Common Moving Mistakes

Be it moving from one home to another or moving from one city to another, moving can be highly frustrating, expensive and you have to keep your mind prepared to face all types of unforeseen events. You are at the risk of committing a lot of mistakes like hiring disreputable movers, getting wrong quotes of price, overstuffing of containers and speeding up of the moving process etc. These mistakes are very common and can lead to disasters.

Are you living in a house or dorm or apartment with your friends or your parents? Are you planning to move? Do you want to know the tips of how to avoid the common moving mistakes? If your answer is yes, proceed to read further.

Tip #1. Avoid hiring dubious movers

You should have heard many people relating their bitter experiences they had with shady movers or you would have had a bitter experience yourselves with a scam moving company when you moved previously. You can easily avoid this mistake if you do a little research before hiring a mover. There are many reliable sources like The Transportation Regulator of your state, The Better Business Bureau, The Department of Transportation USA and The Angie's List. You can have a look at one or more of these sources. If your friends or neighbors or colleagues have moved recently you can ask them for references. If you have a moving company in mind, don't hesitate and don't feel lazy to do online research. Go to their website and look for the testimonials and reviews made by customers. Make sure the reviews are positive and the rating given is good. Spending quality time to make sure that the mover you hire is not a shady mover can help in avoiding a lot of problems while moving.

If you are not satisfied with any of the movers and if you are confident that you can handle the moving task yourselves, you can always go for Do-It-Yourself method.

Tip #2. Avoid muddling of quotes

Have you decided on the mover you would like to hire? If so, call him and ask him to come to your place. Get an in-home estimate. If they are not willing to give an estimate call another company.

It is not wise to stick to one company alone. Prepare a list on the most recommended movers and contact them. Don't make your decision based on the quotes alone. The least quote is not always the best. If you are satisfied with the services of one mover but feel they are expensive you can talk with them and try to lower the price quoted by them. Don't rely on oral estimates. You should accept only written estimates.

Tip #3. Avoid Overstuffing

Is your place overflowing with your belongings? If so, this is the best time to dispose the things that you don't need. Do you still have your 6-year-old's baby clothes packed in several boxes? Open all the boxes. Sort out the things. Throw the waste into the trash. Donate unused clothes and toys to charity. If you feel your friends or relatives may need few things that you don't need, give them those things. If possible you can even put up a junk sale. This can clear most of the mess in your place. Take all your clothes out. You are sure to see that there are a lot of clothes that you have not used for a year or more. Now it is up to you to make a decision. Do you really need them? Do you need to take them to the new place where you are shifting to?

Tip #4. Avoid rushing

Planning in advance is very important. Most people prefer the summer months for moving. You cannot dream of hiring the best movers if you plan in the last minute. If you start to look for a mover the day before you are planning to move, you are sure to find that all best movers have already been booked. To avoid ending up hiring shady and incompetent movers you should make a decision several months before. This can save a lot of stress and frustration.

Tip #5. Avoid last minute packing

A study conducted by SpareFoot in the year 2013 shows that most people who moved last year hated packing and unpacking. They feel that packing and unpacking are the biggest nuisance while moving.

Packing need not be a big hassle if you don't postpone it until the last minute. Start stuffing the boxes weeks or even months before. You will not need all things in your home until the last day of moving. There should be several things that you don't need right now. For example, is it summer time? If so, you will not need your winter clothes for a few months. Pack your winter clothes in a box. Prepare a list of things to be packed. Pack the not needed and less needed first and tick them off from the list.

Do you have good friends, close relatives and helpful neighbors? If so, why don't you get their help? Make sure you don't send your voluntary helpers in empty stomachs? Be generous in serving snacks and beverages. Is it not possible to get voluntary help from your near and dear ones? If so, you can always get the services of paid workers. It is true that your budget would shoot up but your physical and mental stress related to moving will be reduced considerably.