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Helpful Moving Hints
American’s
moving experts can answer every question and help with every need. Following
are some tips to make your moving process even easier:
Helpful Hints
In order to provide
you with a timely and accurate quote, please review the following list
of questions:
-
How many miles
are you moving?
-
Are you packing
everything (except furniture) into boxes, or would you like the
movers to do it?
-
Do you need
packing supplies?
-
What are the
move-out and move-in dates?
-
Will you be
storing any furniture or other belongings?
-
Are there any
difficult-to-move items?
-
Are there any
valuable or sensitive items, such as artwork or antiques?
-
Are there stairs
and/or elevators in the building?
-
What hours do the
building management allow movers to enter the building?
-
How close can the
truck get to the building?
-
Will you need to
transport or ship any vehicles?
Packing
Tips:
If you decide
to pack some or most of your belongings yourself, here are some suggestions:
-
Put
heavier items such as books in small boxes, and pack light items such as
linens and towels in larger boxes. Don’t overload; you should be able to
easily pick up every box.
-
Don’t
ship expensive jewelry, photos, family heirlooms and other sentimental
items. Pack them carefully and take them with you, either in the car or
on the plane.
-
Invest in
the proper boxes; i.e. a wardrobe box for suits and nice clothes, and
padded dish boxes for fine china. Also purchase strong tape such as duct
tape or plastic tape; don’t use masking tape.
-
Wrap
fragile items well in newspaper or bubble wrap, and fill bottom, sides
and top spaces with Styrofoam peanuts or other fillers to prevent
shifting.
-
Alert
movers before hand if you need to transport living things, such as
plants.
-
Dispose
of any hazardous materials such as paint, thinners, solvents, varnishes,
lamp oil, bleach or anything flammable or explosive. Movers are now
allowed to transport them.
Countdown
To Moving Day:
Six
weeks
-
Inventory
everything you own and decide what you want to keep and what you can
throw away or sell in a garage sale. Movers charge by weight so now is
not the time to be a pack-rat.
-
Make a
folder just for moving and keep all moving-related information and
receipts; you may be able to take a tax deduction on the move.
-
Make a
floor plan of your new home and decide what furniture will go where.
Give a copy to the movers to help ease confusion on move-in day.
-
Make
personal travel arrangements for the move; i.e. flights, hotel
reservations and rental cars.
Four
Weeks
-
Send
change-of-address cards to the post office, credit card companies,
subscription services, and family and friends.
-
Contact
your utility companies to schedule disconnection of services on the day
after you move.
-
Make a
list of all utility companies and phone numbers for future reference;
i.e. power, water, garbage, telephone, cable TV.
-
Start
packing items that you rarely use, and label all the boxes.
-
Contact
your children’s schools to transfer records to the new school.
-
Contact
your doctors, dentists and veterinarian and ask for copies of records.
-
Contact
your insurance company to transfer home policy.
-
Arrange
to have any pets shipped and kept in a kennel until you arrive.
Two
weeks
-
Create
one or two boxes labeled “Open First/Load Last” and pack the essentials
you will need for the first few nights in your home; such as bedding,
toiletries, clothes, and a few pots and pans.
-
Schedule
a cleaning service to clean your house on the day after your move.
-
Start
your serious packing.
-
Arrange
to have your large appliances serviced for the move.
-
Eat as
much frozen food or leftovers as possible, as you won’t be able to ship
food.
-
Transfer
all medical prescriptions to a pharmacy in your new town.
-
Cancel
delivery of your local newspapers.
One
week
-
If your
home will be sitting vacant, notify neighbors and police.
-
Empty and
defrost refrigerator and freezer, clean and put baking soda inside.
-
If you
have young children, arrange for a baby-sitter on moving day.
-
Remove
light bulbs from lamps before you pack them.
-
As you
unplug electronic equipment such as computer equipment, televisions and
stereos, tag or color code each wire for easy installation
-
Backup
all computer files before packing
Moving
Day
-
Arrange
to have someone be present when the moving van arrives.
-
Check
inventory sheet as movers load the truck/same when unloading.
-
Verify
delivery plans.
-
Leave a
forwarding address and phone for your home’s new occupants, and provide
moving company with a cell number or contact information on the road, in
case of any changes.
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