Moving costs enough money as it is without added avoidable problems. People continue to make the same mistakes that turn simple moving jobs into complicated, expensive, delay-ridden, damage-filled nightmares. Most mistakes stem from not preparing, underestimating the amount of work involved, and trying to save money in all the wrong ways. Knowing the factors people often overlook helps avoid the mistakes that make moving such a hassle.
Contents
Hiring Help At The Last Minute
Finding moving help at the last minute is an instant headache. Good moving companies do not have much availability last-minute. They are fully booked weeks or months in advance, especially in the busy moving season from May to September. Someone who calls two weeks ahead looking for a reservation will be lucky to get an overpriced slot.
The last-minute moving issue is not only about finding someone to move people on short notice. Those companies that have room for last-minute requests charge exorbitant prices. Hiring a residential moving company weeks ahead saves a lot of time and trouble. Being able to book a moving date well in advance cuts costs and avoids the frantic searching that will hurt anyone who tries to find someone to help their move with only a few days to spare.
Underestimating How Much Stuff Is Owned
Every single person who moves underestimates how much stuff they have. However, they always pay the price in having not enough rental truck space, too few workers to pack it all, and far too few boxes to put everything in.
To avoid this mistake, account for everything that needs to be moved as accurately as possible. Measure what needs to be moved. Then walk through each space that will be sorted and moved box by box, making an accurate estimation of what will need to be loaded. People usually find that most of what is being moved is in storage areas often left unconsidered when planning a move. Underestimating this one area makes such a difference that it changes the entire strategy when preparing for a move. The difference that estimating the extra items left over in other storage areas makes can mean the difference between needing another truck on loading day and merely needing extra hands to load the truck.
Moving Items That Should Not Be Moved
Moving costs are often charged by weight or volume. People unknowingly pay to move items that have no further use to them and are only taking up space. This only adds to the truck load and tasks that people moving have to manage themselves.
Moving involves enough work without needing to pack items that need to be thrown out anyway. However, plan to sort things out before loading day a while in advance. This sorting process saves people packing and unpacking additional unwanted items later. It makes moving less of a horrible experience. Aim to do this sorting out process well before the moving company arrives to load boxes onto trucks.
Using Random Free Boxes
People often grab boxes from the nearest shop that they know will return boxes, but often this process backfires. Free boxes people find do not hold up as well as the boxes that movers sell. Boxes get damaged during transport, and random containers that are all different sizes cause packing problems when loading day arrives.
Boxes that are too big for specific purposes lead people to pack boxes with too much weight in them. True moving boxes come in all shapes and sizes and serve their purposes well, but skimping on price causes massive headaches when damaged free boxes need to be repacked mid-move.
Not Labeling Boxes Properly
When boxes are labeled with vague titles like “Kitchen” or “Bedroom,” it makes life incredibly complicated for everyone once those boxes are unloaded onto the new property. Which bedroom box is which kitchen box when unpacking? Vague labels make unpacking a treasure hunt. Forcing delivery workers to place labeled boxes in the correct rooms does not always work out when people don’t name their boxes well.
Labeling boxes includes spelling out the room the box belongs in and writing down a list of everything in that box. Knowing exactly what is in each box also prioritizes what gets unpacked first. This also helps with boxes that get stuck at the back of the stack. Remembering to color-code boxes helps even more. Simply marking each room with its color reduces the amount of time spent searching through every single box labeled vaguely to try and find one needed item upon arrival. Aim to avoid wasting multiple minutes on every box after a long day by making this effort.
Forgetting To Prepare Appliances and Large Items
When moving fridges, prep them well ahead of time. Refrigerators, for example, need a minimum of one whole day to defrost and clean.
Other items requiring preparation before loading day include beds, dressers, and washing machines. All of these big items require work taking care of them beforehand if they are to be successfully transported.
Last-Minute Packing
Planning to pack the morning of moving day is a dangerous idea for anyone with a normal amount of household items. Packing takes longer than anyone thinks it will, and rushing it leads to poorly packed boxes that do not hold everything they should.
Movers wait around for people who think they can box things up at the last minute before their big move from one home to another. Aim to pack everything up well in advance to avoid wasting time on packing day.
Avoidance By Planning Ahead
Avoiding all the costly mistakes that turn pleasant moves into nightmare scenarios requires planning ahead. All the mistakes outlined above stem almost entirely from underestimating how much time, energy, labor, and even resources movers will need before the big day arrives.
