4 Home-Moving Tips from the Pros

Although moving to a new home is incredibly exciting, making sure you’re packed and ready to go before moving day can cause a lot of anxiety and stress.

Whether you’re moving cross-country or to another state, packing your belongings and getting them to your new home can be exhausting. 

Of course, you should hire a professional moving company to do the heavy lifting and ensure everything is transported quickly and safely. However, you still need to prepare for the big move to make it as efficient and cost-effective as possible.

Read on for four valuable tips professional movers want you to know.

1. Understand What Can be Moved

Because most moving companies will not transport certain items for safety reasons, it’s important to know what can and cannot be moved.

Generally, professional movers will not transport paints, chemicals, or liquids. Other objects they may not move for liability reasons may include important documents, cash, pets, photographs, medicine, and food. So, if you plan to transport any of these items to your new home, you may have to move them yourself.

2. Create a Packing Strategy

Before moving day arrives, determine who will be responsible for moving what – like which items you’ll be transported by the movers and which objects you’ll be moving yourself.

When packing, make sure you use bubble wrap, newspaper, or other soft packing materials to protect your fragile items. This is crucial because if something is damaged during transit, the professional movers may not be liable for it if you package it poorly.

Make sure you have enough boxes for all your belongings and label each box clearly. For instance, you can pack and label boxes by room or category. You’ll also want to include your name, the room destination, and the boxes’ contents to help you and the movers keep track of what’s going where when they arrive at their destination.

Sorting the packed boxes by weight will help the movers load them, but make sure you keep them away from doorways and other high-traffic areas so everyone can move freely.

3. Get Insurance

Whether or not you use the moving company’s insurance option is up to you – but you should make sure your belongings are protected financially. Generally, moving companies have several insurance coverage options to protect your items – the most popular choices are comprehensive coverage and paying insurance per pound.

Although the by-the-pound option is more cost-effective, it may not provide sufficient coverage. For example, if your antique wardrobe gets damaged in transit and needs repairs, by-the-pound coverage will usually only pay a portion of the cost, depending on how much it weighs. Comprehensive cover is the more expensive option, but it covers all losses and damage.

4. Refreshments and Tipping Etiquette

Because professional movers usually have tight schedules in the summer months, they often can’t take a quick refreshment break. Providing a few portable snacks and drinks will be highly appreciated by your movers. Getting a few energy bars and bottles of sports drinks – especially in hot weather – will provide some much-needed energy and hydration. 

Remember that professional movers may still have a long distance ahead of them to get your belongings to their destination – so giving them a small tip to show you appreciate the hard work will definitely be appreciated! The general rule of thumb is to tip each worker at least $20 for a full day’s work.