Removing heavy and fragile items from dressers
It’s the day before the move, and you still haven’t finished packing. Putting away the dishes are taking way longer than you expected. But at long last, you think that you’ve finally finished packing up your whole house. You breathe a sigh of relief, as you pour yourself a glass of celebratory wine. You walk around your place one last time, and notice a dresser in the corner, full of stuff. You are too tired to care, and figure that it can be moved as is.
What you didn’t realize is that your dresser doesn’t like change. Its frame and legs are not used to moving around, especially with drawers full of odds and ends. The move finishes and there is only one casualty- that poor dresser, along with all the broken items inside. Now that late night judgment call is all you can think about. Items need to be replaced or repaired, and that time you saved last night, is coming back to haunt you.
This is a frustrating moment that could have easily been avoided. If it is a lightweight dresser, remove everything before the move. It is simply not worth the risk. For sturdier dressers, it is usually fine to leave items like clothing inside, while fragile items should always be removed.
Make sure there is a parking spot available for the moving truck at BOTH locations
Reserving a parking spot at both locations is essential for an efficient move. The onus is on the customer to provide parking for the moving truck. Any parking tickets incurred are also the responsibility of the customer, so by securing parking spaces at both locations, you will not have to incur any additional fees/fines. It will make for a shorter and easier move.
Reserving elevators
The movers have arrived, and they enter your apartment. They lift and carry your couch to the hallway. One of the movers presses the button for the elevator, and then waits 2 minutes for one to come. The doors open, and there are 6 people and a dog crammed together, with no chance of even getting a lamp in there.
If you live in an apartment building or high-rise condo, you will need to reserve an elevator, and coordinate the times with your moving company. Buildings usually equip and protect the service elevator with padding/blankets before the start of the move, and most places will not even allow you to move without reserving one. Many buildings also require a “Certificate Of Insurance” from the moving company. This COI usually needs to be received before the day of the move. To obtain a copy, it’s as easy as requesting one from the moving company via email or fax.
Label boxes, according to each room
To help alleviate this problem, there is a simple process that can be done while packing – labeling each box as it is packed. By doing this, your movers will be able to place the labelled boxes in their desired room. The last thing you want to do on moving day is to spend unnecessary hours dedicated to finding items all over the house, and then having to place them where they belong. A simple label on each box will make it that much easier to set your new place up and have it feeling like home in no time. The movers will also be able to figure out the safest way to stack the boxes on the moving truck. Writing “fragile” on boxes of delicate items will also let the movers know how to stack the boxes, thereby preventing your 100lb weights from resting on top of your antique china set.
As stressful as moving can be, there are simple steps you can take to ensure your move goes as seamlessly as possible. A little preparation goes a long way, and in this case, it will save you time and money- something we can all get behind.
Raiden Obokata is a Move Expert and Sales Agent for You Move Me. After achieving his life goal of living and teaching in Japan, he currently resides in Toronto Canada, where he was elected 2015 Sales Agent of the Year. You can connect with him via LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/raidenobokata