There’s never a good time to move. In the spring you often have to contend with rain or windy weather. In the summer it can be too hot to want to pack and load boxes. In the fall the chilly weather makes you just want to curl up and get warm. And in the winter – who wants to move with a foot or more of snow on the ground? Whatever time of year you decide to make your next move, taking time to get yourself organized and prepared is one of the best tips for a better move that you will ever find. However, today we are going to be talking about 10 tips that you can use that will help you to take some of the frustration out of your move, including using moving truck rentals and relying on your local self storage facility to make it a little easier.
Tip #1 – Reserve Moving Truck Rentals Early
Give a call to Affordable Storage Fall River, MA to reserve your Penske Truck rental as far in advance as you can. Don’t wait until the last few days or weeks to reserve your rental. Make sure that they will have the size of truck and any additional equipment, such as appliance dolly, packing materials and ramps, available for you to add onto your rental. You don’t want to take the chance that you will show up and all the trucks will be out with other customers.
Tip #2 – Start Packing and Moving Ahead of Your Moving Date
Most people have at least a 30-day heads up that they will be moving. Rent a storage space at your local Fall River self storage facility and begin moving out the things you don’t use every day to get a jump start on your move. Whether you decide to keep the items in your storage unit or not, you will at least be able to start clearing out rooms, cleaning your old place and have everything neatly stacked in storage and ready to go on moving day. This is a great way to ensure that you will be completely out of your old place, especially if you might get charged for staying an extra day or two if something goes wrong.
BONUS TIP – Take advantage of a self storage facility to hold extra furniture and personal items while selling your home. In the real estate biz, this is known as “staging.” It helps you to showcase your home in a cleaner and more generic light so that prospective buyers will be able to see the size of the rooms and imagine themselves living in your home. It’s hard to imagine your family seated around the dining room table at the holidays when there are photos of another family all over the wall. Keep it simple and use moving truck rentals and storage in Fall River, MA to give yourself the best chance at selling your home.
Tip #3 – Create a Priority Box
When you begin to put things together and pack, keep one box set aside for the most important items in your home. This is where you will keep all of your current bills, information on the new place, important family member records, bank statements, check book and anything else that you wouldn’t want to lose or allow to fall in anyone else’s hands. Keep it in a place that is easy to access and add to while you pack and move. Make sure to label this box very clearly so you can find it when you need it.
Tip #4 – Buy All of Your Supplies Ahead of Time
Make sure to have enough rolls of tape, scissors and permanent marker for each person who will be doing the packing and moving. You don’t want to be running all over the house, back and forth or risk the chance of accidentally packing the only roll of tape and scissors in a box.
Tip #5 – Make Plans for Pets
If you have pets – cats, dogs, birds, rodents or reptiles – make sure to create a plan to make the move as simple and stress-free as possible for them. Cats and dogs will often do well to spend the day at a friend’s house, with a family member, at the groomer or the vet. Birds, rodents and reptiles should be moved carefully, keeping them out of the sun, extreme weather and wind. Load them into your car inside the garage or carport, if possible.
Tip #6 – Plan Your Clothing
Choose to wear clothing that is comfortable on the day of your move. Jeans, t-shirts and a sweatshirt for layering will help you to stay warm or cool, depending on the day. Remember that you will be doing a lot of packing, bending, stretching, lifting and driving.
Tip #7 – Schedule Breaks
Make sure to take time for mealtime and breaks with you and your crew. Even if it’s just the family taking care of the move, make sure to schedule a time for food, beverages and cooling off to help reduce the stress of the day. Provide food that can be easily grabbed, water and other drinks for your crew at both locations.
Tip #8 – Temperature Control
If it is cold outdoors, put the heat on inside. Not extremely warm, but enough to take the chill off the house. If it is warm outside, put the air conditioning on and leave it on throughout the day. This will help your movers to warm up or cool down as needed during the move. Again, do this at both locations.
Tip #9 – Create a Strategy
As you pack your things and load the boxes into the truck, make sure to think about how they will be unpacked again. Clearly marked boxes and a set plan of attack will help you to make the second half of your journey be just as easy as the beginning phase. Schedule moving truck rentals and access to the self storage facility according to the hours of operation at the local Affordable Storage in Fall River, MA to make sure that you have enough time.
Tip #10 – Don’t Forget to Double-Check
After everything is out of your old place and on the truck, ready to be moved to the new place, take some time to double-check to ensure that you haven’t left anything behind. Again, this is where tips for a better move that include the use of Fall River storage units can help. Cleaning out cupboards, closets, sheds, garages, attics, basements and other spaces where things can be forgotten ahead of time, packing them up and moving them into storage will help to avoid that last-minute scramble to load more boxes and pack more things.
Give us a call at 508-675-1177 to find out about our self storage facility or to secure moving truck rentals for your big day. Our team can help you get the equipment and space you need to make your move go as smoothly as possible.