The Moving Organizer!

• Make a note of your shipment registration number found in the upper right-hand corner of your bill of lading and keep it with you in case you need to call your mover with questions.
• Designate one dresser drawer for sheets and towels so you won't have to rummage through boxes for these essentials the first night in your new home.
• If you need to store some of your goods, it is a good idea to tour the warehouse of the mover you're planning to use. Look for cleanliness, organization, security, etc.
• After you have cleaned and dried your refrigerator, put a handful of fresh coffee or baking soda in a sock and place it inside to keep the interior smelling fresh.
• Take your current phone book with you. You may need to make calls to residents or businesses back in your former hometown.
• Prepare an "Unload Me First" carton with essentials that you'll need immediately at your new home. Include a baggy filled with hardware from disassembled items, such as beds.
• Before the van foreman leaves for your destination residence, give him (and your move coordinator) a phone number where you can be reached. Get the van foreman's cell number too.
• At destination, you might want to consider having the TV and VCR hooked up first to occupy the kids while the rest of the van is being unloaded.
• Keep your children and pets calm and away from all the activity on moving day by arranging for a friend to watch them at their house. Keep your pet's food and leash handy too.
• When moving plants to your new residence in your car, try not to let foliage rest against the windows, as the leaves will scorch.
• Upon arrival at your new home, let your personal computer acclimate itself to room temperature before plugging it in.
• Schedule cleaning and other home services for the day after loading, as things will be hectic on move day and the different service providers will stay out of each other's way.
• Have your utilities shut off the day after loading to avoid being "left in the dark" while you're trying to move out of your house!
• Items that can't be moved with the mover include anything flammable, anything combustible, aerosol cans, hazardous materials, gasoline, plants, paint, ammunition and explosives, jewelry, legal documents (wills, financial papers, insurance documents, etc.).
• Begin by looking at your possessions. What can be sold or donated to charity? What hasn't been used within the last year? Give away those items that you will not be moving.
• Bring everything that you're moving to one location, if possible (items at a friend's house or at the office).
• Make a list of everyone you need to notify about your move: friends, professionals, creditors, subscriptions, etc.
• Obtain a mail subscription to the local paper in your new community to familiarize yourself with local government, social news and activities.
• Contact schools, doctors, lawyers, the vet, etc. to obtain copies of your personal records; ask for referrals. Collect other important documents (DMV records, stocks, wills, etc.).
• Obtain a change-of-address kit from the post office and begin filling out the cards; or, simply click here to go to www.USPS.com and do it online.
• Contact utility companies for service disconnect/connect; remember to keep phone and utilities connected at your current home until the day after moving. Here's a start: gas, electric, water, telephone, cable TV, trash collection.
• Contact insurance companies (auto, homeowners or renter's, medical, and life) to arrange for coverage in your new home.
• If you're packing yourself, purchase packing boxes from Allied Van Lines or from your local mover. Pack items that you won't need now.
• Arrange to close your accounts in your local bank and open accounts in your new locale.
• Have your car checked and serviced for the trip. Also, make sure that your automobile is prepared for the type of weather conditions you'll be traveling in.
• Drain the gas and oil from power equipment (lawn mowers, snow blowers, cars that are going with the mover, etc.).

To effectively organize your move, print this page out and keep it handy. As you complete the items on the list, you can check them off. When the list is complete, you're ready to move!

1. Make the decision on exactly what is to be moved and what is to be given away or sold.
2. Gather all of your belongings to be moved and have them consolidated at one location (or two if necessary); then ensure that all items you've decided to give away are gone.
3. Decide if storage will be necessary at destination and pick the location.
4. Make a list of everyone you need to notify about your move: friends, professionals, creditors, subscriptions, etc.
5. Obtain a subscription to the local paper in your new community to familiarize yourself with local government, social news and activities.
6. Obtain records from schools, doctors, dentists, lawyers, veterinarians, accountants, and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
7. Send change of address cards through your postal service.
8. Contact utility and related companies for service disconnect/connect at your old and new addresses. Remember to have utilities turned off at your current home the day after moving day and turned on at your new home the day before move in day to ensure service throughout moving day.
9. Change insurance coverage for your automobile, homeowner's or renter's, medical, and life.
10. Collect important papers to take with you, such as insurance documents, revenue department records, automobile registration, deeds, stock certificates, wills, etc.
11. Close your accounts in your local bank.
12. Open a bank account in your new locale.
13. Service your vehicles.
14. Defrost your freezer and refrigerator.
15. Prepare an "Unload Me First" carton with essentials you'll need immediately at your new home. Include a baggy filled with hardware from disassembled items, such as dresser mirrors and beds. Have this box loaded last or carry it with you in your car.
16. Call your move coordinator to confirm details of your move.

To help keep essentials (things you may need to utilize upon arrival at your new residence) in one place, pack a box with the following items or types of items. Ask your van foreman to load it on the truck last. That way, it will be one of the first boxes unloaded at your new home.

Here are some items you can include in the box:

• Telephone
• Paper Towels
• Toilet Paper
• Soap
• Light Bulbs
• Flashlight
• Pliers
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Can Opener
• Paper Plates
• Paper Cups
• Plastic Utensil

If you're considering an interstate move, there are a few variables that you should consider when you're calculating the actual cost comparison of moving yourself versus allowing a mover to help you.

Do-It-Yourself Moves include:

Rental Charges: When you're moving from state-to-state, you have to provide exact details to the truck rental agency such as origin, destination, exact dates, etc. Prices can vary depending upon the equipment available. Rental truck rates can vary depending upon the time of year that you're moving (rates are higher between May and September). Rental agencies also run on a supply and demand theory; if you're moving at the beginning or end of the month, you may find that the supply of trucks available to you is sparse. In most cases, you will be charged a rental deposit. There are also charges for additional miles (10% or more) over and above the original estimate. These charges don't include state taxes. All other charges are additional.

The Time and Space Continuum: In most cases, your time is the most valuable thing to you. You'll need one or two days to pack and one or two days to unpack in addition to your drive time. Professional moving services are adept at maximizing the available space in a moving vehicle. When you move yourself, you have to make sure that you optimize the space or you'll end up needing a larger truck.

Automobiles: Are you towing your vehicles behind the truck, or are you going to be driving them to your new destination? Trailer packages from rental agencies can cost an additional $200.00, plus $50.00 or so for insurance. If you drive your own vehicle you have to factor in the variables such as wear and tear, gas, mileage, etc.

Insurance Charges: Insurance charges are an additional possible $10.00 per day on the rental vehicle. Charges include such things as vehicle damage, cargo damage (to a certain dollar value), and medical and life insurance. Cargo damage insurance protects your household goods from damages incurred during a vehicular accident; any other types of damages are not covered! If the truck or vehicle you are renting is stolen, then it is your responsibility. Moving trucks are often targets for thieves.

Pads: In order to protect your belongings, you will need to rent padding at about $10.00 per dozen. A four bedroom home would be about 2 dozen pads, which equates to $20.00.

Dollies: An appliance dolly, utility dolly, or furniture dolly is most often needed to move large boxes, furniture, miscellaneous items, etc. Each dolly you rent may cost you an extra $5.00 - $10.00 apiece.

Your Valuable Time: During a self-move, you and your family are responsible for every detail; some details are more time-consuming than others. The major tasks are packing and unpacking. You also have to factor in who will be driving the rental vehicle, the family vehicle, etc. The best thing to do in this case is to figure your hourly wage and multiply that by the number of hours you estimate your move to be. Make sure you add about 10-12 more hours for incidental last minute details. Figure in packing time, move preparation, picking up the moving vehicle, load time, drive time, hotels, food expense, gas, unloading time, etc.

Packing and Unloading: Most self-moves include the hunt for available boxes. In order to ensure your valuables are protected properly, purchase specialized boxes for your belongings - wardrobe boxes, dish boxes, boxes for artwork, etc. Packing materials such as tape and bubble wrap are also essential elements for securing your belongings. The average cost for new packing materials for a three bedroom home is $900.00. [Source: AMC's Transportation Fact Book]

Mileage Charges: Mileage charges are most often included in your rental agreement. Depending on your agreement, you may get stuck with additional mileage charges. In most cases, additional mileage charges are $.40 per mile for each additional mile driven.

Gasoline Charges: Your rental vehicle will be full of gas when you pick it up. When you return the vehicle, you must refill the gas tank or you will be charged a price that is higher than the normal price of gasoline. An average 26-foot, 5-speed, fully loaded diesel truck will average about 10 miles to the gallon. On a 1200-mile trip, you will consume about 120 gallons of gasoline, at an average price for diesel fuel of $1.35 per gallon. [Source: AMC's Fuel Survey] Your total gasoline costs will be about $150.00 for the trip.

Appliance Charges: Large items such as refrigerators, grandfather clocks, washing machines, and ranges may all require special care before you can move them in the proper way. It is possible that you may need to hire trained specialists to make sure your items are handled properly. These specialists will increase the costs of your move significantly.

Destination Considerations: You'll have to rely on your perfect timing to make sure that your new home is available at the time of your arrival. If it is not, you'll have to find a safe place to store your belongings until you're ready to occupy your new home. This requires you to unpack all your belongings for storage, then load them and unpack them once again when it's time to move into your new home. Many times, these storage units aren't suitable to protect your belongings properly. There are security issues, no insurance coverage, and no protection from fire or other types of dangers.

Other Considerations: First of all, you must protect yourself. If you have any physical condition, then a self-move is definitely not the way to go. Back injuries, pulled muscles, leg strain, etc. can all happen easily if you don't lift properly. If you have small children, you may incur childcare expenses during the moving process. You may have to call on good friends to help you with your move or your children, and this will certainly cause them inconvenience.

Why choose a professional mover? You decide!

MOVING TIPS:

• If you are packing, start packing several cartons each day a few weeks before your move; then the job won't be so overwhelming.
• Pack on a room-by-room basis and do one area of the room at a time. It's best not to mix items from different rooms into one box.
• To prevent small items from being lost or mistakenly thrown out with the packing paper, wrap small items in colored tissue paper.
• On the top and front of each carton, write a general description of the contents and indicate the room it will go in your new home.
• Use colored dot stickers for boxes and in your new home outside the room where the corresponding boxes should be delivered.
• Allow children to pack their favorite toys. This gives them a strong sense of belonging and a feeling that they're playing a part in the move.
• Use only unprinted newsprint paper to wrap items; regular newspapers are messy and can soil your possessions.
• Use clean cartons designed for moving, as grocery or liquor store boxes are not always clean, sturdy enough, or the right sizes.
• Don't pack: paint, varnish, gasoline, oil, cans, kerosene, bottled gas, aerosol, polish/remover, ammunition, cleaners, or detergents.
• Pack an "Unload Me First" box including toilet paper, telephone, personal toiletries, snacks, coffee/coffee pot/filters, soap, basic tools, flashlight, can opener, paper plates/cups, utensils, pans, and paper towels.
• Transport the following items yourself: photos, financial documents and policies, legal documents, wills, passports, money, jewelry, collections, medical and family history records.
• Unpack breakables over the box you're taking them out of; if you drop an item, it will land on packing material and reduce breakage risk.
• Place pictures in boxes between sheets and blankets to give them added protection.
• Plates and record albums should be packed vertically on their ends rather than placed flat and stacked.
• Before packing medicine and toiletry items, make sure that caps and lids have been tightly secured.
• Remove light bulbs before packing your lamps.
• In addition to the room and contents, have children write their name and new address on the cartons from their rooms so they can become familiar with their new address before they get to their new home.
• Pack heavy items in small boxes, and light items in larger boxes.