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How to
Move: The Basic Steps
1. Plan your
move using a moving checklist.
2. Decide whether you will be moving
yourself or hiring professional movers.
3. Select your moving
day.
4. Reserve your moving truck or moving
company.
5. Get your packing
materials.
6. Start packing!
7. File your change of
address.
8. Eliminate items from your
move.
9. Manage your moving
day.
10. Start settling
in.
How to Move: The Details
Moving just
seems to come naturally for certain people. They seem
to have every detail perfectly planned, memorize the exact
contents of every box with ease, and have all their
belongings unpacked within hours. This website is
designed for people who want to be able to have that kind of
move without necessarily coming to it naturally.
Instead, this site
provides the tips and tools for the rest of us, meaning those
who want to have a stress-free move but who don't necessarily
know where to start.
To get you going, here is a basic tutorial of 10 steps for
getting ready for your move.
How to
Move Step 1: Plan your move
using a moving checklist.
Moving is an exercise
in managing a large number of details in a short period of
time. You need a powerful tool to help you in that
process. Fortunately there are several free moving
checklists available to fill that role. Be sure to
download one and use it to manage those details
effectively. Click here for our own
Ultimate Moving Checklist.
How to
Move Step 2: Decide whether you will be moving yourself or
hiring professional movers.
Professional movers offer an
enormous amount of convenience. However, they are often
fairly expensive. Here are some factors to
consider:
- If money isn't a consideration, reputable, professional movers are the way to go.
- If you have a smaller place currently, such as a studio apartment, you're much less likely to need professional movers.
- Many heavy pieces of furniture should point you toward using a moving company.
- Having lots of friends and family willing to help limits your need for professional movers.
- If you've lived in your current location for more than 3 years, you're more likely to have accumulated more boxes that might require movers.
- If you have a medical condition such as a bad back or heart condition, moving is NOT the time to test your recovery- let the professionals handle it.
How to
Move Step 3: Select your moving
day.
Your moving day will influence many of your other decisions. Here are some guidelines:
- Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekends are the hardest and most expensive times to rent. You typically need to book these months in advance.
- Weekends are more difficult to book than weekdays.
- Weekdays are often better options in case you need to reach other businesses (during their business hours
- The middle weeks of the month are easier to reserve than the first and last weeks.
How to
Move Step 4: Reserve your moving truck or moving
company.
The best moving companies and moving truck rentals fill
up quickly, so you'll want to make sure reserve yours early.
If you're going to hire professional movers, you'll want to
follow these steps for finding great movers:
Please click here for
our complete
guide to finding great movers and moving.
If you're going to rent a moving truck, here are the basic steps:
- Determine days you can move.
- Identify how large a truck you want.
- Select your rental agency from nationally recognized chains.
- Confirm your reservation and put down a deposit, if required.
Please click here for our guide to moving truck rental.
How to
Move Step 5: Get your packing
materials.
You'll need to have some basic packing supplies before you begin packing. These include:
- Moving boxes
- Packing tape
- Bubble wrap
- Biodegradable packing "peanuts"
- Packing paper (like newspapers, but without the damaging inks)
Movers-Edge.com offers its own link to outstanding
moving boxes and supplies.
How to Move Step 6: Start packing!
Packing always seems to be most
laborious and time-consuming part of a move. We all seem to have many
more possessions than we first estimate, and the time involved with packing
them seems to constantly grow. Here are some basic packing tips:
- Start packing as soon as you can- it always
seems to take longer than you'd expect.
- Eliminate as many items as you can by donating
to charity and holding a moving sale- it will save you a lot of time in
the long run.
- Pack a suitcase for each family member as if
you were going on a 3-day trip, and keep the suitcases with you instead of
on the moving truck.
- Create one or two "Open Me First"
boxes for each room, containing the items you'll need immediately on
arrival at your new home. This will save you a lot of time and
stress.
- Label each box and all 4 sides and the top with
an abbreviation for the room and a box number for that room. You'll
avoid lots of frustration constantly answering the question of,
"Where do you want this box?"
- Focus on just one room at a time to avoid
getting overwhelmed.
- Hold a "packing party" with friends,
family, and anyone else you can recruit. Have lots of free food and
music to entice the party-goers.
- Keep all boxes to under 30 pounds where
possible and always less than 50 pounds. Having a bathroom scale by
your side when packing makes this much easier.
You can find some excellent tips on packing for your move here.
How to Move Step 7:
File your change of address.
It's important to let everyone
know when and where you're moving. Follow these basic guidelines to ease
the process:
- Confirm you new address.
- Create a contact list by collecting names and
addresses of people you want to notify.
- File your change of address with the post
office.
- Set up your phone number for your new place.
- Decide if you want to block "junk
mail" and telemarketers, and file with the correct agencies to
protect your contact information.
- Start notifying your contact list.
- Notify anyone whose mail arrives at your new
address with a yellow address correction sticker.
This should get your change of address process
running quickly and smoothly. Click here for our complete Change of Address Guide.
How to Move Step 8:
Eliminate items from your move.
We recommend that people moving
eliminate as many items as possible from their move. In fact, we
recommend that you have eliminating 1/3 of your possessions as a goal. Have a
charity donation truck (such as Disabled American Veterans, The Purple Heart or
The Salvation Army) come and take away any items that you no longer need.
Better still, have the truck come
pick up items immediately after you hold a moving sale. A moving sale is
a great way to eliminate unwanted items and pick up some spare cash in the
process. Here are some of the basic steps for holding a successful moving
sale:
- Pack separate boxes in each room for your
"moving sale" items as you pack up everything else.
- Stuck on how to price things? Start by dividing
the original price by 5 and then discounting for any damage.
- It's easier to make categories of items all the
same price, such as "all clothing $4 each." It also saves
hours of time creating tiny price tags!
- Make arrangements in advance to have a charity
donation truck arrive at the closing time of your moving sale to take away
anything that wasn't sold. The charity gets donations, and you clear
out of any items that didn't sell by the end.
- Price everything to be easily divisible by
2. This allows you to hold a "1/2 price clearance" during
the last hour of the sale, and clear out lots of remaining items and
pocket cash you might have missed otherwise.
- Have lots of spare change (bills and coins) on
hand on your person (not in a box that can be stolen at the sale).
- Start advertising at least 2 weeks prior to the
sale.
- Recruit as much help as you can stand for the
big day. You can use assistance for watching tables, helping customers
move items and answering question.
How to Move Step 9:
Manage "Moving Day."
- Make sure your cell phone is fully
charged. One thing you definitely don't want to be on your Moving
Day is "unreachable."
- Start your day early. You'll want to make sure
that one of the things you don't pack ahead of time is your alarm
clock.
- Recruit as much help as you can
stand.
- Use sitters- Kids and pets are your
treasures, and they deserve to have full attention, but on moving day
you'll have other priorities.
- Food is your friend- Whether you have
professional movers or friends and family, having coffee, orange juice,
and bagels or donuts available will make it easier for everyone to get
started on Moving Day.
- Keep cell phone numbers ready and programmed
into your phone. Be certain you have the cell phone number of the driver
of the truck entered into your cell phone, and that the driver has yours.
- Have correct payment ready and waiting. If
you're using professional movers, on Moving Day keep in mind that almost
all of them will expect and demand payment in full and in cash before they
will unload a single box from the moving truck.
- Directions- You need to have directions and a
map ready for anyone will be driving between your old place and your new
place.
- Label the rooms at your new place.
How to Move Step 10:
Start settling in.
Once you've completed your move
it's time to begin the settling in process. One of the best ways to feel
more settled is knowing where key locations in your new neighborhood are.
Here's a list of 12 key places to locate near your new home:
- Shopping center/ mall
- Hospital/ emergency care center
- School
- Day care center
- Library
- Post office
- Grocery store
- Pharmacy
- Convenience store
- Hardware store
- Dry cleaner
- Car repair center
Please take time to visit the
other great resources within the site to give you a stress-free move!
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