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Moving to a new home is an exciting time, but also one of the greatest experiences of stress that most people will ever endure. It often makes little difference if you are moving to the house next door, moving across towns or moving right across the country, the stress levels experienced are similar, the only thing that distance changes is the logistics. So, if you can get the right company to help you move from one end of the country to the other, the whole operation will be as easy as swapping rooms around.
Tip 1: Chose A Good Moving Company
You would think this would be logical thing to do when you are looking at a major household move, and in reality, it is probably the first thing people think of. Unfortunately, it can be hard to work out exactly which of the many national moving companies you should go with. The first thing to look at is what the company specializes in. Yes, most moving companies will move you wherever you want to go, but some are better at moving you across town and some are amazing at shipping you internationally.
What Is Their Specialty?
When you are looking moving companies see what their primary advertising is. If they have the fact that they take pride in offering excellent national moving services up front and center, then they are more likely going to be the type of company who can get you sorted. Don’t discount an international focused company, particularly if you are literally moving from one end of America to the other, as similar packing techniques are used. However, you should probably disregard a company that talks about their pride to be the best in your town or city, they are more likely to have short distance moves as their specialty and not really be set up for what you need.
What Is The Word On The Street?
The modern age of internet means that you can get a lot of feedback about a company without leaving home. Simply Googling “[company name] review” will get you a lot of information – and if you are hesitant about using them for some reason, add the word ‘bad’ or ‘problem’ to that search phrase and see what comes up. You can also talk to people on social media and ask for their feedback, particularly if they have done the exact same route. Remembering that although many of the moving companies work nationwide, they generally have different staff running logistics as well as packing and moving, in each location. So, a move from Houston to Portland might be a very different experience that a move from San Francisco to New York.
Tip 2: Don’t Pack Yourself
People often think that they are saving themselves hundreds of dollars by packing themselves, but what they are doing is chalking up a bill for thousands of dollars of therapy at the other end, in whatever stress reduction method you enjoy.
Yes, you absolutely should pack the few boxes or bags that will be travelling with you personally. These are going to include essential items such as work or school clothing, personal toiletries, electronic devices, and anything of incredible personal significance. If you are going to be moving into a new house a few days before your furniture arrives you might want to add a few towels and bedding for camping as well.
Otherwise, leave it to the professionals. Not only do they actually do this for a living, all day every day, their insurance guarantees there work so you will encounter breakages (unfortunately it is almost unheard of for a move to be completely damage free).
The professional packers have all the right gear to pack your house up in a remarkably short period of time. Not just boxes in the right sizes (see here), but packing tape, packing wrap, and extra protective fill. Their experience means that they no exactly how much to put in each box in order to ensure not only that the items won’t get damaged by being knocked around, but also to ensure that no box is either too heavy or too light, as either can cause problems during the moving process.
Professionals also move room by room, and label as they go. Whereas most of us tend to put a box in each room then wonder around the house adding bits to it as we find things that we think would be better suited to a different box. This confusing process makes unpacking at the other end a diabolical nightmare. It also means that labeling becomes impossible as you are not longer packing up “master bedroom”, instead you have “Johns Clothes and some sports equipment”.
Tip 3: Don’t Stress
Easier said that done, but once you have hired your moving company and your packers, relax for a moment. Put a note in your diary to call and confirm a few weeks before the packers are due to arrive to ensure that everything is still booked in as planned, but otherwise trust that they now their job.
Start looking for what you can do when you get to your new home. Hop on google maps and “walk” around the streets, see if you can work out where you nearest takeout might be. While you’re still in your current location, finally do some of those touristy things that you never got around to doing. You will be glad you need, because every time anyone in your new location asks you where you’re from they are going to ask “oh! So, did you see the…” so make sure you get to see whatever the biggest attraction is. Head to https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ and check out the top things in your area.
Moving is always more expensive than you budgeted for, so fine dinning every night is a bad idea for most people but enjoy easy meals or cheap takeout. If your furniture has already left, enjoy a few picnics on the floor. The experience is largely as good or as bad as you make it, so try to find as many good points about the situation as you can.
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