People occasionally switch houses for various reasons, including work transfers. When the need arises, the moving exercise can be tiresome. Fortunately, proper planning can make it the best experience ever. The following are the easiest moving tips to ensure your transition is effortless.
Pack Thoroughly and Concisely
Just like in the military, you should always be prepared. You might have heard that the rule is to pack months or weeks before the move. Well, the rule is a guideline, not an absolute. It varies depending on your needs and circumstances. You don’t have to stick to it but try to make it part of the easiest moving tips you follow.
The best way to start packing is to identify what you need. Before you pack anything, list everything you’ll require during your stay at the new house. You should also include what you’ll require for short-term or future use.
The list will save you from filling storage boxes with unnecessary items. It will also ensure that you pack all of your essential belongings. Additionally, you should include seasonal clothing needed immediately after the move.
If you don’t have enough time to pack, hire residential packing services. These individuals are not only practical but affordable as well. They ensure to pack every essential item, making your move an effortless process.
Choose the Right Movers
When it comes to moving services, the choice is broad and numerous. You can contact your current friends and family to get recommendations. If you’ve no place to start, you can always use Google. Type in residential moving companies in your area, and choose the one that is well-perceived by their customers.
If you want a free second opinion, don’t restrict yourself. Go for the upfront ones about their company’s advertising and services because it’s one of the easiest moving tips for getting the best movers. It would be the best move to call a professional to see if they would like to work with you for an hour before hiring them. In turn, you’ll know if they are reliable or not.
Before you decide to move, make sure you do your homework first. Asking questions such as how many years they have been in business, service fees, and moving costs would be of great help is especially important. Getting the services of a professional mover can help avoid any potential damage during the move.
Social media platforms also offer an ideal place to search for reliable moving and storage services. Consider their reviews to ensure they provide quality services.
Cover Yourself With Insurance
When you move, there will be a lot of things that you need to take care of. It will help if you ensure that the movers and packers are insured. Nothing is worse than seeing damage to everything you own occur during the moving procedure. Most insurance companies allow clients to replace or repair sentimental items during the move.
Accidents can occur at any time, so it’s best to have homeowners insurance before you move. It will not only protect your valuables, but it will also help alleviate some of the stress during the transition.
When you move, there is a great possibility that something might go wrong. With an insurance policy, you’ll be able to address these challenges yourself.
It’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s even more stressful if something happens during the move and you don’t have coverage. Therefore, you should consider buying coverage from reputable insurers as soon as possible. It will prevent incurring huge losses if an accident occurs.
Choose How to Bring Your Vehicles
Moving your vehicle may take more effort than you’d like. Therefore, one of the easiest moving tips is to take them with you during the move. Before acting, ensure you’ve removed any valuable contents inside the trunk. If they are left there, they might get stolen during the move.
When it comes to moving a vehicle, there are different ways you can choose. This extra consideration will prevent you from having a bad experience during the trip. You should also ensure your car is in good condition before transporting it to your new location.
One of the common methods is using tow services. These services have the necessary carriers to ensure your vehicle reaches its destination safely. The transportation could be done using a closed or open carrier. The choice of method would depend on your budget and other preferences, such as safety.
However, these companies have the necessary experience to drive your vehicle safely to the new destination. The only challenge with open carriers is that your car could get dirty. The dirt is not a primary concern because you can wash the vehicle. What matters most is for the car to reach the new home safely.
Cancel Any Memberships
If you’re moving to a different location, such as a town, state, or country, you would no longer need memberships in the local facilities. Therefore, you should cancel these memberships early enough to facilitate any necessary refunds. In some cases, late cancellations would result in losing any amount you had paid upfront.
You can terminate these services by calling or writing a simple email to the company. You should also cancel any bills that you no longer need during your stay in the new town. Remember that you must communicate with all the service providers on your contact list as soon as you know when you’ll move.
The letter or email should indicate the date of cancellation and any other details related to the move and services termination. A fitness membership will remain your responsibility even after you move. Thus, you should cancel it as early as possible. Alternatively, you could transfer it to a friend or family member, making this one of the easiest moving tips.
Memberships incur recurring payments; if you don’t cancel, you’ll get a bill at the end of the billing session. However, there is no need to pay these bills if you can cancel the membership before you move.
Cancel Trash Pickups
Depending on your location, trash pickups and recycling services vary. If your town does it for you, you can ask a neighbor to take care of trash during the move. In this case, there is no need to cancel these services. However, if the borough doesn’t cover them, you should cancel them as soon as possible.
However, you must plan your dates well to ensure you don’t cancel early and are left with trash in the house. Also, don’t cancel too late such that you pay for a service you never received. In this case, you should be sure about the moving date to ensure you cancel the trash pickups at the right time, avoiding inconveniences.
Most waste removal companies will give you a 48-hour notice before your trash pickup date so that they can reschedule it. These companies have sufficient resources to ensure that your moving process is seamless and there are no problems during the clean-up exercise.
Fully Clean Your Old Home
You’ll have some problems after moving from your previous home. You should ensure that the old house is tidy before moving. You can use this as one of the easiest moving tips to organize a successful move.
Eliminate any wall marks and kitchen stains before you pass the house keys to the new owner. The reason for cleaning is that dirty walls don’t portray a good house image, lowering its value.
You should also ensure that any trash or furniture is removed from the home before handing over the keys. The absence of these items will make the house attractive to buyers. While cleaning the house to hand it over to the new owner, consider cleaning your items too. For instance, hire a carpet cleaning service to clean your carpets.
The exercise would ensure that you don’t carry dirty items while moving. You would face minimal challenges while settling in the new house. For instance, you’ll not need a cleaning service in the new location. These services would be essential once you get used to your new home and locality.
Once you’ve gotten used to the new location, you’ll face no challenges looking for a reliable home cleaning service. You might also have made new friends who can offer you the best referrals. Before this happens, have your household items cleaned while in your old house because it’s one of the easiest moving tips.
Ensure Utilities Are Transferred
When you move, it doesn’t mean you’ll stop needing certain utilities. Hence, contact all the responsible companies to inform them about your move. Also, provide your new address details to facilitate utility transfer.
One of the easiest moving tips is to contact these companies early to avoid last-minute inconveniences. When you contact them on time, they will facilitate the necessary processes to offer you a smooth transition from one location to another.
The utilities include electricity, water, heating, and cooking gas. Ensure that these services are transferred to your new location. These processes should include transferring all the necessary items by an electrical company to the new location. You should close your old account and open a new one at your new home.
You should also consult the electricity provider regarding installing a new meter in the new house. Consider their guidelines on changing meters from a single phase to three because some meters cannot be used in specific locations.
When you move, start a new account with your new local cable provider. However, before proceeding with the subscription process, call the last company to cancel your services so that they don’t charge you for services they will not provide. In addition, make sure you don’t miss out on any promotional offers that may be available to you.
Inform the Post Office
When you move, you need to change your mailing address as your mail service has also changed. You’ll most likely receive an official notification on the main change details when you move. However, if there is no notice, call the post office to inform them about any changes in your mailing details.
The mailing address will include the zip code and house number. The post office will use this information to send your mail to the new location. When you change your mailing address, the recipient’s information of your previous address needs updating.
The police will also use this information to reach you in an emergency. Therefore, you need to provide the post office with accurate information so that they can process your request accordingly.
Secure Your New Home
Since you’ve moved to a new location, securing your home is best until you learn more about your neighborhood’s safety. This is one of the easiest moving tips to facilitate a smooth transition. Hire a locksmith service to install secure locks. These individuals have the necessary knowledge and experience working with locks. Hence, they would suggest the most secure locks on the market.
Given the current technological advancements, smart locks have become the most trusted locks for home security. These locks are connected to the home network and are operated using an internet-based remote system. Also, they can be easily monitored from your smartphone. In addition, these locks are controllable by voice commands.
When you move to a new home and don’t know much about the neighborhood, you should contact your local provision store for suggestions on the best locks to use. These stores have the necessary knowledge of various brands of locks and their performance in different settings.
Be Prepared With Vital Furniture
Many homeowners have a specific piece of furniture they can’t leave behind. Examples of such items include the family heirloom, baby’s cot, and dressers. If you’ve got these items in your old location, ensure that they are properly packed for shipment before you move to your new location.
It would help if you also had the necessary furniture, such as beds because you might not identify a reliable seller as soon as you move to a new location. The local bedding store would recommend the best movable beds to facilitate efficient transportation when moving to the new house.
When you move, ensure that the process is as smooth and easy as possible. In addition to the easiest moving tips above, plan your schedule well to avoid inconveniences. Ensure the new home is in good condition.