LONG-DISTANCE MOVING TIPS FOR AN EASIER MOVE
Recently, I shared how we pulled off a 2,500 mile, long-distance move on a budget, and today I’m following up with some awesome long-distance moving tips!
I grew up as the daughter of a home builder, and we moved a lot. By the time I was 14-years-old, I’d already moved 11 times—all in the same area! I have early memories of helping my mom pack boxes, and later memories of packing every. single. box. for our move when I was 14.
DECLUTTER EARLY
Don’t wait until the last minute to declutter! If you’re in a hurry, you’ll be less objective. It’s harder to make decisions when you feel rushed or pressured. If you’re using shipping containers to move your belongings, you’ll be limited to the space you have reserved, so keep that in mind.
SELL WHAT YOU CAN
Making some extra money on what you no longer want or need goes hand in hand with decluttering! Selling on OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace are my two favorite ways to get rid of furniture, decor, baby gear, appliances, and pretty much anything else that’s worth taking the time to list.
RELOCUBES
If you’re moving long-distance, I highly recommend looking into a company. In our experience, they were very professional, well-organized, and had the best rates.
A Complete Guide to Hiring Moving Companies Long Distance
Moving from one place to another is one of the most challenging choices that one has to make. The complications arise because you are uprooting your life and leaving everything behind. Add to this the challenges of packing, finding movers, and adapting to new surroundings and moving could send you into a stress-induced tailspin. However, if you plan ahead and stay organized, it is possible to ease the pressure of moving. The first step of a successful cross country move is hiring movers you can trust. Below is our complete guide to help you hire long distance moving companies.
Organize your property before the move
Before you even start making calls to moving companies, you need to organize everything inside your home. If possible, you should start preparing for the move months before the actual date. Remove clutter from the home, and throw out everything that you are no longer using. Another great way to get rid of unwanted items before a move is holding a yard sale. This offers two great benefits: First, you will not have to pay for the transportation of the items to your new home, and second, you will have some extra money in your pocket. When organizing your things, do not throw everything into boxes in a random manner. It would be best to color code everything as you pack, as this will make the unpacking process easier.
Vetting moving companies
The dynamics of moving across the country are very different from those of moving across the same city. To be on the safe side, you need to hire movers who are certified, trusted and reliable in what they do. To get such a company:
Ask how long the company has been in business.
Inquire whether the company is licensed and insured.
Ask what will happen to your property in case they destroy it during the move.
Ask if they have any reviews from customers who have used their services before.
Ask about the particular services they offer, for instance, let them explain if they have experience with tall buildings, whether they will help with unpacking and such details.
Use resources that list pre-vetted companies. Sites like AMSA, and the US DOT can help you find licensed and insured movers without having to do all the digging on your own.
Getting a moving quote
When you have organized your things, you will be able to explain how much stuff you are moving to the moving company. The company will then have an easier time estimating the size of the truck or another moving vehicle which can sufficiently handle the load. Explain to them how far you are moving and how soon you want to make a move. They will weigh all these factors and give you an estimate of how much it will cost you to move. The time frame for the move also matters a lot, especially when the distance is long. Note that the shorter the notice you give the moving company, the higher the probability that they will charge you more.
Long Distance Moving Services
offer a wide variety of long distance moving options depending on where you are moving to. One of the top reasons why people book their long-distance moving services with us is because we work personally with you to develop a customized moving plan that accommodates all of your needs.
During each of our long-distance loading days, our driver and crew members will arrive to prepare your valuable goods for loading. Our floor runners will be laid down to protect your floors during the loading process. Any furniture being transported long distance will be wrapped in clean, quilted moving pads for extra protection while other upholstered items, such as chairs and sofas will be wrapped in plastic for extra protection.
owned company providing relocation, transportation, warehousing, distribution and web based move management for individuals, corporations and government agencies
How Moving Companies Are Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic
For those who are looking to move during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to take numerous health and safety precautions. Even during the season of quarantine, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing, life goes on. For those who already had their move lined up or those that are planning now for the coming months, the good news is that relocations can still move forward.
Virtual Surveys
Under normal circumstances, when you hire a moving company, the best practice is to have the company for an in-home estimate. During this visit, companies will determine how much room your items will take into their moving trucks and how much labor is required. They will give you an estimate based on the information they gather.
However, during these pandemic times, social distancing and limiting contact is essential. That is why moving companies are turning to virtual surveys to determine your moving estimate. By using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, you are now able to obtain your moving estimate with no contact
Answering Questions from Afar
Many homeowners’ questions are answered during an in-home visit. Since those visits are no longer on the table, moving companies need another way to answer questions from prospective customers. This is why they are making themselves available through conventional methods such as email and phone calls, in addition to text and instant messaging.
What should you ask your moving company? Questions including:
Will it cost extra to pack fragile items?
Do you charge more for oversized items?
Will you set up and install large appliances at the destination?
How much insurance do you carry?
Do you guarantee delivery dates?
Do you provide packing services?
THE MINIMALIST GUIDE TO A LONG DISTANCE MOVE
Have I ever mentioned that I love to move? Crazy, I know—but ever since college I’ve barely been able to stay in one place for a year before I’m itching to pack up again. When I was tied to a certain location, I’d use architecture as an excuse—as in, let’s see what it’d be like to live in an old Victorian, or a high rise, or an industrial loft. Or I’d neighborhood-hop, so as to experience living in different parts of a city. But really, I just liked to move. 🙂
Spend at least a moment considering the extreme: selling or otherwise disbursing of all your stuff and starting over.
A long-distance move can be expensive; not just $$ expensive, but $$$$$ expensive. If you’re not particularly attached to your stuff, or it’s not all that nice or valuable to begin with, give some serious thought to leaving it all behind. For the price of transporting it, you may be able to replace it with stuff you like better. This strategy can also generate a tremendous amount of goodwill amongst your family, friends, and neighbors. We have a friend who still thanks us for the iPod speakers we gave him before our overseas move.
We really wanted to do this, and even went so far as to itemize replacement costs. And if we didn’t have a child, we would have made it happen. But the cost and hassle (and in some cases, impossibility) of replacing her favorite books, toys, and other possessions outweighed the benefits. And after uprooting the poor girl from the only life she’d ever known, we felt that maintaining some familiarity would help ease the transition. She seemed genuinely surprised and delighted when we unpacked the same stuff—“that’s OUR couch!!!”—into our new apartment.
DIY to whatever extent possible.
Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment, but I feel that if I’ve accumulated stuff, it’s my responsibility to pack it up and schlep it around. (Call it my penance for possession, similar to why I use eBay.) I’m usually a proponent of rent-your-own-moving-truck—but outfitting one with a car seat for a 3000+ mile drive was not an option. Therefore, we opted for the next best alternative: a pack your own POD (portable on demand storage container), which we then had shipped across the country. Above all, avoid a full-service mover: not only is it pricey, but you won’t get the valuable, eye-opening, and yes, potentially uncomfortable experience of confronting and culling your own possessions.
Choose a transport vessel that is ridiculously small for your current amount of stuff.
This will vary according to your circumstances. If you’re single or a childfree couple, it might be your car or a small trailer. If you’re a family moving from a 3+ bedroom house, think a POD the size of a walk-in closet. If you don’t panic and break out into a cold sweat at the sight of it, it’s probably too big. 😉 Think of it as packing for a trip, and your pod/trailer/moving truck is a big suitcase. Your goal is to pack light, and take only the essentials.