Tuesday, August 3, 2010

When It's Time to Move

Moving can be (and should be) an extremely exciting time for many people. So, if this is the case, then why do so many of us become stressed out at the thought of having to pack up our knick-knacks in a box and ship them off to a new place?

When most people think about moving, they automatically tend to focus on the negative. Perhaps, you're moving because you need a change of venue- in which case, maybe the move isn't as bad as some other people's experiences. However, for a growing number of Americans today, moving into a new house isn't because they've outgrown their current home or because they've always wanted to know what it was like to live on the West Coast. Rather, more and more people are moving because they do not have a choice. With the economy in the dumps, a lot of families are experiencing first hand what it is like to go through the process of foreclosure, in which their homes are essentially taken away from them because they no longer have the financial resources to make their mortgage payments each month.

In the case where your house is foreclosed upon, many people are often only given a marked number of days (not months) to gather all of their personal belongings and find another place to stay. See how things can suddenly get stressful? When it is time to make a move if you have been foreclosed upon, the first thing that you will probably want to do is use one of your lifelines (to borrow a game show term). Phone a friend who lives nearby or contact a family member who may have some available resources to help you out. And if all fails, get in touch with your local YMCA, which might be able to arrange a temporary living situation until you find something more permanent.

Make a list of all of the important things that you own and start packing things up and labeling them so that they do not get lost. If you have the available resources, you may want to consider renting a storage facility to house all of your furniture and other larger or more miscellaneous items that you won't be able to use. The less that you have to travel around with, the better it will be for you. If you find that your financial situation is dire and you really cannot afford to rent out a storage facility, then you may want to consider donating your items to your local Goodwill store or Salvation Army; or you may want to consider having an impromptu yard sale- this way you can at least make back a small amount of money without totally giving your once beloved items away.

Moving is hard enough as it is. If you find that you want to go the Salvation Army route and just want to donate your unused items, make sure that you call up the store or go in person and explain your situation. Depending on the circumstances or on the area that you live in, some Salvation Army or thrift store-like locations will actually come to your home to collect items.

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