Over the past few weeks my wife Cathy and I have had the pleasure of moving to a new home. Yes, I really do believe that now is a good time to buy a home in the Boise and Meridian areas of Idaho. Going through the whole process again for ourselves has reminded me of what this real estate business is about, and just how consuming it can be for our clients and customers (and how rewarding it can be for us when we have a satisfied client... my client on this one is VERY happy).
I had forgotten how much "fun" it is to move. Our last move was interstate, and we did the packing but hired out the hauling. Excellent decision, as it turned out, and that combination made for a much smoother move than I had imagined. This time however, because we were only moving 8 miles, we decided to go about it gradually, move a little each day as we got closer to "the day". "The day" is what we called our official moving day, the day we hired two strong guys and a big truck to pick up and haul what we couldn't do. Not a bad way to do it, especially considering that we had plenty of days to wait for the new appliances to be delivered. Plenty enough that by the time "the day" arrived, I had practically moved the whole place myself... the two strong guys were quite pleased to find that I was that excited about the move, and they were able to carry, load, drive to the new place, and unload in just under two hours.
With such recent experience, please allow me to pass along a few tips for moving.
First of all, make a list! Do a little planning, and write down the things you need to remember. Think about the scheduling of utility turn ons and shut offs, mail changes, new appliance arrivals, as well as how long packing and moving will take.
Give yourself plenty of time.
As you begin to pack, sort and "thin out" your belongings. Discard, give away, recycle, garage sale. Don't make the mistake of thinking "we can go through this stuff when we get there"...it won't happen. You'll be happy you did it first.
Don't think you can use those nice big boxes the moving company has. Use smaller boxes because the weight will surprise you (and the movers). Keep them light, or at least under 50 pounds. Not only will this save your back, it will help avoid a few of the inevitable wall crashes overweight boxes are prone to.
Pack as carefully as you can, and wrap as much as possible. I've seen a number of interstate moves, and the folks who take the time to wrap and pack well are the ones who have NO breakage.
Use a large marker and label each box. Mark sides and tops. And use a lot of words... six or seven boxes in the garage that all say "BDRM STUFF" won't help you find the alarm clock or the aspirin bottle when you need it. If you are hiring out the move, also write on the box the room the box should be left in at the new home.
Separate and pack together all of the important items you'll need to get to soon after moving. What will you need to make the new house run the first few hours you are there? Pack those items separately, and keep that box close... remember those Christmas gifts that said "Open Me First"? And if you are moving more than just across town, consider making a file of important papers, addresses, phone numbers, etc to carry with you. Don't forget the moving company papers and the driver's contact numbers too.
Remember to do a good backup on all of your computer files before you pack it away.
Finally, before you leave,understand fully what the moving company requires for the handling of damage claims. 6pm after a long move and a hard day is not the time to take up the question of who is responsible for grandma's dishes.
Comments (2)Subscribe to CommentsComment