A new survey confirms what most of us think is true: when you move, things rarely go to plan, and you end up improvising at the last minute. People in Suffolk and elsewhere seem to have the same approach, just opening a drawer and filling it with anything to hand, and hoping it all makes sense later. Moving is often thought of as a new beginning, but the process itself is seldom as neat as you’d like.

The survey’s results show that even the best intentions for a smooth move fall apart as soon as you start packing. You might make lists, buy boxes, and even discuss what to write on labels, but when you’re short on time, getting things done quickly becomes more important than being methodical. This leaves you with drawers, bags, and boxes crammed with all sorts of unrelated things, all of which will have to be found again at the new place.

The great packing illusion

Many of us begin a house move with the intention of being properly organised throughout. For a brief time, you’re all about neatly sorting and packing. But this doesn’t last. As moving day looms, what you need to do shifts: you simply aim to get everything out of the house, not necessarily packed in a sensible manner. 

The survey highlighted the “for now” drawer as a very common occurrence. It starts as a quick fix for small bits and pieces, but quickly becomes a dumping ground for anything that doesn’t have an obvious place. So, phone chargers end up with cooking tools, paperwork with spare keys, and anything important is just crammed wherever there’s room. 

This does buy you some time at that moment, but it usually leads to a lot of confusion later. Unpacking is slower because each drawer or box contains a jumble of items, all of which require another sort. And yet, a lot of people say they’d do the same thing again next time, prioritising speed over being in order when a move is bearing down on you.

When reality sets in

As the reality of things sinks in, even the most organised among us at home begin to cut corners. The survey states that not enough hours in the day, being occupied, and underestimating the number of your possessions are all causes of a more chaotic packing method. 

For some, the experience is enough to make them reconsider. They admit they’d rather sell estate quickly with an online house-buying service than face the packing process again, which involves sorting and boxing. It illustrates just how exhausting moving is, especially when you’re also keeping up with your everyday life.

A house move will likely not be as orderly as you’d hoped, and maybe that’s part of the reason it’s the way it is. The mix of detailed preparation and last-minute decisions makes it both a stressful and, oddly, a memorable experience. 

Those drawers of random things aren’t the most logical approach, but they are a pretty standard tale of people trying their hardest whilst stressed. And once everything is at the new place, you can always get it all properly arranged… though perhaps not all in one go.