It is said that moving home is one of the most stressful things you can do. But you can make moving day easy by paying attention to some things you might otherwise overlook. For the most part, your common sense is enough. But depending on what you need to move and the value of your items, it’s possible you will also need some friendly and professional help.
Protect Your Stuff in Transit
Whether you are moving around the corner to a bigger house or traveling hundreds of miles, moving can take many forms. Despite your best efforts, there’s always a chance your property will get damaged. Your moving checklist should include protecting your stuff from in-transit damage such as scrapes, bumps, and scratches. Starting with a pre-sort is a good idea. Bubble wrap and padding can help protect expensive items, too. Moving blankets will help prevent scratches and scrapes, while heavy-duty cloth may protect against leaks and collisions.
Get Help Moving Big Items
Any item of any size and shape can be difficult, time-consuming, and tiresome to move. Unsurprisingly, 45% of people found moving stressful. However, there are trained and experienced people who can help. These guys are pros at loading, preparing, and moving. Also, movers usually cover any liability insurance. In other words, they’re responsible for moving things safely between locations. They’ll have to compensate you if any of your items are damaged, lost, or stolen between your old house and your new home.
Make Moving Day Easy with Friends and Family
Whether you employ a professional service or not, there are some things you might want to do yourself. You can move smaller items alone to save money. Or ask friends and family to help. Moving firms can be expensive, so it’s also a good idea to do as much as possible yourself. If you have a car, you can get relatives and buddies to help you load it up with simple things. Stuff like your bedding, books, and random items that you don’t want to leave behind. And if you don’t want to move everything with you, consider donating to local charity stores before leaving.
Check Your Insurance
If you’re planning to move stuff yourself, make sure you check or update your insurance. Unfortunately, most household contents insurance doesn’t cover moving stuff. Instead, the policy covers things at the address listed on the policy, so if the goods move, the policy is void. And the same goes for the new address. An insurance policy can be updated easily, though. To make changes to your policy, just call your insurance company and ask about transit insurance. It might be a bit more expensive in the meantime. But you can just as easily switch back.
Don’t Advertise Your Move
There are not many people who don’t use social media. Social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are great places to share details about yourself. Especially when it comes to happy occasions, like births and marriages. Just don’t share specific information, such as:
- Dates you are moving.
- When you will be gone.
- Where you are moving to.
- Details about expensive items.
- Images of your house.
Criminals can break into your home if they know you’re away. And, you might still have some stuff there that is yet to be moved. TVs and money are easily replaced. But sentimental items are invaluable and can’t be replaced. Be extra careful about posting your move.
Make Time for Packing
Even the best plans can go wrong on the day, so it’s best to get ahead of the situation. One of the biggest problems you will run into is realizing you have way more stuff than you initially thought. Therefore, get packing as soon as you can. Packing boxes isn’t really anyone’s idea of fun, but it’s necessary. You can buy new boxes or use older ones. Just make sure the bottom is secure. Additionally, organize boxes by room and make sure you label them all so you can easily find essentials at your new home. It takes around 30 minutes to pack one box properly.
Make a Schedule
Time management is crucial whenever you plan and transfer from one place to another. This can take anywhere from a couple of hours to all day, depending on your stuff and available help. Make sure you plan ahead by giving yourself enough time before, during, and after a move. For instance, book a couple of days off work and switch off your work phone. Moving is hard enough without worrying about what’s going on at the office. Plan around when the moving vans will arrive and how long it will realistically take you to load up your car and unpack at the new home.
Track Your Items to Make Moving Day Easy
Technology has the ability to improve almost every aspect of our lives. And advances in mobile phone technology have changed the world. For example, you can use a lot of smart-home and phone tech when you move. GPS is an excellent example. The technology is vastly improved compared to a few years ago, and you can use it on your phone. In addition, smart trackers are available that connect to a smartphone via an app by using tabs on boxes. These help you locate lost items but are also excellent for knowing what’s inside each container.
Keep Your Old Home Secure
If you’re going to leave your old house, you might slack off on security. But you’re still liable for the property until the tenancy is transferred. Also, you may have to pick up expensive items later from the old place. Because of that, you need to secure your old address. Especially if you’re moving stuff and might be gone for a while. Fortunately, you can get some relatively cheap products for extra security. For example, online CCTV connects directly to your smartphone. And new smart locks will alert you when someone tries to gain entry to your old property.
Summary
With all the planning and hustle of moving, you want it to be as smooth as possible. You can begin by making an effort to reduce damage. And get some help from friends and professionals alike. Try to make a plan and stick to it. And pay attention to extra security, such as not mentioning it on Facebook, using smart tech, and checking your insurance policies.
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