Considering that the average person is moving more than 11 times during the lifetime, we can confidently say that we all have been through local moving. If not, that is something that you will be facing soon, considering that you are reading this text. You must have heard a lot of scary stories about local movers being always late, affordable movers who are affordable just because they will break everything around your home, and similar. We must say that moving is stressful, but it doesn’t have to be a nightmare as mentioned in some stories. If you take certain steps to prepare for your move, everything can go by smoothly and without any stress, believe it or not. No matter if you are moving for the first time, or you are already reaching your limit of 11th relocation, some rules are the same. That is why we gathered some tips from local movers in order to help you prepare for your upcoming move in the best possible way. Here are some useful tips.
- Utilities
No, you are not going to switch your utilities before hiring local movers, but as soon as you know that you are moving you should call them and schedule their arrival. You want to be prepared for the move to your new home and have all utilities during your first night or day there. Why you should do this first? After you start planning and finding local movers, it is easy to forget this step since you will be in a process of planning and coordinating, so it is better to be safe than sorry. Tackle it as soon as you know your new address and you’ll not only get it out of the way early on, you’ll also ensure you don’t forget to do it.
- Find local movers
You might have been thinking to relocate on your own, and that is completely fine if you don’t have that many things. But if you think twice, there are many affordable movers on the market today who will help you move safely and efficiently, and it might end up being cheaper than renting a truck, buying the moving equipment, and breaking your back. Professional movers are always the best choice. But how to find local movers you can rely on? This is not simple, we must say. The worst thing you can do is not calling them in time, and leaving it for the last day. Yes, you will probably find the same day movers, but what would be the quality of your move? It is rare to find reliable local movers on the day of your move. So, the first advice we have when it comes to finding local movers is to start your search in time. It can never be too early for a search. Rule number two is that if you think it is enough to type local movers near me and call the first moving company on the list, we will have to disappoint you. It is not. You will have to go through many reviews of professional movers that are highly rated. You should never go with local movers who are rated less than 4 stars on Google or Yelp, that is the signal that something is not as it should be. So prepare to patiently read a lot, and call a few local movers to get their quotes, before you make the final decision. Also, don’t forget to ask your recently moved neighbors about local movers they used, that might be handy. First-hand experience is always the most valuable.
- Set your moving budget
Why setting the moving budget after calling the local movers is a better idea? Because before that, if you haven’t moved for years, you might be unrealistic. If you are not sure where to start even, there are many moving calculators online that will help you determine what is going to be the final cost for your relocation based on many factors, not only local movers.
- Plan your meals
This might sound a bit weird to those who never moved before, but those with more experience know that moving comes with huge food waste. You can avoid this by planning your meals with the food you already have at home, and empty your fridge and freezer before your local movers arrive. Most professional movers avoid moving food, especially together with the rest of the items because it might lead to stains and damages on your furniture. Turn it into a game and get creative with recipes to see how much you can use up. Do good at the same time by donating unopened/unexpired food to a local food bank.
- Declutter
Now, before you start packing or before your local movers arrive to help you with this step as well, make sure to go through your belongings and declutter. Why would you relocate a bunch of items just to put them in home storage once you move? No need, you want a fresh start with belongings that you actually want to see in your home. What to do with the rest of the items? You have a few options when it comes to this. Of course, you can always donate these items to Goodwill and make a good deed out of your relocation. Or you can organize a garage sale where you and your family will have some fun together and earn money to cover the part of expenses related to your local move. Think about your friends and family as well, would they have the use of some of the belongings that you have? If so, offer them to take them from you instead of buying them. And before you see it, you will have a lot fewer items to move when your local movers arrive.
- Get packing supplies
It is quite difficult to decide how many boxes are enough boxes, so the best advice we have unless you are using local movers to help you with packing as well is to go online and use a packing calculator to determine how many boxes you will need. After you do that, the preparation for your move will be way simpler. The best thing you should do is use packing boxes for fragile items, and if you want to save some money, you can use suitcases, storage bins, and similar for the items that are not breakable.
- Start packing in time
It is important to start packing before your local movers arrive so you can avoid all the stress of last-minute packing and of course, avoid any damages. The sooner you start the better. Tips gathered from professional movers are: start with the least used rooms, and continue towards the ones you are using daily. Also, don’t overpack boxes with many heavy items. Not only this will be difficult for your local movers to carry, but the box may tear apart and your items will be damaged. When planning your packing, you should pack a few boxes every day, without the exception.
- Pack valuables separately
No matter how reliable your local movers are, you should pack up irreplaceable belongings on your own and move them on your own. Local movers are not liable for expensive jewelry, irreplaceable documents, and similar. Be precautious, hire professional movers, and take every step to ensure your items get their final destination safely.
- Don’t empty your drawers
Instead of taking clothes and other items out of dresser drawers and packing them into boxes, simply take the drawers out of the dresser, leave the items in there, and secure them by wrapping up the drawer in plastic wrap. You shouldn’t leave the full drawers inside the dresser, because that is something that local movers are not fans of, because it will be too heavy to handle, and the margin for the mistake is higher. Avoid this, but rather just wrap up your drawers and let the local movers carry them separately.
- Leave clothes on hangers
Most of the local movers do have wardrobe boxes included in the price, so you won’t have to pack them. Instead, leave your hanging clothes on hangers and let your professional movers move them in wardrobe boxes. Those are pretty big, one wardrobe box can fit between 20 and 25 hangers, depending on the size of your clothes. If you are not sure if your local movers will bring these, feel free to ask.
- Label the boxes
Don’t forget to label each box you pack, so your local movers know how to handle them and where to place them in your new home. The best way to label the boxes is in the center, so it is clearly visible. Don’t forget to add notes such as ‘this side up’, ‘fragile’, and similar. Help your local movers help you.
- Essential bag
This is something that not many people have in mind when preparing for the arrival of local movers, but you should pack an essential bag. You will need some things during your first night in your home, as well as the first day, so make sure to pack some items that will be handy to have at the moment you arrive at your new home. Your moving essentials bag may include important documents, medications, chargers, basic toiletries, a couple of changes of clothes, etc. This bag doesn’t have to contain many items, but essentials like linens, a few cups, towels, etc.
- Be packed a day before your local movers arrive
This is very important, and it should be your goal when preparing for the local move. Make sure you are packed up and ready to go the night before your local movers arrive. This way you will avoid stress due to last-minute packing. So, when planning the move as your deadline, you should put the night before local movers arrive.
- Take a picture of your electronics before disconnecting
In order to connect back your electronics properly and in a way easier way, you should take a picture of how they look like when connected. This will save you a ton of time when you move into your new home and start connecting your TV and the rest back. Always be one step ahead.
- Hire a babysitter
If you have a small baby in the house, you don’t want to expose them to stress. Babies and toddlers should be with someone reliable on a moving day, because the moving site can be a dangerous place for little ones, and the last thing that you want is to worry about your kids running around local movers while they are carrying heavy furniture. The same goes for pets, it is best to let someone keep them on a moving day. Not to mention that the doors will be opened constantly, so you don’t want to think if your dog is going to run outside.
- Keep the doors open
To make the job easier for your local movers, you should think of a way to keep the doors open, so they can easily carry the furniture around. Use rubber bands to prevent getting locked out. String a rubber band around one doorknob, then cross it over and wrap it around the doorknob on the other side to keep the door from locking.
- Make a layout of your new home
Before having your local movers at your new location, make sure you have the layout. The last thing that you want is to have professional movers moving the same sofa for dozens of times because you are not sure where to place it. This will save you time, and we all know that when moving – the time is money.
- Do a walkthrough
Before your local movers leave, make sure to check your old home. Also, inspect the moving truck before professional movers leave for good. This is something that they will probably ask you to do, but if not, do insist to inspect the truck in order to see if everything was unloaded.
- Make sure you have enough money
When hiring local movers, you are never sure how much money the move will cost because they charge the hourly rates, but make sure to have twice more than you think it will be, just in case. You don’t want to think of how to pay your local movers or to run to the bank to get more money.
- Set a deadline for unpacking
Last, but not least – set the deadline when you should unpack all of your belongings. This will help you settle in your home sooner rather than later. And do your best to respect this deadline.
And if you are looking for the best local movers in town, make sure to reach out to Mega Movers Fontana and get your free moving quote today! We are looking forward to working with you!