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19 Moving Tips and Tricks You Should Know

The process of moving can be stressful and time-consuming if you are not well prepared for it. However, there are certain things you need to take care of beforehand to make things easier for yourself. 

From items that you will be shifting to your new home to the installation of utilities, make a checklist of everything so that you won’t miss out on any important step in the moving process. To help you in this regard, here we have listed down and discussed 19 of the best moving tips and tricks you should know about. 

Get rid of everything 

Getting rid of everything means you should declutter your living space effectively before moving into your new home. It wouldn’t be a wise decision to throw everything into boxes, even the items you don’t actually need in your new house. Moving heavy boxes stuffed with unwanted items not only increases the transportation cost but also makes unpacking more stressful. So, make sure to get rid of every unnecessary item before moving to a new place. 

Pack as far in advance as possible

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Are you planning to move within a month or two? Well, you should start packing or at least organizing your move right away.

It will help you organize the stuff you are packing room by room and in different categories, eventually making the process of unpacking in your new home a lot less time-consuming and easier. 

Pick the items that you are going to take with you to the new home according to their sizes. The items you’ll need also greatly depend on the size of your new home, so make sure you’re prepared for every situation, whether you are upsizing or downsizing. 

Book early

When you are planning to move, you will surely need to hire one of the reliable moving services. You may also be in need of hiring other professionals including painters, carpenters, and/or cleaners who can work and get your new house in order. 

Well, it is better for you to book all these services as early as possible. It is one of the most useful moving tips and tricks that everyone should be aware of. If you are booking everything at the last minute, you’ll end up paying more and won’t have time to compare quotes from different companies. 

Schedule utilities for your new place

Scheduling utilities for your new place is one of the most important moving tips and tricks that would save you from facing any possible inconveniences. The very first thing you should do after finalizing the dates of your move is to contact your utility providers so you can schedule the installation and other related services at your new home. It wouldn’t be an ideal situation for you to move into a new house only to find out it has no water, electricity, or gas supply. So, make sure you have planned everything beforehand. 

Keep the essentials with you

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It is important to completely search your old house the night before moving and look for any essentials that you may have forgotten about so that they won’t be left behind. Everyday essentials like clothes, medications, toiletries and even important paperwork should be tucked into a suitcase. You shouldn’t be taking any risk of leaving any important documents in the moving truck as things can get easily misplaced while you’re moving to a new house and if anything goes wrong at least your essentials would be safe with you.

Get a truck with a loading ramp

If you’re handling the move on your own, then it is one of the most important moving tips for you that’ll protect you from unnecessary hard work and sore muscles. To load large boxes and furniture smoothly you’ll definitely need a truck with a ramp. It may be more expensive to rent a truck with a ramp as compared to the one without a ramp but it would greatly reduce the struggle and pain of lifting heavy items and loading them onto the truck.

Use the right size boxes 

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Are you using the right size boxes for your move? Not sure? Well, we’ll tell you how to do that. For example, if you are packing books, you should use small boxes to pack them and even heavy items. Make sure not to increase the weight of a single box unnecessarily by stuffing it with heavy items. It is what moving companies commonly complain about. Also, extraordinarily heavy boxes will only make the job harder, dangerously increasing the chance of breaking.

Don’t leave empty spaces in the boxes

If you leave empty spaces, things may topple over and fall on each other. This could be very dangerous, especially for fragile items. So, don’t leave empty spaces in the box. Try to fill in the gaps using tissues, soft cushions, pillows, towels, clothing items, or packing paper. Also, to be on the safe side, movers also don’t usually carry boxes that they think are unbalanced or not properly packed

Label each box

Getting each box properly labeled is one of the best moving tips and tricks you need to know about. All the boxes would look the same from the outside. By labeling them, you can easily differentiate between them while unpacking or guiding the movers about how and where to place them. It would greatly add to your convenience while moving. Having different labels will also let you easily count the number of boxes. 

Tape your moving boxes well

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Try to wrap your boxes at least a couple of times using tapes all the way around. Make sure that your box is safe from top to bottom and can’t get opened easily. Pay extra attention to those parts of the boxes that you know have some extra weight and concentrated stress. 

Pack an overnight bag containing all the essentials

It won’t be possible for you to unpack everything the same day you move to your new home. This is why it is recommended to pack an overnight bag containing all the essentials, such as your dental kit, change of clothes (sleepwear including extra pair of pajamas and slippers), and medicines, if needed, among other important items. It is one of the most important moving tips and tricks that you should keep in mind. 

Wrap your breakables (dishes, glasses, etc.) in bubble wrap or clothing

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Be very careful when packing your breakables when moving home. While putting them in boxes make sure you have secured the bottom. Tape every corner and opening. Once the bottom is properly sealed, try to create a soft base using a cushion or layers of clothing. You can also use bubble wraps to do so. Now take your time to carefully wrap every fragile item in clothing, newspaper, packing paper, or bubble wrap. 

Pack plates vertically, like records

Packing kitchenware could be a tricky business. You can stack at least four plates together. Use multiple sheets of packing paper to securely wrap your plates and dishes and seal them with tape. 

Stacking these fragile items one over another horizontally wouldn’t be the right thing to do. Instead, place the bundles of your plates vertically in a box, like records. This way, they’ll be less likely to break or get cracked. 

Find free moving boxes at recycling drop-off points

Arranging boxes for your move wouldn’t cost you money. You can easily find free moving boxes at recycling drop-off points set up by many leading retail brands and eateries including Walmart, McDonald’s, and Starbucks among others. Free-of-cost moving boxes may also be available at your neighborhood’s bookstore, grocery stores, and other similar places. 

Obtain quotes from at least three different moving companies

As discussed, if you start booking the required services early, you can explore different available options and easily choose among them that fit your requirements and budget. One of the most important moving tips is to obtain quotes from at least three different moving companies so you would have an idea of the average price in your area. It is important to mention here that the prices of most movers will be more or less the same but it would always be good to get quotes from different moving companies to be on the safe side. 

Place heavy items in small boxes

Pack heavy items in multiple small boxes so that they can be easily carried around instead of stuffing them together in large boxes, which usually results in unbearable weight. 

Also, try to dismantle furniture, any machinery, or equipment into pieces and pack them in separate boxes if possible before moving. This way they can be easily shifted to your new residence, reducing the risks of damage or breaking. 

Get extra cash to tip movers 

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Since the staff from the moving company will be doing a lot of hard work, carrying heavy boxes, furniture and equipment here and there, you should keep some extra cash with you to tip them. This won’t be counted in the amount you’re paying to the moving company. According to a general rule, you should tip around 5 to 10% of the total amount you’re spending on the move.

Create an inventory list

Creating an inventory list is one of the best moving tips and tricks that won’t let you forget about any item. You can create a list of items either on a piece of paper, your phone, or tablet, whatever suits you the best. While working on your moving inventory list, categorize the items by room. Use numberings and checkboxes to keep your list well organized. 

Buy equipment that will help you with moving 

If you have a few days left in moving, you need to rush to your nearest store or place orders online to stock up on necessary supplies that will help you with the moving process. 

So, to avoid any last-minute inconveniences or delays, you should buy equipment like adhesive bandages, box cutters, permanent markers, paper towels, garbage bags, and packing tape among other things beforehand. 

These were 19 of the most useful moving tips and tricks you should be aware of. We hope most of the things that we have discussed above will help you get done with your moving process smoothly without any hitch.

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Written by Spencer K