Because moving is such a momentous part of life, there are a wide variety of emotions that come along with it. Let’s be honest, most of the time moving gets a bad rap.
Many people just lump moving into the “sucks” category… but we’re here to dispel that theory. Sure, moving can be overwhelming and scary at times, but there are also a heck of a lot of good things that come along with moving. Lots of wonderful, HAPPY emotions.
So let’s take a look at the 9 emotional stages (both the good & the bad) of moving… (more…)
The process of uprooting your family to move long distance is an exciting, but stressful time. For children, these exciting, stressful, overwhelming emotions can be magnified and the process of moving can become a traumatic one if parents do not make a conscious effort to prepare their kids for the big move.
During this transition time, it is important for parents to give their children the support they need in order to make the move a positive time for the kiddos. Here are a few things to keep in mind throughout the process. (more…)
A Moving Checklist and To-Do List for an Organized Move
Planning a move is almost like planning a wedding these days. Organization, execution, and one heck of a running to-do list will make your big day a magical one! A day with little drama, lots of happy tears, and a future of happily ever after in your new digs is what you and your moving team should be aiming towards. But happily ever after doesn’t happen overnight. Just like any happy bride, a happy mover needs to be organized and have a moving checklist in place to make it all run smoothly… because no one likes the moving equivalent to bride-zilla. Yikes!
So picture today’s post as the digital “event planner” for your upcoming move. We’ve got a moving checklist for ya, and we’re here to whip your rear into shape and make sure we do everything we can to keep your move organized… one to do list reminder at a time. Check. Check. Double CHECK!
When a customer comes a-calling, he or she wants more than just our bodies. Yes, our customers want us for our minds too! We are the experts. We know what works, from the pack to the load to the unload.
But long before we pull the truck up to their door on move day we can start making things easier for all involved. Here are 3 suggestions. (more…)
Your big moving day is right around the corner, and you’re pretty proud because you’ve got this thing in the bag. Your stuff is boxed up, your moving truck is reserved, and you cannot wait to get into your new place. But hold the phone… are you really ready for moving day? Be sure you’ve got the following all on-hand and ready to go before those movers walk in the door…
Moving day is insanely chaotic (to say the least!). As far as we are concerned, you can never be too prepared for the “BIG DAY”. In order to help you moving overachievers, we’ve come up with a list of items that we feel are an absolute necessity to help you survive moving day with a smile. We like to call this check list your official MOVING DAY SURVIVAL GUIDE!
First time moving? Awesome. I’ve moved a few times and luckily the excitement of the next, new phase makes up for all the work involved in moving process! The one good thing about having a few moves under my belt is that I now have a pretty good idea of how to prepare and what to expect. Hopefully the lessons I learned the hard way will benefit you in some small way.
Start Early – Financial
The first thing I would say is to begin planning ahead by a couple months. Start putting away some extra cash for the expense. Moving is not cheap, even if you handle all the labor yourself. When you move into a new place, there are tons of fees like your new rent payment and deposit as well as all the other deposits required for the electric, gas, and internet companies. And if you’re not doing all the labor yourself, consider the cost of your movers and rental truck. Start your research of moving labor and trucks early so you can budget enough to get it all done.
Assess Your Needs: If you will need help loading and unloading your truck, how many movers and how much stuff do you have to load? And if you don’t happen to own a moving truck, how large of a truck will you need to rent? These two things are the main issues to consider when planning this aspect of your move. Here are two sweet help guides from Hireahelper if you have no idea what you will need:
Unexpected costs: Once you figure out how many movers and what size truck you’ll need, you can begin to think about all the other costs that are often after thoughts! For instance, make sure to ask your mover what kind of fees they charge for insurance, packing materials, and other fees for flights of stairs and carrying loads to your truck if you can’t get your truck right by the front door. These questions will help you get a full picture of exactly how much everything will cost, instead of being surprised by extra fees later on. By getting a jumpstart on saving for your move, you won’t have to stress about the costs at the time of your move!
Start Early – Packing
Another thing you can start about a month in advance is packing prep. Think of the materials you’ll need – boxes, paper/cloths/peanuts used to keep breakables safe, markers for labeling, packing tape, etc. Plot out how you will pack and organize your things. Packing things up according to rooms is a great way to organize. Box and label. No matter how big or small of a place you have, it always seems to take longer than you think. So give yourself time and invite a friend or two to help! Crank the music and get started. As you begin packing and organizing, you’ll probably run across things you haven’t used in a year (or five). If you can let go of these things, you just have that much less to pack and carry! Moving is a great time to purge.
Create a Checklist and Timeline
In the beginning stages, creating a checklist and timeline will help keep you organized through the process. You can list hiring movers and even include each room and the goal for when you want it to be packed by. Setting up a timeline will help you maintain some sanity as you go.
Here are a few things you don’t want to forget on your list: Call the electric, gas, internet, phone, satellite/cable companies to switch your address. You don’t want to be without electricity at your new place or continue to receive a bill at your old residence. These aren’t difficult things to do but they are easily lost in the shuffle. Write them down on your “to do” list. In addition to those changes, make sure you call any other important companies to let them know about your change of address – Post Office, magazines/newspapers, insurance companies, and anything else you can think of. Fill in the blank! Or, if that sounds too time consuming or complicated, checkout Updater.com. They offer a service that changes your address and updates any subscription services you have with your new address.
Survival Kit!
Last, but not least, make sure you pack a survival kit for your first week at your new place. Unless you are superhuman, you probably won’t unpack all your things the very day you move in. So pack a couple suitcases or boxes of everything you’ll need during those first few days – daily vitamins, a pillow, blankets, clothes, phone charger, laptop, alarm clock, toiletries, silverware, plate, glass, and snacks (unless you plan to eat out until you unpack kitchen items!). I’m sure you can add to this “necessities” list! Everyone has their own specific list of needs. Like for me, I would need my nespresso machine and a coffee cup!
These are the few things I’ve learned about packing and moving over the years. I’d love to hear the things you’ve learned from your own moves! What is the top tip you’ve picked up about moving? Share them below!
About the Author: Victoria grew up in rural Nebraska but has lived in Iowa, Hawaii, China, and Montana. She aspires to move somewhere warmer after grad school! At the moment, she works for HireAHelper and lives vicariously through her co-workers who live in Southern California.
Okay, so our last moving checklist didn’t quite cover everything you’d need on a checklist if you were moving last minute, but it covered the big four. Our very own customer service superstar, Keri, wrote up the following definitively more comprehensive list of things to do to prepare for your move. This moving checklist is based on her extensive experience helping customers get ready for one of their most stressful life events. Here is Keri’s Moving Checklist.
Keri’s List of Things To Do Before Moving
This is a list of things I’d want to have completed so that the customer is organized prior to a loading helper arriving:
No One Likes a Cold Shower
Call to Turn On Heat/Electricity at New Location – this can be one of the mistakes with the biggest repercussions. Many gas and electric companies take 2-3 business days to get a technician out to turn everything on and switch accounts to a new customer’s name. After a huge move into a new place, with lots of unpacking to do, no one wants to take a cold shower by candlelight (or smartphone flash light, the candles are probably packed up right?).
Write Up a Move Day Plan – Customers know their items best and what their needs are. So, it’s always a good idea for customers to compile a move day “to-do list” prior to their move date. This way, on moving day, when their brain is going in 100 directions they can review their pre-planned list to confirm all criteria are met.
Pack & Label By Room – All boxes should be packed and labeled properly according to what contents are inside and what room it belongs in. Color coding boxes or markers makes for a smooth move. Everything should be packed before the movers arrive.
Liquids in Bags – Pack all liquid items in a zip lock bag separately to avoid messes if/when they open.
Empty Drawers – Take out all items from dresser drawers, the entertainment center, end tables or kitchen drawers and place them into packed boxes.
Stack Boxes by Room – As you finish packing each box, organize them into piles by each room they’ll be going to in the new house.
Spread Out The Furniture Pads – Each piece of furniture should have a furniture pad placed on top, helping the truck loaders take less time organizing materials.
Have Tape Ready – Have a stack of tape easily accessible for the helpers to use if/when needed.
Rope and Tie Downs – All straps and rope should be tidy and ready for use within the portable storage container/truck.
Disassemble Furniture – Make sure all furniture is broken down – i.e. bed frames, desks, entertainment stands, break front china cabinets. It’s true that most moving crews can disassemble for you, but it’ll stall their momentum and slow down the whole load.
Furniture Pulled Away from Walls – This will make it so much easier for the helpers to place the furniture onto dollies and wheel to the truck (not completely needed but if you can, then doing this will cut down on time).
Prep Sofas – Prepare all sofas for moving – make sure the “legs” are removed and placed into a plastic bag that is labeled and placed into a box labeled “open first.”
Clear Walkways – Make sure no items are left on stairs or in tight hallways, impeding traffic (no twisted ankles are needed).
Disconnect Appliances – Be sure that the washer/dryer are already unhooked and blankets or packing kits are inside both drums for transportation.
PLEASE NOTE – Customers storing furniture for a long time or moving in areas with high humidity should NOT use plastic wrap on upholstered furniture. This should only be used on wood furniture if needed. This is because black mold will grow on the items that can not breath due to the plastic wrap.
Moving Internationally: A Baker’s Dozen To-Do List
So you’ve been searching for a long time to find that perfect place to live. Maybe your goal was to find the cheapest place to live and staying in the United States just no longer made sense. As great as you believe it will be, moving out of the country is a challenge for even the most enthusiastic adventurist. In order to lend you a hand with your international move, we have prepared a short list of 13 things (a baker’s dozen) you can do to organize this exciting project. Think of it as a jumping off point before you reach the real jumping off point. These are things that you may want to put on your to-do list as you get ready to press the start button. Or print this out and check off the empty check box next to each item as you progress through your move.
Household Inventory
Take inventory throughout your house and get rid of stuff that is no longer useful to you. Please consider giving those items to a charity and help someone else in the process.
Customs
International customs will want to know everything you are importing, make a descriptive list of what you pack into boxes and label (number) the boxes so you know (more…)
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Household Inventory