Local movers in your area love to move quickly and efficiently, so take it from me, it’s definitely not a weird thing to help your own mover… but not by lifting anything! Helping them in other ways is more than just a load off their backs: the faster they can get done, the more money you will save.
To help move your move along, I can say from experience that these 10 areas are the best, most useful things you can do ahead of your move, even if you hired a full service move with a company like Moving Place . Of course, most movers will be happy to do the things on this list for you, but do everyone a favor – yourself included – and consider being mover ready if you’re looking to save the absolute most amount of money. I’ll tell them it was your idea.
When you’re in moving mode, you’re bound to have some items that you don’t want to bring over to the new pad. At some point, this might be an old mattress. Perhaps you’re downsizing, moving in with someone who already has a fancy new mattress, or you want to upgrade your own bed…whatever it may be, you’ll need to figure out what to do with your old mattress. (more…)
DIY Corner: Organized Unpacking – How Do I Remember What Goes Where?
Welcome back to the DIY Corner. Today, Casey & Bridget wrote up an easy answer to, “How Do I Remember What Goes Where?”
Have you ever taken things off a shelf to dust and then totally forgotten how to rearrange the pieces to make it look just how you liked it before? Annoying right? Well, moving is that feeling but 500x worse.
As you unpack that box of your favorite living room photo montage, you may think to yourself,
“Wait, I know these picture frames looked cute together at our old place, but I don’t remember how they were arranged.”
Sound familiar? Well, ladies and gentlemen, worry no more!
Simple solution: Take pictures of everything (and we mean everything) in your house before you start packing. Accessories on the shelves, gallery walls of pictures, pillow arrangements, cabinet organization – everything!
Moving out and on to a new place shouldn’t be the headache that many think it is. Yes, it’s true that leaving a comfort zone you’ve known for a long time can be difficult. Having to search for the right place with similar amenities as your old residence is a process. Calculating the square footage needed in a new apartment, picking a floor to be on, and the number of items needed to be moved are just some of the questions you must ask yourself from the beginning.
Rather than go into the whole thing blind and settle on the first thing you see, here are a few reminders on how to land the right apartment and also a few moving tips and tricks to get your possessions transferred efficiently in terms of both labor and cost.
Moving can be an extraordinary pain even without added complications — but when you have to take a couple of animals with no understanding of what you’re doing or why, the problems will quickly compound faster than you’re able to figure out why your furry companions are getting upset. Confused and angry pets can create all kinds of havoc on a move — even if it’s only to the next block over.
Fortunately, there are some measures you can take during each step of the moving process to increase the chances of the move going more smoothly. And if you love your pet as much as I do (you know, the type of person who treats them more like family than pet, buys them the best food, utilizes the best pet insurance, and makes sure all their toys are free of toxins), then you want to make sure this move goes as easy on your pet as possible.
As I was reading through moving-related news today, I noticed most the articles were about moving scams. What frustrates me the most is that we’re now going on decades of this behavior without a clear end in sight. You’d think at some point the criminals would be caught and locked up leaving the rest of us a little less stressed about our next move. Moving is stressful enough even if it all goes perfectly. So I put together a quick note with some tips on how to avoid moving scams.
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…)
I had a recent conversation with my friend Jim who used to work for a moving company in Illinois. While he did only local moves for this company, he has also moved several family members across the country. The stories he’s obtained from moving short and long distances are pretty humorous, but those can be told at another time and place.
However, one particular story has stuck with me, during which his sister’s TV was stolen from her car while moving from Atlanta to Los Angeles. This story has served as a catalyst for me to pass along some wisdom and tips that will help you minimize the chances of theft during your move.
1. Lock your doors and roll up your windows. This should possibly go without saying, but there are times when it’s easy to forget. For instance, it may only take a couple minutes for you to hop out of your car or truck and refuel; however, it also takes even less time for someone to grab your purse or other items as you swipe your card, hit the credit option, choose the type of fuel you want, etc. It may also be tempting to leave your windows cracked if the weather is hot, however this leaves your car or truck open to theft.
2. Keep valuables out of site. Keep things covered and hidden as much as possible. One thing I had never considered was the value of prescription drugs. Apparently these are a hot commodity for thieves, so keep those out of site along with mp3 players, laptops, cell phones and the like.
3. Stop as little as possible. While travelling across the country, stopping to sleep, refuel and eat is unavoidable, but keep in mind that the more you stop, the higher your chances are of having items stolen.
4. Use common sense and trust your instincts. Choose well-lit areas if you have to park your car somewhere – whether to rest or eat. If the area is poorly-lit, there are not many people around, or you’re feeling uneasy about the surroundings, pick a different location.
5. Service your car or truck before packing and heading out. Though life is commonly hectic before a big move, it pays to take care of your car beforehand as it will be taking on the extra weight of being loaded down. The last thing you want is to break down alongside the road with all your belongings. Most towing companies will not tow or change a tire on a vehicle that is loaded for a move. So you would either need to get another vehicle out there to switch all the belongings, leave your car there while you go and get a vehicle, or unload all your belongings right there. All three choices are my definition of a nightmare and could easily lead to theft!
6. ID Theft. This is another thing that hadn’t crossed my mind prior to several conversations with those who have seen the worst. I had always considered Identity Theft to be more of a danger with credit cards and online spending. However, apparently ID thieves also watch people preparing to move because people are going through files and tossing old mail, statements, and even junk mail offers. Thieves waiting for the lucky break of finding partial credit card numbers or bank account numbers. As you pack and clean, be mindful of what you’re tossing out. Make sure anything important is completely shredded.
While there is nothing you can do to prevent all mishaps during a move, there are definitely steps you can take to minimize the possibility. By following the tips listed above, you will be on your way to creating a safe and happy moving experience.
Photo courtesy of https://pendletonpanther.files.wordpress.com/
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I'm Moving
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Household Inventory