There are few people in the world that truly love the process of relocation. While the idea of a great new home or a fabulous new city can be enticing, all of the tasks related to moving aren’t exactly known for their fun factor. Still, if you’re armed with some helpful moving tips, it can be a lot easier.
What’s Our #1 Top Tip For Any Move?
Hire some moving help. You will be amazed at much easier a move will go when you call in the professionals. Professional moving helpers know how to handle any size or scope of move, and can even handle chores such as packing and unpacking.
Our team can disassemble and assemble furnishings, such as beds and sectionals and wall units. We can mount pictures and TVs on your walls and even reconnect your electronics. The cost of hiring professional moving help is nothing compared to what you’ll save. No strained muscles, no exhaustion, no trying to get everything to fit, no begging friends to help, no scrambling to pack. We can do it all for you.
Of course, not everyone wants moving helpers for every task, so if you want to do some of the work yourself, follow tips 2 through 7.
2. Take Before Pictures
Before you unplug your television system, take a few pictures of how it looks when everything is in the right place. It can be quite frustrating to try and remember which cable goes where at your new place, so save yourself some time and frustration and take a few quick pics.
If you have shelving units or room configurations that you like, take pictures of those, as well, so you can recreate them in your new space. While everything might not fit exactly as before, it can be nice to remind yourself how it was arranged at your old home.
3. Discover The Joys Of Plastic Wrap
You’ve probably had a few pieces of furniture delivered to your home wrapped in plastic, but plastic wrap isn’t just for large items. Head to the dollar store and invest in some plastic wrap. This can make it easier to keep items together and protect them even if you place in a box. For instance, wrap your silverware organizer with plastic wrap and none of the items will move during transit and you can just unwrap it and put it back in a drawer. Voila.
Even better, unscrew bottles of olive oil, soap, shampoo, vinegar and other liquids and place a piece of plastic wrap under the lid. Then replace the lid. This will ensure that nothing leaks out of your bottles. You can even put an additional piece of plastic over the lid for extra protection. These are just a few plastic wrap options to consider.
4. Use Up Extra Paper Plates
If you have a bunch of paper plates, use them for your move as packing materials. Take a paper plate and place it in between each glass plate you pack. This will help alleviate friction and damage to your plates. If your paper plates are flimsy, double them up or add a paper towel for extra padding.
You can then use the paper plates during those first days at the new home when you definitely aren’t up to any dishwashing tasks. Who cares that you’re eating dinner on Christmas or birthday-themed dinnerware as long as the cleanup is easy?
5. Pack Items Creatively
You don’t always have to drop a bundle of money on packing materials. Many items in your home can be used to protect fragile items. Pillowcases, pajamas, t-shirts, towels and other soft items can be great packing materials.
Additionally, consider leaving lightweight and non-breakable items in drawers. For instance, if you have a dresser filled with socks, underwear and lightweight items of clothing, leaving them in the drawers can make moving bit easier. Just secure the drawers with tape or wrap each drawer with plastic wrap to prevent spillage.
You also can store a few very lightweight items in your washer or dryer. Got a few towels or perhaps a light blanket and don’t know where to put it? Pack it in the washer or dryer. You also could put items such as socks or perhaps even a couple of beach towels in there without really impacting the weight.
6. Label Everything
Staying organized is a key to survival with any move so as professional moving helpers, we highly recommend that you label everything. For instance, let’s say you take apart a shelving unit. Be sure that you place all of the hardware for the unit into a plastic bag and label that bag.
You also want to label all of your boxes carefully. If something is fragile, be sure to mark it as fragile so that your moving help knows that’s it something delicate. It’s also smart to label boxes as to their contents and where they need to go in the new home.
We highly recommend that you color code everything. Select a color for each room in your home and use the same color marker to label boxes going to that room. You also can use colored packing tape to make it very easy for your moving helpers to identify where a box goes.
Alternatively, you can invest in colored label sheets and print out labels with room names listed on them. Place a colorful dot on furniture to indicate where it goes. Make a key and post it by the front door, so your moving helpers know where to place boxes.
Additionally, if you have items that are really essential, mark these boxes with the words “open me first.” These might include essential cooking equipment, such as your coffee pot or a can opener or perhaps sheets, towels and other items that you need right away.
7. Enact A Purge
If you’ve looked around your home and are dismayed to see how much “stuff” you have to pack, don’t lose heart. This is the absolute best time to purge all of your unnecessary belongings.
Give away any clothing you’ve haven’t worn in the last two years. Donate books that you’ll never read again or movies you’ll never watch or games you never play. Do you really need three coffee pots, 263 stuffed animals and 43 ties? Probably not, so get rid of anything that isn’t beloved or essential. It’ll make moving day a whole lot easier and you’ll love having less clutter.
If you need moving help, the team at Move 4 Less is ready to help and we highly recommend that you use professional movers. We provide high-quality, affordable moving services as well as packing services and much more. We handle local moves throughout Henderson and Las Vegas as well as long-distance moves; whether you are relocating to Reno, Los Angeles or back east.
