It’s the summer moving season and that means stress levels are about to go through the roof. June 30 is considered the busiest moving day of the year, and according to a new survey by BigSteelBox, British Columbians experience more anxiety over moving than other Canadians.

You could chock that stress up to the pile-on effect of the move, coupled with high moving costs, sticker shock from real estate prices and new mortgage rules.

According to the survey, 36 per cent of British Columbians consider moving more stressful than starting a new job, starting a new family or quitting smoking.

Todd Talbot, host of HGTV's Love it or List it Vancouver, and his wife Rebecca have been though a lot of moves and are currently getting ready to move again.

“The major stress points in any move is the fact that everything conflates on one day,” Todd pointed out.

“Apparently he’s good at multi-tasking. He should be able to talk and lift,” joked Rebecca, as they worked on moving their belongings into a storage box on one of the hottest days in June.

But moving doesn’t have to be done all in a day. It’s recommended you leave lots of time and be extremely organized and prepared.

Here's what the experts recommend:

  • Keeps lists – pay attention to the small stuff like zipper-lock bags for nuts and bolts to assemble furniture.
  • Prepare food for a week and freeze it. It’s expensive to order takeout.
  • Move-in and -out dates don’t always line up so you may need to consider storage options.
  • Label all your boxes and mark them so that you can organize them as you load them on the truck to determine what goes where and what needs unpacking and when.
  • Consider marking boxes with coloured tape – for example, red is for less important items, yellow is for items you'll need within a few days or weeks, and green is items you'll need right away.

“We’re right in the throes of the busiest time where people are moving,” said David Haas of BigSteelBox.

His company helps buy consumers more time by loading items into weatherproof storage containers.

“We can store the stuff in between their homes, or if they need it moved locally or across Canada, we can help them out with that.”

Experts also remind the public that in addition to straining your back, moving can put a strain on your relationship.

“It’s been true for the two of us,” Todd pointed out.

Rebecca didn’t dispute that, she just urged him to get it done because when it’s over, they’ll been in their new lake house relaxing.

According to the survey, men prefer a good work out to destress, while women prefer getting the house organized and then relaxing with a glass of wine.