For once, we’ll be directing you to another blog! Check out Moving Mistakes You Need to Avoid on the Redfin blog to see some great advice from moving companies across the country– including yours truly! If you want learn from some fantastic companies (not that we’re here tooting our own horn… that much), this is the place. Happy moving!
When it comes to college, there’s a lot to be excited for. It’s one of those first really big steps into independence that people look forward to for their whole lives. While it may not be for everyone, a college education is expected for a great deal of careers, and helps individuals grow as people. When in comes to moving during college, though,there are a lot of factors that come into play. Keep these factors in mind and you can work for a much more stress-free move!
First, there are a lot of location options for students. Living on campus comes with some great benefits. Proximity to class, dining hall plans, and campus events are just a few. However, there are many reasons not to opt for campus housing. Sometimes it’s cheaper to room off campus, sometimes you’d rather be closer to work or family, and sometimes you just would rather live with (just) your friends. All of these are valid options.
If you’re interested in looking for off campus housing, there should be various resources at your disposal. At my university, there were dorms in a more apartment style on campus, and later they built an apartment complex with very strong affiliations with the school. This provided an option for students who wanted to live in an area with a lot of other students but didn’t want to necessarily live right on campus (it was close instead to a campus parking lot that shuttled to the school). Ultimately, I myself spent one year in campus housing and moved to apartments directly afterwards because it was much cheaper in our area, but in cities like DC this is not always the case!
When moving, things can get tricky. I understand the concerns of movers being expensive–trust me, I really, really do. I moved maybe 10 times during college due to many strange circumstances. At the time, I never hired a mover. Having seen smooth, professional moves while growing up a military brat, I knew moves could be quick and efficient. I just never had the experience myself. Moving requires a lot of organizational skills that I as a young student did not have. Once, a roommate told me the wrong move out date and called me at 6 pm to say that I had to have everything (including her things) out by that night. I was really upset with her for a long time, but really, I clearly should have known our lease myself! Definitely know your lease, and plan as far in advance as you can!
If you have that one friend with the big car or truck, lucky you! This could be instrumental in your move, because moving large furniture isn’t easy. However, if you do have this friend, be aware: they know you’re using them for their car. Everyone else who knows this person is asking for moving help in exchange for pizza and beer. Sometimes this is ok, if you’re close to them! Sometimes, they get really upset. I was lucky enough once or twice to have someone like this volunteer to help without prompting. The same guys who offered to help me would complain whenever someone else insisted–or worse, demanded–that they help with some never before mentioned move. If a friend does help, really do appreciate it and thank them the best you can. Don’t forget to pitch in for gas!
If your friends are flakes like mine often were, it may be time to just bite the bullet and hiring a moving company. If you’re worried about cost, there are ways you can bring down the price. Most moving companies, like ours, offer lower rates for a weekday move. Similarly, moving in the middle of the month would be less expensive than moving at the beginning or end of the month, when moving companies are busiest. If it’s possible to move smaller items on your own, this could also cut the costs. However, most companies do have minimums, so often you will have to pay for a set number of hours no matter how small your move. Splitting the cost with a roommate is often a good idea. If you’re particularly charismatic, you may be able to impress your parents enough with your organizational skills that they may help as well!
Another option is to consider a labor only move–get help loading or unloading a truck that you rent yourself. Depending on the date and the cost of the truck rental, this could also be a great way to save time and money. You may love your friends, but chances are they aren’t the most efficient at packing a truck. Hiring movers (especially to load!) will save you time, which, when renting a truck, saves you money.
Whether or not you choose to go to college, live on on off campus, or move with or without movers, getting organized is a big part of your 20s. Trials like these, as frustrating as they can be, will help you prepare for the (equally frustrating) future. Just remember that it’s ok to ask for help, either from your friends or from companies like ours. You’re going to do great! And if not, you’ll have a few fantastic stories.
Sometimes the last step of a move is the most forgotten one: How to get settled in after moving?
The Bookstore Movers van pulls away, and you turn around to a house full of boxes and furniture, you’re tired, you’re probably a bit hungry, and you’re generally overwhelmed. Your new life in your new house has just begun, the culmination of what can be years of searching in some cases. So, what do you do next?
Here are our latest moving tips, designed to help guide you through this last step of the moving process.
Unpacking:
• Unpack the music first – an ipod with speakers, a laptop, a massive stereo, whatever your fancy, a little music makes whole process easier and makes an otherwise empty house feel like home…
• Clean – We know, we know, it’s the last thing you want to do, and hopefully your house was cleaned before you moved in, but still just passing through a room with a broom or a vacuum before you start opening moving boxes might be a good idea. It will prolong the time before you next have to clean, and will give the whole place an even fresher feeling when it’s all set up.
• Start with the … – The bedroom? The kitchen? The kids’ rooms? This is all a personal preference, what really matters though is to start with unpacking a whole room and work from there rather than just opening moving boxes hither and thither. Starting with one whole room will give you a beach head on the whole process, a place you can retreat to to relax when you need a break. If it’s late when you start, the bedroom might be the best bet; if you’re hungry, maybe the kitchen or dining room; if you have kids or pets, getting them set up first might save you some stress later. Whatever the solution that works for you is, just keep it organized.
• Organize your trash – depending on where you live, a lot of moving supplies can be recycled. No matter where you live, lots of moving supplies are re-usable. Come up with a plan before you start unpacking so you know what you’ll be doing with the moving boxes and bubble wrap that are about to start piling up.
Settling In:
• Introduce yourselves to your neighbors – Knowing your neighbors can really change your impression of an area and your experience living there. When you’ve just moved in is the best time to swing by and say hello, you can ask them little questions about things like trash pickup and already feel settled in you new community.
• Check out a local newspaper – or website or coffee shop bulletin board, whatever there is local to your town or neighborhood that will give you a sense of what is going on there and what you can get involved in.
• Go for a walk – This can even be a great way to take a break from packing, just go outside to get some fresh air. Walking around your new neighborhood now that you live there will give you a different perspective on the place, you’ll see your new home in a new light and you’re bound to notice things you hadn’t seen before.
Getting settled in after moving takes time. Over the coming weeks and months you’ll learn more about your surroundings and meet more of your neighbors. Hopefully it will all work out and you’ll never have to move again – but please do remember if you wind up changing houses, you know where the find the best movers in DC!
Like lawyers or opossums, teens aren’t known for being easy to handle. If you’ve got one, chances are you’ve already resigned yourself to this. In fact, you’re probably holding up pretty well after years of rising back-sass levels. But if you’ve ever wondered how you can make a move easier for your teen (and thus ultimately, yourself), than this post if for you.
There’s a ton of reasons you may need a move during your child’s teen years, and, despite their insistence, none of them are just to ruin your kid’s life. Full disclosure: I moved a ton as a kid. I’m a military brat, and the youngest of four. Moving was just a part of life for us, so I was never terribly upset when it was time to pack up. But not everyone grew up crossing cities off a map. This is a huge step for you, and it’s a huge step for them. Slack is needed in both direction. Whether they like it or not, you’ve got to move and they’re coming with you.
Disclaimer: Since we do local moves, this list really pertains to moves like that–only an hour or less away. If you’re moving farther, you can still use this list as inspiration but may not be able to try everything.
Probably the number one reason why a teen won’t want to move is because of their connection with their friends. That is a real statistic that I just made up right now, but it’s at least 80% probably true. Don’t scoff at teen friendship–the temptation to act like friendship is nothing is certainly there but remember that your teen’s life is mostly school at this point. Friends are all they have. You were at that point at their age–close friends you thought you’d never leave or forget. Remember them? Good. Now remember: that’s how your teen will think of their friends from high school down the line. You may be physically moving, but you don’t want to completely sever that tie. Here are some good options for keeping friendships alive.
While you’re getting everything set to move, it’s in your best interest to let your teen hang out when their friends whenever possible. This gets your teen out of your hair and makes them so much happier. Just drop them off at the mall, see if they can have more sleepovers, treat them to the movies. Let their friends’ parents know what’s up and hopefully they’ll be willing to help you out. As for funding this excursions, you can find as many cheap or free options as you can–just hanging out playing games or watching netflix is awesome with friends–but hey, moving never was all that cheap. Budget movie trips and popcorn in with your moving costs.
Let’s face it: goodbye parties, while sweet, are also super,super sad. I may be biased because I once threw myself a goodbye party and only 2 people came. Not even my roommates came. They were home; they just stayed in their rooms. Regardless, it’s a somber occasion and it kind of makes you miss people more. I still think you should allow your teen to have a goodbye party to say goodbye to the old place and their old memories. But I propose you don’t stop there. Invite your kid’s old friends to come to the new place once you’re all situated so they can have a move in party as well. It’ll remind them that they didn’t lose everything when they moved homes.
Take a ton of photos. Not just digital–print some out. Frame them. Decorate the frames. Give some to your teen and one of their best friends. It’s a physical memento and it can mean the world to your kid and their friends.
See if they can visit for some school events! This can really help a teen feel a strong connection to their old school and their old friends. If possible, and if your teen is into this kind of thing, try to go back to a couple of events at the old school. Sports games are an obvious one for this, but sometimes there are really school specific events like Battle of the Bands or spirit week type events that you may want to look into. I know one of the high schools I went to had a strange legacy of air band events, and another had a Mr. and Miss High School, which was an odd sort of humorous pageant event.
A big one to look out for: ask the school if your teen can still attend dance events like homecoming or prom. Maybe a friend can bring them as a plus one. In any case, it can make a move a lot less scary knowing that you can still go back on occasion.
Chances are your teen isn’t so excited to help move. I usually was, but I was a weird kid. I loved helping pack, and talking to the movers. I especially loved unpacking–I called it a Christmas for things you already owned. Look, I didn’t have a lot of friends. Keeping your teen a little in the process can help them feel like they have a little more control in their lives. Here are some ways you can get your teen involved without it feeling like a punishment for them.
Give your kid a say in the discard process. Let them cull their closet and toss whatever doesn’t fit or suit them anymore. It can be harder for parents to let go than it can be for teens, but you can’t expect them to keep the same things forever no matter how cost-effective that would be.
Set up a yard sale for the items you no longer need. If they go through their things and find items worth trying to sell, let them run a section in order to earn some more pocket cash. If you’re feeling particularly generous, you might you give them the whole pot–or just toss it in the movie and popcorn fund!
When it comes to your teen’s new room, let your teen be the boss. It’s hard to give up control when you’re trying to organize and design everything, but having your teen personalize their space by painting or arranging furniture and picture frames will help them feel more at home. This can mean extra work for you (unless you want to invite your teen’s friends over again–I bet they take pizza as payment!) but in the long run it’ll be worth it.
Keeping a teen happy isn’t the easiest job in the world–sometimes it’s pretty much impossible. But believe it or not, you were a teen once too. Your kid is not some other species, they’re pretty much half you. Don’t forget that as hard as balancing work, life, and moving is, it’s important to remember how it’s affecting people around you too. Maybe when you make it easier for your kids, they can start cutting you slack as well. And remember, you’re still young at heart too, so don’t forget to take yourself out to the movies or the mall with your kid once in awhile too!
Moving day is pure excitement, but it can also be pure stress. It’s the culmination of so many events – an apartment or house search, negotiations over a lease and contract; it may even coincide with a marriage or a growing family; it may mark the biggest single purchase you’ll make in your whole life (a new home!). The day itself can feel like it’s bringing all these things together, but if you follow our moving tips, moving day can be stress-free.
Here are our moving day tips:
• Charge your cell phone. Everything will be more stressful if you’re running around looking for plugs and counting the bars your battery has left.
• Be there when we are. We take arrival times seriously, so when we tell you what time we’ll show up at your place, we mean it. If you’re not there though, and we wind up sitting on the sidewalk waiting for you to come back from somewhere, it doesn’t suit anybody’s schedule. Beginning the day right means everything will go well.
• Don’t be afraid to let the movers do the work. When we leave, we go home and get to rest, and that’s when your work begins. Unpacking, obsessing over whether the carpet ties the room together or not, it’s tiring stuff, so save your energy. Let us move the boxes and set things up for you.
• Pack a moving day box. Keep your essentials handy in a separate moving box, including ID, your new lease, keys, medications, toiletries, extra eyeglasses, your cell phone charger, and a sandwich or two for snacks during the day and at night. There is nothing worse than rummaging through moving boxes looking for your keys when you arrive at your new place. Trust us!
• Give the old place a final walk through. It can seem hectic when it’s moving day and we’re there packing things up and you’re wondering how we’re going to get to your new place, but it is worth it to walk through your old place one last time before you leave. You’ll often find you’ve forgotten something, and if you’re attached to your old home it can even be a nice way to say goodbye.
• Food! Everything is more stressful when you’re hungry, so either make sure that moving day box has some snacks in it, or pick out a place near your new apartment where you’ll be able to get a quick bite if you’re feeling low on energy.
• Hire a babysitter. The same might do for pets. If you have small kids, this is a great day to find someone else to take care of them. Don’t get us wrong – we love kids, but moving is stressful for them too. Knowing that they’re being taken care of will let you focus more on the move, and it can help keep things simple and complication-free. And hey, won’t it be cool when your kids come to the new house and find take-out pizza in the kitchen and all their stuff waiting for them in their new room?
We live for moving day – it’s our job. We promise that we’ll be there and we’ll do our best work for you. If you are prepared and ready, then it’s all going to go perfectly, we’re sure of it.
These are our ideas – let us know if you have your own thoughts on what makes for a successful move.
A successful move isn’t just a question of hiring the right moving company – it’s also about planning ahead. Below are some tips on how to prepare your move. Over the coming weeks we’ll add a few more posts on other moving tips, including how to prepare for moving day and how to get settled once the moving trucks pull away.
For starters though, here are some moving tips on how to plan a successful move:
• Assess your budget. Be realistic about what you can afford, but don’t try to cut too many corners. It can be better and safer to do a move yourself then to sign up for some too-good-to-be-true offer you find online and that’s likely to turn into a moving scam or to cost much more than you expected. Most importantly though, incorporate moving expenses into the estimated cost of your new house or apartment so that you’re not left with a nasty surprise on closing day when you realize your bank account is empty and so is your new house…
• Load up on boxes, tape, and moving supplies before moving day so you don’t find yourself stuck at the last minute. You really can’t get too much, when it comes to moving supplies, and you’ll probably need twice as much as you think. As a general (and very imprecise) guideline – for a sparsely furnished 3-bedroom house, 100 boxes ought to do it. If you’ve got a lot of heavy items like books, think more boxes. Better to have lots of small heavy boxes than a few enormous and immovable ones. Craigslist can be a great source for cheap boxes and moving supplies. Home Depot is another good bet.
• Simplify! The less stuff you have on moving day, the easier the move, so take this as an opportunity to simplify your life. Do you need as much furniture in your new place? Would you be better off without 7,000 pairs of shoes? If you never use that set of weights, is it worth lugging them across town? Locate your nearest Good Will or Salvation Army and find out if they’re interested in any of the things you’re getting rid of and your moving day can even do good in the community. (And your movers will thank you!)
• Eat eat eat! There is no need to move half-filled boxes of pasta, single-serving soy sauce packets from the Chinese takeout place, or any of the other random bits of food that might be hanging out in your kitchen. If you start eating through your stocks before moving day, you’ll save yourself some hassle and you’ll have a cleaner kitchen when you unpack.
• Forward your mail. Either go to the post office or just arrange with whoever will be replacing you. Even if you think you’ve called everyone to let them know your new address, there will inevitably be someone who slips through the cracks – knowing your mail is following you is really reassuring.
• Reserve elevators and loading docks. Take care of this as early as possible, especially if you’re moving during the summer or near the beginning or end of any month, those are peak times and service elevators can get busy.
• Start early – Even if you’re hiring movers to pack for you, it’s good to prepare things in advance. When you wake up the day before moving day, if nothing has been packed up or even prepared, the move will be much more stressful than if you’ve at least looked through your things and figured out what needs to be sent where.
Moving can be stressful, but with the right moving company and the right preparation, it can come off without a hitch. Oh, and if you think of any other preparation tips we haven’t included, let us know and we’ll add them on.
It’s that time of year again when the holidays are behind us, the cold is upon us and the hope of something great to come is in the future. What do new years resolutions and moving have in common? You’d be surprised that many things we often resolve to do better come January also double as helpful tips when preparing for a move.
Continue reading “Oh the Places You’ll Go: When New Years Resolutions and Moving Goals Collide”
In honor of the holidays, we thought we’d give another tip on common moving scams. In our last post on moving scams, we shared the story of a friend of ours and his nightmare move cross country. One of the traps that story didn’t include though is one of the biggest moving scams: the bait and switch.
You visit a website, you call up a moving company, and they talk to you about your move, and then they quote you an unbelievably low price, often flat. You’re tempted, you’re skeptical, but then maybe you’ve stumbled on the best deal out there? And even if it’s not the best moving company, maybe saving a couple hundred bucks is worth it?
And then come moving day, you find out the truth: that estimate wasn’t based on anything. While you’re standing there with your lease about to expire and your whole lives in moving boxes, the price doubles or even triples sometimes. Just when you can’t back out anymore, you discover that the cheapest company out there is actually the most expensive one – or even worse, that the cheapest moving company isn’t even a moving company! That the company that took your deposit and gave you an estimate was just a middle-man pretending to be a moving company, and that now you’re going to get a new estimate and have a new price to pay.
The problem is so widespread, that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation even sent letters to major online search engines to ask them to crack down on false moving companies and moving scams.
A lot of times this comes from picking a moving company in a hurry, without taking the time to really shop around. We totally understand that people today are busy and don’t always have time to slave over their moving decisions. But even just taking the time to visit sites like Yelp and reading customer testimonials can help you avoid this. It can also help you to get better educated and prepared for your move.
So take the time to research, it pays off in the long run!
Otherwise, it’s holiday time, and we hope you’re all home safe with your families and certainly not packing up and moving just now. Christmas is a big holiday for us movers – there’s just something about a holiday that revolves around a sleigh loaded with boxes visiting houses all over the world that appeals to anyone in our profession. Santa is something all of us in the moving business can aspire to – he does it all for no payment more than milk and cookies, and no one has better online reviews than he does!
Happy holidays, we wish you all a safe and healthy new year!
Business relocation is a whole other world from a small home move and comes with its own challenges and concerns. A business move is a big task and takes a lot of planning – more than we can totally cover in a blog post. For now though, here are some of our thoughts on what makes for successful business relocation.
1. Get the word out in advance. If you’ll be relocating, put signs up in your current location to warn your customers it’s coming. If you have a Facebook page, share photos of the new location before moving day and even post photos as the move is going on. Business relocation doesn’t have to cost you a penny in lost business – if your customers are aware as things are going on it can even be a source of excitement driving more visits to your new site.
2. Have a specific contact person in charge. Call them a Move Manager, a Relocation Coordinator, whatever works for you, but make sure that there is one point person that is responsible for organizing the move. That way the moving company will know who to deal with, and also your employees will know who to look for with questions. Business relocation goes much more smoothly when communication is clear and everyone knows who to talk to.
3. Help your employees. You might just be moving across town, or maybe you’re relocating across state lines. No matter what your move is, it’s going to mean change for your employees. Make it easy on them by telling them well in advance of what is coming and trying to anticipate some of the changes your business relocation is likely to bring to them – even if it just means taking a different subway when they come to work in the morning or having to find a new place to meet up for drinks at happy hour.
4. Move on an off day. It will mean a long week for the relocation manager, but by relocating over weekends or on a day you’re usually closed, you’ll be sure not to miss out on normal business hours. If you’re going to need your employees to come in and help with the move though, don’t forget point number 3 above, make sure that it’s as easy on them as possible.
5. Update everything. Business cards, websites, social network profiles, flyers, tattoos, whatever you have that has your old business address on it needs to be updated. Make a list in advance and update them all as soon as you’re done relocating. By starting the list early, you can be sure that your business relocation won’t wind up in old customers standing in front of your old address wondering where you’ve gone off to.
Business relocation can be a real headache, but it doesn’t have to be. Preparing in advance and finding the best moving company around can make a big difference. In the end, relocation is a huge opportunity, and if you handle the change well it can the beginnings of great things for your business.
What can you do with moving waste after your move?
We hate waste! It’s something that we think makes us a better moving company. We don’t waste your time, we don’t waste your money, we don’t waste your moving supplies.
But inevitably, moving creates trash. If you move a 4-bedroom house once every ten years, you’re going to have a lot of moving boxes and moving supplies left over afterwards that are just not very useful. So, what can you do with them? Here are some more moving tips – we’ve seen some pretty great ideas over the years, these are some of our favorites…
Continue reading “Moving Waste”