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Expert Guide to Packing for a Home Move

 

Expert Guide to Packing for a Home Move

It is common for people to start packing for a move at least eight weeks before the big day. Still, last-minute moves are not so unusual. There are situations when people need to move in less than four weeks. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, here is a simple guide on how to pack and sort your items on short notice.

Keep only what you need

The best thing about last minute moves is that you can get rid of the ton of stuff you don’t need. Once you start packing, you will quickly realize that it is easier to throw away than to take with you. At the end of the day, you will also save time and energy. It’s a common mistake to believe that you should pack everything and sort later. Not true. Make sure to get rid of as many things as you can.

Walk through the house and make three piles in each room – 1) keep, 2) donate and 3) dump. Involve the whole family in sorting out their stuff, and bear in mind – if you are unsure what to do – dump it.

Donate what you don’t

Charities are always ready to take away your unwanted stuff. Even if your donation pile is large or you have bulky furniture items that are still in good shape, a non-profit organization can organize the transport, saving you both the time and money needed to get rid of them.

Just make sure that you have sorted everything out, so they only have to make one trip. Phone the organization and determine a pick-up date and time. Before you make a call, bear in mind that some charities only pick up on specific dates and specific locations.

Prepare packing supplies

Used cardboard boxes are the most convenient way to transport your items to a new home. Still, if the time is the issue you should purchase your boxes and other packing supplies directly from a moving store or office supply company.

On the other hand, if you are moving locally, ask for green movers who provide multi-use plastic bins. Not only will it save the environment, but also the time needed for finding boxes and getting rid of them once you unpack. Reputable moving companies also offer transport containers for bulkier items like furniture and outdoor equipment.

Ask for help

When it comes to moving, you have three recruitment pools – 1) friends, 2) family and 3) service companies. Friends and family are always eager to help. However, make sure that before you “hire” them, you know exactly what every person’s job will be. There’s nothing worse than a helpful hand wandering around and getting in the way of everybody else.

Professional movers are always a phone call away, and some of them offer a truly comprehensive range of services. For instance, aside from treating your belongings with the utmost of care during the move, the guys who own and operate City Removalist will even do the packing and unpacking for you in case you are, say, short on time.

Once you have the supplies and able-bodied helpers at your disposal, you can start loading the “keep” pile into boxes. Large appliance and some pieces of furniture will require special preparation before they are loaded. Moving professionals will help you with every aspect of the move, either by providing packing containers or pack everything for you. One way or another, they’re a valuable time-saving service.

Things To Do After Moving Into Your New Home

The average American moves more than 11 times in his or her lifetime — often enough that one could assume it would become second nature after a few times. However, moving is one of the most stressful experiences you can have, so it’s also reasonable to assume that a lot of the minor details could get lost along the way. When those minor details include things like, “Where’s my toothbrush?” and “Did I remember to tell the post office I was moving?” they can have a decidedly major effect on everything.

Moving is more than taking all of your belongings out of your old house and moving them into your new one — it’s the act of relocating your entire life. Taking care of details like ensuring everyone knows your new address and taking a walk-through of your new place before you get settled will go a long way toward making the entire moving process feel less stressful. Ultimately, it can make the transition into your new home a lot easier.

Nonetheless, it’s easy to forget about many of the details, so this checklist can help you stay organized as you go through this major shakeup to your life. All the practice you get moving this time may not make the next time you move any easier. However, having a checklist handy while you do can help you stay organized and not be caught off-guard by any of those details that can add up to big troubles when they’re forgotten.

 

Post-Move Checklist
Post-Move Checklist created by University Moving & Storage

Moving Day Made Easy: Organization Tips for Your Big Day

Moving Day Made Easy: Organization Tips for Your Big Day

Moving day can be both an exciting and stressful time. You’re moving to a new place, but you’re leaving the old one behind. You are getting a new home, but packing up your old home can be stressful. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be quite so stressful and hectic. Here are a few tips to get your moving day, well, moving.

Makes Lists—Lots of Lists

When you first find out about the move, immediately begin to take inventory of your home. What items do I have in this room? What do I want to keep, and what do I want to get rid of? Is there anything of value? What needs to be wrapped in newspaper? By making lists of the items in your home, making sure to keep them organized by room, you can know exactly where things go and how many boxes you might need. It might seem a bit overwhelming at the start, but by taking it a room at a time, you can accomplish your packing list pretty quickly. This can also give you an opportunity to get rid of things you no longer need.

Pack Smart

You don’t want to overstuff your boxes, but you also don’t want to under-pack them either. The best way to pack your boxes is to keep the fragile items separate from non-fragile items. Pack the heavier things on the bottom, and only pack a few heavy things in a box at a time. If you are moving alone, make sure you can carry the box on your own. You might not have any help when moving the boxes from place to place. Use your list to pack the items in their boxes from each room, and label each box accordingly.

Preparing the New House

When you have arrived at your new home, do a quick clean before bringing in boxes or furniture. This will ensure you are moving into a clean home, and it might allow for last minute inspections of floor, ceilings, bathrooms, and kitchen. A Manalapan Plumber recommends you flush toilets and check faucets at this stage as well. If you don’t have time to clean at all, place everything in one corner of each room until you can do a bit of cleaning. This is also a good time to pull out the list and unload the boxes in the rooms they belong in.

Take More Inventory

Now that you have cleaned and put your furniture in its proper rooms, you can take inventory of your items and start unpacking. If you find something missing, contact the moving company or others who helped you move. If you find you have everything, you can unpack with peace, knowing you are now settled into your new home.

Moving doesn’t have to be stressful if you put a bit of time and effort into your packing and preparation. You can even contact your cable company, power company, or other company to get everything set up for your arrival at the new house. You can make your moving day a little less stressful and a bit more enjoyable if you simply take a little time to get organized.

 

Making Sure Your Home Move Doesn’t Turn into a Nightmare

Making Sure Your Home Move Doesn't Turn into a Nightmare

All those people who have moved home at least once in their lifetime will vouch for the fact that it is an overwhelming task, regardless if they moved just around the corner or to another part of the world. The stress of having to cover a myriad of activities in order for everything to go as smoothly as possible usually lingers for days after everything passed, not to mention the scope of it if anything serious went wrong after all. Here is what needs to be done so that it does not turn into a nightmare.

Every detail counts

Moving house is a serious task and requires careful planning in order to be successful. What this means is that it is better to take care of every little detail in advance than to be sorry you missed something and end up living your worst nightmare. To begin with, make a detailed checklist of all activities that need to be done. Secondly, make sure you follow it through to the end. Be realistic about your deadline. Do not expect to finish overnight and by all means, do not rush things by skipping anything from the list. If you feel you are way over your head in it, ask your friends for assistance, or hire a professional to help you finish everything smoothly.

Packing

In order to save time and pack everything safely, start packing way prior to your moving day. Start with out-of-the-season clothing and items that are rarely used. If possible, dedicate a spare room or a garage for packed items in order for them not to get in your way in the meantime. Use specialized boxes for sensitive items and additional packing paper for fragile items, especially those made of glass. Clearly mark every single box. It will make loading and unloading, and especially unpacking, a lot easier and save you a ton of time. Finally, take this opportunity and declutter in order to save some space.

Making Sure Your Home Move Doesn't Turn into a Nightmare

Additional packing concerns

Even though boxes will be sufficient to cover the majority of small and mid-sized items, bulkier stuff needs to be protected as well, particularly mattresses and furniture. Using mattress bags is the easiest solution for the former, while furniture pads proved to be most convenient and efficient when the latter is concerned. When artwork and particularly fragile items are concerned, packing paper will not suffice on its own. Use bubble wrap first and then pack everything in packing paper for additional protection.

Choose a reliable courier

All the effort you made carefully packing all your belongings could be in vain if you choose an unprofessional or inexperienced courier. In order for all the items to reach their final destination, every step of the way counts, say the people behind Instatruck.  Everything starts with choosing a truck with a volume suitable to transport all the goods without damaging them. Loading and arranging them within the desired volume is equally important for the transport to go smoothly. Unloading all the items is the final touch that no reliable courier would leave to chance. Once the items have reached their destination intact, it is solely up to you to safely position them in your new place.

Making Sure Your Home Move Doesn't Turn into a Nightmare

Arranging everything in the new place

It is natural that once everything has reached the new destination, you wish to arrange all the items as soon as possible and get on with ordinary life. Once again, do not rush things or you will end up having to rearrange everything several times in order to put everything in its designated place. Read the labels on the boxes, put each in the right room and only then start to unpack. Take your time, enjoy this activity and make your new home immediately feel like one.

Taking your time and doing everything according to your detailed plan guarantees less stressful moving and minimizes the chances of turning it into a nightmare. And, before you know it, everything will be over and your new home perfectly arranged.

 

 

How to Move Furniture Safely and Easily [Infographic]

Anyone who has ever had to move a large, heavy piece of furniture around a house or up/down a flight of stairs will tell you that it is a physically imposing task, and not one without a bit of spatial know-how either. When it comes to shifting a bookcase or sofa, it isn’t just a matter of picking it up and going on your merry way. You’ll have to think ahead about where you’re going to grab it, what’s the easiest route to take and, most important of all, whether there are any unsafe impediments to negotiate.

Chic Furniture and Gift (http://www.chicfurnitureandgift.co.uk/shabby-chic-bedroom-furniture) created this great infographic guide to moving furniture quickly, easily and safely around your home. There are guides on moving furniture upstairs and downstairs, a list of the items you’ll most likely need before attempting to lift a heavy or bulky furniture item, as well as some vital tips on moving it as safely as possible.

Without proper consideration, lifting a bookcase up a flight of stairs can be lethal. If you don’t manage to grip it properly, it could come tumbling down on top of you and cause serious injury or even death. For starters, never move heavy furniture on your own. Always have a second (or even third) pair of hands on call to help out.

For more safety tips, check out the infographic below.

how-to-safely-move-furniture-infographic

 

Tips To Make Moving Easier

There’s a saying that moving your home is one of the most stressful events in life. Even if you plan to hire a mover to take care of the basic moving tasks like packing and transporting your belongings, you still have to go through the hassle of settling down in a new home, establishing a new routine, finding new friends, adjusting to a new work environment/school, and so on. But with proper planning and homework, anyone can ensure a smooth, organized move into a new home. Start your moving process way early. Packing is, obviously, going to take up much of your time in the days preceding your move. Here is an infographic from Solent Plastics with some useful moving precautions, facts, and tips! Don’t forget to check it out!
The Hassles of Moving Home

 

Tips To Make Your Next Home Move Easier

The thought of moving into a new home is both exciting and overwhelming!  We found this moving house checklist to help you organize your next move and make things a little easier. Just print it out and check off the boxes as you complete each task.  Happy moving!

Moving House Checklist
Moving House Checklist by Terrys Fabrics.

5 Tips For Making Your Move a Smooth One

 

New Home
Source: www.aspenrentalsmn.com

Buying a home is one of the most thrilling experiences in a person’s life. However, moving into it is another story entirely. Moving is stressful. There is no way around it. First you have to find boxes to pack your stuff in, then you have to pack everything you own into those boxes. Then you have to carry all those boxes and your incredibly heavy furniture out to the moving truck. Then you have to drive to your new home – that could take minutes or days! Then you have to carry all of that stuff back inside. After all that, you still have to unpack and organize your home. That’s a lot of work! Enough to make anyone want to run the other way, but you just bought a new home, and you are going to move into it. Don’t worry! It will be over sooner than you think. In the meantime, here are five things you can do that will help make moving a little less daunting.

1. Start Early

Usually we find ourselves scurrying around a day or two before a move putting things into boxes. This creates unnecessary stress, and it can mean that your things aren’t packed carefully. Start a couple weeks ahead of time and pack up everything you don’t absolutely need for the coming weeks. Take extra care packing china. Get storage closets packed up and make sure there is nothing lurking in the backs of drawers, under beds, or behind the couch. A week before your move you can pack up the kitchen dishes and most of your family’s clothing. You can live on paper plates and microwave dinners for a week, I promise. Sort out the clothes that you will need for the week and pack up everything else. This way the day before your move, there won’t be much left to put in boxes.

2. Label Everything

Label every box as soon as you finish packing it. Make sure the label clearly states what is in the box and which room you want it to go in. This way, no matter who takes the box out of the truck, they know which room to put it in. Make sure the labels are easily visible. It will save you tons of time sorting out which rooms the boxes go in later.

3. Enlist help

Call your dad, your sister, you best friend, and your neighbors over to help you out. Don’t feel bad about it. The more people who help, the faster and easier it will be. Just remember to help them out the next time they move.

4. Confirm your moving day schedule

If you are moving out of a rented place, make sure you know what time your final walk-through is. If possible, leave someone behind to go through with your landlord after all of your things are out. Also, it is a good idea to send someone ahead to the new house and have them make sure they can unlock the doors easily. If you are not getting the keys until you arrive, then double check the time for key pick up with your Realtor or previous owner. Send someone ahead for this if you can. Have this person open all the interior doors in the house. It will make dropping off boxes and arranging furniture so much easier.

5. Clean before you move–in

Home buying can be a dirty process. If at all possible, clean your new home before you start moving things into it. If you cannot physically get there to do it, try to arrange to have a maid-service come in and clean before your arrival. The last thing you want to do after a long day of moving is clean the bathroom, so you can take a shower. Plus, you don’t want to try to put things away in a dirty kitchen. It’s an extra step, but one you will be happy you took.

Factors to Consider Before Buying a Beachfront Property

beach homeTo Sea or Not to Sea

Most people can only imagine hearing the sound of waves crashing against the shore or watching as the tide pulls within a few feet of their back door, and it’s safe to say that waking up to this kind of scene would be a dream for many. It is important, however, that the beauty of a beach home not distract you from other considerations that should be kept in mind when you decide whether to buy waterfront property. Here are three important things to remember when considering living on the beach.

Effects of Salt Water

You are bound to have beautiful views from your oceanfront home, but you need to be prepared for some of the property damage inherent with living so close to the ocean. The salt in the air is highly reactive because it carries an electrical charge. This electrical charge allows it to penetrate a variety of different materials, taking hold for years, and eventually causing corrosion and structural damage to property if not treated properly. You might even be unfortunate enough to get salt into your electrical wiring. This corrodes the metal and leads to short outs, broken electrical equipment, and in some cases, a fire.

Salt can also eat away at concrete. Too much exposure to salt will eventually lead to structural problems with your foundation, sidewalks, and pillars. Salt can also have the same effect on brick, mortar and plaster.

Furthermore, salt can eat away at wood in a process called delignification, where saltwater penetrates the wood and causes a formation of fuzzy crystals on its surface. These crystals pull out part of the cellular wall of wood. Delignification won’t cause significant damage in a one time flooding event, but after repeat exposures to salt, wood can wither away and become unstable.

Insurance

One other factor to keep in mind is homeowners insurance. Do your research on different insurance requirements. You’re likely to pay more for your insurance as you live closer to the water. You also want to look closely at the different insurance policies and what they cover. Every insurance policy is going to cover something different, and you’ll want to make sure that events like strong winds, tides, rain, hail, and any other types of destructive weather are covered under your plan.

Research

While living on a beach sounds ideal, this dream location can come with some nightmare weather. When you live on the ocean, you are going to have to be aware of the tides, as well as severe weather storms including hurricanes, and potentially, tsunamis. It is best to do plenty of research about the area you will live in, so you can decide if you are prepared to handle everything that can come with owning an oceanfront home.

If you find doing all this research on your own a little overwhelming then it would be a good idea to call a realtor in the area you want to buy a home. They should have all the information about weather, insurance, and any other details you might need to know before you buy a home on the ocean.

This article was provided by Chase Roberts, home and garden expert who dreams of an ocean-side home. If you’re a Texan looking for sturdy roofing perfect for seaside weather conditions,  Chase recommends checking out a company that specializes in roofing in Katy, TX.

This article provides some great info for those of us in the Northeast who are considering becoming snow birds! ~Gary

5 Tips to Help you Transition into a New Home

sold sign owners
Source: inoutmovingdelivery.net

For some people, the move from an apartment to a house is one that they’ve been dreaming about for years. Finally being able to free themselves from landlords, rent, and creepy wall-sharing neighbors is certainly a goal worth pursuing. However, while you’re preparing to make that jump from tenant to homeowner, you’ll need to be aware of some things. Many first time home buyers find themselves facing bigger problems and stresses than they ever experienced in an apartment, and the shock of it all can really ruin the excitement and joy of owning your own place. Don’t let that happen to you. Here are a few tips to help make your move from apartment to house a successful venture.

1. Know your responsibilities

In an apartment, your particular responsibilities as a renter are limited. You’re not expected to make home repairs because it’s the responsibility of the landlord to take care of that. The same goes for plumbing, heating and cooling issues, and grounds-keeping. These are all costs that most renters are happy to avoid. However, when you purchase a piece of property, these concerns are now unequivocally yours. You may not have known or cared how to work the sprinkler system back at your old apartment, but you’ll need to know how to use them at your new house. Simply put, if you own the home, you own the problems. So, as a homeowner, it pays to consider just how much extra these added responsibilities are going to cost on average per month, both in terms of time and money. Likewise, as a renter, you would probably simply wait for something to fail before urging your landlord to get it fixed. As a homeowner, you’ll want to regularly inspect and perform maintenance on your home’s various systems so that you can catch any minor issues before they become big problems.

2. Get your finances in order

Buying a home isn’t just about scraping some money together and signing some papers; a house is a decades-long commitment that requires careful scrutiny of your income and finances. You’ll need a high credit score if you want to get the best possible interest rates. If your credit score has some room for improvement, consider waiting on purchasing a house until you can build it up a bit. Also, when you’re planning your budget, be sure to include more than just the monthly mortgage payment, as you’ll also need to consider the cost of maintenance, heating and cooling, water, waste removal, electricity, taxes, and possibly even Homeowner Association (HOA) fees. These expenses can really build up fast. Some expenses homeowners forget to consider are small things like pest control services, changing the air filters regularly, maintaining the water softener unit, monthly or annual home automation or security system costs, lawn care and fertilization, to name a few. These small expenses add up quickly and, if you’re not careful, they could put your budget in the red. A few ways you could prepare your pocketbook for these expenses is by checking out online reviews, such as, home security reviews or lawn care reviews, before making a decision. Look at the services for individual companies and the products that they offer, often times they will have sales or promotions that you can take advantage of.

3. Look for the right home; not simply the biggest

When it comes to real estate, we currently find ourselves in a “buyer’s market.” This means that there are fewer people looking to purchase a home than there are trying to sell one. This can result in low house prices and great interest rates for the new home buyer. However, it can also mean that certain house hunters—especially ones who are sick of the tight fits and small storage space associated with apartments—may end up pushing the limits of their affordability by jumping at the chance to purchase a mansion for a really good deal. These homeowners often end up regretting their decision, when they find themselves spending sometimes as much as 50% of their income or more just on monthly payments for a home that’s too large for their needs. Find something that’s the right size and price for you. Having a gigantic building isn’t worth it if you end up house-poor as a result.

New Home
Source: www.aspenrentalsmn.com

4. Decorate and remodel gradually

For many ex-renters, the realization that you now actually own your own property can lead to an almost feverish urge to personalize everything. Light fixtures, landscaping, paint colors, etc., all feel as though they need to be replaced as quickly as possible. But while any one of these projects could probably be accomplished relatively quickly and inexpensively, all of them together will create time and budget concerns that you may not be ready to deal with. Instead, work on individual projects one at a time and make sure that you’re not overextending your ability, or your bank account.

5. Have fun!

You’re becoming a homeowner! Don’t let the stress or concerns ruin it for you. As long as you take things slow, keep an eye on your finances, and behave responsibly, everything should work out just fine. So grab your keys, swing wide your new front door, and revel in the fact that you don’t have to pay rent anymore. Now, if you could just figure out how to work that sprinkler system…

Author Bio: David Glenn is a home improvement expert. He occasionally freelance writes about home automation and making your home more green. Check out Vivint’s home automation systems for state of the art home automation.

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