Moving next week and stressed!!!

[Clarabellawilliamson]

Help me manage this stress!! Any tips welcome....
Moving from a 2 bed (owned) to 3 bed (rented) on the other side of the country. We have accepted an offer on our house but no where near completion or anything.

I am paying for a full packing service, and they are coming to pack on Monday but I am still so stressed!! I m taking the kids up to my mums on Monday (near the rental) and DH will be staying here and dealing with everything and cleaning here etc while I will meet them at the other end. He will bring the cat up with him.

I am just so stressed about stupid things, especially things I can't control. What are your top tips for making moving day itself less stressful (especially with small children and a cat!)

Write down all the thoughts that are popping into your head and stressing you out. Often just 'downloading' things is a relief. Then you can work through the list you've made and see what you can actually do and prioritise accordingly.

Pack a suitcase of clothes and toiletries, etc for the first couple of days and get a couple of boxes ready - one to take kettle, tea and coffee, a few mugs, spoons and another with cleaning materials so these things don't get packed.

Why are your you moving out before you've sold? Have you got a contingency plan if the sale falls through? This would be my biggest worry!
I can't see how it can be less stressful than you've already made it. You've got packers in, you won't be there, you're taking kids to MILs and you're moving to a bigger property.
I would suggest you go to your new property to give it a good clean if it needs it before your stuff arrives.
I would also suggest that you don't leave the cat with DH, as it's very likely to be stressed itself and run away. Can you not take it to your mums or put it in a cattery for a few days?

If the OP is moving into a rented house it should damn well be clean before they move in.

@wowfudge you are right but sadly this rarely happens

@Clarabellawilliamson no advice but also moving long distance next week from a place we own to a rental. Our sale has also stalled but we decided to go ahead with the rental before the sale cleared to be able to move during school holidays.
We (perhaps stupidly) decided to do our own packing as going from 3 to 2 bed and need to throw away lots of stuff.
Good luck!

Thanks everyone- we have to move now as new jobs start in our new city in 3 weeks (in schools). We can afford both for a while, not ideal as it eats into money for a future house fund but there is a limited window in which this move is possible so it's now or never!

Fridge is covered in lists so that's something I suppose!

Other than being clean and tidy with stuff not to be packed labelled, is there anything else I need to do to prepare for packers?!! It feels like I should be doing more I think.

Mrssunshine I can't believe you tagged me for that! Renters need to stop accepting dirty places or at least get themselves clued up and document the condition of the place they are renting and ensure it is recorded in the inventory.

One good thing- the rental is spotless!

@dimmu good luck with the move!! Hope you get everything sorted