Moving already can be one of the most stressful of times. Don't make it harder on yourself by making any of the following mistakes during your move.
1. You Assume all movers are trying to cheat you or steal-
Sure, you may have heard your share of horror stories from friends or family, about people being scammed or cheated by unsavory moving companies. The truth is though there are many honest and trustworthy moving companies to choose from. Be sure to request references of any company you are thinking of hiring.
2. You withhold move-related information when receiving estimates-
Withholding any move-related information will do the opposite of saving you money in fact it could be extremely costly. Think first on if you hide any information from your Doctors, Spouse or the Police. You don’t want them making the wrong decision, why would you want to put your movers in the same position. You may have first received a smaller estimate before the move but at the end of the move they will still add in the extra charge however the only one that will lose is you for not knowing an as accurate estimate before the job and by then it's too late.
3. You didn’t do your insurance homework-
It is a requirement of all moving companies to offer basic limited liability protection of your belongings however that coverage may not be enough to cover all of your valuable items. Consider filling out an inventory sheet and purchasing additional insurance that will properly cover all of your belongings.
4. You hand your valuables to your movers-
Irregardless of how much you trust the movers you hired you should never have them handle any of your irreplaceable items. Entrust only those items to yourself and among the items you are moving personally.
5. You forget to start and stop your utilities-
There are countless tales of showing up to your new home and flick on the lights only to discover that you never turned the utilities on. Wait just a moment though don’t make the mistake of forgetting both sides of the coin, be sure to turn off or remove your name from the old address. Double paying utilities can quickly get costly. Contact your utilities companies ( water, gas, phone, internet, cable, and electricity) in advance. Typically you can set exact transfer dates on all your accounts.
6. You decide to move during the height of the moving season-
Sometimes this really can’t be helped due to work, kids, or otherwise however if you do have the freedom to choose, choose the off season (September-May). During this time of year you will have much more flexibility to design your move the way you want. Moving with the crowds during the summer season, movers can be quite busy and may not have the availability for you to chose exactly when you want your big move day to be.
7. You delay starting to pack your home-
One of the worst moving mistakes to make is to delay packing. Secondly, underestimating the amount of time it will take to pack can be just as big of a mistake. Continuing on, thirdly, it can then become costly hiring movers if you aren’t very organized. Items that could be quickly loaded in boxes can take extra trips if loaded instead by hand, now add in extra loads for every room...YIKES! So start packing as soon as you can.
8. You start packing without an organized timeline-
Randomly packing boxes and rooms without a proper plan in place will most likely deliver unsatisfactory results. Take charge of your packing and make a moving preparation plan to keep you organized and motivated. Time Management is key to a successful move.
