Moving is hard to get used to. Even when the average American moves 11 – 12 times in their lifetime, it doesn’t make the process easier. It’s full of stress and problems that you constantly need to solve.
But you can make things easier for yourself by planning the actual move.
You must do a lot of prep work before moving long distances. Follow the steps below to make long-distance moving a more straightforward process.
1. Create an Inventory
It’s hard to know that you’ve packed everything when you don’t know everything you have. You can miss items under beds, behind doors, and in other places. You need to create an inventory if you want to move all your stuff.
The first place to start is your essential items. These are the things you always use and can’t go without. You won’t want to move to your new home and need to replace these items or make a trip back to get them.
After you get your essentials, start looking through all your stuff and documenting what you have. Once you have this list, you can mark items off your list when you pack them in a box. Doing this will help you keep track of the things you’ve successfully packed.
2. Downsize Your Possessions
The chances are good that you’ve collected a lot of stuff over the years. Most people do this. They gradually buy things over time and never throw anything away.
While there isn’t anything wrong with this, it does create clutter in a home. It also means you’ll have even more stuff to pack and organize if you decide to keep everything.
You probably don’t need everything in your home. Look through your stuff to find the stuff you don’t use anymore. Either sell these things to people who can use them or give your unneeded stuff to charity.
3. Get the Right Packing Materials
You can throw many items in a box and be done with it. But that won’t be the case for everything. Some of your things may need special consideration to ensure it doesn’t break in transit.
Take fragile decor, for instance. You can’t set it next to whatever you please and hope for the best. You need to put it in protective packaging that protects it against harsh conditions.
Look at your list of items to see which ones need special care. Check guides online to see the materials you need to protect your stuff and the best way to package everything.
4. Get Several Moving Quotes
There’s no getting around paying money to help your move across the country. Even if you handle the move yourself, you’re going to need to rent a truck for the drive. In most cases, you’ll hire a moving company to handle the move.
It’s essential to get several quotes during your search for help. You’ll find companies that charge little money and do a lousy job. But other companies charge a ton of money without offering enough value.
Be sure you learn about your options before you pick a mover. This will help you find a company that offers the best value and will get your things to your new home in one shape.
5. Find Specialized Moving Services
You may have more than regular items if you plan a move across the country. In most cases, those things will be unique furniture and possessions. You’ll need to find a moving company with the equipment and experience to handle those things correctly.
However, you may have larger things to ship, like your car. Even if you hire a moving company to handle the move, you may have more than one car to get to your new home. As a result, you’ll need to find a way to ship your vehicle across the company.
Shipping a car across country is something a moving company can handle for you. The company you hire may have a team that can handle the job, or you may need to find a moving specialist outside your average moving company.
6. Get Insurance
Even if you do a great job of packing yourself or find a reputable mover, accidents will still happen during the move. You’ll be on the road for a long time. That’s a lot of time for something bad to happen.
Even if the chance of something happening is low, it still pays to get insurance. Moving companies usually offer a minimum amount of coverage for your stuff. If you want more coverage, you can purchase it for a price.
This way, you’ll get a payout if your possessions get damaged in transit.
7. Nail Your Schedule
Getting your scheduling right is critical for a big move. You must coordinate with your moving company to ensure your stuff arrives on time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.
What happens if your things arrive before you get there? You’ll need to have a storage location for your stuff in the meantime while you make the trip.
You can also run into the situation where you’ll arrive before your stuff. Your moving company will waste too much time and not arrive to deliever your property. You’ll be left without anything while you wait for your movers.
Get your schedule right to avoid these situations.
Take Care When Long-Distance Moving
It’s not easy to move long distances. You must gather all your stuff, get it into a moving truck without breaking anything, and make sure it gets to your new home in one piece. Countless things can go wrong during that process.
That’s why it pays to learn as many moving tips as possible when long-distance moving. Remember the tips above during your move to ensure you get all your stuff to your new home in one piece.
Do you want to read a few home improvement tips that will help you get your new home up to your standards? Read more by heading back to the blog.
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