It’s a pretty common theme from person to person that moving is one of those things that will make you choose a hot poker in the eye if given a choice between the two. And why wouldn’t it be? It’s a lot of work, costs a lot of money, is largely inconvenient, and usually, it’s an experience that’s riddled with a lot of mistakes.
All of the things we just mentioned can lead to a lot of stress. So we thought we’d spend a couple of minutes going over ways you can avoid making some common mistakes that people often make during a move.
You can’t just hire the first moving company you run across. You need to look into the background of the business, what their safety and satisfaction records look like, how much they cost, as well as many other things.
You’re going to sign a contract with these people to take everything you own from one place to another. That means they will be coming into your personal space, they’ll have access to your personal items, and they will be taking your whole life with them when they leave. You need to be able to trust the company as much as possible.
Check out driving records, business reviews, and references. You also need to get a quote with everything you agree on together in writing. Then compare moving estimates from other companies as well. You could set yourself up for a lot of heartache and headache if you don’t look into who you’re working with.
You don’t have to buy every bit of your moving supplies. Boxes can cost you a lot of money. You can find some of them for free, though. Ask at grocery stores, big box stores, ask friends and neighbors, or even schools. See what you can find before you go buying all of them. You can also use newspaper for some of your wrapping. Just be careful about what things you wrap with it because the ink can sometimes transfer and ruin what’s inside.
When we pack things up, we tend to put as much into one box as we can. Do you know what happens though if you put a lot of heavy items into a large box? Injuries. Too many heavy items all in one box equals a box that is too heavy to move. You, or whoever gets to move that box, could hurt their back, their neck, their shoulders, or their knees. Anything that is very heavy should be packed in smaller boxes and, in some cases, by itself.
Unless you’re moving to a place that you’ve not actually physically been to, you need to have measured the entryways that will be used to bring things into the home. It has happened to many people that they get where they’re going and the furniture doesn’t fit through the door. You don’t want this to be you.
If you haven’t seen the place in person, then speak to your contact person who has. You can ask to have them measure the doorways. Then you can compare that against the measurements of all your furnishings.
Take the time to label your boxes accordingly. When the goods get to the new place, the movers will be bringing in all of those boxes. If you’ve spent the couple of seconds it takes to write on them “kitchen”, “master bedroom”, “coat closet”, or any other number of rooms there are, they will know where to put it down for making your time with unpacking much easier.
There will still be some boxes that probably won’t have a pre-determined space in the new house, but if all of them are left blank, then you’ll be left with a stack of boxes that have to be sorted as you go. It’s just extra work that you don’t need.
There are things that absolutely shouldn’t be packed because they’re necessary to have all the time to someone in the house. This is where the question, “Have you seen my wallet?” that’s in the title of this article comes from. Wallets and purses carry debit and credit cards, identification, and other important documents sometimes. They also do get packed in moving trucks sometimes, and then they’re off to a new destination.
You need to be very careful about setting any necessities that aren’t to be packed away from all of the things that will be getting packed up. Once that wallet, or another necessary item, is taken away on the truck, you won’t see it again until you get the delivery of your goods at the new place.
Movers are people just like you. You might be stressed out, but these people are coming to do you a really big service. They have hard jobs that require a lot of physical effort. Treat them in a respectful manner and show your appreciation.
When the moving company employees show up, start by introducing yourself. Speak to them kindly and positively. It’s a good idea to have refreshments to offer them like you would any other guest in your house. These tips aren’t required or anything, but they’ll go a long way toward making the people who are responsible for getting your household goods relocated feel the need to be careful and protect your things.
Don’t make the same mistakes that others before you have made. If you read this, but don’t learn anything from it, then you could be setting yourself up to go through the same nightmare someone else already has. You don’t need to deal with the headaches others have. You’re a step ahead just by doing the research you’re doing. Now just apply what you’ve learned, so your move goes as smoothly as you want it to.
