not free, I would at least pay for a treat for them!) where normally I would be quite a self-sufficient person. It takes a village! 

I am an excellent project manager

Whether you live on your own or you’re moving with a large family, moving house requires some level of project management. From preparing the actual move to packing to navigating moving day and everything in between, moving house teaches you that you’re actually much better than you realised at executing a plan and seeing it through to the end. There are lots of moving parts in a house move, and by the time you sit down for your first glass of wine on your couch in your new living room, you come to realise how much work you actually put into a moving house – both physically and mentally.

Have you moved to a new home recently? What did you learn about yourself and your family during the process? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Georgie

Georgie – twenty something content creator based in Yorkshire, writing about all things pretty in life