In case you already moved, you probably know how stressful moving can get. It is even more stressful when it is your first time moving because you don’t have an idea what is ahead of you. However, moving doesn’t have to be nerve-racking at all. You just need to have a good plan of action that will make your relocation smooth. And we are here to help you make that plan and enjoy your fresh start in your new home!
- Planning With a Pen and Paper
No matter if you create a perfect plan of action if you don’t write it down. Chances that you will forget something are huge, regardless of how good your memory is. You will have many things to do before moving and even during and after, and you should have it all in writing. The best way is to have a notebook dedicated to the move where you will keep all the important information. You will be surprised how many people are calling us on a moving day to check if they scheduled our professional movers or some other moving company. Moving is a stressful event, so you won’t need much to forget dozens of little things you have to do.
- Researching Moving Companies
It is definitely not a good idea to schedule any movers with a truck that you came by on your list when you typed SF to LA movers near me. There are numerous moving companies out there, and you probably know that moving doesn’t have the brightest reputation. You need to be careful, especially when scheduling intrastate movers because your items will be in possession of professional movers for a few days since the mileage is large. Trusted movers are not that easy to find, so be prepared to do detailed research and call at least a few moving companies to hear more about their services and prices. Only after you call around, you will be able to compare the offers and book the right furniture movers for your needs.
- Set The Moving Budget
After you call a few places, you will get an idea about the cost of a move. Of course, you will have some moving budget in mind even before, but only after you will be able to set the realistic one. Don’t try to save money on professional movers. In case some offer sounds incredibly cheap, it is probably unrealistic and you will end up with tons of additional and hidden charges on your moving day. Whatever sounds too good to be true – it probably is. And once you set your moving budget and determine what moving company suits your needs the best, make sure to schedule them so you don’t end up with a different day than you planned or a different moving company. And when you find reliable movers, save their phone number, just in case. You never know if you might need to move again.
- Start Emptying Your Fridge
Professional movers are not moving any food, and there are numerous reasons for that. When it comes to San Francisco to Los Angeles movers, we don’t even have to explain why not, considering the mileage between locations. That is why you want to start emptying your fridge in time. Depending on how stocked your fridge is, you should stop buying new groceries and start using the ones you already have. You want to avoid any unnecessary expenses, including waste of food.
- Declutter
Let’s bet that you won’t decide to go through your things and declutter just like that, so moving is a perfect opportunity to get rid of everything that you are not using or you don’t like using. When it comes to moving, you will have to go through all of your stuff when packing, so why not use it to declutter? For the unwanted things, you can always organize a garage sale and have fun, or take the items to Goodwill. This way, you won’t overpack your home with unneeded stuff and you might even save some money on the moving itself because you will have fewer possessions to move.
- Packing – Start In Time
The crucial step of every move is packing! It can often determine whether your moving will be stress-free and smooth or you will lose your nerves even before. If you see that you don’t have enough time to pack up your home safely, you should always hire packers and movers who are professional to help you. On the other hand, when you are doing this on your own, you need to start on time, so you can avoid all the stress. You should start with the least used rooms that can be packed weeks before the move without the need to unpack the items. Continue towards the frequently used rooms until you pack up your entire home. Packing of your kitchen items and dishes will take the most time, so you should count on that before. If this is your first time moving, you might consider using professional movers and packers to help you with packing up your kitchen, while you can do everything else. Anything too valuable, such as jewelry or documents should be packed separately and moved on your own.
Don’t forget to label the boxes and add comments, such as ‘this side up’ or ‘fragile’. Pro tip: get quality packing materials to ensure the safety of your belongings even during transport. Check with your movers if wardrobe boxes are a part of their service and you won’t have to pack your hanging clothes, they will transport it this way.
- Essential Box
Most people forget about this, or you just don’t even think about it, but you want to avoid going through a bunch of boxes on your first night at home because you can’t find essentials. Pack a first-night box with all your toiletries, linens, pajamas, anything you might need for your first night and morning. Don’t forget some dishes and silverware. This way, you will have everything easily accessible and you won’t be stressing out because you can’t make the bed after a long day of moving. When moving intrastate, you want to pack up a bit more because moving can last up to a couple of days, and you don’t want to be left without some extra clothes or anything that you are using daily.
- Hire a Babysitter
A moving site can be a dangerous place for your little ones, so make sure someone is taking care of them on a moving day. You don’t want to stress out about your kids being safe on a moving day while movers are carrying heavy furniture around. The same goes for your pets, everything will go by smoothly if there are no pets around movers’ legs.
- Prepare Your New Home
Before your furniture movers arrive at your new home, you should have everything organized. The most interesting part of every move is that you are starting a new life chapter, and you want your home to look cozy and homey, so make sure to create a layout of your new space ahead of time. Not only will you help coordinate your movers where to put which piece of furniture, but you can determine if you want to leave some pieces behind. Transfer your utilities ahead as well, and make sure to notify everyone about the address change.
- Last Check-Up
There are a lot of check-ups on a moving day. Firstly, you should check any cabinet that you are leaving behind – see if you left anything behind by accident. After your movers load everything on a moving truck, do a walkthrough and see if anything that needs to be loaded is forgotten before they leave. The same goes for unloading, and your professional movers will require this as well – check the moving truck. It is easier to spend a couple of minutes extra on a moving day and inspects all of this than having missing items during the move and have no idea where to find them. We highly doubt that you want to travel over 300 miles in one direction to check if you left your dear painting behind by accident. And even worse – figure out that you haven’t. During the move, it is always better to be safe than sorry. So make sure to check if everything was done properly, while you are still there.
