A cross-country move will be one of the most challenging chapters in your life. To make sure your cross country moving is successful, you’ll need to do a great deal of planning and preparing.

The Long Move Ahead

Moving cross-country takes relocating to another level. When you move to the other side of the country, you’ll need to save money and time as you prepare to make the trip. If you’re preparing for a cross-country move, read the following four most common mistakes will keep you from doing the same during your move.

1. Wait to Plan Your Move

A cross-country move takes months of planning in advance. Planning should begin the moment you learn that you will be moving. While you may feel like you have ample time to get ready, the days will quickly pass by until moving day finally arrives.

Instead of waiting until the last minute and rushing around when it’s actually time to move, start now. Put a schedule together that helps you focus your moving efforts on a daily basis. Ideally, you’ll be able to read everything well in advance before it’s actually time to load your things onto the moving van.

2. Not Planning to Set Up Your Utilities

While you should be focused on wrapping up everything at your old home, you still need to a lot sometimes to preparing your new home. Too often, people arrive at their new place after moving cross-country to realize they forgot to set up the utilities. While you can get your utilities set up fairly easily, it can be a hassle to deal with if you have just endured a stressful move.

3. Putting off Packing and Purging

Going through the pre-moving process of packing and purchasing is tedious, but it must be done. This process always takes longer than you think, so don’t wait too long to begin. Waiting until the night before a move to assemble your belongings is a guaranteed way to send your stress levels through the roof. Instead of putting it off, come up with a strategy for packing that will allow you to move at your own pace.

4. Not Labeling Your Boxes

Failing to properly label your boxes will make unpacking a nightmare. As you begin packing, be sure you have a clear method for sorting and labeling your belongings. There’s nothing worse than getting to your new home and having to stare at and go through 20 unidentified boxes. Having clear labels on the front of every box will take the guesswork out of unpacking.

As you prepare for your upcoming cross-country move, take the time now to make sure you do everything you can to make the experience as stress-less as possible. Use these four moving mistakes as a what-not-to-do guide when it comes time to start packing. With the right mindset and moving practices, this cross-country trip will be as painless as possible.