Moving can be one of life’s most overlooked hassles. By the time you do it, you’ve often forgotten what a struggle it was the last time and by the time you realize you could have planned better, you’re already neck-deep in it. “Why didn’t I hire a white glove delivery service?” is what you’re probably screaming as you drown in cardboard boxes.
Here are some great ways to make your next move efficient and safe:
- Use White Glove Delivery Service – The phrase brings to mind old-time men wearing white gloves which calmly and kindly do the hard work for you. And that’s basically what it entails (except not old-time anymore). White glove delivery services will transport all of your items to wherever they need to go, unload your items to the room of choice, assemble anything that needs it and dispose of any unwanted trash.
- Buy Moving Supplies Early – Pre-planning is the key to an efficient move. The last thing you ever want is to start the moving process only to delay it every time you realize that you’re missing tape or box-cutters or enough boxes. Instead, make a list and really think about what you’re going to need. That means marker pens, more bubble wrap than you think you need, old newspapers for cushioning, multiple rolls of packing tape and sturdy scissors.
- Keep Your Original Packing – So often when we buy a DVD player or a new piece of furniture, we toss away the box it arrives in. If possible, keep those boxes for your eventual move. Otherwise, it will be hard to find a box that fits quite as well. That matters when you’re talking about small appliances and easily-breakable items. If you didn’t save the original packaging, then you better pad the heck out of the boxes, you do use since they won’t fit snugly around your breakable items.
- Mark & List Boxes – All the boxes you put together in your old home will make sense. However, once they’re loaded on a truck and head to your new home, it’s easy for them to get mixed up. So make sure that every box is clearly marked with all the items inside listed. The marking should include the room that it’s supposed to go to. If there is a time-sensitive nature to some of the boxes, make sure to mark “Now” or “ASAP” so that those boxes get where they’re going quickest.
- Time It Right – The last thing you want to do is load everything and everyone into the moving vans and then sit in traffic for an hour. Try to time the move so that you avoid heavy traffic times and routes. You’ll save time and also gas.
Along with the help of white glove delivery service people, if you follow the above tips, this will help insure that the entire moving process is as stress-free as possible for everyone involved.
Michele Filipkowski is a writer who specializes in relocation and moving. She is part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow her @micheleashley89
