Author: Ria

4 Things to Think About Before Moving

If you are planning to move homes then you have a lot of work ahead of you! Not only does moving involve the actual move itself but there are many choices you will have to make to make sure when you move homes things go smooth.

To add to this if you are moving a family home things get more complicated when you have kids around as your try to manage everything. Today’s moving tips will make sure that you will end up with a stress-free as possible move. If you don’t think about the four items we are bringing up today you might be quite surprised when the do come up!

Make a Moving Budget

Moving is not cheap. Even if you decide you are going to  do everything yourself and you own a small van just the fuel cost of the countless trips you’ll make adds up. Instead of being surprised with how much moving will cost you make an actual budget for your move. This way you will know what you can afford and you can then be more realistic in what you can plan for.

For example hiring a man and a van still costs a bit but it’s no where as much as a fully catered moving service that includes packing.

A few other things you might not even think about unless someone tells you are things like storage space, junk removal, the costs of renting your new place while it’s empty while you still rent your old place. So even your increased cost of living needs to be budgeted in.

Organising Your Move

Moving homes take a lot of organisation.

Your going to have to go through all of your things and figure out what you will keep, what needs to be thrown out so you might need a junk removal service and what you could sell off. Then come the actual packing. You want to make sure you have some kind of system for packing as you will hate yourself if you just throw everything into different boxes when it comes to unpacking.

When you move you also need to consider what services you have connected in your old home that can be transferred, what can’t be transferred, all the addresses that need to be updated and everyone that needs to be made aware of your move. It’s a big list!

Hiring a Moving Company

The last thing on the list is to make the choice of hiring a moving company or not. There are lots of pros and cons to hiring a moving company and you need to weight them all up. For example you might think that hiring a van and moving yourself is a cheaper idea but you really need to do the maths on the fuel and the extra moving insurance you will have to buy.

Then again you might be the type of person who likes to do things like this and it suits you. If that’s not you them more likely than not it’s best that you hire a moving company to help you with your move especially if you are not able to lift heavy furniture.

You can also watch this short video on 10 mistakes to avoid when hiring a moving company.

What to Know About Using a Moving Company

If you are looking at hiring a moving company it can be quite overwhelming to deal with at first. Not only are there so many companies to choose from but the moving process can be quite complicate and tedious also.

And to add to this everyone had a bad moving company experience they have heard about that someone else went though. And to again add to this it’s said that moving homes is one of the most stressful things a person can go through and for good reason. Even if you are staying in the same city you are literally uprooting your entire life and moving somewhere else all in the span of one day when moving day comes. No wonder it’s stressful!

If you want to take the weight off your shouldn’t somewhat then follow the simple guide we have prepared below and you should be able to find a reputable moving company that will make your move quite stress free.

Do Your Research

Don’t just call up any random moving company. Do some research online and find out what the particular moving company you are dealing with specialises in. For example if the moving company is a long distance mover and sometimes done inter city moves you might be paying more and their trucks might be bigger and heavier as they generally lug more stuff across the country.

Read the companies website, read the testimonials, read the companies FAQ and even google the businesses name for complains.

Are They Insured?

Hiring a moving company that is insured is one the most important factors. You want the peace of mind that if the unfortunate does take place that you are 100% covered and the value of your belongings will be reimbursed. If a removal company is actually insured you should easily find their insurance policy information on their website and if not they should be able to provide your with the information right away if you ask. If the company hesitates then move on, no pun intended!

Are Their Rates Fair?

Is the moving company providing you with a fair rate? The only way to actually figure this out is to get a few different question for the same service and compare them. But do remember that cheapest is not always best and there are countless types of moving services available from just hiring a moving van with a drive more commonly know as ‘man and a van’ all the way to full moving service with packing and unpack at your new home.

So when you compare quotes make sure you compare the same service. To add to this make sure the quotes are final quotes and if extras can be tacked on make sure you are away of what can be added on and the price.

Level Of Professionalism

A good sign that you are dealing with a reputable company is how they represent themselves. If you call a moving company and someone answers just saying ‘hello’ or ‘hi’ it’s best to stop right there. But if you call a moving company and they act like a real company then you might have a winner. another good sign is to check the removal companies website to see how they are branded. Is the company just a random two or three person team in everyday clothes? Or are they wearing company uniforms and really portray themselves and a respectable company.

Hopefully these moving tips help you find the right moving company for what you need. This blog posts on Moving.com is another great resource on how to know you’re picking the right moving company.

You can also watch this short video so you avoid making mistakes when hiring a moving company.

 

 

Moving Day Hacks

After a while every home tends to accumulate a variety of items that don’t really get used. They pretty much sit around collecting dust. And for the most part you don’t need to worry about this at all. But when moving day comes you need to worry once again!

Today we are going to explore how to deal with all your clutter to make your move one that is very simple and easy.

Moving Day Hack #1 – Packing Supplies

Before we even get into these moving day hacks the first and foremost hack you need to know about is packing supplies. What is the hack? Get lots of them! Overbuy actually as you can always return what you didn’t end up using. What are some good packing supplies to stock up on?

  1. Moving boxes of all shapes and sizes
  2. Heavy duty packing tape
  3. Old newspapers or packing paper
  4. Bubble wrap

If you have plenty of the above on hand you packing will be very simple. If you are on a budget ask your friends for their spare boxes, go down the the local shops and ask for their spares even. Old newspapers can be collected over time if you know you are moving a few months ahead. If you are on good terms with your local newsagent you can even get all the newspapers they were going to throw out for free.

Moving Day Hack #2 – General Packing Tips

Here are a few general packing tips that you will find useful for your move.

  1. To prevent things like shampoos, conditions or any other bottles from getting spilled everywhere remove the cap. take some plastic like a small piece of a plastic bag you ripped up. Then screw the cap back on. The plastic will stop the liquid form spilling.
  2. Don’t want a huge mess with your cables. Fold the cables neatly and then put them inside old toilet paper rolls.
  3. If you are not a tech wizz then take a photo of your electronics before you unplug them so you know exactly how to plug them back in once your move is done.

Moving Day Hack #3 – Boxes

Getting your boxes right can make a move easy or very, very stressful. Here are our top tips for moving boxes.

  1. Use a marker and write what is in the box. For example if the box contains clothes that will find their home in the master bedroom of your new house then write “Master Bedroom Clothes” on the outside of the box. This way you will know where each box needs to go when you move instead of ending up with a pyramid of boxes stacked up in the living room of your new place with no clue what is in what box.
  2. Don’t fill large boxes with heavy stuff. Even heavy duty boxes have a weight limit and you don’t want boxes breaking in the middle of your move.

Moving Day Hack #4 – Furniture

For our final tips today lets talk furniture. By far the biggest and heaviest items you have to deal with when moving homes.

  1. Wrap chests of draws with plastic wrap to secure the draws from falling out. Or if the draws have handles tie them all together with some rope and then take the rope all the way around the entire chest of draws three times and tie if off on a draw once again.
  2. Take two old bed sheets and put on one each side of a mattress. This will keep the mattress clean while it’s being moved.
  3. If you have any furniture that has legs like the legs of a bed frame. Wrap the legs with newspaper and then secure that newspaper with duct-tape. This will let you slide the heavy objects across the floor without leave marks or damaging anything.

Hopefully you loved our moving day hacks. If you want some more moving tips you can read this blog post about moving tips.