By Scott Boone
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| Image courtesy of wikipedia |
You wouldn’t know it by looking at the thermometer in
Jacksonville, but it’s officially Fall.
With that in mind, I thought I’d get a jump on the season by falling
back to the basics of moving. During the
past few blogs I’ve homed in on some specifics designed to make moving
simpler. Today, I’m going to show you
the ABC’s that can make the whole process a lot less stressful.
1.
Hire
a reputable mover – I know you probably think I’m covering
this factor first simply because I am a mover. You’d be wrong. The reason I start with hiring a mover is to
keep you from getting stuck with one you probably shouldn’t hire. Reputable movers can be booked months in
advance. Just like star athletes, good
movers are very popular. That means their schedules fill fast. Another reason
to start interviewing movers months before you plan on moving is t there are
other factors to consider. Certain times
of the year are more popular than others.
Also, holidays can quickly become booked solid. What I’m trying to tell you is if you wait
until the last minute, chances are you’ll either wind up with a less desirable
mover, or none at all.
Even the act of searching for an
affordable, reputable mover can take more time than you think. You need to select some likely candidates and
then check them out online. Then you
need to do a phone interview. Only after
both these steps should you invite a few movers to give you a quote. For more information on the ins and outs of
hiring a mover, check out my blogs entitled, How to Find a Great Moving Company
and How to Avoid Moving Scams.
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| Image courtesy of Max Pixel |
2.
Plan
the work and work the plan – Let’s be honest, moving is like a
black hole when it comes to time. Unless
you live in an efficiency apartment, the packing process needs to be planned
long before it’s time to move. Boxes,
packing tape, padding and other moving supplies have to be bought. Schedules have to be rearranged to give you
time enough to sort, select and pack your way through your home. If you think you can pack a 3-bedroom home in
a week, you’re deluding yourself, unless you pay your mover to pack and unpack
for you.
If you want to succeed at packing
without driving yourself crazy, you need to plan first. Do you have a garage or spare bedroom you can
use as a storage area for the mountain of boxes you’ll create when you pack, or
do you need to negotiate a deal with an on-site storage company? How many hours per day can you realistically
devote to the packing process without derailing your family’s schedule? Are you
going to have to do all the packing yourself, or can you rely on family and/or
friends to pitch in? Are your kids going
to be a help or a hindrance? Only by
asking yourself some hard questions will you have a clue as to how long the
task could take. If you want the plan to
work, you have to create and then work the plan. Winging it is not a plan.
3.
Avoid
moving mistakes – If you’re paying your mover by the hour,
it behooves you to make sure everything is ready when the truck pulls up. This not only means having all the boxes and
belongings ready to go, it also means clearing every hazard away from the
area. If you have small children or
pets, you need them to stay with friends or neighbors while the moving is
progressing. The last thing your movers
need to worry about is tripping over or stepping on your kids or pets.
Kids aren’t the only ones who can
interfere with your movers. So can
you. While you might be able to
micromanage those who work beneath you at work at the office, if you try to
micromanage your movers, all you’ll wind up doing is slowing them down. That will cost you money, since movers work
by the hour. While I’m not saying you
shouldn’t let your movers know about any concerns you may have regarding
fragile items, the trick is once you have pointed them out, get out of their
way and let them do their job.
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| Image courtesy of flickr |
4.
What
your movers won’t move – While many people understand movers won’t move hazardous
material, the problem is most people haven’t got a clue as to what is
considered hazardous. Movers are prohibited from moving everything from
insecticides and acid, to paint and propane tanks. Other items on the do-not-move
list include cleaning solvents, aerosol cans, motor oil, pool chemicals,
batteries, liquid bleach, weed killer, fertilizer, charcoal lighter fluid,
gasoline, kerosene, lamp oil, and nail polish remover. That’s right, if
you think you can hand your mover a box that contains nail polish remover,
think again. The active ingredients in nail polish remover is highly
flammable. Another thing many people don’t realize is it’s against the
law to throw many of these items away. The proper way to dispose of
hazardous material is to find out where your hazardous waste disposal center is
located. If not, then you need to load these items in your car, so
you can transport them yourself.
By following a few basic rules, you’ll put yourself in
a position to make your next move efficient, affordable and far less stressful
than trying to recover from falling back an hour as we’re all forced to do at this
time of year.
With over 5,000
moves, Scott's Discount Movers has handled moves of all sizes, including local and
cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend
on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.
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