By Karen Tooley
MovingQuotes.com Staff
The moves you make at different stages in your life will dictate how you plan
for and carry out your move. This article breaks down the issues for the
different types of moves in your life.
First-Time Mover
If you’ve never moved with moving companies, the amount of information you
encounter can be overwhelming.
Just take a breath, and work through a checklist of things you need to get
done. Here are some starters:
- If you’ve moving across state lines, most everything is priced based by the
long-distance moving company on the weight of the shipment. Be sure to find out
how these types of moves are priced. Also, every service you request comes at a
cost. Ask about these costs.
- Assuming you have decided on a budget for your expenses, the moving company
representative will be able to offer alternative ways of staying within your
budget.
- Always get an estimate in writing after a physical survey of your goods by
your mover, and preferably ask for a guaranteed price. Most moving companies are
happy to give you a guarantee on the moving quote, and will outline all of the
services to be included in their written estimate.
- Depending on the time of the year and your location, start planning early, at
least a month in advance. Most movers will try to accommodate your needs, but the earlier the better to ensure that your requested dates can be met -- things
can get busy in the summer, and they’re always busy at month-end when leases are
due.
Moving in Together
When two households combine, that essentially means TWO moves, and it increases
the complexity, not to mention how much it costs.
As in other moves, costs are usually based on the weight of the shipment, so
make a complete list of each household’s items. If there are duplicate items,
get rid of them.
If you’re using the same moving company for both moves, be sure your mover knows
that.
Make sure the moving company knows the access to both locations. If a large
truck is used at one location, and the second location will not accommodate the
large truck, there may be a need to have the second location’s goods transferred
to the first location in a smaller truck. Again -- these are all things the
moving company will need to know in advance. Items to be moved from both
locations should be inventoried by the mover, and loaded in a manner that makes
the unloading a smooth process. So the mover should have a detailed listing of
the furniture placement at the destination, if possible.
When the goods are coming from two locations, it can be confusing where they’re
placed at the destination -- they may go to a different area of the new
residence than where they come from at the original residence. Map this out for
your movers.
Moving With Kids
Statistics show that a move is one of the most stressful things any family goes
through. Uprooting a family’s comfortable surroundings and placing them in a
new, unfamiliar home will be difficult even for the most organized families.
Here are the key points.
- Don’t pack any items that are special or sensitive to a child. This would
include items that a child might sleep with, or favorite toys. If your mover is
doing the packing, make sure you have these items separated before the packing
starts along with other items you may need to comfort the child during the
process.
- Separate and take with you clothing and necessities to care for the children
during the move, because once items are packed and loaded you won’t have access
to them until you arrive at your new home..
- As your mover is packing, loading or unloading, have the child stay with a
babysitter or relative. If that is not possible, prepare an area of your home
for the children to stay out of the way. A child can be injured when a mover is
moving a large item and cannot see the child while carrying it..
- In their “safe” area, have toys and other things to occupy their time, because
the move may take awhile. Food and drinks should also be available. Prepare your
children in advance for what to expect during the move, and what is expected of
them.
Retiring
People moving for retirement purposes have a lot of things to consider.
- Over the years you might have collected a number of items that you probably
won’t use at your new house. Do a complete inventory of your goods to determine
the level of importance for each item..
- Make a list of things that are necessities, important but not a necessity,
things that you would like to keep, and items that you do not use or need. This
will help you decide what stays and what goes.
- Determine the amount of space you will have at your new home. This will
determine how much stuff you can move.
- After you decide which items to move, try to have the other items removed from
your house prior to getting your estimate from the movers. Often people will
tell a moving company the items to be shipped, and will say that some items will
not go. If you decide to change that at the last minute, your pricing can be
affected. If you have already gotten rid of things, that temptation will be
gone.
- You might have owned some of your belongings for a long time now, so they may
be worth more because they are antiques. Pack and move them accordingly. Ensure
you have adequate insurance coverage for these items.