If you are planning a relocation in a recent future and have no idea where to start, don’t worry, we are here to assist. Moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life, no matter if it’s just a few miles away or a few thousands miles away. You have to pack up your whole life and relocate it elsewhere. There are a bunch of questions that you should ask yourself before executing or moving itself. Here are all the questions together with tips and tricks.
- Where to start?
Let’s start from the beginning. You have decided to move and now what? What are the next steps to take? Planning is definitely something that determines if your move is going to be a success or if it’s going to be a nerve-racking experience that will make you think you don’t want to have ever again. Step number one is planning, so get a notebook dedicated to your move and write down everything that needs to be done. Start with the moving checklist and try to stick to the plan as much as possible. Don’t have your hopes up, some unexpected things will happen, but that is the beauty of life, isn’t it?
- Should I hire a moving company or move my belongings by myself?
Next big question, moving yourself vs moving by a professional movers. Answers to this question depend on your personal preferences and moving needs. Of course, budget has a big role here as well, but you should know that nowadays moving with local movers is not even that expensive. At the end of the day, it is cheaper than replacing everything that was broken due to lack of experience, that is for sure. If you have many unique and valuable items, you should definitely go with professional movers. The other advantage of using a local moving company is that they are coming with professional movers, moving trucks and equipment needed for handling your possessions. If you decide to move by yourself, you will have to get this separately. On the other hand, if you don’t want anyone to handle or come close to your belongings, do it yourself. On the side of a moving company is also the fact that they have insurance included in the price, so in case something gets damaged, you won’t have to stress out even more about it.
- What is my moving budget?
Big question, probably the biggest one is the moving budget. No matter what you decide there are some moving expenses. Now, let’s list them all out. If you are moving by yourself, you will have to buy tools, wrapping material, straps and packing boxes. Renting a moving truck or U-haul is also a must. There is no chance you can perform this on your own, so you will have to invite your friends or family members to help you and coordinate yours with their schedules. When moving with a local movers, you will have the expense of their service, obviously, but their movers with a truck are coming with all the equipment mentioned above. There is a good trick when it comes to this and that is to do it partially. You can pack up your personal belongings and miscellaneous items on your own, while letting professional movers do everything else for you, heavy lifting included.
- Where to find movers?
After you made a big decision it is time to find a professional moving company to help you with your relocation. It is definitely not enough to type local movers near me and to book the first company on the list, you will have to dig deeper. Having someone you can rely on and trust them with handling pretty much everything that you own is not that simple decision. You will have to learn more about those moving companies even before calling them, so be prepared to check their online reputation. Call at least 3 moving companies to compare their services and prices and write everything down or ask them to send you an email proposal as well. After you read and listen to everything they have to say, it is time to make a big decision.
- Packing – how early to start?
Now, let’s talk about the most time-consuming task of a local move and therefore it requires planning and organizing. Before you start with the process itself, you should sort out your items. That way you can decide what you want to declutter and what you want to keep. After that you will have the idea what items you actually need to pack and what you can sell on a garage sale. Good tip is to give some items to Goodwill if you are not using them anymore. Start with the least used rooms and pack everything that you are commonly using for the last days. Packing on your own requires time and you need to be extra careful and that is why you don’t want to rush the whole process.
- How many boxes do I need?
This one is not that simple, so if you are trying to calculate how many boxes you will need for your next move, we are here to help you decide. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on boxes and end up not using them. On the other hand you don’t want to lack boxes. So what is the ideal number? It depends on many factors, so let’s start one by one. First way to calculate is to add 25 boxes to each adult living in your household and between 10-15 for each kid. The other thing you should take into consideration is how long you have lived in your home, because people are gathering things over the years. It also depends on your lifestyle, so if you are a minimalist you won’t have that many things to pack. Square footage and the size of your home is also an important factor in determining how many packing boxes you’ll need. The larger the home, more items you will have.
Hopefully this article will help you when it comes to packing and moving your entire home. No matter what your final decision is, we wish you a smooth move!