“We are never ever moving again.”

That’s what my husband will say if you ever ask us our relocation plans. When we built this house we picked plans that we loved and would be happy with for many years. We still love our home. But much to my husband’s dismay, now and then I find myself browsing for homes with a bigger yard and lots of trees.

We moved into this house three and a half years ago. We were so excited to be buying our first standalone home with our own garage and backyard. It’s a place for Snoop to run around. A place we could put a playscape for the kids.

When I bring up the idea of moving, it’s not because I want to keep up with the Joneses. It’s not a bigger, fancier house I want. In fact, I wouldn’t mind finding something older or even smaller. It’s the idea of having a little more seclusion that’s appealing to me. And now that we homeschool, I enjoy having the freedom of taking the books outside.

If you ask my husband why he doesn’t want to move the number one reason is because he hates the moving process. I don’t blame him. Moving can be one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. And the larger your family grows, and the more things you acquire, the more of a hassle it can become.

I like doing certain things to take some of the stress out of moving:

1. I start with making a plan. I’m a big to-do list person. I like making a long list of tasks to tackle for the big move.

2. Set a budget. Moving can get expensive. How much do you want to spend? Try to find used moving boxes or plan to do the move-out cleaning yourselves to save some cash. Setting a budget early will help you see where you have wiggle room to spare.

3. Pack early. I find the earlier I gather and tape up boxes, the easier the whole process seems to go. I don’t like the rush of trying to get everything packed at the end because it never fails, there seems to be more than I imagined there is.

4. Purge stuff. The nice thing about packing early is giving yourself time to purge items you don’t need anymore, or even arrange a yard sale to make some extra cash.

5. Hire help. But do your research and hire a legit moving company with good references, and/or reviews from friends.

I have no idea if we’re going to move again. My campaign for more land hasn’t been looking very promising, but my husband’s ears do perk up when I mention the possibility of a third car garage and more room for his garage gym. So anything is possible.

This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held personal lines insurer, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day.