How many times have you moved house? How often has your life been packed into cardboard boxes and suitcases or jammed into the back of a van that barely closes?

You clear up, clear out and in doing so you wipe away all the traces of the life you once lived. The pencil marks that told the kids’ ages, the chip in the paint where the bed hit the wall when you moved in, all the black and blue and rainbow marks scrubbed and mended until the house has no tales left to tell.

You find that library book that went missing a year and a half ago. A Lego man is finally reunited with his spaceship after an extended period of captivity under the furthest corner of the sofa. There are photo frames and children’s games. Baseball caps crammed into a box with fake roses and tea lights.

You have this thought: the easiest thing to pack are these cuddly toys, they are so accommodating. You vow that next time you move you will have more cuddly toys and less china.

Anything that makes moving house simpler is well worth knowing. Here are some well-earned tips from global travel expert, Claire Vorster.

1. Lighten The Load Start editing your stuff at least a month before your move date. Moving house is the best opportunity you will ever have to shed that sofa you never liked, clothes you haven’t worn. In short, don’t pay to move anything that you do not need or want to see again. Sell it or give it away, you’ll feel all the better for lightening your load.

2. Shop Around We’ve been quoted $1,200 and $2,300 by two companies for the same move, so it pays to shop around when choosing your moving company. Also check exactly what you are getting for your $s. Will they be packing for you? How long will it take? What kind of insurance do they have if anything happens to the moving vehicle?

3. Labels Are King The last thing you want is to be confronted with 80 or more identical boxes as you step into your new home. Label each box clearly with a brief idea of what’s in it and where it should go. Also, don’t label the top of the box, label the sides. If you have boxes stacked on top of each other, you will to be able to see what each box is.

4. Just Breathe The last few days before you move and the first few days after are always a little strange. Moving can be unsettling for everyone, so remember to take a deep breath and make steady progress rather than trying to get everything perfect on the first day. Pace yourself.

5. Leave the Lost for Last Every move we make, I open a box full of random things and feel like giving up. This is what I have learned, if you don’t know where it goes, leave the whole box until later or keep a couple of boxes for all the random, homeless things from other boxes. Do the most logical unpacking first and save the other stuff for later when you are feeling more in control of everything.

Moving from one place to another, like changing jobs, can be stressful because for a time, we are neither in one place or another. So be kind to yourself and remember that the upheaval never lasts forever. Take it from someone who knows.