Organizing a Stress-Free Moving Day

By now you’ve probably heard about both positive and negative moving stories and experiences. While seamless and trouble-free moving adventures may seem encouraging, there are horror stories and negative impressions that make you think there is no such thing as a stress-free moving day.

Ultimately, you may ask yourself what you can do to reduce the stress level during your big transition. Also, there might be other concerns like:

Is it enough to hire a reliable moving company that will guide you through the process? Or are there other prerequisites involved?

Unless your enviable organization skills never fail and you always have a suitable reaction to any unexpected situation, additional help is always appreciated during residential and office moves.

However, hiring competent and trustworthy movers doesn’t mean that you can just sit back and relax completely. Although their help will lift a huge weight off your shoulders, a number of things can be done in order to eliminate potential obstacles and delays. Some timely planning and preparation can make a whole difference between a disastrous and a seamless household relocation. And, the question is: which one do you prefer?

Know how to prepare for movers’ arrival

Whether you are moving internationally or just a couple of blocks away, it can be a huge undertaking for everyone. If you are unsure as to your own duties and responsibilities, take a look at our guidelines. Chances are most of the suggestions apply even to your specific situation.

Declutter

The first thing to do in order to be ready for your movers’ arrival is to purge your home ruthlessly. If you want to have a stress-free moving experience, getting rid of clutter is an absolute must. As it turns out, a clutter-free home is easier to pack, clean, and arrange. By having fewer things you’ll have less to pack, plus, you’ll pay less for moving services, and saving money certainly helps keep stress at a minimum level. Not to mention the time and space you will save in your new surroundings if you opt for a minimalist approach.

Dispose of non-allowables

The last thing you want is to pack all of your things only to find out after you’ve done so that some of those items are not allowed to be transported or stored in the moving truck. To prevent this from happening, get a list of items your movers will refuse to transport and dispose of them accordingly. Each moving company has its own specific list of non-allowables, so make sure to get the list directly from your mover and avoid stress later on. It’s in your best interest to make special arrangements for those items for the sake of the safety of the entire content of the moving truck.

Be on time

Unless you want to leave everything for the last minute and create unnecessary stress, take care of things on time and have all the boxes ready to go. Finish boxing up, clean, and organize before movers arrive. Pack up everything that doesn’t require movers’ attention and special handling and packing skills. Make sure all electrical appliances are unplugged, empty, and dry. Remove everything from the drawers, cupboards, bookshelves, and make sure your furniture is ready for disassembling. Label all boxes with special instructions about the destination and content.

Separate personal items

Clearly mark the items your movers shouldn’t pack. Worrying whether your precious things will arrive safely and if they’re handled properly will only add stress to an already stressful process, so avoid it by keeping your valuables close. The best would be to keep items you won’t entrust to your movers in a separate room:

• Valuables
• Personal documents
• Essential boxes
• Small electronic devices that will keep you entertained on the road

Take pictures

Take a lot of pictures of your belongings and boxes to have proof of the condition of your treasured belongings before the move. Those photos may come in handy especially if you are going to file a complaint against the moving company and to seek justice if some of your items got damaged during transport. Only a few things can cause more stress than having damaged items and not having proof of their previous condition. A picture is the easiest way to support your statement and clearly show how the damaged item looked before moving.

Make arrangements for your kids and pets for a stress-free moving day

Your presence on moving day is absolutely necessary, but what matters the most is to have your kids properly taken care of. It’s strongly advisable to leave your little ones and furry friends with a reliable friend or relative on moving day.

Moving with kids

Relocating with kids is difficult per se, so at least make sure to keep them away from the moving day tension and hustle and bustle. You don’t want to stress about your kid’s safety while you have multiple crew members going in and out of your home. When it comes to pets’ safety on moving day, it’s also better if someone looks after them while you have strangers in your home because pets can get too excited or scared. Plus, movers will likely leave the front doors opened for easier loading, which is not an ideal situation for pets that can get outside. Regardless of their age, moving day is a busy period, so you want to plan for some appropriate activities for the big day.

While your teenage kids can offer a helping hand with various packing and cleaning tasks, toddlers and younger kids should be kept out of harm’s way. As long as your kids are busy on moving day, the drama will be dialed down and the move will go much smoother.

Keep your kids busy during a move

Moving is a family event, so why wouldn’t you assign age-appropriate tasks to your kids? Allow your younger children to pack up their toys and color-code and decorate moving boxes. Let them decide what to pack into an essential box. It should contain items that will be used on moving day and during the first couple of days in the new home.

Above all, once you pack up all your belongings, walk through each room to give your kids the closure they need. Allow them to say goodbye and to grieve the separation from the familiar surroundings. It’s worth spending some time taking photos of the entire home so that your kids can remember it even when they grow up.

Additional safety tips

Although moving day ranks among the most stressful days in a lifetime, it doesn’t have to be that way. As long as you plan for some basic safety measures, you can count on a stress-free moving day. Here are a few simple tips to follow:

Protect both properties to ensure a stress-free moving day

Needless to say, there will be a lot of foot traffic so make sure to protect those high-traffic areas with a layer of protective material. Doorways and walls are susceptible to scratches and dents while hauling large and cumbersome items in and out. Take the time to secure narrow hallways with a protective padding material. When it comes to protecting your floors, just make the cardboard boxes flat and use them as protective floor covers.

Remove clutter and obstacles

If you are moving during fall or winter, don’t forget to remove dry leaves from the entryway or to shovel away snow ensuring a clear path to your home. Keep your driveways and sidewalks free of ice or any other slippery conditions. This also applies to the inside of your home − cover slippery floors and make sure there’s no furniture or décor that could be a hazard on the way out.

Get proper packing and moving supplies

Stock up on the carpet masking to keep the carpet area clean all along. As mentioned before, your movers will be walking in and out frequently, so you may want to protect your floors from stains, moisture, or scratches. Use furniture sliders to move tables, desks, chairs, and dollies with rubber wheels to move heavy household items. Always secure large furniture pieces and appliances with moving straps and furniture padding.

Make parking and elevator reservations

Arrange for a parking place in front of your home and reserve the elevator for the day of the move. Know your building’s moving policies in advance as you will want to get off on the right foot with your new neighbors.

Hire a reliable moving company

As always, the best way to have a stress-free moving day is to hire a licensed and reliable moving company. An experienced and trained crew will make your move dead simple so you’ll have nothing to worry about and you’ll save time and nerves. If you’re up for a stress-free relocation, contact Dumbo and Storage today!