Strategies To Stay Calm When Emptying A House

One of the reasons, I chose to stay intentionally calm in April is that we were scheduled to be emptying our house in Mumbai. Although, we’ve been living in Hyderabad for 9 years, our Mumbai place was full of our furniture, kitchen appliances, linen and loads of books. When the building society decided to start the process of demolishing the building and redeveloping it, we began to plan moving our stuff to Hyderabad.

It wasn’t just mentally and physically taxing, but knowing that a place we had laboured over to recreate was going to be brought down also had its emotional toll. This was even more so for Jose, who spent most of his life in that home.

Today I’m sharing things that I learned that helped me to stay calm during this process.

Strategies To Stay Calm When Emptying A House

Engage in thorough research

Engaging in thorough research about packers and movers is essential to ensure a smooth and stress-free relocation experience. We started by exploring online reviews and ratings to gauge the reliability and professionalism of various companies. Additionally we got recommendations from friends, family, and online forums to gain insights into others’ experiences. Finally, though after getting this information, we also went by gut by making our final choice.

Practice Negative Visualisation

Despite our instinct to avoid contemplating worst-case scenarios, I realized that allowing myself to to explore them surprisingly yielded a sense of calm. By confronting and accepting worst-case scenarios, you can cultivate resilience and focus on appreciating the present moment. Take the time to articulate and confront your own worst-case scenarios, recognizing that by doing so, you can effectively neutralize their power over your emotions.

Set a Schedule

This really helped. Establishing a timeline for various agencies and our own tasks prior to emptying the house helped us to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Breaking down tasks into manageable steps and allocating specific days/time slots, saw us making time for some break days in between, when we even went ahead of the schedule.

Start Small

We began with one room or area at a time to prevent feeling inundated by the enormity of the task. Tackling small sections can provide a sense of accomplishment and momentum.

Declutter Mindfully

Sort through belongings methodically, deciding what to keep, donate, sell, or discard. Letting go of unnecessary items or things that were just not practical to move created a sense of clarity. However, when it came to books, we decided that we’d just ship all here and work out if we wanted to give away any.

Take Regular Breaks

We made sure to get afternoon naps and paced ourselves by taking short breaks.

Listen to / Watch/ Read Something

Watching some lighthearted (mostly dog related) reels on Instagram, reading some fiction, listening to music helped.

Enlist Help

Don’t hesitate to ask friends, family, or professionals for assistance. For example, we asked a few friends to help us find people to donate a couple of musical instruments to. Thanks to the efforts of Sunita Saldhana and her sister, we managed to give them to people who would actually appreciate them.

Stay Hydrated and Nourished

We tried our best to maintain a healthy diet and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Since we couldn’t cook, we used the services of an agency that provided home cooked meals. Proper hydration and nutrition can support overall well-being and help manage anxiety.

Focus on the Present Moment

There are always some regrets and some heartache about what should have been done, etc. Also fears about how we would manage on the actual days of packing. Instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, we focused on the task at hand and tried as far as possible to stay in the present moment.

Practice Self-Compassion

This was the best learning of all – Be gentle with yourself (and your partner) throughout the process and acknowledge your efforts, no matter how small. Remind yourself that it’s okay to feel anxious and that you’re doing the best you can.

I hope these have been helpful. I must say we feel and immense sense of relief and gratitude that we were able to hand over the house in time and also move our stuff over smoothly.

Joining Martha Ingrao’s WQ #169 today.