Using moving checklists, lots of packing supplies and planning will make your move to a new home pleasant and the moving companies fee cheaper.
Moving to a new house, especially to a foreign country, is a stressful time, whether you are moving to a new city half a world away or simply moving across the street. Trying to find the best moving companies, getting organized, packing up your entire life and making sure everything gets moved safely takes time, energy and proper organization. Even the best movers and moving companies cannot do the job properly if you are not properly prepared. To meticulously plan a house move you need to start thinking about it long before you open the first packing box.
Start Early
Packing a small bedroom usually takes about 4 hours, packing a house takes far longer. Planning your house move one month in advance is the minimum time needed to successfully plan a move without undue stress or rushing. During this month prepare packing supplies, packing boxes, and make checklists of what you want to bring, what needs to be done and when everything must be completed by.
Make a Checklist
Even if you are moving from a school dormitory, making a moving checklist of what you need to do and what goes where will save headaches and time when you actually begin moving to a new house. If you have a large house, you may make several checklists as your house move progresses. First, make a checklist of what you need to keep, what you want to keep and what you can give or throw away. Think carefully as you are making the list and be prepared to throw or give away useless things that are not needed anymore. The fewer items kept during house moving the better.
After that is completed, make a checklist of what rooms will be packed first, what can be packed early, and what must wait until the last day. The earlier you pack up most of your items the better.
Packing Supplies and Boxes
When moving, packing boxes are essential and the more the better. Medium size boxes are best for moving to a new house; if the boxes are too large, they may be too heavy to move safely. Boxes between 20 and 30 pounds (9-13 Kg) in weight are best. Larger packing boxes, especially wardrobe boxes, a tall packing box, should be used for light, bulky items such as bedding.
The best packing boxes can be bought from moving companies, new or used. Used packing boxes are cheaper and a good way to save money; just ensure they are still in good condition. Stores, especially bookstores and grocery stores, will usually give boxes away for free. Packing boxes from grocery stores are sometimes dirty so some care should be taken to only get the best.
Tape is another essential packing supply. Packing tape should be used liberally to tape all sides of the boxes. By taping the corners, sides, top and bottom of the boxes it will keep the boxes from being crushed when placed in the moving truck.
Organize the Packing Boxes
This is where a moving checklist really comes in handy. When packing, keep everything well
organized by going in order of rooms and/or items. Mark the packing boxes for each room with different coloured tape or markers, as well as writing what is inside them. If all your kitchen supplies are in boxes marked with blue marker, and the children’s boxes are marked with red, it will save you and the movers a lot of time when loading and unloading them from the moving truck. And the faster the movers get the job done, the less you must pay the moving companies.
For items that will be needed quickly, such as bedding, dishes and food, ensure the boxes are also marked appropriately before packing and tell the movers to pack them in the moving truck so they are the first boxes taken out. Also mark these boxes with the actual items inside, if “FOOD” is written on the food box it will get more attention than “Box #21” and will be harder to forget.
As each box is packed, mark it down on the moving checklist. As the movers place it in the moving truck, also mark it on the checklist. When the packing boxes are removed, mark down each box as being removed on the moving checklist. By doing this you are less likely to lose important things when you move.
By doing these things during a house move, you will suffer less stress, save time and effort, and make your job and the moving company’s job easier as well.