6 Ways To Prepare For The Movers

Posted on: 21 April 2017

If only moving day was as easy as handing your movers the keys and walking away from your fully loaded home. Unless you have super powers, your belongings are never going to beam from your old home to your new home. You are still going to be busy preparing things for when the movers arrive to pack up and load the van.  Here are 6 ways you and your family can be ready for their grand entrance.

Start With A Family Briefing

Before the movers arrive, make sure everyone understands what is going to happen while the movers are there, what to expect, and how they can be safe. Keep pets corralled out of the way in a separate room or other area. Small kids are best left with someone else to keep them distracted and entertained. Explain to older children what their tasks are and how to stay out of the way while the packers are doing their work. When everyone knows what to expect, moving day will be less confusing and upsetting.

Get Rid of Useless Stuff

For many people, moving time turns out to be a great way to get rid of unnecessary belongings and other clutter. Go through everything and decide what to donate, sell, or throw away. Be ruthless. If you haven't used an item in the last 12 months, you probably never will. It is pointless to have items professionally packed, moved and unpacked only to decide not to keep it. Plus, it's expensive. Unwanted items add up the total weight of your move and determine how much the final bill is. Don't know what to do with unwanted stuff? Goodwill and Salvation Army would love to receive donations. Or, you can sell your stuff on eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist.

Make An Inventory

With superfluous items out of the way, now is the time to create a really good inventory of your belongings. The movers will want a detailed list of the items in your move for verification of your belongings once everything is all unpacked. If something is missing or damaged, you now have fodder for filing an insurance claim.

Include details for electronics and other expensive items such as serial number or model number. You can have a hard copy on paper, or take advantage of a mobile app to keep your inventory well organized. While you're taking the time to inventory everything, snap photos of big ticket items for your own records. If you ever experience a theft or other homeowner's insurance loss, you have proof of ownership.

Move Out What The Movers Won't

Some items movers simply will not move, and will tell you so up front. These you need to take care of yourself:

  • Dangerous fluids like flammable, corrosive or explosive chemicals and oils, kerosene, batteries, gasoline, charcoal, or fire extinguishers. This includes weapons and ammunition, cleaning fluids, and paint.
  • Perishable food, whether frozen or refrigerated. Start eating these things in the weeks before the move.
  • Houseplants
  • Valuables such as heirlooms, cash, jewelry, or important documents

Make A Neutral Zone

Your neutral zone is a no-pack zone for the movers — just make sure to show them first. In here you stash all the things that will be traveling with you and your family and not in the moving van. Stick a sign on the door if you have to. If you cannot spare an entire room, rope off a clearly marked area as your neutral zone.

The neutral zone usually consists of essential items like snacks, medicine, paperwork, electronic devices and chargers, valuables, clothing, and suitcases if the move is a long one. Your pet may want to hang out here. Keep your survival box here as well.

Assemble A Survival Box

This box should contain everything you need access to while the rest of the house is packed and on its way to the new destination. You'll be glad you made a survival box to use until everything gets unpacked. Things you'll probably need for a couple days are a change of clothes, bottled water, diapers, towels, bedsheets, toiletries, and tools.

By preparing in these 6 ways, you will be ready for when your relocation moving service arrives.

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