What Not to Pack
So, you are planning a move. Now that you know you are going, it is time to get organized and figure out just where everything is going to go. One of the biggest jobs when you are moving is the packing. Where to put everything, what kind of boxes you need and what order you are going to load the truck. When you are making up your list, remember that there are some things that you shouldn’t pack. Moving companies simply won’t or are not allowed to move some items. Other items are too important to pack up. Finally, some items might not survive the move. Here are some of the things that you shouldn’t pack when you are moving.
Garage and Basement Items
There are some things lurking on the shelves of your garage and basement that you just shouldn’t pack up. The main reason why is because most moving companies are not allowed to move items that might be considered hazardous. It may even be illegal to transport those items without a special license. Things to be careful of are gasoline, fertilizer, car batteries, weed killers, ammonia based cleaners, chlorine bleach, paint thinner, motor oil, pesticides and lighter fluid are some examples of things that you should not pack up.
You need to have very specialized equipment to pack these things. If you really need to move them, you need to ask your moving company to provide the necessary equipment. They may not be able to do so, so be prepared to have to dispose of these things prior to your move.
Perishable Food Items
It should go without saying, but packing the items in your refrigerator into boxes for your movers is just a bad idea. Food is a big one that movers simply will not take. If you have pantry goods or other types of dry goods, it shouldn’t be a problem. Anything that has an expiration date or needs to remain refrigerated should be either eaten before your move or put in a cooler and taken to your new home by you.
Remember, plants are considered perishable items. Moving companies are not going to move your live plants. Make sure to have a plan to get them to your new home!
Valuables
Valuables can take on many forms. They might be jewelry that has a high value. They could also be family heirlooms that you simply cannot replace. Finally, you may have valuable paperwork in your home such as the deed to your car, identification or other sensitive items. All of that should not be packed up for your movers.
Have a separate file or small box to carry these items yourself. Take them with you if possible, or have them mailed to your new address if it is not.
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Keeping Your Movers Happy
A good moving crew is capable of turning the most difficult move into a cake walk. If you have decided to go with professional movers, you may be wondering about the proper way to keep them happy. Obviously, you are going to do things differently with professional movers than you would if you had friends or family helping you out. Here are some ideas on how to keep your professional movers happy and ensure that the job gets done quickly!
Don’t Forget the Beverages
Moving is hard work. No matter what time of year that the moving is getting done, you are going to want to have beverages on hand for your movers to drink. Bottled water is always a good choice, but if you want to add a little variety, you might want to have coffee, soda or iced tea. Whatever it is, keep it in the fridge (except the coffee) so that it is cold. Until they move the fridge, that is!
Stay Away from Alcohol
A quick note about alcohol: avoid it. It may seem like the “cool” thing to do to offer alcohol to your movers, but it can just lead accidents or impaired ability. If you want to, tip in cash and let them spend it at the bar on their own time.
What about Lunch?
While it is certainly a great idea to give the crew lunch, they won’t come expecting it. If you are going to do lunch, having something quick for them is probably best. Think of food that you can eat while you are on the move. Things like pizza, sandwiches or other hand foods are a great option. If you want to stop and offer a full lunch as tip, that is perfectly acceptable. If you do choose to do this, ask the crew what their lunch preference would be so that you ensure that you get them something they will enjoy.
Cash Tips
So if you are considering giving a cash tip, the big question is how much? Obviously, you don’t want to be insulting to a mover, but it can be difficult to figure out what the proper amount is. Don’t try to work out a percentage of the cost. Moving tips just don’t work the same way. Think about it more as a per hour basis. The longer the crew is there working, the more that you should tip them.
Then there are the additional things to consider. Was the day overly long? A short day is 3 to 4 hours. An average day is 7 to 8 hours, and a long day is 12 hours. The longer the day, the more you want to increase the tip.
Don’t forget to figure in things like long difficult stairwells or any additional things they might have done for you. Make sure to reward for good service.
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Moving Your Car
If you are moving a long way from home, then you may need to have one or more of your cars moved professionally. While the process isn’t overly complicated, there are a few things you are going to need to do in order to get your car ready for the move. Here are some of the things you should remember to do before your car gets picked up to be delivered at your new home.
Turn Off the Alarm
While this may be easier said than done, if you are having your car transported via truck, it is necessary. Not only because you don’t want to have a dead battery when your car shows up at your new home, but you also don’t want to make an enemy of the truck driver who has to listen to your alarm during the trip. If you are unsure how to do this, check with your manufacturer’s manual, or call a dealer who should be able to help you out.
Keep the Tank Empty
No need to top off your car’s tank. It isn’t being driven to your new home; it is being carried! As a matter of fact, you want to have as little fuel in the tank as possible. Not only will this cut down on the weight of the vehicle as it is transported, it also cuts down on the chance of something going wrong during transport. Gas is flammable after all!
Check Your Tire Air Pressure
Just like you wouldn’t want to drive around with over or under inflated tires, you don’t want to have your car transported in the same manner. Check to see what the proper amount of air pressure in your tires should be and inflate (or deflate) them to that pressure. It is the best way to prevent damage from occurring to the rims or even other more important (and expensive) parts of the drive train and suspension.
Give Your Car a Bath
What is lurking beneath all of the road dirt your car has accumulated? Dents, scratches and other blemishes can easily be hidden by a thin layer of road dirt. That also means that you won’t be able to see if there is any new damage to your car once it has been unloaded at your new home.
If your car is cleaned up before it is loaded, then you will be able to see if there was any damaged caused. Cleaning before loading also gives you the opportunity to write down any existing damage, so you know that it was not caused by the moving company.
Don’t forget to clean out the inside of your car as well. Transport might jostle around your car, and any loose items may bounce around causing damage to the inside.
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Keep Your Valuables Safe during Your Move
Planning on packing things up yourself to save money? While that can be a good idea if you are moving on a limited budget, you don’t want to end up costing yourself more by damaging your valuables. While books can easily be packed into paper boxes and clothes can be put into suit cases or boxes recovered from grocery stores, Grandma’s china needs a little more TLC. Here are some tips for packing your china, crystal and other fragile items.
Get Insured
While some homeowners polices will cover a move, others will not. To ensure that you are going to be covered, you should contact your policy holder and ask what their moving coverage is. If they do not cover moves, make sure to purchase insurance for anything that you are going to be loading into a moving truck. Make sure to take it out for the specific value of any antiques you might be taking with you as often times they require special coverage.
Keep Small Things Close By
Knowing what not to pack into the truck can be as important as knowing what to pack. Items like jewelry, small family heirlooms or important documents should be kept with you and carried in your car. If you are not able to do so, pack them up separately and mail them using a commercial mail carrier. That way you know that the items are safe.
Don’t Skimp on Packing Material
For items like crystal or china, there are special boxes and packing materials available. The added cost is worth it when you consider the cost that it might take to replace those things. Some of them might be irreplaceable. Ensuring that you have the right boxes to get the job done will help prevent any accidental breaks or items getting ruined.
Tape Up Paintings
During a hurricane many photographers and art galleries will put an X made of painter’s tape across anything that is under glass. Why do they do this? The tape-X will help to prevent the glass from shattering should something happen to it. This will help to prevent your photos or paintings from being damaged by any accidental glass breakage.
Don’t Stack Dishes
If you are packing china, remember that dishes should be packed side by side, not stacked. A stack will slowly increase the weight of the dishes upon the ones at the bottom. This increase pressure can and will eventually crack those dishes on the bottom. Prevent this by packing dishes side by side and making sure that nothing heavy is stacked on top of them when they are loaded into the moving truck.
Trust Your Movers in Castlegar
Why not give yourself the peace of mind of having a professional mover pack up all of your valuables for you. Kootenai Moving can help you get your move done right and at a much lower cost than you might think. Contact us today for a quote!
Choose the Perfect Moving Date
One of the hardest parts of moving can be choosing the right date to move. You might not even know how to pick the perfect date. There are a few factors that can figure into making sure that you time your move perfectly. Here are some things that you should consider when choosing the best date for your move.
Your Needs for the Move
The first thing you should consider are your needs. Is your move being prompted by a new job? Then you will need to take into consideration the start date of your new job when choosing the date of your move. Remember, if this is the case, you want to leave yourself enough time to get settled before jumping into your new position.
Other things you might need to consider are things like school schedules. It may be necessary to put your move off until the end of a semester or school year depending on the needs of your children. Moving in the middle of the year can be stressful to kids, so putting it off can be critical.
These are just a couple examples of the personal needs you might need to consider for you move. Considering your specific needs helps to narrow down just the right date for you.
Costs
Moving can get expensive. Many moving companies charge more to move on weekends than they do for during the week moves. During those busy times the cost of your move can increase considerably. The same goes for rental equipment like moving trucks.
Avoiding weekends and the beginning or the end of the month can help to reduce the cost of your move. If you have flexibility in your move schedule you may wish to consider this when planning your move date.
Availability
Who is going to be helping you out with your move? Are you going to have friends and family pitch in or are you planning on using professional movers? Either way, you are going to need to plan around the availability of the people who are going to be doing the move with or for you.
Moving companies can often be booked months in advance. The same goes for rental trucks and other moving equipment. Before selecting your date, make sure that everything you need will be available for you when you need it.
Rental Agreements
If you are renting then your choice of move dates may be dictated by your rental agreement. Yearly leases are typically very strict in their move out dates. You don’t want to be caught renewing your lease because you were unable to move out on time.
The same can go for the start date of a new rental property. You must wait until your lease starts before moving in. You will need to take both into consideration when planning your move date.
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Unique Packing and Other Tips for Moving
Plenty of advice exists on the internet for traditional packing. As a matter of fact, since packing tends to be the longest part of the move, that makes sense. If you are a person who likes to think outside of the box however, here are some unique packing tips that can help to make your Castlegar move, or any move for that matter, much easier.
Use That Old Clothing
During the packing process you are sure to come across old clothes that you are planning on disposing of. Instead of throwing them away immediately, why not hang on to them and use them. This might allow you to pack more of your closet so you have less to do closer to your move. Just keep using those clothes until it is time to move and then give them away on moving day. It is a great way to get some final use out of things you were planning on disposing of anyway.
Roll Your Clothes for Packing
While folding your clothes and putting them into boxes might be the easiest way to unpack them, straight into closets it may not be the best way to save space. Rolling your clothing can actually let you squeeze more in them per box. Sure, you might have to do a little ironing or refolding once you are ready to unpack them but you can save a few dollars on boxes.
Make Use of Your Camera
Looking for a quick way to identify all of the boxes you have packed? After your boxes are taped up and labeled take a picture of each one of them. This will allow you to keep a visual inventory of all of the boxes that have gotten loaded onto the moving truck.
Once the truck arrives and has been unpacked, you can quickly see if all of the boxes you photographed have arrived. You should be able to identify any boxes that might be missing and what the contents of those boxes are quickly.
Prioritize Your Packing
This might take a little more effort on your part but it can help you out if you are not going to be unpacking all of your boxes immediately after your arrival.
Start by figuring out what you are going to need first when you arrive at your new home. Set those things aside and pack the things that you are not going to need first. Put those items on the bottom and then put the more priority items on the top.
When you unpack, everything that you are going to need will be waiting for you on top.
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Time Saving Moving Tips
Moving takes a long time. Even if you have a relatively small place to move, it seems like it can take forever. It doesn’t have to be that way. There are plenty of ways that you can save time when you move. Here are some time saving moving tips you can put to use in planning and executing your move to make the entire process quicker and easier.
Make a Task List
Start by making a list of things that needs to get done to complete you move. It can be helpful to start at the end of the move and work backwards in time. This is a great way to make sure you allocate enough time for each of the things that you need to get done.
When you are making your list, put check boxes by each of them so you can mark them complete. This will let you lay out each of the days before your move so that you can get everything done you need to and are not running around at the last minute trying to complete a task that should have been done weeks ago.
Enlist Help Early
Nobody wants an early Saturday morning call asking for last minute help on a move. Plan your helpers well in advance so that when moving day comes you know exactly who is going to be there to give you a hand. This helps you plan out the day (or days) by allowing you to know just how much manpower you have to get done what needs to be done. Odds are you will find plenty of help if you ask far enough in advance.
Use Technology to the Fullest
There are many free apps for your phone that you can use to organize your move. One of the simplest are the free calendar apps that will let you set reminders. Using reminders you can ensure that important tasks are not forgotten and get done when they need to be completed.
Get Packing
Packing is by far the most time-consuming step. The longer you put it off, the harder it is going to be to get it finished. Packing early also allows you to spread out the cost of packing materials. You can buy what you need in small parts, ahead of time, instead of spending a large amount of money the week before your move. You may be surprised at what you can do without for a few weeks. This might even help you downsize some of the things that you have to make more room at your new home.
When packing, always make sure to label the boxes and put a list of what the contents in the box are. There are several ways you can do this and each is effective. This will make unpacking much easier at your new home.
One of the best time saving moving tips is to hire expert movers like Kootenai Moving! Contact us today for a quote on your move.
Keep Your Move Safe: Moving Safety Tips
Moving is tough. Not only does it take a lot of time, effort, planning and money, it can also be dangerous. Nobody wants to have to stop in the middle of a move to take a trip to the hospital because of an injury. Here are tips to make sure that no matter who does your move, they stay healthy and safe on the big day.
Stretch Out First
Moving is a strenuous activity. You are going to be lifting and moving your body all day long. The best way to get ready for this is to take some time to stretch your muscles out first, just like you would if you were playing a sport or working out at the gym. Stretching out will lessen the chances for back injuries as well as pulled or strained muscles. It’s the best way to get started before lifting a single box and putting it in the truck.
Don’t Skimp on the Equipment
At first you might think you can handle everything in the house by hand. It is a safe bet that pretty soon you are going to wish you had a dolly or hand truck to help you during your move.
When moving, it always pays off to spend a few extra dollars for an appliance dolly or hand truck. These are very helpful tools for moving around cumbersome appliances. Not only can they help on flat surfaces, they are ideal for stairs as well.
One other essential piece of equipment for moving day is gloves. Fingers are easily pinched between boxes or between furniture and door frames. Protect your hands and fingers from injury by having good sturdy gloves. Make sure that they don’t decrease your grip. There are plenty of gloves available that have gripping surfaces to help with lifting.
Lift Properly and Safely
While you have probably heard this over and over again, you always want to lift with your legs and not your back. When you go to lift a box up, bend your waist back a bit and bend your knees. This puts all the stress on your legs, which can take it, and not on your back, which cannot. When you are lifting you should feel all the tension in your arms and legs, never in your waist.
Also remember that if it feels too heavy, it probably is. Put it down and get some help with it.
Have a First Aid Kit
While nobody wants to have an injury happen, they often occur anyway. Sometimes accidents are unavoidable. When one does happen, you want to be prepared. Don’t wait until someone has a cut to find you have packed away all your first aid. Ice packs, pain killers, bandages and ointments are good things to have in your emergency kit. You might also want to jot down the number for emergency services at your new home.
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