Tips for Moving Day

You’ve signed the lease for your new apartment or purchased a new home and settled on a move-in date. All that’s left to do is schedule the moving services-right? Not quite. There are a few things you’ll want to do before moving day is here. Affordable Relocation Services, headquartered in Sylvania, OH, has compiled some moving preparation tips to make the transition manageable.

Which one of our moving tips is most important? Contacting a moving company ASAP. Slots fill up fast and you don’t want to get stuck without movers. Call 419-279-5593 now to book moving services.

Clear Your Schedule

Moving to a new home can sometimes take longer than anticipated. On moving day, a best practice is to clear the day’s entire schedule and make sure the move is a top priority. We suggest clearing the day of any meetings or other engagements to ensure any issues or roadblocks with the move can be dealt with.

Arrange for Someone to Look After the Kids and Pets

You’re probably already stressing about a million things during the move, from how the fragile items will get to the new house safely to the daunting unpacking process. And so entertaining your hungry kids or constantly worrying about their safety and that of the pets isn’t something you want to deal with.

Get someone to watch them while you make ready the new house. When it’s time to unpack the bedrooms, start with the kids’ rooms and then send for the children. You can also leave aside the boxes the children packed for them to unpack and feel included in the move.

Declutter While Packing

Chances are, you’ve bought multiple things over the years that you don’t need or love at the moment. Packing all those items might leave you with a living nightmare during the unpacking process. The simple solution is to discard broken or worn household items or things you no longer use.

Decluttering items as you pack rather than waiting to do so in the new house will be a lifesaver. You’ll avoid unpacking many boxes of unwanted or useless things.

Double-Check the Things You’re Leaving

Before moving, your house was the perfect home for you. You had the right curtains, furniture, appliances, and even flooring that seamlessly integrated with your lifestyle. However, you agreed beforehand to leave some items when you permanently left the property.

Making a mental note to remember the items to leave might not do the trick if professional movers handle the move. Therefore, it’s best to create a list of such things, not pack them, and place stickers asking movers not to touch them. That way, you won’t find out later that you moved the large freezer yet shouldn’t have.

Pack a Box of Your Essentials

You probably already thought of packing a special box for your kids’ favorite dolls, reading lamps, or bedtime clothes for quick settling during the first night. After all, you aren’t planning on opening all boxes to look for their toothbrushes. But have you thought about yourself?

Consider packing your essential box with items such as:

• Milk, tea, or coffee
• Snacks
• Kettle
• Radio
• Torch
• Batteries
• Screwdrivers
• A corkscrew — you might want to toast to new beginnings
• Any other thing you feel you’ll need immediately you settle in the new house

An essentials box will make your first night in the new surroundings much easier. Remember to place the essentials box (and the kids’ special boxes) in your vehicle to locate them quickly.

Keep Valuables and Important Paperwork in Your Car

Your valuables and paperwork are a crucial part of you and your home. That’s why we recommend that you travel with your jewelry, property documents, or anything of immense value to you.

This precautionary measure helps minimize the chances of the items getting lost while in transit. Besides, having them at hand will give you peace of mind.

Get Everything Packed and Ready for the Move

You should have packed the majority of your items before moving day. Other than last-minute linens or toiletries, which you can pack quickly, everything should be ready for loading into the truck. That enables the movers to get to work upon arrival.

Pack Everything Neatly in Well-Labeled Boxes

Ensure everything is boxed well. Label the cartons with their contents, for example, fragile, books, or bathroom essentials, and where each should go, for instance, main bedroom, living room, bedroom two.

Keep Prohibited and Sensitive Items Separate

Movers can’t handle items such as alcohol, plants, pets, and hazardous material. You should contact your moving company to get a prohibited list, keep the materials separate, and make some “do not move” signs. Don’t forget to separate your documents, medication, and valuables so you keep your sensitive items safe with you.

Make Essential Arrangements Early

You wouldn’t want your movers stranded by the road because they don’t have a parking permit or can’t use your building’s elevator since you didn’t reserve it for the move. Make it a point to handle all the necessary administrative tasks to avert such problems.

Keep the Moving Supplies Handy

Professional movers come prepared with moving supplies, including hand trucks, furniture disassembling tools, dollies, and door stops. While they may not need yours, having the supplies can benefit you because you might need them to move items to your vehicle.

Provide Refreshments

Moving is a physically demanding job that needs a lot of muscle flexing. As such, offering refreshments such as hot coffee when it’s cold or water bottles when it’s scorching outside is a kind gesture your movers will appreciate. And if you’re moving long-distance, snacks or pizza slices can satiate hunger — and brighten faces.

You Can Help, but Avoid Hovering

As a hands-on person, you always want to participate in everything revolving around your moving. But remember that movers have a system of moving and packing boxes in trucks, so you might end up frustrating the crew. You don’t have to hover around and micromanage the process, as the professional team knows what it’s doing.

Appreciate the Movers With Financial Tips

Movers’ tips are common in the moving industry to appreciate hard work. Therefore, set aside some cash before moving day. The general principle is to tip each mover 5% of the total moving cost, but you could increase the rate at your discretion if you’re happy with the services.

Don’t Haggle Over the Price

Moving companies usually give a quotation of services before the actual work, providing the ideal time to negotiate the price. Last-minute price negotiations are poor moving etiquette that shows bad faith on your part.

Prompt Arrival

Reliable movers like our teams at Affordable Relocation Services aim to keep time. However, circumstances such as accidents and traffic are beyond our control and can delay us. Even so, we’ll go above and beyond to arrive on time. Our crew will show up in a large, clearly marked company truck, and the supervisor will introduce the team and provide the contract, which you should read to ensure that the terms are correct.

Checking Inventory

This process lets the moving crew know what goes into the truck and what remains behind. We’ll walk through the house, take inventory of everything you need to be moved, and document their condition. You can then check the inventory list to ascertain it’s correct.

Protecting Your Items and Property

The next step includes employing measures that prevent accidents, injuries, or property damages when loading, including using plywood sheets, carpet protectors, and moving blankets. Expect movers to carry necessary moving supplies, such as dollies, for a smooth move.

Prepping Items for Shipping

Once inventory and safety checks are complete, it’s time for us to prepare the household items for shipment by:

• Packing items. A full-service move includes this service, whereby the movers come with packing supplies, such as boxes, tape, and bubble wrap, and use tried-and-tested packing techniques to safeguard property and maximize the space in the boxes. You could also choose to pack items yourself, but let the movers handle the breakable items.
• Disassembling furniture. Movers have the right tools and skills to dismantle big furniture that can’t pass through doors and tiny hallways or furniture with fragile parts that could easily get damaged during the move. The professionals also use protective covering and load safely.
• Caring for other larger items. Experienced with handling large household appliances, professional movers efficiently wrap the materials and deal with technical work such as crating.

Loading the Truck

Having safety measures in mind, movers will load all the packed items into the trucks. We know how to position items securely to avoid shifts as the truck moves. That helps to minimize movement, boxes falling on each other, and damage to your property. After loading, we’ll remove the protective coverings or tools brought inside the home. You can also conduct a walk-through to ensure everything is loaded.

Traveling to the New Residence

Now comes the actual move. The truck driver will provide a bill describing the services, delivery date, and costs, otherwise known as the Bill of Lading. We advise you to go through this document, understand it, and ensure you agree with the provisions before signing it. Movers will then be ready to transport your items.

Here’s a friendly reminder before the truck departs:

• Tip the movers
• Take the driver’s name and contact information
• Give the driver your phone number and new address
• Confirm expected delivery time

Unloading the Truck

Once the moving truck arrives at your new address, the movers will unload it and leave the inventory and damage check to you. Services may include moving items into the new home, unpacking, connecting appliances, and reassembling the furniture. Professional movers will leave your new home organized if requested.

Call our team today at 419-279-5593 to learn more about the moving services we have to offer, or visit the link below!