How To Move With Pictures

Get your cardboard boxes ready. You will need more cardboard boxes than you think. You can get them for free from your local grocery store, find them under “free stuff” on craigslist, get them from a friend who recently moved, or just buy them if you want to save time. [2] X Expert Source Marty Stevens-Heebner, SMM-C, CPO®Professional Move Manager Expert Interview. 14 January 2020. Label all of your boxes carefully. [3] X Expert Source Marty Stevens-Heebner, SMM-C, CPO®Professional Move Manager Expert Interview. 14 January 2020. You should write where each box should go on the tops and on the sides of the boxes, so you’ll know where the boxes should go even if they’re stacked on top of each other. Pack a box of essential items. You should do this on the morning or night before your move. The box should include bathroom necessities such as toothpaste, shampoo, soap, your shower rods and curtain, and towels, as well as any overnight essentials like your bedspread, blanket, pillows, and pajamas. Also, if you can’t live without caffeine, pack away your coffee maker or tea and tea kettle. Pack all the items that go in the same room in one box. Don’t worry about separating your books from your notebooks, if they’ll both go in your office. Just put everything that goes in the same part of your room in one box so you can unpack the stuff more easily. Have a “packing station” in your house. Instead of cluttering each of your rooms with a few boxes, pick one place to keep all your packed items. Keep your hardware in a prominent place. Make sure your toolbox is on-hand when you move so you start assembling your furniture again. You can either put it in your essentials box, or keep it in the cabin of your moving truck or your car. Hang on to your essential paperwork. Hold on to any paperwork that is related to your old home, your new home, or your moving process. Don’t pack it away with the other stuff that goes in your desk, or you won’t be able to find it in a pinch.

Don’t forget to reward your friends for helping you. Though they’re offering to help you out of the kindness of their hearts, you should still make sure to take them out to a restaurant after the move, or to order in beer and pizza.

Utilities include water / gas / electric (often bundled), telephone / TV / internet (also often bundled), home security, and refuse. Services that you’ll need to coordinate once you move in include address change through the USPS website as well as anything tied to your address, for example, insurance, banking, or car licenses and registration. Places to locate include the nearest hospital, fire station, police station, village hall, country government, post office, park district, animal hospital, library, public transportation, and school.

Compare the prices of a few companies before making your decision.

Remember to go slowly and stay calm, because the drive may be stressful.

Have a plan for where you’re going to put the large items in each room. Do a walk through with the movers, and show them where the larger items go, such as the sofas, TV, cabinets, beds, dressers, night-stands, etc. Choose where to put the boxes and small items in each room based on that. [8] X Expert Source Marty Stevens-Heebner, SMM-C, CPO®Professional Move Manager Expert Interview. 14 January 2020. That way the boxes won’t be in the way when the big furniture comes in. And you won’t have to move the boxes again. You can put Post-it notes on the wall if necessary.

Avoid the Internet at first. This is the easiest way to get caught in a moving scam. Instead, check out the listings in your phone book, call a local real estate agent, or ask friends for their recommendations. Pick a place that will do an in-home estimate. If they won’t, hang up the phone. Make sure the company will be doing it themselves, and not sub-contracting to have someone else do it. Make sure the company can give you a “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet. Get as much information about the company as you can. Try to pick a company that has been in business for at least ten years. Ask about the included services, and for a list of references.

First, check out SafeSys. org. Type those DOT and MC numbers into the site and see what comes up. Next, make sure the company checks out on the ‘FMCSA Licensing & Insurance site’ link on the bottom of the report you get about the company. Last, check out the Better Business Report to read up on the company.

Don’t use a company that will only give you an estimate based on cubic feet. If you really want to find the best company, you can arrange to have two or three companies to come and make an assessment and pick the one with the best service and best prices. But this will be more time-consuming.

When the movers are unloading your stuff, stay out of their way. Don’t offer to help unless they have questions. Reward your movers. Once they’ve done their hard work, or even while they’re doing their hard work, order some lunch for them if you want to be nice. And make sure to give them a generous tip. [13] X Research source

Unpack your essential items first. Unpack the stuff from your “essential stuff” box. Put up your shower curtain in case you need a relaxing shower and make your bed if you just want to collapse. Try to unpack your kitchen items early on. Though you should relax and eat take-out when you first arrive at your new place, you can’t do that forever. The sooner your kitchen is set up, the sooner you can start living a normal life. Assemble all of your big furniture. Make sure you assemble it in the room where it belongs. Do only as much as you can each day. Though you shouldn’t wait months to unpack, you are probably overwhelmed after your move, so unpack as many boxes as you can until you need a break. Remember to take the time to enjoy your new surroundings.

Take it one step at a time. If you really need a lot of new items, make a day of it, but if you just need a few things, you don’t have to do it all at once.

Go for a walk. Not only will this relieve stress and give you great exercise, but you will have a better sense of the feel of your neighborhood, what your neighbors are like, and what stores or parks are near you. Look online or in a local newspaper to check out cultural attractions, bars, or restaurants. See what your new hood has to offer. Tell your Facebook friends that you’ve moved to a new place. Ask if they have any recommendations of where to go or even where to shop. Even people you barely know will be happy to offer advice on this topic. Get to know your neighbors. Be friendly to the people in your neighborhood. You’ll end up making more local friends and getting insider tips on your community in the process.