You’ve bought a new house or found a new apartment. Exciting, right? However, the amount of work and extreme stress you are about to face should not be underestimated. Seeking help from a reliable flat rate moving company in New York is definitely a good idea. Here are some essential moving tricks that are surely going to help you plan a move amid these tough times:
- Get started as soon as possible.
Organizing, cleaning out, and packing takes more time than you think and that’s why the earlier you get started the better! Hire certified movers in NYC. Divide the number of rooms by the number of weeks until the big day to find out how many rooms you have to pack each week.
- Know the terms and conditions of your lease or Sales Agreement.
Be sure you meet all move-out requirements. If you’re renting, understand what you need to do to get your security deposit refunded. Unless other arrangements have been previously made, the owner is expected to turn over the keys at the time of settlement when selling a home, so it is important to be out of your property at that time. In addition, many leases and some contracts for sale require professional carpet and/or professional household cleaning to be performed when you vacate the premises.
- Get organized and Stay Organized.
Sort through that pile you’ve been meaning to get to, organize and put everything away, clothing, shoes, toys (make sure you have all the pieces), and you’ll even need to find the matching lids for all that Tupperware.
- Give Away, Throw Away.
Sell anything you don’t need, or can’t fit comfortably in the new place. In addition, if something is broken and you haven’t fixed it by now, you probably aren’t going to. On most occasions, a storage locker is a damp and forgotten place where things go to rot and die, so when in doubt, get rid of it now. Also, the money you make selling the things you can’t use will help fray your moving costs.
- Have the Right Supplies Handy.
You can start with approximately 10-12 boxes in varying sizes and get more boxes as and when needed. Boxes, packing paper and tape are available either through your mover, or from your local moving and storage store. You will need a few small boxes for heavier items like books, but mostly you’ll want medium and large boxes. You will also need 1 or 2 dish barrels when packing the kitchen. They’re sturdier and designed to protect glassware and fragile items.
If you’re not using a professional mover, you’ll also need a dolly, furniture pads (old blankets are great), and something to throw across the floor, especially if the weather doesn’t cooperate or you have hardwood you want to protect.
- Line up help
Schedule help now, before they put something else on their calendar.
- Arrange for babysitters
- Designate one person to go to the new home, well ahead of the movers. Ask her to take her cleaning products, including a vacuum cleaner and trash bags, just in case it’s not in move-in condition.
- Who will bring lunch? By the time the troops get to the new house, they’re going to need a break and something to eat.
- Designate a person to stay behind and ask her to double check that all rooms have been totally emptied. Ask him/her to bring her cleaning supplies and a few trash bags, and do the final vacuum, remove any leftover trash, and make sure the place is left in broom clean condition.
- Lineup that all-important person who’s going to disconnect and reconnect all that electronic equipment and have them bring their own tools.
- If you need someone to hang window treatments, ask them to bring their own tools and a ladder. You might also want to pre-measure the windows and purchase what you’ll need.
- Other than that, ask at least 2 more people to come equipped with an assortment of tools, a few extension cords, batteries for the smoke detectors, and try to ensure that someone is bringing another step ladder.
- Change your address
A postal address change forwards all regular mail but that can take up to 10 additional days and it is only good for six months. So things that come once a year, like your 1099, and other items that prohibit forwarding like vehicle registration, and driver’s license renewal forms, will be returned to the sender. So, in addition to that generic Postal Change of Address that will catch anything you’ve missed, do your best to have all address change requests submitted at least ten days before you move. It is important that you don’t forget to notify people such as your employer, your child’s school, your physician or any mail order items that come automatically, such as prescriptions, of your new address.
- Schedule Utilities
You’ll need to turn on the utilities in your new place, and you’ll also need to terminate the ones in your existing home. If you don’t order final bills, and the new occupant doesn’t set up service, you could be held responsible for their charges. Avoid having utility service turned off, both at the address where you moving from and the one you’re moving to as it can be costly, damaging, and difficult to turn back on.
- Plan and Pack for your NEW Home.
Take photos or draw the kitchen cabinetry layout. Decide what goes into each cabinet, mark the location of dishes, glasses, etc. on your photo or drawing, and pack your items according to where they will go in the new house, not where they are stored in your existing home.
Next get the room sizes, including locations for windows, doors, and closets and draw a simple sketch of each room in your new home using inexpensive graph paper. That is an easy way to determine where furniture will be placed in advance. On moving day, give the sketches to the person who will be going to the new house ahead of the long distance movers. Consider asking him/her to tape each sketch to a door or window or some other easy to see location in each room.
That way one person can be putting away the items in your kitchen, while another can direct the heavy weights as to where to place that over-sized armoire you just couldn’t live without. Last but not the least, make a list of any important items you will need to buy for the new house such as draperies, blinds, and shower curtains. Having these things handy on moving day will prevent unnecessary surprises.
- Put one spare set of sheets for each bed in a box marked FIRST BOX TO OPEN.
You can keep the sheets clean by packing them separately in a plastic bag that is clearly marked. You can also add one bath and one face towel for each family member, at least two rolls of toilet paper for each bathroom and other bathroom essentials such as shampoo, soaps, etc. to this box. On the moving day, have each family member strip their beds and place dirty sheets and any dirty clothes or towels in an empty laundry basket. Then have each member place all of their toiletries – separately packaged and clearly marked in a plastic zipper-type bag – inside this First Box to Open.
Try to carry the laundry basket full of dirty items, and all the pillows in the back seat or trunk of your car. This simple step will prove essential, later on, when you’re exhausted after a hard day of moving and all you want to do is brush your teeth, find your pillow, and climb into a freshly made bed.
Whether you are moving to your new destination right away, or your move-in date is scheduled for some time in the near future, you can count on our long distance movers in NY to keep your valuables safely organized. We are committed to serve more than 100 million people locally or cross country and make their lives easier through our services which include:
- Local moving
- Long-distance moving
- Commercial moving
- Expedited moving
- Full packing services
- Flat rate moving
- Storage services
Find out more about the services we offer by visiting www.a1amovers.com! You can also dial our toll-free number 877-212-6682 or drop an email @ [email protected]
