How To Stay Sane While You’re Moving House

Over the next few weeks I’m facing a few big changes to my normal routine, the biggest of which is that I’m moving!

Steve and I have bought our first house together and we couldn’t be more excited to begin making the place our own! Luckily, it’s close to where we currently live, so some things won’t be too different. But I know there will be at least a few weeks of adjustment while we pack and unpack and setup our new life together.

With this coming up, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to keep myself grounded and sane during the move.

I personally find that big life transitions always feel dreamy in the lead up – especially when I’m focused on what everything will look and feel like when I’m settled into my new life. But the weeks or months leading up to it often don’t feel the way I’d like. There’s uncertainty, there’s disruption and simple things take longer than they normally would.

So I thought I’d put together a list of the things I’m focusing on to keep myself sane over the coming weeks! Even if you’re not moving or facing a transition, I feel like the holidays is always a bit disruptive – so I hope this helps!

1. Have Realistic Expectations

If you’re anything like me, you have hiiiiigh expectations for what your new life should look and feel like. And while I do definitely get worried that if I lower my expectations of myself then things won’t be as good, I’ve found that the opposite is true! The more compassionate and forgiving I am with myself, the better the outcome. And the more enjoyable the process too!

A prime example of this is that I’ve found myself desperately want my house to look like it’s straight from Pinterest – from day one. And while there are some small things I can do to make our house much more homely (more on this in a minute!) the reality is that I’m not going to be living in an interior designer’s dream from the get go!

So I have a choice – I can focus on the things about my house that I wish I could change but can’t (yet). Or I can focus on the things I love about the house and look forward to adding more of my own personal touches in the future (instead of resenting that it’s there now).

How I feel about my house comes from my thoughts about the house, not by the house itself. And I don’t want to spend so much time focusing on the things I don’t like that I miss the magical beginning. One day, this will be the ‘good old days’. And I don’t want to wish them away!

2. Make Your Bed Every Morning

I often find it’s the simplest things that make me feel the most grounded, and making my bed each morning is something that’s a huge help! I’m the kind of person that only really makes the visible sheets and covers look pretty (I couldn’t care what it looks like underneath haha) so it takes less than 30 seconds. But it always has me feeling organised and together.

3. Have A Healthy Breakfast

This sounds so obvious, I know! But I personally find that as long as I make sure I’m getting at least one healthy meal per day, the rest is easier. And breakfast is the easiest since it’s first up (and I find a healthy breakfast sets a healthy tone for the day too). I also like to make sure this meal isn’t too rich – especially if I’ll be eating foods I don’t normally have later on in the day.

Since it’s nearly summer, my favourite healthy breakfast at the moment is a smoothie with:

• 1 frozen banana
• ½ cup raw rolled oats
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use this one)
• 1 tsp peanut butter (I use one that’s 100% peanuts)
• Water

And in winter, I basically have the same thing – just as porridge with everything else mixed in! I find this is easy for me to have every morning since all of the ingredients are fairly cheap and don’t perish quickly (I like to peel and freeze my bananas on the day I buy them).

4. Sweat Everyday

Ok, at this point you’re probably thinking that everything in this list is SO obvious. But it really is these little things that make sure a huge difference!

I feel like I’ve got my shit together when I’ve gotten myself to the gym in the morning, so making sure that happens is an absolute must! I’m about to change gyms so that will be a bit of a mini life transition too, but I’m committing to going at the same time each morning (6am) because I’m already in the habit of doing this from my last gym.

And just a note here – what I’m really trying to say is to do something that keeps you feeling grounded. For me, that’s exercise. But for you it might be something else like a skincare routine or doing a yoga flow. Whatever it is – make sure you make the time to do it!

5. Find Things To Be Grateful For

There are always moments in the journey that aren’t what we imagined. Something doesn’t go as planned, everything takes longer than it ‘should’ or we just can’t get ourselves feeling settled. Whatever it is, I always like to find the things I’m grateful for, as this always puts my feet back on the ground.

As you might already know, every night Steve and I tell each other three good things about the day and one thing we’re grateful for. And I find this always helps keep me sane!

6. Personalise Your Surroundings

I guess this one really only applies if you’re moving, but since I am – I’ve included it! I find that when I’m going through a transition it makes a huge difference if I spend a little bit of time putting those personal touches (that often seem insignificant) on my surroundings.

The curtains in the house that Steve and I have just bought are HIDEOUS. So even though we haven’t decided exactly what we want instead, I’m going to IKEA this afternoon to find some curtains that will make the place feel like ours in the meantime. It’s the little things like this that make such a big difference!

Also, for more ideas about how to get your life organised – make sure you check out my blog post and podcast episode on how to get organised for the new year!

If you’re facing a life transition, I hope this helps!

Sam xx