Whether you are moving down the street, to another state, or to another country when you move your daily routine changes. It’s a fact. Just like you can’t put a square peg in a round hole you can’t transfer all parts of your daily routine from one home to another.
As you prepare to move your household parts of your daily routine are probably either forgotten or skipped. Your belongings are packed away. All that remains is to clean your current home, turn over the keys and away you go.
Moving day arrives, your belongings get to their new home and now what do you do? You have to unpack and recreate your daily routine to fit the new place. Are you wondering why you can’t just pick up where you left off and put your old daily routine into practice at your new home? Honestly, you want to take as many pieces of your daily routine as will work and use them. Some parts of your daily routine will not work so you will need to make some changes.
Here are the 3 reasons your daily routine changes:
1. Moving is unsettling:
No matter how accustomed you may be to moving, it is unsettling. Your habits and routines are thrown for a loop and it takes a little while to settle in. As you settle into your new place, your daily routines will evolve.
Some parts of your daily routine may survive the move. You will want to create new routines to accommodate your new home and location.
2. House or Apartment
If you are moving from a large house to a smaller apartment, you may have fewer chores to do in the morning. Moving from a smaller apartment to a larger house means you probably have more chores to factor into your daily routine.
If you have dogs and you move from a house to an apartment your daily routine changes because you now must plan several walks a day into your schedule. The opposite is true if you’re moving from an apartment to a house. You may no longer need to allow time for several walks during your day if you have a fenced in yard.
3. Location
Since you are in a new place the location must factor into how you structure your day. If you are in the same town, are you closer to or farther from the things you do during the day? You and your children may need to get up earlier so you can get them to school on time, or to the bus. Maybe you can get up later because you are so close to school you and the children can walk there.
Perhaps you are closer to your work.
Are you closer to the fitness center or yoga studio?
If you are in a completely different city, you will need to figure out how long it takes to get from place to place so that you can be on time. Will you need to get up earlier?
Your daily routine changes based on your location and the things you need to accomplish in the morning.
My Experience
I can attest that these reasons your daily routine changes are solid because I have just moved and am living them out.
My daily routine is just now coming back into focus. Some parts of my daily routine are the same as before and others are completely different. I moved two weeks ago from a house into an apartment. My chores are way less so I have more time in the morning to focus on my writing. I’m still in the same city but much closer to the center of town. Traveling to do my errands is much easier. I don’t need to allow as much time to get things done. The flip side is that I have two dogs who are not used to apartment living. They are learning better leash behavior and I am learning to schedule at least 4 walks a day into my daily routine. More exercise is good for me.
Holding onto parts of a daily routine that are familiar and comfortable is a good idea. Accepting that your daily routine changes when you move is important to make your adjustment to your new home that much smoother.
If you have a move in your future, consider joining the Clear Space for You clutter support group. We can guide you as you work to create new routines and ease your transition to a new home.
Diane N. Quintana is a Certified Professional Organizer® ,a Certified Professional Organizer in Chronic Disorganization®, Master Trainer and owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC and co-owner of Release●Repurpose●Reorganize, LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact Diane for a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation.
Routines are what ground us. Moving and the change of routines while exciting can be very unsettling. Acknowledging that and setting up new routines help smooth out the move.
I am so happy that your move went well and that you and your doggies are adjusting to apartment life. I love all of your thoughts around the influence a move has on routines. Making a major change like the one you made also allows you to rethink your patterns. It’s also a useful idea to recognize that some routines stay in place. Maybe things like bedtime or the hours you eat your meals remain the same. But things like how you walk the dogs are radically different. I wish you all the best as you continue to settle in and craft your routines to work in your new home.