How to organize a move – tips and checklist from professional movers
If you are going to move, the tips from this article will help you prepare well for it and avoid common mistakes. Let’s consider how to properly organize the movign of your movable property within one locality or to another city. Depending on what kind of move is planned, the checklist for preparing for it will be different.
What to do 2-3 weeks before moving: checklist
Over time, we inevitably acquire a lot of things, and just the thought that they all need to be packed and moving to a new place can spoil the mood. To make this task easier for yourself, try to get rid of everything unnecessary in advance by putting things up for sale or giving as a gift.
And if you have to move long-distance, the advice is even more radical: get rid not only of unnecessary, but also of necessary, but too bulky things. Is it worth carrying an unaffordable refrigerator or a huge closet for hundreds of kilometers, unless, of course, it is of some special value to you? It is much more profitable to sell them and use the money to buy similar equipment and furniture on arrival – new or used.
Another important advice when moving to another city: put the documents in order and settle all the formalities so that you do not have to return to your former place of residence because of things not done on time. These include:
• repayment of utility bills, especially if there is no opportunity to do it online;
• termination of property insurance contracts, rental of housing, provision of communication services;
• business closure;
• obtaining extracts from medical records, etc.
Another item included in the checklist when moving is the preparation of corrugated cardboard boxes for packing things. You will need a lot of them, and if you buy them, they will not be cheap. To save money, you can negotiate with the seller of the nearest grocery store and take the used corrugated packaging from him. You should worry about this in advance, it is unlikely that in 1-2 days you will be able to get enough free packaging.
What to do a week before moving: tips from experienced moving company
During this period, you need to pack your things and order the services of Orange County moving company. By this point, you should get rid of all the excess and stock up on boxes. In addition to corrugated packaging, packaging will require:
• scotch tape;
• garbage bags;
• food and bubble wrap;
• twine for strapping;
• marker;
• stickers;
• a notepad (notebook) with a pen or an Excel file.
The most difficult thing is to pack furniture. If you decide to do this yourself, when disassembling small parts (fasteners, accessories), put them in zip bags and attach them with tape to the objects from which they were extracted. Before disassembly, it is better to photograph the nodes to facilitate assembly. The advice will help simplify the preparation for the move: entrust the disassembly and packaging of furniture to the selected moving company.
Wrap mirrors, glass shelves and countertops with blankets or bedspreads and tie them with string, pack all breakable and fragile items in bubble wrap before placing them in boxes. Do not pack liquids (detergents, cosmetics, etc.) together with electronics or books.
Wrap each box with tape, write the serial number in a prominent place and enter it in a notebook or Excel file with a complete list of things packed in it. This will help you quickly find what you need in a new place. Number the bags by sticking stickers on them.
Another piece of advice when moving, which will facilitate the arrangement in a new apartment: in addition to the number, write on each box in which room it needs to be brought. For example, on a drawer with dishes, write “kitchen”, with bed linen – “bedroom”, etc. When unloading, pay attention to these inscriptions to the movers.
When everything is packed, you will be able to estimate the volume of cargo and order a suitable vehicle from the selected company to mov all the belongings in one trip and at the same time not overpay for the excess volume of the car. This advice will help keep moving costs to a minimum.
The day before the move: checklist
If you followed our advice, then on the day before the date of the move, the checklist is simple – you only have to:
• put away the essentials, documents and money;
• charge gadgets;
• prepare food and drinking water for a snack on the trip and the first meal in a new place;
• check all corners and mezzanines to see if there is anything left there that you need.
It is also recommended to sweep the floor and take out the trash to leave the apartment in proper condition. If you are moving within the same locality, then prepare a new apartment for moving – at least wash the floors, because when they are filled with boxes, it will be difficult to do this.
For residents of megacities, one more piece of advice will be useful: schedule the move for the early morning hours, while there are still no traffic jams on the roads. This will help you avoid delays, unnecessary expenses and worries.
