How to prepare for a local move

A moving checklist

Moving can be a tricky, stressful, and downright gruesome task that looks like it requires some hard work but that’s usually not the case. Because all a person needs to do is prepare accordingly, most of the time a move isn’t something you should dread since in a way it’s the beginning of a new part of your life. Now the most important part for a huge variety of people is the prices, which you can easily get from either calling or checking the websites of your local movers. However most people would just choose to call their friends and pay them in gratitude for helping out, which sure, is a lot of fun and you get to spend quality time with your friends, but that usually results in a lot more money and time spent than needed. That’s where calling a professional or just a local mover comes in, and we’ve got you covered with all the information about how to prepare for such a thing! Before the actual booking of furniture movers or just local movers in general you should look into their history and their background. How they do their business, are the people in charge of moving reliable and experienced, are the items you move in safe hands, and so on… Most of the time a quick search on the web and scroll through the reviews is all that you need to be able to get answers to all the questions you have. The most important thing to look for is if the local movers are professional and insured, to make sure their trucks are well maintained and safe for your personal belongings, check your budget, and mark up an approximate of all the prices.

Declutter

One of the main parts of moving is to have everything you want to move on some kind of list before you talk or call your local movers. Make sure that you go over every part of your belongings and check if you want to keep them or sell/donate them. A rather good thing to do is to sell and donate all the old and unused stuff you have, since as previously stated moving can be seen as a new beginning, and in that same mindset holding on to old and useless stuff will just clutter your new house or apartment. When you do have all the things listed that you want to move, you probably have an idea of when you want to move even before contacting local movers, so you should start as early as you can with the packing process since it will give you a headstart if there are any problems later on in the moving process.

Announce you are moving

Important stuff not to forget is to notify every vital person or party of your move and to change your address at the local post office since you won’t be getting any mail and bills at your new location. Notify your job since you’ll need to be sure to get a day off on the exact date of the move, notify your bank and government of your change of address since most of your cards and licenses will have to change addresses as well. The first part of the actual process of moving is as expected to book professional movers for a set date. Booking such a thing is simple, easy and fast since all it requires is for you to get in contact with a local moving company and prepare a lot of questions that you’ll wish to know, such as insurance, price, any extra charges such as payment for the truck and more. After you get your answers and decide you wish to employ them, the company will in turn send a foreman to see what the situation is and what time estimate you should expect for the actual move to happen. Other than that, the most important thing to have is a laid-out plan that you can follow, which includes the final date of the move as well as what needs to be done by you before the moving company steps in. Give yourself a few weeks of leeway time before the final date so you can get to everything in time but if you have already started the process of packing, analyzing, and selling, or donating all the stuff you don’t need you won’t need to rush things. After setting the date of moving with the company, make sure to contact any schools you need to and register so that your kids or you can change schools without a problem.

Packing 

If you decide not to pay for the extra service of packing, you should then start looking for free boxes from local stores and online, but if that doesn’t supply you with all the materials needed, you should buy the rest of the supplies that will help you pack, such as packing paper, boxes, packing tape and start slowly packing all the things you will want to keep and relocate into your new house or flat. Regardless if you paid for the service of packing or not, you should take extra care of valuable items and pack them accordingly. Mark boxes that you’ll want to be on top or at the bottom of the truck, and put markers on the boxes that have all the items you wish to sell/donate/get rid of. Selling the items you don’t need is easy as you could either make a garage sale or just put them up on a local online marketplace. Most of the time moving companies will be the ones to disassemble and reassemble furniture as well as make sure it’s packed correctly. (There is no extra charge for this as it’s part of the initial price that you got from calling the local movers). Most importantly mark a box that has all the valuables, such as a lockbox or a jewelry box, so you’ll know where the most important stuff is. Also, mark a box that will be filled with essentials so you can easily access it and won’t have to scour through every other box in search of a dish you can use or a toothbrush lost in the sea of cardboard. You should pack all the things you’ll need for the day of the move as well as the day after the move in the same box that’s easily accessible and that’s marked so you know what to look for. As you’re leaving make sure that the bare essentials are also packed so you can easily access them.

Take pictures

Take pictures and in general just take note of all the furniture and items that the local moving company is in charge of, that way if there is damage caused by moving you can be sure it wasn’t there already. Also if you aren’t tech-savvy you should make sure to take pictures of all electronics in your house so you know how to set them up at the new house or apartment. Take note of what your local movers can and cannot move. Most of the time the information is right there on the website of the company, however, if not a quick phone call will fill you right in on the restrictions if there are any. Some professional movers accept all kinds of furniture, be it heavy or just hard to move, however, most LA movers will either have a weight limit or just a condition in which the move won’t be possible or a ban on certain items such as alcohol or anything flammable. Also take note that if you have children, or some kind of pet to maybe consider getting a babysitter (or dog sitter) just to avoid any kind of chance of injury since there will be local movers on the location that will be both pulling along, carrying and disassembling really heavy items and they might not see a running kid or any kind of pet. Having them around also might slow things down since the local movers will take precautions and will work slowly not to endanger them.

Cleaning

Start cleaning both your current location as well as your future location, give your rugs and draperies to a cleaner, and don’t unpack them until you’ve reached your new home. It’s also important if you have the time to do so in the hectic schedule that is moving, to do any kind of minor home repair that you can as it helps improve the value of the space you are leaving and possibly selling. Before the furniture and boxes come into the new house or apartment you should look for any kind of paint or floor renovations you want to do, since it’s a lot easier and hassle-free to do those jobs in a place that is empty rather than moving everything and doing it then. If by any chance you have some medical conditions, check with your doctor and plan ahead of time for prescriptions so that you have enough if the act of moving takes too long and if you aren’t able to get in contact with your doctor while on the road. You should look into some kind of meal plan or preparation for the days around moving since cooking will be kind of hard when you also need to pack things. As a general precaution you shouldn’t empty your fridge and freezer early on since a lot of food may rot or go stale, so if you’re taking the fridge with you have it empty, dry, and cleaned at least 24 hours in advance. If you by chance have any food that you know won’t last the trip, you can always donate it to local churches and organizations that take food donations. The day of the move has finally arrived and the local movers are almost at your house, there shouldn’t be any more things for you to do. However, you should look into protecting your floor since a lot of the heavy items won’t be necessarily carried rather pulled or walked along. Take a look around your house and check if there is anything left for you to pack, check your kitchen utensils, your walls for any pictures you might have overlooked, pack up your essentials box. Check to see if every appliance, cupboard, drawer, and cabinet is emptied. Also check if everything is turned off (electricity, water, gas) and if windows are shut. If you have children make sure to have a good talk to them about moving to a new place, if you’re moving towns make sure they have all the time needed to adapt and accept that. Especially since moving schools is an awkward thing to do, kids will need to have their time and any support they need. Most importantly when the old house or apartment is emptied, make sure you are at the new location so you can guide the professional movers on where you want your appliances and furniture to go.

Give us a call

Once you’ve checked most of the items in this list, you should already be at your new house, so congratulations! However, if you are just looking at everything you need to do before actually calling and scheduling a move with a local moving company, then you’re already at the right place The Santa Monica Movers, just give us a call and we’ll be happy to give a free estimate of the price as well as answer any question you can have, our customer support is available 24/7! Our local movers, who are certified professionals, will help you check this list off as effortlessly and as quickly as possible. Moving can be a tough task but call us right now and we will be happy to set up a plan and a date for when our LA movers will come to both disassemble and assemble your furniture at any place you want, but most importantly keep your valuables safe and secure when moving!