Making a move that is long-distance opens up a wide door for things to go wrong. You could have everything from timing issues, to weather problems, and mechanical mishaps that will make your experience tough to deal with and not very smooth.
But, if you do some good planning and research ahead of time, you can decrease your chances for having to ask “What do you mean it’s not coming?” with regards to the moving truck that has your whole life in it.
So, read on for some tips on how to plan for your move across the country that are meant to make everything go a bit more smoothly for you.
The earlier you can start packing, the better. By doing it early, you allow yourself to go at a slower pace. People’s perception of packing for a big move is that it’s a mad dash that makes you exhausted and isn’t enjoyable at all.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Packing early means you can take it slow and only pack for as long as you feel like it that day.
There are plenty of things in your home that you don’t use all the time. Packing up things like this will save you from some of the stress you’ll feel later when the time to move is getting closer.
Packing early also helps you to organize your things better. That means it will be easier to unpack your stuff when you’re setting up your new home. You won’t be packing in a hurry so the whole process will be easier and much more effective.
You’re bound to find tons of things you don’t use during the packing process. And remember that on the other side of your move, you’re going to have to unpack everything you take over there. If you find that there are items that just don’t serve a purpose in your life anymore, or that they never did, then get rid of them.
You can give them away to neighbors or friends. You might want to sell them online or have a yard sale. You could also donate them somewhere. The point is, don’t pack things that are just going to be useless things you have to unpack and find space for in your new home.
This may not be possible in some cases. If it is though, take time to plot out how you want to place furniture in your new home and where you’ll be storing certain things.
This will help when the moving company pulls up with your truckload of stuff. You’ll have a reference for directing the movers where to put pieces of furniture and where certain boxes should go.
When you aren’t able to do this, you can at least have boxes pre-marked with what rooms their contents came from. Then the movers can place them in rooms in your new house accordingly.
An essentials box can basically be thought of as a last out, first in box. Put things in it that you’ll want to have as soon as you get to your new home. Items that you might think about adding to it are:
You can put anything you feel you’ll want on-hand before everything gets unpacked. This will keep you from having to open every box in the house to find that one thing you’re looking for.
Choose a good time to make your move. Obviously, there are some factors that are out of our control when it comes to when we have to move. Moving because of a new job can be one of them.
If you do have control over the timing of your move, then make sure you look at factors like temperatures and weather for when you’ll be moving. You can also look at what’s happening in the region at the time of year you’re considering. For instance, in America, you wouldn’t want to move to Sturgis, North Dakota in the middle of the famed Sturgis Run. It just wouldn’t be very convenient with so many people flooding the area.
Another example would be moving to Toronto in the middle of the frigid winter season. Toronto gets a lot of snow in the winter. Plan your move when the weather might cooperate for you a little more so you don’t have to get stuck with nothing to furnish your house because the moving truck couldn’t make it through.
Choose your moving company carefully. Compare moving estimates between different options. Once you decide on one, get the quote, arrival times, and other information pertaining to the contract in writing. You’ll also want to know about insurance options that will cover any damage to or loss of your items.
Having it in writing gives you something to reference in the case an issue arises. Hopefully, that won’t be what happens for you, but if it does, you don’t want to have to fight with the movers to get it all straightened out. You’ll have it right there in front of you, so they have to honor it.
Moving doesn’t have to be the pain that it’s made out to be sometimes. There are a lot of nightmarish stories about people moving and the woes they encountered along the way. You don’t have to be one of those people. With the proper planning and organization, you can make your relocation experience smoother than other people’s. Follow these tips to make your move go as well as it can, and you’ll find that moving can be an easy and wonderful occurrence. Enjoy the excitement of it and stop the hiccups of moving before they can even get started.
