Staying Sane During a Move? Yes, It's Possible | A stress-Free Moving guide

A stress - free moving guide from a professional organizer (and mom of three)

Since graduating from college a “few“ years ago, I’ve moved houses at least 10 times (that I can remember) — a couple of those, even across the globe. My three kids, in fact, each came home from the hospital to a different house, with increasing levels of chaos.

The first few moves — the ones I went through as a young, carefree single adult — were a breeze. I’d pack a day or two in advance, toss a few suitcases and boxes into a car, and that was it. But as life’s responsibilities — and with them, stress — increased, so did my literal and metaphorical baggage.

Even in the middle of a move, your home can hold peace. You don’t need perfection — just small steps and breathing room.

At the peak of my family’s cluttered chaos, moving was a months-long ordeal. We’d start weeks in advance packing “unimportant things,” or things “we didn’t need” — and of course, the infamous “things we even forgot we had.” Once in the new house, those boxes would be unpacked somewhere, only to be forgotten all over again… until the next move.

Each move was more stressful than the last, simply because we kept accumulating. Things we bought. Things we were gifted. Things passed on to us. We weren’t controlling what came into our home — worse, we didn’t even know we were supposed to.

The last move before we embraced the KonMari lifestyle was the most chaotic. Not just because of the clutter, but because we were temporarily moving into my husband’s childhood home — meaning we weren’t just dealing with our mess, but with generational clutter too.

The first few days after moving in were borderline traumatic. Our “home” looked like something out of a hoarding show. It was overwhelming just being there. I could feel my shoulders tense every time I looked around — and we had no idea where anything was.

“Nothing happens until the pain of remaining the same outgrows the pain of change.”— Arthur Burt

It was in that moment — overwhelmed and trying to unpack the impossible — that I made a promise to myself: the next move (which we knew would be overseas) would be different. We were done living that way.

Once we made the decision to live more simply and intentionally, we started decluttering — seriously decluttering. We donated, recycled, or discarded every single item that didn’t spark joy. For us, that ended up being 70–80% (maybe even more) of everything we owned.

Some of the guidelines we followed:

• If it didn’t fit into the life we envisioned in our next home, we didn’t keep it.

• If we’d forgotten we even had it — we let it go. You can’t miss what you didn’t know existed.

• We let go of the guilt around not keeping gifts. Even beautiful, well-meaning ones that were only gathering dust. Instead of guilt, we practiced gratitude.

• We donated most hand-me-downs. We realized we had more than enough, and that others could benefit far more.

• We stopped passing things down unless someone specifically asked. Being on the receiving end of endless “stuff” was part of what got us here. Instead, we donated to organizations with real needs.

Moving can be stress free

When the time came for our overseas move, we had even fewer boxes than we’d planned for. We thought we’d need to ship a few — but in the end, we boarded the plane with just nine checked bags and suitcases for our entire family of five. It was completely a stress-free move.

We did choose to buy a few things new upon arrival (like furniture and kitchen “komono”), but honestly, if we had to move again right now, it would be simple. We could pack the whole house in two days — and unpack in another two.

And here’s the beautiful part: this simplicity was possible not in spite of our kids, but because of them.

When you reduce what you own by 80%, everyone — even little ones — knows where everything belongs. Without the overwhelm and overstimulation of clutter, kids become capable, self-sufficient helpers. Even our three-year-old knew where to put each item as we unpacked.

When life is simple, moving becomes what it’s meant to be:

A fresh start.

A time to grow closer as a family.

An opportunity to reassess, reconnect, and embrace new adventures — together.