Moving Tips for Your Next Home or Office Move

Everyone at some point needs some moving tips when moving to a new home or office. Having helped thousands move and relocate homes and offices we've learned a few tips that can help reduce your stress, time and cost when moving locations.

We've outlined below a few moving tips and advice to help make your household or office moving easier and smoother.

• Moving tip 1: Purge
• Moving tip 2: Plan
• Moving tip 3: Pack
• Moving tip 4: Prevent

Moving Tip 1: Purge

Even more so than with most projects, the job of moving a household is easy to underestimate.

Moving is a huge job, and while you will probably never enjoy it, you can make it more bearable if you do it over a realistic period of time and in an organized manner.

If you wait until the last minute, you will end up moving everything - clothes that don't fit, books you don't want, broken furniture that you can't fix, all of which will cost you in labor and money to move it all.

It's time for a fresh start, you don't need all that stuff do you ? It's Your Move and it's a great opportunity to reassess your possessions and declutter your life.

The Purging aspect of your home or office move is probably the most time consuming part of the process. It will however, have the most impact on how much time and money you will save. If you don't need it, why move it. Quite simply, the less you move the more you save.

Start deciding what stays and what goes. Get rid of those things that you no longer need or simply don't want anymore. Grab your first moving box or crate, put it aside and fill it with everything that doesn't belong to you.

Before you start throwing a bunch of stuff out keep in mind that we all have items that don't belong to us. Return all library books, movies / DVD rentals, and borrowed items.

Simplify and clear out things you no longer need, have a garage sale, or give unneeded things away. See our successful garage sale pointers section. Remember that local charities often pick up furniture free of charge. We have provided you a list of such organizations.

Let's get into those closets. Studies show that people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. This means that up to 80% of your wardrobe is expendable. Consider clothing consignment or shelters for those clothes that just never make it out of the closet anymore.

Books are extremely heavy. Get rid of old thrillers, diet books, outdated fix it books, old travel guides and textbooks, and others you are unlikely to ever open again. Ask yourself which of those books you're likely to read or refer to again.

All that food. Stop buying food a few weeks before you move and start cooking with what is in the cupboards. Start using up frozen food in the freezer compartment and deep freeze. Plan to use up most food items before the move. Bring canned goods and dry foods to your local food bank.

Tackling the garage. Divide you garage contents into three easy categories:

1. This is something I use
2. This works but I don't need it
3. This is broken, useless and will cost me more to move than it's worth

Keep and Pack category , 1 Set aside items in category 2 for a Garage sale and put everything in category 3 into the trash.

Moving Tip 1 Summary:

• Don’t wait until the last minute to pack. Plan ahead.
• Clean out (or purge) the items you no longer need or use. Decide what stays, and what goes. You first moving boxes should be filedl with the items you no longer need or want.
• Get a separate moving boxes to put items aside that need to be returned – library books, movie rentals, games, etc.
• Have a garage sale – minimize your moving costs and put some $ pack into your wallet.
• Donate useful items to charity, food banks or foundations – clothes you no longer wear, books you’ve read, canned food you don’t eat (and not expired) etc.
  
  

Moving Tip 2: Plan

Start packing several moving boxes each day, a few weeks prior to your move. By pacing yourself, you'll be more organized and the job won't be so overwhelming. Make sure that the items you pack won't be needed before you move, of course. Pack away the things you don't need daily, like holiday decorations, books or the good china.

Proper packing and labeling can make or break a move. The order in which you pack your stuff, how you pack, and the way you label your moving boxes is key. Reestablishing your routine in a new home will always be smoother if you know what is in each moving crate / moving box. Remember that a great deal of the frustration in moving is the time wasted looking for things.

Keep the weight of your moving crates / moving boxes reasonable. If you will be using cardboard moving boxes, pack heavy items in small moving boxes and light items in larger moving boxes.

Pack on a room by room basis this will save you a lot of time when it comes time to unpack. Put small miscellaneous items into a Ziplock bags associated to that room.

Pack a moving crate / moving box with essential items that you may need upon arrival at your new home such as toiletries (don't forget toilet paper). Pack cleaning supplies and toiletries in a crate to be loaded last and unloaded first.

Consolidate fragile moving boxes / moving crates in one area so that you can keep a closer eye on them throughout the move. Make use of the Fragile removable labels provided.

Separate items that are not intended for transport by movers.

Unpack your kitchen first as you may have perishables.

Open Me First boxes. Keep items you will need soon after you arrive in separate moving boxes / moving crates. Make sure they are loaded last. These moving boxes / moving crates should contain the things you need to get your life back to normal as soon as possible after the move.

A small tool box containing general household tools that you may need for disassembly, repairs during the move as well assembly and mounting to walls at your new home. This should include basic and furniture specific tools for re-assembling items that couldn't be moved whole.

After all is loaded onto the truck, some cleaning is usually needed. If you don't hire someone to clean your home after it is empty, keep some cleaning products and garbage bags behind to do it yourself.

Moving Tip 2 Summary:

• Start early. Pace your moving time over a few weeks before you move.
• Label items appropriately. This will cut down dramatically on your move-in time from being better organized and prepared.
• Don’t over pack. Watch the weight of packing your moving boxes / moving crates so they’re easily transportable.
• Pack room by room will help save time when unpacking.
• Pack a separate moving box with essential items you’ll need upon arrival to your new home.
• Organize all fragile moving boxes together in one area, and label “FRAGILE”
• Separate items not intended for the moving company to move.
• Unpack the kitchen first as there may be perishables in your moving boxes.
• Create an “open me first” box which should hold the essential items you’ll need immediately upon moving into your new home or office.
• Pack a small tool box necessary for assembly or disassembly of furniture and other items.
• Keep some cleaning products behind. Once you finish loading the moving truck, some essential cleaning is typically required.
  
  

Moving Tip 3: Pack

Remember that careful packing is the key to guaranteeing that your items arrive undamaged. How you pack the moving crate / moving box is as important as how the large the moving box is. The number one cause of damage during a move is a box that is not fully packed. Empty space in a moving crate / moving box creates trouble.

Place pictures in moving boxes between sheets to give them added protection.

Plates and record albums should be placed on end vertically, rather than placed flat and stacked.

Before packing your dishes, make sure you have cushioned the bottom and sides with linens or towels.

Remove bulbs before packing lamps.

Pack one room at a time fill unused spaces in boxes with linens or towels to prevent shifting.

When disassembling furniture gather bolts and nuts in a Ziplock bag affixed under the furniture piece.

Compact discs, video cassette tapes will warp in a moving truck in hot weather.

Leave clothes in dresser drawers, secure the drawers and move the unit instead.

Save space by tossing shoes at the bottom of wardrobe boxes.

Pack your books in smaller boxes as they can be very heavy to lift when in a large box. Rather fill in small spaces in several boxes with paper backs.

When packing a mirror, place an X across the front to keep pieces in place in the event of breakage.

Carpets and rugs should be rolled up and tied securely with tape or rope.

Make use of suitcases and pack away several days worth of clothing until your completely unpacked.

Moving Tip 3 Summary:

• Empty space in moving boxes /soving crate creates broken items. Pack carefully. If necessary use old towels to fill in the gaps.
• Pack photo frames between sheets for protection
• Kitchen plates should be placed vertical, rather than flat and stocked in the moving box.
• Add cushion material to the moving box before packing breakable dishes
• Remove light bulbs from lamps before packing
• Place all nuts and bolts into a zip lock bag for each furniture that requires assembly upon arrive to your new home or office.
• Certain items as tapes and CD’s will warp in hot weather. Pack these appropriately.
• Save space and pack you shoes at the bottom of wardrobe moving boxes
• Tape an X across mirrors in case of breakage
• Use suitcases for packing to make smart use of moving space.
  
  

Moving Tip 4: Prevent

Take the time to inventory the condition of your items as you pack them. Here are few tips on how to avoid breakage, theft and loss.

Avoid using duct tape rather than packing tape. Duct tape does not adhere well to corrugated cardboard moving boxes.

Recycled produce boxes often become weakened from the moisture of transportation of product spoilage. They at times house insects that can infest your new dwelling.

Personally transport irreplaceable photos, financial papers and assets, legal documents, valuables and jewelry with you.

Don't use newspaper as a wrapping or cushioning material. The ink can rub off your breakables and be very difficult to remove.

Make use of security features if the moving product offers it.

Avoid labels that invite theft. Refrain from specifying information about valuables such as identification, jewelry, DVD'S, packed inside. Rather, consider a less obvious label or name.

As you will be moving furniture around first plan where items belong and make sure to use furniture pads to protect your floors from damage.

You should refrain from packing anything perishable, but if you have some open nonperishable jars and boxes of dry goods that you would like to move yourself place them into plastic bags to prevent spillage.

Use a cooler in order to minimize spoilage of perishables.

Use plastic door jam guards to prevent damage to your doorframes in particular the front entrance where large items will be moved through.

Moving Tip 4 Summary:

• Take inventory of items you pack and label the boxes
• Avoid use of duct tap over packing tape if considering using cardboard moving boxes
• Recycled cardboard moving boxes tend to be weaker due to moisture and spoilage during transportation.
• Take all valuable and personal items with you.
• Don’t use newspaper to wrap items – the ink can rub off and stain the items
• Avoid labels that invite theft
• Use furniture pads to avoid damage
• Avoid packing anything perishable. Use a cooler.

Need moving boxes? For your next home move or office move project remember to think outside the box and rent reusable moving boxes / moving crates today.

It’s Your Move environmentally-friendly home and office moving offers convenience of free delivery and pick up of reusable plastic moving boxes /moving crates, moving totes, wardrobe containers and other packing and moving supplies. We deliver to all cities within the Lower mainland and Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada, including Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Delta, Ladner, Tsawwassen, New Westminster, Surrey, White Rock, Cloverdale, Clayton, Langley, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam Abbotsford, Port Moody.

Book online today, or contact us today.