Things You Should Take Care of Before Moving Day

First of all try to keep calm. If you plan ahead and are organized it should all go smoothly.

Contacted several movers and make estimates. Talk to people who have used them and see whether or not they were satisfied. Are they fully insured? Do they do background checks on their employees? You can also check with the Better Business Bureau. See if they deliver in a timely fashion. Be sure you've read the contract you sign from top to bottom so there are no unhappy surprises. What's the hourly charge? What kind of guarentees do they offer?

You've made arrangements for the day and time of the move. There should be someone both at our home to over see the move and at the receving end to direct placement of your items

Make sure all your valuables are out of the home, jewelry and money should be somewhere safe with a small amount on hand for tipping. Valuable items should be packed by you or someone you trust.

Step back to the packing issue. Are you haveing the movers pack or will you. Leave plenty of time,several weeks at least, to organize and pack. Do not pack everything and pay for all the wright if your being charged by weight, then ditch it when you get to your new place. Weed out now. Donate items you haven't used or worn. Pare down your pots,pans, kitchen items in general. There are churches and numerous organizations liek Viet Nam Vets or Salvation Army that will take things. You can also post useful items on Freecycle in most states and citieis.

Hopefuly you have a lay out of your new home and have decided what pieces will work and what won't. You do not want to pay for boxes of junk that you've hauled from home to home. Boxes of books are often a real albatross. I know people who move tons of books they have already read. There are libraries if you need to read a book. There are organizations that would love books, including libraries that will sell them to raise money. Give them a new home.

If it's at all possible have your new home painted before you move in. Get any construction work done before hand. You may want to have plastic sheeting to lay over carpeted areas in the new and old home.

You can buy reels of brown paper or newsprint paper unprinted to wrap your items in. Bubble wrap and popcorn work well (not the food, the white little dissolvable pieces). I 'm not crazy about those because they scatter everywhere but some people swear by them. You can start accumulating this ahead of time by checking with stores or buy this at a Staples type store. This leads into boxes. You can get boxes from moving companies when you hire them or you can collect them from furniture and grocery or liquor stores. Many times packing material will be in them.You want good size boxes as well as smaller ones. Liquor stores are the best for the smaller ones.

Tape is something you can get anywhere. You need good packing tape, quality packing tape. Some paper tape comes in handy as well.

When you pack your boxes be sure to label them by number and room. I then keep a main sheet with the box number and whats in side the box. I mark the box on all four sides. This makes it so much easier when it comes time to unpack. You can look at your list and know which box can be stored away for Holidays and which has things you need immediately.

If you are in charge of your furniture remember you can pack linens, towels, sheets in the drawers or use them around fragile items you pack in the boxes. You can tape your drawers shut. Mirrors and large pictures I would always let the movers wrap and package to move. You can transport ones you really care about in your wehicle.

If you have children and pets it's best to pack them off to a friend or family that day. There will be too much confusion as it is to try and keep an eye on the pets or kids. You want to make this easier not harder.

Remember to keep a small suitcase to live out of the last two days. Pills, make up, necessities, bottle water,some plastic utensils, a flash light* ,pen, paper, paper plates, plastic cups, paper towels and toilet paper to tide you over until you unpack are all handy to keep available. I'm starring the flashlight or flash lights because my Aunt once moved into a home and the owners had taken all the light bulbs with them.We use an inflatable bed for the day and night before a move so when the bed get packed up there is no inconvenience. This rolls right up when deflated and gets put in the car. Also make sure to have a suitcase full of some clothing to change into for the next few days until you get everything hung in place. This should go with you in the car as well.

Have a list of all your companies, PSEG, Phone, Cable etc and have everything turned off one day after your closing and move. This way if there's a delay you still have lights and electric.

Be sure you know how the moving company expects to be paid. Some want a cashier's check.

As a last thought it's always nice to leave the new owners a list of neighbors and handy men you've found good to work with. You can leave a package of all the instructions for the appliances you've left. Youcould leave them any necessary keys.If it was a friendly sale you can even leave them light bulbs.

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