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Use moving house as an opportunity to sort out your possessions. Throw away your trash and separate items that can be given to friends or community thrift or missions stores. Get boxes well in advance. New boxes and wrapping papers are preffered for wrapping breakables. For more advice, take a look at our packing tips article.
Unless you have very few possessions, call in the professionals to help you move your household. It will relieve some of the stress of the big move. You can arrange for it all to be done for you, and pay for the privilege, or you can do the packing yourself but leave the heavy stuff to the experts.
Choosing a Mover
Here are some quick suggestions to help you make smart choices about how you're going to move your family possessions to your new home.
Open up the yellow pages and you are likely to find five or more pages of movers. Where should you begin? How do you find a reputable mover amidst all the possible choices? Once you receive a quote, should you choose the lowest bottom line estimate? The vast majority of professional moving companies are reputable, honest, and dependable. Many are family-owned businesses who have made a long-term investment in their community, realizing that their best source of new business is a satisfied customer.
A good mover enjoys working with an informed customer. The secret is to make sure the mover you choose is a good mover. Don't be afraid to ask questions -- and get everything in writing!! Remember that prices too good to be true, probably are. Legitimate business people have legitimate expenses, such as license, taxes, insurance, employee wages, benefits, and quality equipment. A legitimate mover must consider all those things when determining the price for service ... and so should you.
- Ask your friends
Talk to your friends, coworkers, neighbors, or relatives. Find out if they have moved within the last year. See what there experiences were. A solid mover will receive at least forty percent of their business from referrals.
- Get an Estimate
Call up prospective movers and get a phone estimate. A better moving company will give a detailed and thorough estimate. The more detail oriented the company is from the start, the more likely your move will be smooth. Be careful of companies that give “low-ball" estimates--either quoting low weights on long distance moves, or under quoting hours on a local move. This is a common tactic some movers use to get more business. Keep in mind that all movers will charge for the actual time a local move takes, or the actual weight of your long distance shipment. In other words the lowest price you initially hear may not be the lowest cost in the long run.
Helpful Hints
- contact us at least two - three weeks before you move
- make a list of your possessions so you can check if you've left anything behind
It will help if you let us know the following things:
- the amount of furniture you're moving, so we can choose an adequately sized truck and plan the number of journeys needed between your old and new home
- a rough guess of how many boxes we will need to pack, so it can estimate how long it will take
- the exact time you want our team to arrive
- clear instructions and directions to your new property
- arrange a parking space for the moving truck.
- always tell us well in advance of pieces of furniture which won't go through the door
- make a plan of where the furniture needs to go in your new home
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