How to Prepare for a Move – Use These 7 Long-Distance Moving Tips

These Long Distance Moving Tips Will Make Your Relocation So Much Easier

We all know that relocations can be quite challenging, demanding, and time-consuming. This is why it’s important to apply certain relocating tips and tricks that will make everything more convenient and manageable.

Organizing and preparing for your move, learning these hacks, as well as writing a checklist for relocating to a different state will help you out big time. It will allow you to organize your move better. Carefully read through these pieces of advice and see how you can customize them according to your personal preferences and needs.

#1 Start by Making a Proper Plan for Your Moving Process and Scheduling Every Task

If you want your cross-country moving process to go as smoothly as possible, you should prepare a relocation to-do list. In that list, you can write down all of the tasks you should finish before the move. Anything that is a part of the relocation process should be on the list. It should include everything from packing processes and tasks like boxing up dishes for the move to things like transferring utilities and learning how to save on relocation expenses.

After you write everything down, it’s highly recommended to schedule each task. Once you figure out the date of your move, you’ll know how much time you have to finish off tasks from your list, and scheduling them would certainly be of great help. You’ll keep track of everything much easier and know what tasks you must complete each day.

#2 Preparing a Home Inventory List Makes Packing Your Belongings Significantly Easier

When relocating to a new home, you’ll probably want to carry as many of your belongings as possible. However, boxing up your entire house can get quite messy if you’re not organized well or are not strategic about it.

Preparing an inventory list can make your life during the relocation process so much easier. You’ll have a clear list of all the items you’ll need to transport to your new home. There is one more thing you should consider before you start preparing the inventory list.

Decluttering Will Save You Both Time and Money

Every ultimate relocating guide will tell you that decluttering is a step you mustn’t overlook when relocating. Many people make the relocation mistake of bringing too many of their belongings into their new apartment. That is unnecessary, and once you start decluttering, you’ll see that you don’t even use many of the possessions you store in your house.

Ensure you examine every room in your home, and look through the closets, drawers, cabinets, attic, and basement. Any item that is broken, damaged, easily replaceable, or you are just not using that often doesn’t belong on your inventory list. It’s pointless to pay for the transportation of these possessions if you won’t be needing them.

The same goes for packing clothes for the move. Any piece of clothing that doesn’t fit you anymore or you don’t wear should be donated. There are plenty of organizations, such as GoodWill, that can help you donate your unwanted items to people who can use them. You’ll see that downsizing for a move can help you save both time and money.

#3 Organize Your Packing Process by Using the Right Strategy

If you’re about to move out for the first time, you are most likely not familiar with the boxing-up process. Having to put your entire home into packages is not an easy task. It takes some knowledge and a good strategy to do everything correctly.

Plan out the whole process and apply some useful tricks and organizational skills along the way. The more organized you are, the easier it will be for you to pack items for the move. Here is some advice you can apply if you are not sure where to start:

• Preparations should start at least five to eight weeks before the day of relocating. The earlier you begin working on your relocation, the easier it will be. Plus, there will be fewer chances of forgetting things to do before the move.
• Start by boxing up one room at a time. You should begin boxing up the room that you and your family don’t use that often and start building your way through the rest of the rooms.
• Once you finish your home inventory list, you can start gathering packaging supplies and materials. It’s important to know how many of them you’ll need.
• Learn how to protect each one of your belongings for transportation. It’s going to take some patience to learn these skills, but they are necessary.

Organize Your Belongings While You Pack Them Into Boxes

When boxing up your household belongings, you should keep your mind on two things. How to protect your belongings for a safe trip, and how you will be unboxing them after the move. The more organized you are when boxing up, the easier it will be to unbox everything when you arrive at your new home and start settling down.

Consider your box up by areas. If you have one working desk, consider putting everything from it into one box. When packing shoes, consider dividing which ones are in the season and which you are going to wear. The clothes you won’t be wearing can stay in the box or even be put into storage.

#4 Prepare Your Budget and Write Down Your Expenses in Advance

Let’s face it, one of the most frustrating problems is usually money-related. However, you can save yourself from that unnecessary stress if you prepare your relocation budget and go through your expenses in advance.

Figure out how much money you are going to need, where you should invest it, what are the biggest expenses you will have to cover, and so on. Putting everything on paper is one of the best tips for a long-distance move since it’s going to make tracking your money much easier.

Learn How to Budget and Save Money While Moving

Learning how to budget could be a lifesaver during relocations since they can often get pricey with tons of unexpected expenses. If you are on your own or relocating without a job, you will need to figure out how to balance your finances. The best budgeting tip is to try and “do it yourself” as much as you can.

If you don’t have the funds needed to hire a moving company for help, ask your friends and family to assist you. Instead of purchasing materials and supplies for boxing up, you can get them for free. Consider asking certain retail shops to just give them to you and find some old second-hand cardboard boxes.

In case you have no experience in budgeting, you can always search for some educational YouTube videos, like this one.

#5 Prepare Your Documents and Check if They Need Updating

When you’re changing your address, you must also update information in all of your documents. Most people forget about this, and it can cause some difficulties. That’s why you should figure this one out in advance.

We advise you to organize your important documents at home, figure out which ones require updating, and get onto them. Plan everything and research how you can update them before the moving dates come. This task must not be overlooked, as you’ll need your documents for plenty of tasks during your relocation.

Don’t Forget About Transferring Utilities.

Besides documents, utilities are also one of the things you must not forget about. Once you decide where exactly you are going to be moving to, start switching utilities such as electricity, water, gas, and the internet. This is an essential step during the relocation process, and you shouldn’t forget about it.

#6 Hiring Long Distance Moving Company Will Make the Whole Relocation Less Stressful

If your budget allows you to, definitely consider booking long-distance moving services. These professionals will provide you with a stress-free move and will take care of almost everything from your to-do list. When you book packing services, they will take care of every single one of your belongings.

They will use high-quality materials to protect each thing, and this is especially important when you have to pack fragile items or maybe some highly valuable possessions. They will also provide you with all of the packing supplies, so you don’t have to purchase them on your own.

Research to See How Reliable the Company Is Before Hiring It

Even though having assistance when relocating sounds like a dream come true, it won’t be if you run into some relocating scammers. Even though a minority of the relocation companies are scammers, you should be super careful. Here are some hacks you should be keeping in mind when checking if the cross-country moving company is legitimate.

Check their reviews, but not only on their website. Research them online, search for articles on them, and if there are any bad reviews on certain blogs and forums. When choosing a relocation company, look for their licenses, and check their USDOT number.

Their estimates can also show you if something is fishy. If they are too high or too low, something is probably off. A huge red flag is if they ask you to pay them in advance and by using cash. Ensure to do your proper research before you agree with them.

You Should Schedule an On-Site Estimation of Your Household Items

No matter how good some firms seem, you should always consider a few options. This way, you’ll be able to compare a few moving estimates.

Still, you should be booking an on-site appointment to showcase to the employees your household and present your home inventory list. This way, they can provide you with the most accurate assessment. It will be easier to budget everything once you get a few estimates and figure out which one fits your budget the best.

#7 Label Each Box Properly So Nothing Gets Mixed Up During the Move

One of the best packing tips for handling your crates, be sure not to forget about labeling each box properly and writing down crucial information on them. This will help you a lot with unpacking after the move, as you will easily know what you’ve put in each container.

This will also be helpful if you are being assisted by cross-country movers. They will know how to handle each box and load it onto their moving truck properly. An important tip is to use waterproof markers for this so the labels don’t come off. You can also color-coordinate each container or use a numbering system, where each number corresponds to your inventory list.

These Tips Can Make Your Whole Relocation Process a Piece of Cake

In case you’re planning a relocation soon, definitely write down all of the hacks we shared with you today. Relocating to a new house is not easy, and it takes time, patience, and a good strategy. This is why you will need all of the advice from today to make your relocation process a breeze. Get all the assistance you can by searching for some “long-distance movers near me.”

Long Distance Movers stands out as the ideal choice for this task. Our experienced professionals are skilled in handling your possessions with the care and precision they require. By reaching out to us, you’re ensuring a seamless, stress-free moving experience. So, let us help you move forward with confidence and ease.