Moving to another city, home or apartment means repeatedly dealing with the unexpected. Even with all the surprises that are typical, you can increase the likelihood of a successful move by carefully planning each stage of your move and completing all the big and small tasks in a timely way. While the buildup to a move can be lengthy, often most of the action is concentrated in one day. Here’s what to expect on moving day and how to make sure that all the pieces fall into place when your professional movers arrive.
Moving Guide – Planning for Moving Day
To help things go as smoothly as possible on moving day, it is helpful to be prepared. If you have small children, either bring in a sitter to watch them in a safe location in your home or, even better, have them pay a visit to a trusted friend or family member. Have everything packed for the movers, or if you are using a professional packer, have your items organized so they may be efficiently packed. Make sure you have plenty of water on hand, especially if you are moving in hot weather, and consider ordering in food for any meals that you will need. As you are planning for moving day, keep in mind that the fewer decisions you have to make, big or small, the more quickly everything will get done.
What to Expect on the Day of the Move
One of the benefits of hiring a professional mover is knowing that your mover will come with a tried and true moving plan. When your movers arrive, they will first take a tour of your house and belongings to devise a loading plan. Everything will be labeled in an inventory with an item number to make identification easy once your things reach their destination. Expect some items to be disassembled to fully utilize all the van space. In these cases, all components of the furniture will be carefully saved for easy reassembly. Pianos, appliances and other heavy items will be secured to the walls of the van to ensure stability and safety in transit. A careful inventory will be taken as the van is loaded.
Once your belongings have reached their destination, they will be moved to the appropriate location in the house. Furniture that was disassembled will be reassembled. Empty crates, cartons and other moving items will be removed. At this time, the inventory list will be thoroughly checked so you can be sure everything made its way to your new home.
If you choose to do the moving yourself, consider calling in some favors from friends and family who are willing and able to assist you with the move. You will need to be in charge of the loading plan, organizing workers’ efforts, and taking stock of everything as it goes into your moving vehicle. Be sure that every item and box is properly labeled so you know that even if you are unavailable during unloading, all of your possessions will end up in their proper places. Provide plenty of quick and easy refreshments to keep your helpers properly hydrated, fueled and motivated for the day’s hard work.
Regardless of the specifics of your moving day plan, planning is the key to success. Taking all reasonable precautions and leaving little to chance will help you safely and efficiently move all of your valuable belongings to your new home. Although there will still be plenty of work left to get your family completely settled in, a majority of the difficult and stressful work will be done at the end of moving day, leaving you on the downhill slide of your move.