Key Takeaways
- Schedule your move 4-6 weeks in advance.
- Avoid busy times of the month and year, if possible.
- Research and plan your move and chances are things will go as planned.
- Talk with and get estimates from several movers.
- Be wary of low-ball moving quotes.
- Ask about protection from loss and damage to possessions. This will determine how claims are
handled and the mover’s liability. - Discuss details of the move as a family; let each member be involved and see it as a positive
thing. - Give notice of your address change one month in advance to vendors, creditors, and companies
you do business with regularly.
Moving is a life-changing event. You are anticipating a new and better life, one that you’ve planned for and now are about to embark on. The planning and physical part of the moving process are the last steps in that journey. You just have to get past the tedious and sometimes stressful preparations for the actual move: packing and transporting of your possessions from one place to another.
In the first part of this 2-part series, we’ll discuss the actual packing and transporting of your possessions.
Selecting a Mover
Ask for referrals from friends and family. Don’t rely solely on what you read on a mover’s website. Call and talk to several movers. Ask how they charge (by number and size of boxes or weight). If you’re moving across state lines, rates may be different. Some movers offer packing services. If you like to do it yourself, rent your own truck and hire movers to on-load and off-load only.
Does the mover have a local physical address, not just a post office box listing on its website? Does their site show they are licensed? Are they members of the Better Business Bureau or American Moving and Storage Association, or have other certifications or credentials? Read some independent reviews of others’ experiences.
Get free estimates, not just by phone but on-site. Be wary of low-ball quotes; It could result in low- quality service or even a scam where your belongings are held hostage.
Ask about protection from loss and damage to possessions. There may be various options. What you choose will determine how claims are handled and the maximum liability of the mover. Consider that a mover’s protection plan isn’t the same as insurance. Read the contract carefully.
Schedule the move 4 to 6 weeks in advance. Try to avoid busy times of the month, if at all possible, but you can’t always plan when a contract closes or when you have to be out of the house. Keep in mind that peak moving season is May through September, so schedule as early as possible to get your preferred moving dates.
Address Changes
Let the post office, utilities, cable companies, and other vendors and creditors know you’re moving a month in advance. Don’t forget your bank, financial institutions, credit card companies, auto loan companies, anybody else who uses your address to perform or provide services and products, home delivery services, and magazine subscriptions.
Prepare Your Kids
Discuss a lot of details of the move as a family and in a positive way. You might even involve the kids in the moving process, letting them pack their special belongings and decorate and label their boxes. Show them pictures of the new house and where it’s located on a map. Make a game of arriving at the destination.
When you are packing up your home, make sure your kids backpacks don’t get packed away in a box. You don’t want to be staring at 50 boxes wondering which one has your child’s school books and back pack. I suggest the day of the move, putting them in your car, first thing in the morning.
Prepare Your Pets
- Be sure to have pet IDs, rabies tags, for air or car travel. Ask your vet to prescribe sedatives for your pet if they get nervous when traveling.
- Keep them away from the moving activity by putting them in a cage or carrier in a separate room or at a neighbor’s house.
- Prepare a pet travel kit (carrier, food and water bowls, favorite toys and treats) to keep them comfortable, occupied and reassured, especially during travel and when they arrive in their new foreign environment.
- If you’re moving within the city, consider hiring a sitter for the pets and the kids.
- Introduce them to their familiar bed, blanket, etc. in their new home.
Go through the moving process as you did with marketing and selling your home: research and plan, and the chances of things going right will outweigh those unexpected bumps in the road.
Last tip-the day of the move, when you wake up put your sheets in the washer and dryer. Then put them in your care with a few towels (maybe some soap and shampoo). When you get to your new home and you are exhausted you know exactly where the sheets are so you can make the bed at the end of the day.
