Moving to a new home is often a happy time. However, without the right precautions, it’s easy for what should be an exciting new chapter in your life to turn into a bit of a mess. Luckily, it's easy to avoid these sorts of mistakes when moving into a new home, and here's how.
Common Moving Mistakes To Avoid
Whether or not this is your first time moving or your just trying to make it go more smoothly than your last move, we've got you covered. Here are nine tips to avoid in order to make your move go smoothly.
1. Waiting Until the Last Minute to Pack
Trust us: no matter how long you think it’s going to take you to move, assume it will take longer. If you are most people, you have more belongings than you know – and it will take longer to pack up all of your possessions then you think. In addition, problems will most likely arise at some point – whether it’s running out of packing supplies, a broken box, or an item that just doesn’t fit – you’re going to need more time than you think.
2. Not Calling the Moving Company in Time
This could probably fall under “waiting until the last minute", but it’s so important it seemed necessary to give it its own category. Do NOT procrastinate on calling a moving company! There’s nothing worse than having everything packed and ready to go, and no truck to put it in. Reserve your company of choice as soon as you can, so that they don’t get hired by someone else first.
3. Picking the Wrong Day to Move
Most people know that moving takes a full day – it’s not something you can quickly do after work. For this reason, most people try to move on a weekend. If you are one of them (especially if you’ve waited too long to call a mover) there’s a good chance all of the moving companies are going to be taken long before you call them. An easy fix to this common moving mistake is to simply choose to move on a day in the middle of the week – you’ll find many more moving companies available on a Tuesday or Wednesday than on a Saturday.
4. Not Taking Inventory
Chances are, you have a lot of stuff. When all of your boxes and furniture have been moved and the long game of unpacking begins, you might find yourself wondering where some items are. The problem is, with so many boxes, a missing item might be lost for good due to the chaos of a move, or might just be hiding in a box amongst the other boxes. Avoid this problem by creating a detailed inventory list of everything you own and where it can be found. Not only will this give you peace of mind; it will also help you unpack more efficiently.
5. Not Eliminating Clutter
Many people make the mistake of packing everything they own, with the intent of going through and throwing away items later on when unpacking. The problem with this is that you waste a lot of extra time, energy, and space on items you are just going to throw away at your new home. Why not spend a little bit of time going through your items now to save yourself the hassle later?
6. Forgetting About Your Children and Pets
Okay, we don’t mean that you forget they exist or that you leave them behind; we mean that people often forget that packing can be much more difficult with kids or pets underfoot. Avoid this common moving mistake by taking the time to arrange a sitter, sending the kids to a grandma, or boarding the cat or dog in a local facility for the day. You'll end up having a much smoother moving experience if you don’t have to stop and worry about your smaller inhabitants the entire time.
7. Not Thinking About Those First Few Nights
It’s going to take you many days to get most of your things unpacked. Consequently, the first night or two you’re going to be roughing it with just a few essentials. Unfortunately, many people make the common moving mistake of forgetting this and spread out their essentials like toiletries and underwear in various boxes. So, rather than having a few necessary boxes to unpack right away, people have to open up a dozen boxes to find the items they need for those first few nights. Avoid this problem by having an “overnight” box or two with your most basic essentials.
8. Forgetting the Utilities and the Mail
It’s so easy to forget all of the services that you depend on. Before you move, don’t forget to let the post office know to forward your mail, and contact the electric company and water department. That way all of your services will be waiting for you in your new home!
9. Not Hiring a Reliable Moving Company
Moving companies are a dime a dozen. The problem is, many of them aren’t worth much more than that. Items go missing or break, and your move becomes a nightmare. Why not avoid this all by contacting On the Go Moving today?
