Monday, September 10, 2012

Tips for a BIG move

I thought since I am becoming a gypsy professional mover that I would share a few tips with y'all. My first move was in June, we moved from a town called Mooresville (outside of Indianapolis) all the way to Houston. We are quickly approaching our second move within three months (yes you read that right) - we are now moving from Houston to Tulsa.

1. When deciding on which moving company to use call around and get several different quotes. Let the moving company come in and give you a quote by walking through your house and accurately marking everything. Make sure you also ask the movers if the quote is bound. You do not want to hire someone and you be over the weight limit once your items are loaded and incur unexpected fees. (The price is figured by the weight of your belongings). Also do some searching on the internet about the moving company. Check with the BBB, ask if they have any complaints filed against them and if so how did they solve the issue.


 
2. Do not be afraid to ask for discounts. A few to remember to ask for are AAA, the college you went to, and corporate (if you are moving do to a job relocation).

3. The company we used (and are using again for our Oklahoma move) charges a lot for the TV boxes. For our four TV's it cost around $160 for the movers to pack the TV's and put them in their boxes. For $8 you can go out and purchase a box and cut it down to fit your TV. You can also call around to different electronic stores and ask if they have any extra boxes sitting around you could use. They usually give them to you for free. If you are going to pack up your own TV make sure that you wrap it really well. You want to overprotect it.

 The other way to save money is with your mattress. The moving company sold the mattress boxes to us for $5 each brought them the day of the move and we then dealt with the mattress. For each mattress and box spring you will want a separate box.

4. Organization is so important for a move. When we started to pack we were putting all of our boxes in our garage. We had them labeled what was in the box and what room the box went in. Once we had all of our boxes in our garage we had them grouped by room.


Both of these pictures are when the movers had started digging in and putting our boxes into the truck. We did have it organized I promise! Thanks Ollie for the photo bomb!


5. Todd and I both have different packing styles. I don't pack my box completely filled to the top where it is extremely heavy. Todd does and it makes it harder once the box is picked up and moved to the truck or being stacked for the box to stay together. I got brownie points from the movers on my packing style! :)

6. Make sure you have a lot of coffee for yourself! I also had water on hand for the movers. They get hot moving all the boxes and I wanted to make sure they had a drink available even if they may have brought their own. Last but not least make sure you don't pack all your T.P., with all the coffee and water there is bound to be lots of potty breaks! :)

7. You can go onto the truck anytime you want and as much as you want. I kept going in it to make sure they were being gentle with our items and that they were stored tightly for the trip down to the new location.

8. Make lists! I was not able to function without my lists and calendars.

9. Call the utility company and give them a date to shut everything off. They will also ask for a forwarding address for your last bill. Do a change of address with the post office. 

10. Have fun and smile YOU'RE MOVING BABY! You are setting off for your new adventure!


I hope this helps! These tips were my opinions from how we stayed organized on the day of our move.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I love when you comment and I read every comment. Please make sure your email address is set up so I can respond to you! Thank you for stopping by CRCL!