If you think work is tough or family life is exhausting, wait until you have to survive a move after buying a house.

It’s been said that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do in life, and I can absolutely second that statement. After moving over a dozen times in the past eight years, I have quite a bit of experience with the stress that comes with it. And when you’re buying a house, whether it’s your first or not, you’ll always find that the process is a lot harder than you thought. Even if you are organized. Even if you check off every box on every list. And even if you’ve done it before.

But instead of trying to focus on sticking with your plan or trying to make sure you enjoy the process, what you actually need to do is just figure out how to stay sane. You will get stressed and it will be hard. But if you can just keep your head on straight, everything will be fine. So let’s talk about some of the ways you can do just that.

Tip #1: Give yourself time.

First of all, you have to make sure you have time to move. It’s no good to think you can do it in a week or day. Don’t pick a random time and tell yourself that you’ll make it work. Pretending it is a simple task that you can get done easily in little time is the quickest way to stress yourself out. Instead, give yourself plenty of time to pack and get organized. Start planning weeks in advance – months, if you know that far ahead of time that you’ll be moving. When moving day comes you’ll be so glad you gave yourself enough time because even then it’s going to be a tight squeeze to get everything hauled to the new house on schedule.

Tip #2: Don’t go it alone.

Don’t try to do things all by yourself. Not only is it dangerous if you’re moving heavy furniture, but it is exhausting and takes so much longer alone. Round up some friends or family, hire a moving company (Australian readers – check out http://www.melbcheapsuburbmovers.com.au/!), or rent a moving van. Make this as easy as possible by getting as much help as you can.

Tip #3: Do pack smart.

When it comes to packing smart, check out tip on https://experthometips.com/ or even places like Pinterest. You may have your own way of doing things, but the experts on packing likely have some good advice for you to consider as well. Remember, the goal is to survive the move and keep your sanity! Put your pride and preferences aside and listen to the experts on this one.

Tip #4: Get an overlap.

Ideally you don’t want your move to cost more than it has to, but if you only get one day to move in, it’s going to cost you your sanity. If you can get a week or so between moving, you’ll be much better off. Doing this makes for less of a struggle and you can take your time to get things done. When we moved to our current home, we let our leases overlap by a month. This turned out to be a great thing because it was January, so the weather was rough, and having the extra time to move things little by little was easier on our hectic schedule.

Tip #5: Take your time.

Finally, when it comes to getting set up in the new place, just take your time. You’ve managed to organize, pack, and transport one entire house full of belongings into another home. You deserve a break! Order some take out, grab some drinks, and relax. Everything else can wait a day or two. Right now you need to make a toast to staying sane during the move.

What other tips do you have for moving that keeps you from pulling your hair out? Let us know in the comments!