Ready to move? Don’t wait until the last minute to get things ready. To avoid stress and complications, make sure you have these 10 things ready at least a few days before moving day.

1. Enough moving supplies, including cardboard boxes, packing peanuts and tape to seal the boxes.

2. Moving blankets to wrap furniture and fragile items.

3. A list of useful phone numbers for your new location, including your own, the movers’ local office, takeout food and a hotel midway to your destination in case you need to spend a night on the road.

4. A small moving box containing essentials, such as toothpaste and toothbrush, a towel, toilet paper, a first-aid kit, a cup and other things you might need on your first night at your new home. Having this available means you won’t have to dig in ten different moving boxes to get you through your first night.

5. A book or magazine to help you relax. It helps to take short breaks in between packing/unpacking to calm your mind and rest your body.

6. A large bottle of water. You’re bound to get thirsty with all the work you’ll be doing.

7. A sleeping bag if you’re moving in winter. Do you really want to sleep on the floor when you first arrive? Chances are you won’t be putting your bed together on your first night in the new place.

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Now that the move is over, it’s finally time to breathe. But before you settle in, you still have to unpack. Don’t rush into the project too quickly and too hard. Give yourself time to rest and relax from all the packing you’ve just been through. When you’re ready to unpack your moving boxes, take an organized approach.

Put each box in the room they belong in. Hopefully you’ve labeled the moving boxes with words like bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc. That way, you can open the box in the right room and don’t need to be carrying items all around the house to find their right spot.

Open the more important boxes first. Kitchen and bathroom are probably at the top of the list, since they will contain things you use on an everyday basis. You don’t need to start unpacking your clothes or book collection just yet.

As you unpack, put things away. Don’t pile them up on the floor or the couch. Unpack DVDs next to the TV table and put them away at once. Unpack your shoes next to your closet so you can organize them as you get them out of the moving boxes.

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Are the endless bottles of shampoo, shower gel and creams taking over the bathroom? If you’ve run out of space to store things, here are a few tips to help you get your bathroom back.

• Grab some medium sized boxes for moving and put everything in view inside it. This includes all bottles, beauty supplies, extra toilet paper rolls, magazines and knick-knacks. If your cabinets are also overflowing, take everything out as well.
• Sit on the ground with the box and go through everything in it. Do you really need five different bottles of shampoo, six different face creams and ten pairs of tweezers? Get rid of anything that looks or smells “old,” any container that’s almost empty and any product you haven’t used for longer than a month. If you haven’t seen the need for it until now, what are the chances you magically will tomorrow?
• Separate the items you use on an everyday basis to leave out. Everything else should go inside the cabinets. Consider getting small cardboard boxes, plastic baskets or containers to hold the items you’re putting away.
• Get baskets or caddies to organize everything. A small plastic basket on the sink can hold a number of products and make things look a lot tidier.

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You don’t need to spend a fortune on a home office. While electronics and specialty equipment costs might eat into your budget, the overall cost of setting a home office doesn’t have to be through the roof. Here are three things you can do to cut down on costs:

1. Don’t worry if you don’t have a whole room you can dedicate to an office. The cheapest way to deal with space is to choose a corner of the kitchen or living room and use it as an office. Don’t think about buying a whole new set of furniture but instead use what you already have. Any small table can be used as a desk and in pinch a regular kitchen chair (rather than a desk chair) will do as well.
2. Build your office slowly. Add bookcases, desktop accessories and even equipment as you go. For a start, you’re unlikely to need anything except a place to sit and write and maybe a computer and a phone. In the meantime, search garage sales, thrift shops and flea markets so you can get the items you need at a discount.
3. Think of alternative uses for things. A small kitchen table might be cheaper than a desk, and is basically the same. If you can’t afford bookshelves, look into kitchen shelves or even shower caddies to see if they can double as bookshelves. A small flower pot will cost you pennies –A lot cheaper than a penholder and both are likely to look pretty much the same.

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If you suffer from allergies, the idea of dealing with dust might be a little scary. This is especially true when moving. You’ll have to spend some time cleaning your old place before you leave and you should spend an hour or two cleaning your new home. This will get rid of any potential chemicals or allergens that might have been left behind by the former tenants.

Here are some tips on how to deal with the cleaning and stay healthy (and sane).

1. Hire a cleaning service if at all possible. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a professional. Pay a friend or acquaintance or help or post an ad in Craigslist asking for one-time cleaning help. If hiring a stranger, ask for references before letting that person into your home.

2. Vacuum first. Get rid of the dust, pet hair and cigarette ashes that might be flying around or stuck to the furniture. Drapes, pillows and upholstery in general tend to attract dust, so make sure you vacuum those well. If possible, use a HEPA vacuum cleaner, which have filters to help improve the quality of the air in the room.

3. Open the windows. It will get rid of the smell of mold and clear the air, so you can breathe better.

4. Rent a steam cleaner for the rugs if the previous tenants own a pet. There’s likely to be some pet hair and dandruff embedded in there and you want to get rid of it completely to prevent allergy attacks.

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After you finish unpacking your moving boxes into your new home you should consider was to protect your self from burglaries. Follow the below quick tips for a safe home:

1. Make sure all doors that open to the outside have dead bolt locks. Anything else is too flimsy and can be broken or dislodged to gain access into a house. Install a latch on the inside so you can double-protect the doors when you’re home. Put locks on the windows as well. Metal bars might be needed for low windows that can be easily accessed or if you live in a less-than-desirable environment.
2. Keep the lights on. Install motion-activated lights in the outside of your house so you’re not left in the dark. If you’re going to be away for a while, put your inside lights or even a radio on a timer so it looks like your house is occupied.
3. Get a home alarm system. You can buy a cheap one at most home repair shops and some are simple enough that you can install them yourself. These alarms will do nothing but make noise, however. For added security, get an alarm system connected with a security company. This means that if the alarm goes off, the company will know and notify the police.
4. Avoid obvious displays of wealth. If you buy a new computer or a plasma TV and then leave the empty box right outside your gate, you’re advertising your new electronics. The same is true if your TV or other expensive equipment is right against the front window, where everybody walking by can see it.

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If you’ve been living in a rental and want your security deposit back, you need to make sure that the place looks as close as possible to the way it was when you first moved in. Most places will allow for some wear and tear, which is natural and expected, but if your dog chew on the coffee table or you broke a lamp, these things will be discounted from your security deposit.

Chances are you’ll pay more if you leave things broken than if you replace them yourself. This is because your landlord is likely to get the best, most expensive replacement he can get. So if you can replace that broken lamp for a similar one without spending a fortune, do it.

Repair chipped paint and holes in the wall yourself. You’ll likely spend just a few dollars at Home Depot if you’re willing to do the work. If you leave it to your landlord, however, he’ll charge you for supplies and the time spent doing the repair –unless he pays somebody to do it and then it’ll end up costing three times more.

Clean the carpet if there’s one. If you can’t seem to get rid of stains and smells on your own, hire a rug shampooer. Although it looks like a vacuum, the machine uses steam and industrial-strength soap to clean difficult stains.

Throw away your garbage. Don’t leave bags or old things around or you might be charged a cleaning fee. Simply put stuff you dont want in some moving boxes and throw them out. It takes just a few minutes to walk your trash outside.

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Getting buried in paper? Catalogs, junk mail, bills and flyers can get overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a system in place to deal with them as they come in. The longer you leave them untouched, the worse it will get. Sometimes, all you need is a week for things to get out of control.

A good way to deal with them is to first attack the paperwork you already have. Go through everything and divide the papers into a few general piles. Things that have to be dealt with immediately, like bills or permissions from your child’s school, should go on a pile. Catalogs, discount coupons and other papers you’re not sure if you’re going to keep should go on a second pile. You can go through the pile later on and decide what to keep and what to toss.

Each new piece of paper that comes in should go into the appropriate pile immediately. Don’t relegate the process until the next day or you’ll end with a new mess of papers to deal with. When opening junk mail, do it next to the waste basket and immediately throw away or put aside for recycling anything you don’t want or need to keep.

Buy containers to store your paperwork. Receipts you need to save for tax purposes should have their own place, as should office paperwork and personal mail. If you receive magazines and catalogs through the mail, have a special basket designated for them. Also, go through them on a regular basis and recycle or donate those who have been around for a while, so you can make space for the new issues coming in.

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Broke but tired of looking at the blank walls all day long? You don’t need to spend a single penny to change the look and feel of your home. With a little time and a lot of imagination, you can create a brand new room in just a couple of hours.

1. Hang something on the wall. If you can’t afford (or are not allowed to) paint the walls, your next best option is to cover them. Use a nail or double-sided tape and hang a colorful rug on the wall.

2. Move things around. Repurpose furniture for other rooms, use sheets as curtains or use a bookcase as a clothing shelf. Change the layout of your room to bring attention to a different corner.

3. Place houseplants on windowsills and tables. If you have a large potted plant outdoors, consider bringing it again and placing it next to the sofa.

4. Visit the dollar store. Not technically free, but can’t afford a few one-dollar items? Get frames or mirrors to place on your walls or a chair pad to change the color scheme on your kitchen without changing the big items.

5. Look for a few large items, rather than lots of knick-knacks. Larger items have more of a visual impact, while small things can make a place look cluttered.

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Renting a new apartment? Don’t move in just yet. If you can afford to wait for a couple of days, visit the apartment after the old tenant has moved out and do a few things to prepare the place.

1. Clean the whole place again. Even if it looks clean, spray everything with disinfectant and clean with paper towels or disposable cloths. Not only will this leave a better scent in the place, but you’re guaranteeing that it’s really clean, rather than just dusted. Before you leave, put a couple of room deodorizers around the apartment. When you come back, the place will smell fresh and clean.
2. Replace the toilet seat. Just because.
3. Give the freezer a quick cleaning and then place a fridge deodorizer inside. Or just place an open box of baking soda inside. This will absorb all odors that might be lingering and give you a clean start.
4. Place a few roach traps around the apartment. Chances are there won’t be any bugs around, but if there are, you can get rid of them before you even move in.
5. Plug in the fridge and buy a bottle of Coca Cola or beer and place it inside. Add a bag of chips or some cookies. After all the work of moving in, you’ll be happy to find something waiting for you in the fridge!

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