Life is a journey. Move well.

tips to speed up your move

6 Steps to Simplify a Local Move

When moving locally people often don’t prepare in advance, and come moving day it can be a bit chaotic. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be chaotic. We here at EZ Move have come up with six tips to make your local move successful.

 

  • Make a Plan

 

If you’re moving locally be sure to make a plan ahead of your moving day. This will include knowing your moving date, knowing the easiest, quickest and safest route to your new home,  And having a plan for not only what you’re bringing but how you will be bringing it.

 

  • Time to declutter!

 

When you are moving to a new home, it is a great opportunity to reevaluate all of the items that you have collected in your current home. We all have junk drawers full of items that we haven’t actually used in years, there’s also those clothes that used to fit but probably don’t fit so well anymore or they are out of fashion. You may have Tupperware that is badly stained or lost its lid, which is taking up valuable space that could be used for packing something else. This is your chance to start life in your new home with a clean slate!  When you can, it is always a good deed to donate used items that are still in good condition but just need a new owner. That being said, if something has holes, stains, dents or cracks you should just throw it away. Think of it this way, the more stuff that you purge from your home now is less that you have to pack and move  and find a spot for in your new home.

 

  • Collect packing materials

 

For a local move, it might be helpful to use as many bags that you already own as possible. If you have suitcases or backpacks these are great ways to move things because oftentimes backpacks will only allow you to put enough stuff that you can actually carry it and suitcases have wheels on them that you can roll your items around. That being said, you will very likely still need to get some boxes, just make sure that they are in good condition and that there aren’t any weak points. You will need packing tape to securely pack everything and make sure that nothing falls through the bottom of your boxes. For any valuable items such as glassware, dishware, cutlery, electronics and such, you will want to make sure that you have plenty of bubble wrap or newspaper to use as padding so there is a buffer between your items and the box, as well as any falls that may or may not happen. It is always better to over cushion your items than take a risk and have something damaged or completely broken and rendered useless.

 

  • Enlist help

 

Many people know this, but it is worth repeating: enlist help!  Whether you will be bribing family and friends with pizza and beer or possibly a barbecue, or even just a couch to sleep on whenever they want. If you are hiring professional movers you will have plenty of help! Do not try to do everything on your own. Along with moving being physically exhausting, it is also quite emotionally draining. Do yourself a favor, and give people plenty of time to make plans and preparations to be available on your moving day. You will also want to make sure that you have enough vehicles that are large enough to fit your bulkier  items such as beds, mattresses, couches, dressers, entertainment systems, and so on. The last thing you will want to do is be in the middle of your moving day and realize that you can’t quite fit your items or get them in one of the vehicles that is available to you, so make sure that you measure everything that is bulky. On your end, when you are first making a plan to move it is helpful for you to have everything measured that way when people agree to help you you can find out the measurements of the vehicles that they have available and then you can let them know the items they will be transporting. What ends up being easier typically is hiring either a moving company with a professional that will coordinate everything for you or even just renting a moving truck so that you know it can fit your items that you are trying to move.

 

  • Clean everything!

 

When you move into a new home and generally everything looks fairly clean but it is so important to clean everything yourself! If you were moving locally this is much easier to take care of as you can get the keys and plan to clean on that day all the  surfaces including but not limited to counters, floors, the refrigerator, cupboards and  any built-in shelving units. When you move your things in you will want to know that everything is as clean as possible and that there is not any residue that’s been left behind from the previous owners. It is also easier to clean a home if it is empty rather than once there’s boxes stacked up all throughout your home. Of course, after you move all of your belongings in,  you want to do another thorough cleaning because people are bound to track in dirt during the process of moving.

 

  • Start your day early

 

As with all of life you can prepare everything as much as possible and things can still go wrong. You will want to start your moving day as early as possible so that you can leave enough time in case you run into any issues whether it be with a moving van or somebody not showing up or if it gets extremely hot as it sometimes goes in Tucson, Arizona. You must plan for every possible hang up along the way. Part of this is knowing that people are most productive in the morning and as the day goes on and people have been working for a couple of hours they will begin to get fatigued. Make sure you are helping to take care of anyone that is helping you, which could mean things like making sure that the people helping you are fed and have plenty of water and are taking breaks as needed.

Getting ready for your big move but feel like the stress is starting to get to you? Fill out the form below to receive our guide to the "Most Common Moving Day Mistakes," so you can learn how to avoid unnecessary stressors.