Helpful Moving Tips - Across Country or Across Town

20 Helpful Moving Tips

From the moment you find out you’re moving, it’s time to start planning.  Whether you’re moving across the country or across town, to make sure it goes smoothly, you’re going to need some fantastic moving tips so you won’t have to worry about missing a beat.

1. Make A Plan

   Up rooting your belongings to move to any location, far or near, requires a well     thought out plan.  Whether you are a detailed planner or like to go with the flow, you should write down every moving-related task you need to accomplish.  

2. Stay On Schedule

   Be realistic when scheduling time specific tasks.  Remember it always takes a little longer than you think and there will be interruptions.   To help yourself stay on schedule, place time on your calendar for moving-related tasks and set up reminders on your phone. 

3. Moving Service Estimate

   If you are moving a distance, you may want to consider using a Moving Service.   If so, you need to find a reliable service to fulfill your needs.  Part of this process  is getting in-home estimates from at least three different moving companies.     The earlier you schedule your in home estimates the better, we recommend a minimum of 4 weeks before your move.  Things to consider, reputation, quality  of service, services provided, affordability and compatible timeline.

4. DYI And Save Money

   Moving a household is not a job for one person.  Whether it’s packing, cleaning, and organizing with the help of your friends, or getting rid of as much as possible in order to save money on your moving company, you can get creative in this process. The downside is that this method takes more time. However, if you ask your friends for help, you might actually enjoy DIY-ing parts of your move.  Do it plenty in advance to avoid disrupting their plans.

5. Using Professionals

   Packing up your entire house could easily take weeks if not months, depending on the size of your home.  If you have limited time, work long hours, or would rather spend quality time with friends and family rather than pack, you should consider hiring professional packers.  Again, this is a service that many moving companies offer and should be considered when comparing companies.  Especially when it comes to long distance moving, having a professional to bubble wrap, crate or tape up your belongings can be invaluable.

6. Purchase Moving Insurance

   Whether you have dozens of valuable items or not, make sure you are aware of what your insurance does and does not cover.  Moving companies usually offer     a limited insurance policy, you might want to purchase a more comprehensive plan if you have many expensive or valuable items.

7. Insure Important Documents Are Up To Date

   Keep All your important documents with you through out your move. Create a file folder to keep them all in one place. Changing your address requires updating your information in a lot of different places. However, it gets even more complicated when you’re moving a long distance.  Make sure to plan ahead and research what all needs to be updated in plenty of time before your move.  State to State moves will require you to update your driver’s license and registration.    If you do not have a “US Real ID Drivers License” Insure you have the original or certified important documents that will be required to obtain one in your new location.

Ready Set Move!

1. Make An Inventory List

   It’s important to take inventory of all your belongings before the big move. Whether you use an app or a notebook and pen, make sure that you have a comprehensive list of everything you own in one place.  This is becomes especially important when you move long distance; your belongings may become spread across states or even continents.  If you have an inventory list in place, you won’t have to worry about figuring out if everything arrived at your new home. You’ll be able to simply check your list.

2. Up Sizing or Down Sizing

   Determine what you will need for your New Home.  Before moving all your worldly possessions across town, state or to another country, you need to figure out if they’ll fit in your new home.  Think about the amount of rooms, the size     of the rooms and how much open floor space you desire.  Often times the square footage of the home, will not be the determining factor.

3. Fresh Start _ Take Time To Clear Out and Purge

   What a better time to get rid of unwanted items then before a move?  Get rid of furnishings that will not fit in your new home, clothes you haven’t worn in the last year or more,  small kitchen appliances you’ve haven't touched, and books you’re not going to read again.  Seriously, if you don’t use it, love it, or need it to survive, we recommend tossing it, donating it, or holding a garage sale. Purging your belongings could lower the price of your moving estimate and make packing and unpacking far easier.  Besides who wants to have to do it after moving to a new home?

4. Prioritize Items _ Pack A Survival Kit
   

   As you begin to pack, make sure to prioritize and separate the essential items you will need to keep with you.  We recommend packing an open-first box that includes items you’ll need during your first few weeks, such as towels, bedding, a few pots, pans and dishes. Don’t forget to also pack a suitcase with toiletries, your favorite clothing items, medications and personal necessities. Keep these things with you, and you’ll be far more comfortable while you wait for your moving truck to arrive at your new home.   

5. Packing Boxes 

   Moving supplies can cost more than you think.  If moving on a budget, know your resources to get free boxes; reach out to friends, local neighborhood websites, local businesses or specialized websites.  Always pack according to content and distance. Distribute your heavy items into several smaller boxes to keep things safe and to avoid insanely heavy packages.  Insure Fragile items are protected    by wrapping them in bubble wrap, paper, old t-shirts or towels.  Clearly Mark FRAGILE on the boxes and ensure that your movers know to take extra care.

6. Organize Belongings As You Pack

   Organizing while you pack may take a little longer up front, but trust me unpacking will be a lot easier if you don’t throw everything you own into boxes    at random.  Instead, organize your belongings as you pack.  You may even consider packing by area, for example, if you have a desk, you could put everything that goes on it in one box.  You can also give each box a number       that corresponds with your inventory list, which will be very useful when the boxes are delivered to your home later on. 

7. Pack The Toughest Rooms First

   One way to make moving easier and less stressful is to break the packing into mini tasks.  You can't pack up your home in one attenpt, so pack one room or one project at a time.  Tackling the most difficult rooms to pack first won't be easy, but as you get more and more tired your energy and motivation starts to deplete and packing will get easier.

8. Make It Easy On Yourself — Label Boxes
   

   Clearly label every box with your name, location and inventory list number.    This will benefit you in more than one way.  First, if you are moving long distance, more often than not the moving company will have your items on a truck that contains items for other households.  They have their own complex labeling system but having your Name Clearly written on the box along with the number from your inventory list will benefit both them and you.  Second, you can refer to your Inventory List as the movers are bringing your items into your new home.  Third, labeling each box with the room that the items belong, will help to keep you organized, the movers can place the boxes in the correct location and it will be much easier for you to unpack and get organized. 

9. Move Yourself (and your car) 

   If you’re moving within the country, you might consider saving money by driving your car and yourself to your new home. However, if you’re moving across the ocean or over an insurmountable distance, you need to ship your car to your new home.  Make sure to do your research and plan ahead so that you don’t get stuck in your new town with no way to get around!   

10. Plan Your Delivery Window 

    Schedule to meet your moving truck at you new home for delivery.  If you are moving a long distance, depending on the moving company you choose, the delivery window for your belongings could be over two weeks after you arrive at your new home.  With this in mind, it’s crucial to plan to live for the first few weeks without whatever you put on the moving truck.  To decrease the stress of waiting for your belongings to arrive, make sure to keep your open-first box and your personal necessities with you.

11.  Moving Day _  Preparedness

    When the moving truck arrives, you need to be prepared.  Make sure there’s room for the moving truck to park.  Research your new neighborhood’s parking regulations.  Make sure to ask your moving company about all potential additional fees pre-move.  If you’re moving into an apartment or condo building, also check on any move-in day requirements, like if you need to reserve a freight elevator.

12. Triple-Check Your List Before The Movers Leave

    With your inventory list in hand, make sure that your movers bring everything that’s yours into your new home.  You should double-check and triple-check this list before your movers even leave. This way, if there are any missing or damaged items, it is documented and they can quickly figure out what happened. 

13. Keep Your Energy Levels Up

    Your moving day will require plenty of physical and mental effort from you and those that are there to help.  To help keep energy levels elevated throughout the move, prepare a snack bag or bin full of protein bars, cookies, and other types of snacks.  Bottled water too!

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