Keeping Your Business Afloat

Moving from one home to another is a fact of life for most families, but it is unlikely to be on anyone's list of favorite activities. However, with a bit of planning and a few smart tips, the process can become less stressful and a lot easier to manage. Families who are just gearing up to relocate from one home, city, or state to another can use the following information to help enjoy the best possible moving experience. 

Don't move more than you must

The first rule for any move should always be to take as few things with you as possible. Families who are preparing to move can take a variety of actions to ensure that they are only moving items that they regularly use and those that have real or sentimental value. When striving to move as few items as possible, families may want to consider: 

• stopping normal grocery buying activities a couple of weeks before the move so that pantries, fridges and freezers can be cleared out before moving day (if food remains on moving day, giving it to a friend, neighbor or local soup kitchen will be more convenient than trying to keep it fresh during transport).
• sorting clothes, toys, and household items into keep, donate, sell or recycle piles to ensure that you are not packing and moving outgrown or damaged clothing and toys or unwanted household goods
• examining furnishings and appliances to determine whether they will fit the new home or whether it would be better to sell or donate them before the move (if you plan to purchase new appliances or furniture for the new home, it is often much simpler to have the store deliver it directly to the new address shortly after your arrival)

Starting a month or six weeks prior to the move and setting small goals, such as sorting one room or area of the home each week can help ensure that your new home will be free of clutter with only the furnishings and personal things your family loves and values. 

Pack (and unpack) for convenience

Another tip for moving is to strive to make both packing at your current house and unpacking at your new home as convenient as possible. Some tips to accomplish this goal include: 

• leaving clothing on hangers and covering groups of several hangers with garment or garbage bags so that they can be transferred directly into the closets of the new home
• packing all available spaces with small items (for example, filling laundry appliances with throw pillows and rugs or filling lidded pots with small kitchen items before attaching the lid with tape)
• washing and drying garbage cans and then filling them with small appliances, toiletries, and cleaning supplies before securing the lids with strong tape

Grouping items by room or area and labeling the boxes and containers with this information will also make the unpacking process much more orderly when the moving truck arrives at your new home. 

Perhaps the best tip for enhancing the convenience of both the packing and unpacking process is to load the moving truck in the correct order. Any items or furnishings that will be needed quickly upon arriving at the new home should always be the last items placed onto the truck. Remembering to pack in this order will ensure that your family has the items they need during their first hours in the new home.

Choose professional help and schedule early

While moving companies work throughout the year, they do experience higher volume and tighter scheduling at certain times during the year. To ensure that you can reserve the moving truck and any additional services like professional packing for the dates you need, it is critical that you contact a moving company like Christofferson Moving & Storage and make reservations as soon as you know the dates of your upcoming move.