Whether your move is work-related, for family reasons, or for a change in climate, you may have already chosen your new community. But in case you haven't, the following is a great site to do some research on different communities. The site provides demographics on the neighborhood such as the average family income, demographic make up of the town, school ratings and more: http://www.moving.com/real-estate/city-profile/index.asp.
If you are using a mover, be sure to conduct a thorough comparison of moving companies before you choose one. Also, once you select one, make sure you read the fine print in the agreements and other paperwork.
The area in which I can be most helpful is providing advice regarding packing for the move. Packing can be an overwhelming task, but you want to be sure that you do as much as you can on the front end, so that you have less to do when you land in your new home. Here is a quick guide to help you with this task:
- You may have to purchase larger boxes, in which case I recommend a visit to Walmart. Their boxes are much cheaper than the boxes sold at moving companies, storage facilities and truck rental companies.
- For smaller boxes, visit your local supermarkets and liquor stores. In my experience, the people working in these stores have been very willing and helpful, letting me know what time to come gather boxes before they are put into the incinerator (sometimes its early in the morning or late at night). The liquor store boxes are particularly good for glass items like drinking glasses, etc, because they are compartmentalized from the wine bottles being shipped in them. The supermarket boxes are great for books because they are smaller and books are heavy. You would not want to pack a large box full of books unless you are a body builder, in which case it would still be very awkward to carry :)
- When you begin your strategy for packing, think categories, but also work to pack a room at a time. For example: when you pack your bedroom, you want to pack in categories like toiletries, shoes, small clothing (underwear, scarves, hats), etc.
- Be sure to label every box with not only what it contains, but also what room it belongs in.
- Make sure you have enough insulation for your dishes, wine glasses, etc. You can buy bubble wrap very reasonably at Walmart as well, but you also want to use resources around your home to minimize the cost, i.e. small plastic grocery store bags, newspaper, even paper bags and gift/tissue paper.
- In the kitchen you want to pack all the dry goods and seasonings together, and if you have any coolers, use them for the items in your refrigerator and freezer. Of course you'd want to pack these at the very last minute.
- Also, you absolutely want to keep all cords that are detached, with the appliance that they go with, i.e. printers, cordless phones, etc. You can tape those cords to their corresponding appliance so that you are not searching for them when you get to your new living space.
For the most part, if you work your way from room to room, remembering to pack like items together, and keeping the items in each room together for the most part, and labeling every box, you should be in pretty good shape when you arrive at your destination.
And if you simply cannot manage packing, or just choose not to, you can always hire a service to do it for you. My customers can't share enough about the difference we've made for them in their moving process.
Lastly, when you get to your new home, unpack one room or half of a room at a time. Don't try to do it all at once.
Hopefully, these tips will help make your moving process a little less stressful.
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