A recent study conducted by StorageCafe delved into the nation’s leading states in attracting new residents through domestic migration. The top 10 is prominently marked by several southern states, with Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, Arizona, and Georgia securing the highest ranks, boasting substantial net volumes of incoming migration.

This prompts a closer examination of the origins of these new residents and the factors driving the popularity of specific state-to-state movement across the United States.

Below, you can explore the country’s 10 busiest state-to-state moving routes, based on the latest available data from the U.S. Census, as well as some of the potential factors that are influencing people to pack their belongings and move long-distance.

1. California to Texas — 100K movers

About 100K Californians decided to relocate to Texas in 2022 alone, with the route being the busiest at a national level for a few years now. And it’s no wonder that Californians choose Texas. The Lone Star State not only boasts homes that are, on average, 62% less expensive, but it is also a no-income-tax state. The average age of those leaving California for Texas is 32, and about 29% of these transplants hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. An impressive 56% of them become homeowners during their first year in Texas, confirming the supposition that affordable housing is what drives them in the first place.

2. New York to Florida — 90K movers

The second-busiest moving route nationally is New York to Florida, with 90K former New Yorkers leaving their home state behind for the sunny shores of Florida in a single year. The average age of those taking the route is around 40, significantly older compared to the CA to TX migration, meaning that retirees make up a good portion of movers. About half are buying a home within their first year in Florida — and enjoy home prices 13% lower than those in their state of origin. Relocating to Florida is also made easier by the state’s strong self-storage sector — the average price for renting a self storage unit in Florida hovers around $121 per month.

3. New York to New Jersey — 75K movers

A little over 75K people relocated from New York to New Jersey in 2022, making it the country’s third-most-popular moving route. The profile of those trading New York for New Jersey is very different compared to New Yorkers picking Florida as their new home. They are significantly younger, with an average age of 33, and 43% belong to the millennial generation. A whopping 49% of them also have a bachelor’s degree, and their personal income averages north of $80K, which paints the picture of young professionals moving to NJ to offset the high living costs in New York City.

Guide to Moving to Another State: Checklist and Tips

4. California to Arizona — 75K movers

Just under 75K Californians moved to Arizona in 2022, another state with a booming economy and decent housing costs (at least by California standards). Those who took this moving route have an average age of 36, and about 47% of them became homeowners during their first year in
Arizona. With homes in Arizona being 44% less expensive than in their state of origin, we can definitely say they made a good deal.

5. California to Washington state — 52K movers

Washington state is third in preference order for Californians on the move. About 52K of them headed for the Evergreen state in 2022. Their average age hovers around 34, and 40% of the movers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, which suggests that their main motivation for the move might be to further their careers. Fortunately, they also benefit from a 21% less expensive real estate market.

10 Signs It’s Time to Move to Another State

6. New York to Connecticut — 51K movers

The country’s sixth-busiest moving route leads from New York to Connecticut, a state that’s teeming with job openings due to its sizeable population of retirees. The people relocating from NY to CT have an average age of 33, and 38% have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Almost two-thirds of them became homeowners during their first year in Connecticut, banking on a real estate market that’s 13% less expensive compared to their state of origin.

7. Florida to Georgia — 50K movers

Although Florida is well equipped at attracting and retaining newcomers, with a population gain of 238K residents from migration alone in 2022, there are still people who are leaving the Sunshine State. And apparently, a good portion of them are heading toward Georgia, a state that offers economic opportunities, the same warm and sunny weather they’re used to, and homes that are 16% less expensive.

8. California to Florida — 49K movers

The California-to-Florida route was populated by 49K people on the move in 2022, making it the eighth busiest nationally. Their average age hovers around 38, and a significant 17% of all the movers are working from home. Seeing as homes are 51% less expensive in Florida, they’re probably working from a bigger home than back in California. Also, 56% of them became homeowners during their first year here.

Moving to Another State to Start Over: 7 Tips to Reboot Your Life

9. New Jersey to Florida — 46.9K movers

This route is the only one among the 10 busiest nationwide where baby boomers are the prevalent generation on the move. About 26% of the approximately 47K movers are, thus, close to retirement or retired already. And they seem to be pretty definitive about moving to Florida, as 45% of them purchased a home during their first year in the state.

10. California to Nevada — 46.6K movers

California to Nevada rounds out the top 10 of the country’s most popular moving routes. Those who made the CA to NV tradeoff have an average age of 43, once again signaling that a sizeable portion of them are on the brink of retirement. About 47% bought a home as soon as they moved to Nevada, motivated by a housing market almost 40% less expensive than in their state of origin.

These routes paint a vivid picture of shifting preferences, economic opportunities, and the ever-changing fabric of American life. Examining these trends provides a snapshot of the ongoing changes that mold the demographic landscape of our nation.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Movers?

The post Top 10 Most Popular Moving Routes in the Country – California Is the Originating State of Five of Them appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Transporting a piano requires careful planning and precise handling. Despite their large size and weight, pianos are delicate instruments that require protection both inside and out. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to move a piano, based on the expertise of professionals with 25+ years of experience at CallMyMover.com.

CallMyMover is a trusted moving service based in Long Island, NY that offers a wide range of services to meet diverse relocation needs.

1. Assess Your Piano

Assessing a piano thoroughly is crucial when planning a successful relocation, whether you’re moving it within your home or to a new location. Knowing your piano’s specifications and enlisting the help of professionals can make the process safer and more efficient.

First, identify the type and model of your piano, as this information can help determine its size and weight. Take measurements of the piano’s length, width, and height to ensure it can fit through doorways, stairwells, and hallways during the move.

It’s also crucial to determine the piano’s weight so that you can assess the necessary equipment and manpower needed for safe transportation. Inspect the piano for any visible damage or wear and tear, and note down any pre-existing issues. If possible, consult a technician or tuner to assess the internal components for any potential issues that may need attention before the move.

It’s also important to consider the climate conditions in your area, as extreme temperature and humidity fluctuations can affect the piano’s tuning and structural integrity. Gather information about the piano’s history, including maintenance records, past relocations, and any significant repairs or refurbishments. This information can help assess the overall condition and potential vulnerabilities of the instrument.

Lastly, it’s essential to engage with a team of piano-moving professionals who have experience with relocating pianos. They can provide expert advice and assess the piano’s specific needs for safe transportation.

Additionally, check your insurance coverage to ensure your piano is adequately insured during the relocation. Discuss this with your piano-moving professionals to understand their liability coverage and determine whether additional insurance is needed.

2. Gather the Appropriate Tools

• A piano dolly is a four-wheeled cart designed to carry heavy objects, such as pianos. It comes in different sizes to accommodate both grand and upright pianos and has a padded surface to protect the piano’s finish.
• Moving straps are essential for lifting and maneuvering the piano, distributing the weight evenly, and reducing the risk of injury to movers and damage to the piano.
• Moving blankets provide a protective layer to wrap around the piano, preventing scratches and dings during transportation.
• If you’re moving a grand piano, a piano skid board is a wooden platform with built-in wheels designed specifically for this purpose, allowing for easy mobility and support while keeping the piano stable during the move.
• Stair climbing equipment, such as motorized stair climbers or stair roller carts, may be necessary to move the piano up or down stairs safely.
• Piano covers and furniture sliders can also be helpful for protecting the piano and making it easier to move within a room.
• A basic toolkit with screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches may be needed to disassemble and reassemble certain piano parts, such as the legs or pedals, for easier transportation.
• Safety should always be a priority, and you should wear gloves, safety goggles, and back support belts to prevent injuries.
• Ramps and threshold ramps can assist in smoothly transitioning the piano over curbs, steps, or uneven surfaces, reducing the risk of damage.
• Straps, ropes, and tie-downs should be used to secure the piano on the dolly or in the moving truck to prevent shifting during transit.
• It’s essential to have a suitable moving truck or vehicle with a ramp or lift-gate to safely load and unload the piano, ensuring it’s secured in place during transit.
• If you’re moving a grand piano and expect a significant change in climate or environmental conditions, consider having piano tuning tools on hand to address any tuning adjustments that may be needed after the move.

Professional piano movers, like CallMyMover.com have the necessary equipment and training to ensure the piano’s safe and damage-free relocation.

3. Plan the Route

To safely move your piano, plan the best route to get it out of your home and into the moving vehicle. Ensure that the path is obstacle-free and determine where the piano will be placed in its new location. If you are moving long distances, choose a high-quality route, free of potholes and maintenance issues.

A piano is not just heavy, but it’s also top-heavy making it possible to tip over if not secured properly. Get at least 4 people to help in carrying the piano onto the moving vehicle to maintain stability and balance.

• Lift the piano onto the loading vehicle, never push or pull.
• Move the piano slowly and carefully, avoiding any sudden movements.
• Ensure that the piano is first loaded into the moving truck. This will keep it stable during the move.

Pro tip: Always push a piano forward, never pull it backward. Doing otherwise can destabilize and inflict damage on the instrument.

4. Securing the Piano in the Truck

The piano should be secured firmly in the moving vehicle to prevent it from moving around during the trip. Make sure to use sturdy ropes or straps to fasten it securely. Professionals are trained and equipped to ensure the safe and secure transportation of your piano.

5. Unloading and Unpacking

After successfully navigating to the new location, follow the earlier steps in reverse to unload and position the piano in its new position. Slightly lift the piano off the dolly and move it to its designated location in your new place. Let the team of experts help ease the process.

If you’ve found this guide helpful, make sure to check out our other posts on our blog.

The post How to Move a Piano: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Without a doubt, the biggest change you’ll notice immediately after the move is the more limited space inside the new place. And this alone may be a bitter pill to swallow for you, especially when you’ve lived in a big house with a spacious garden outside until that moment.

Also, you will need time – sometimes much more time that you are willing to spare – to adapt properly to the new lifestyle changes that apartment living offers. Hopefully, you will be a highly-adaptable person and you won’t be bothered too much during the post-move adaptation period.

Pay attention to these 7 practical tips for moving from a house to an apartment to make the house-apartment transition much smoother and less stressful for you and your family, including any pets you’re taking with you.

1. Downsize and declutter

The most important thing you need to understand when you’re moving to an apartment from a house is that space management in the new place should be treated as a serious business simply because it is just that.

In the majority of cases, the living space AND the storage space in the new apartment will be (much) more limited, so you have to be very careful about how much stuff you bring into the new home.

So, what’s the very first step when moving into an apartment from a house? Reduce drastically the number of belongings you intend to move, of course.

• Inventory all the things you currently own in the house.
• Go through the inventory sheet and mark all the items that are not really worth packing and moving for one reason or another. Be ruthless about it.
• Prepare for packing and moving only the things you do like and you do plan to use in the foreseeable future.
• Make an effort to get rid of all the useless stuff you won’t take with you – sell, donate, give away, or discard the things you have decided to leave behind.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

2. Plan your apartment space (floor plan)

Again, the major challenge when moving from a spacious house into an apartment will be the restricted living space in the destination place.

And yes, decluttering your things prior to the move will boost effective space management but you’re also strongly advised to create a detailed floor plan of the new apartment – something that will aid you tremendously in making the right decisions throughout the relocation.

How will a floor plan of the new apartment help you out in your mission to make the house-apartment transition as painless as possible?

A detailed floor plan will help you

• use more effectively the limited space in the apartment because you’ll know in advance the sizes of any furniture pieces and the dimensions of the rooms.
• make up your mind about which furniture pieces to move to the apartment. In some cases, it’s much better to NOT take any large and heavy furniture pieces with you.
• avoid unpleasant situations where bulky furniture items just won’t fit through the small doors or narrow corridors of the destination apartment.
• know way in advance where the bigger items will be placed in the new home through the apartment layout you’ve prepared.

SEVEN (7) Tips for Moving into a Studio Apartment

3. Understand the apartment lease

The importance of reading and understanding the terms and conditions of your apartment lease cannot be stressed enough.

Keep in mind that there are several key points you should look for and understand fully before you sign the apartment lease.

• 

  Make sure you read and understand the terms and conditions of your apartment lease before signing it.

  Lease Term. This is the duration of the lease – usually, it is one year but it can be more or less in your case.

• Rent. How much is the rent? When is it due each month? And what would happen if the payment were late?
• Security Deposit. Most landlords require a security deposit to cover any potential damage to the apartment. Make sure you understand the amount of the security deposit and what might cause you to not get it back when you decide to move out of the apartment.
• Maintenance and Repairs. The lease should specify who is responsible for repairs and maintenance.
• Policies. Find out your landlord’s rules for noise, pets, guests, smoking, and so on. Make sure you are OK with these rules before signing the apartment lease.
• Utilities. You just have to know which utilities you’ll be responsible for – in some cases the utilities are included in the rent.
• Dispute Resolution. The apartment lease must outline the process for resolving any possible disputes between you and the landlord or property manager.

4. Create a moving budget

Proper budgeting for the move will help enable you to avoid spending more money than you absolutely must and to cut packing and moving costs whenever possible.

When you’re following a detailed MOVING CHECKLIST, like you should, you will know that the all-important task of creating a moving budget has to be completed at the very beginning of your pre-move preparations.

But what to budget for when moving from a house to an apartment?

• Moving company fees. Regardless of whether you’re moving locally or across the country, hiring professional movers comes with a price tag. Request moving cost estimates from the best movers in your area to know how much your mover will charge you.
• Extra moving services. Each extra service you request from your moving company – packing, unpacking, furniture disassembly and/or reassembly, temporary storage, and so on – will cost you more money.
• Additional insurance. If you’re moving high-value items, then you must purchase proper moving insurance (Full Value Protection), either through your mover or from a third-party insurance company.

Additionally, you should be well aware of the costs associated with apartment living. Create a separate budget for the immediate post-move expenses you are expected to cover when moving into an apartment:

• monthly rent,
• security deposit,
• utilities,
• renter’s insurance,
• urgent household items for the apartment,
• stocking up on groceries, and so on.

What to Budget for When Moving Out

5. Pack up your things by yourself

When moving from a house to an apartment, one of your top priorities should be to keep your moving expenses to their absolute minimum. Thus said, one excellent way to save money on your local or long-distance move is to pack up your things by yourself to the best of your abilities.

Professional packing is the most expensive add-on service you can request from a moving company so whenever possible, you should try to protect and box up your belongings to cut packing and moving expenses.

Hopefully, you will have inventoried and pared down your things by now, so the only thing left for you is to follow a good PACKING TIMELINE – a detailed to-do checklist that’s been prepared especially for the tough task of packing for a move.

• Start packing up your things as soon as you possibly can – by far, it is the most time-consuming task on your moving checklist.
• Prepare the necessary packing materials in advance so that you don’t lose precious time during the packing process.
• Consider getting free moving boxes to further lower your packing expenses.
• Initiate the packing job from the storage areas in your house – basement, attic, garage, closets, and spare rooms – as those are the premises that are the hardest to sort and pack for a move.

6. Hire professional apartment movers

Moving into an apartment from a house presents a few extra challenges, especially if you happen to be moving into a high-rise apartment in another part of the country.

Trust experienced apartment movers with your house-to-apartment move.

The first obstacle is the STAIRS. Having to carry heavy furniture pieces and boxes up the stairs is a job that’s better left to experienced apartment movers. As an extra challenge, the elevator in the building may not be out of order at that moment or you may be moving into an apartment building with no elevator at all.

The second possible hurdle may be the ELEVATOR. While it does sound convenient to be able to use an operating building when moving into an apartment, the building elevator will first have to be reserved and then properly padded with furniture blankets for extra protection.

Experienced apartment movers will make your move so much easier by taking care of the most stressful tasks for you, including the dreaded task of packing if you don’t have enough time or you just don’t feel confident enough to complete it on your own.

But above all, they will handle the heavy lifting on the day of the move so that you and your family can breathe a sigh of relief that you’ll stay 100% safe from any possible injuries. As a bonus, you won’t need to ask your friends for a big favor either.

Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get in touch with the best apartment movers in your area.

7. Change the address and transfer the utilities

Your personal moving checklist will guide you well while you’re getting ready to move into an apartment from a house. Nevertheless, keep in mind that two of the most important pre-move tasks you will have to tackle prior to the move are to change your address and transfer the house utilities.

Change the address

Technically speaking, you could initiate the change of address (COA) procedure after you move into the apartment. However, it’s better to do it before you move out of the house to ensure that you continue to receive your important pieces of mail without any problematic interruptions.

Luckily, it’s easy to change your address before you move out of the house – you’ve got 4 options to do it as soon as you find some free time in your moving calendar:

• Change your address in person by visiting the nearest post office;
• Change your address online by visiting the official USPS website;
• Change the postal address by phone; and
• Change the address by mail (of course!).

How to Do a Change of Address When Moving

Change the utilities

The second super important task that you should remember to take care of is to change your house utilities. Soon enough, you won’t live in the house anymore, so you wouldn’t want to continue to pay for services you won’t use, would you?

If you’re moving into the new apartment as an owner, then you must change the utilities to your name. On the other hand, if you’re moving into an apartment as a renter, then it’s likely that you won’t have to do anything except work out the details in the apartment lease with your landlord or property manager.

Either way, you will definitely need to disconnect the current house utilities before you move out of the house. Follow the link below to learn the best way to do it.

How to Change Utilities When Moving House

Bonus advice: Focus on the positive aspects of apartment living

For better or worse, you’re moving from a house to an apartment and there’s no going back now. Fortunately, apartment living after a house offers a number of benefits, so it’s time for you to focus on all the positive aspects of apartment living.

The major benefits of apartment living are:

• Less Maintenance. One of the significant advantages of apartment living is the reduced maintenance required. Generally, the property management handles repairs and sometimes even certain utilities.
• Security. Many apartment buildings offer enhanced security features, including gated access, security systems, and surveillance cameras.
• Amenities. Apartment complexes often provide various amenities such as a gym, swimming pool, community centers, playgrounds, and laundry facilities.
• Location. Apartments are often located in more central, urban areas, which means easier access to public transportation, businesses, restaurants, and cultural activities. This convenience can save time and commuting costs.
• Flexibility. With shorter lease terms, apartment living allows for greater flexibility. If you have to move for a job or personal reasons, you can do so with relative ease and without the hassle of selling a house.
• Simplicity. An apartment often has less space than a house, which can simplify living. There’s less to clean, less to maintain, and less to clutter up with unnecessary possessions.

Moving Into an Apartment for the First Time: Checklist and Tips

The post 7 Tips for Moving From a House to an Apartment appeared first on The Moving Blog.

The thing is that if you end up making the hasty decision to move to another state without weighing carefully the advantages and disadvantages of doing so, then not only are you likely to regret the decision after the move, but you’ll have lost too much time and money in the process too – time and money that you cannot possibly get back.

Therefore, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of moving to a new state before you pull the trigger and complete the relocation.

A comparative analysis may show that it’s not the right time for you to consider an interstate move. Or it may reinforce your belief that the planned out-of-state relocation has an impending now-or-never tag attached to it.

Pros of moving out of state

Under specific circumstances, moving to another state can bring about tons of positives for you and your family. Here are some of the most common advantages of moving across the country:

New experiences

Moving to a different state will definitely mean new experiences for you. In reality, (almost) everything will be new for you after the move, and the idea of being somewhere where you haven’t been before is exciting enough. It’s quite possible that even the climate in the destination is quite different from the one you’re used to, and that may prove to be a great thing in the end.

If you’ve become sick and tired of the monotonous daily routine in your current place, then a cross-country move will surely bring a dose of excitement back into your life simply because you’ll get to experience new things in a completely different way.

Sometimes the change of scenery can do you a world of good, and you should welcome and embrace the changes that come as a result of the relocation. An interstate move gives you the fresh start you’ve needed for years but never had the chance or the courage to make it happen.

The diverse landscapes of the new state can wake up that dormant sense of adventure in you, especially if you’ve just moved to a place that offers a variety of exciting outdoor activities. In short, an interstate move can break the chains of the mundane existence you’ve had until that moment.

Keep in mind that all the new experiences you’ll get as a result of the out-of-state move should invariably lead to personal growth – a stronger, more mature version of you with a more open mind.

10 Signs It’s Time to Move to Another State

Career opportunities

Moving to another state can also result in excellent career opportunities for you – often the case when the destination state has a booming economy and many highly-paid jobs in your area of expertise. In fact, the major reason you want to move to a new state can be to get a better job.

Moving out of state for a job can easily prove to be a brilliant decision.

Another state can offer increased job prospects in different industries – something that was not available to you until that moment. The possibility of a higher salary or a promotion also influences your decision to start packing up your things and relocate to a place where your professional skills will be better appreciated.

Moving to a different state can advance your career in a way that is virtually impossible in the area you live right now. The destination job market can be much more favorable for you, and you can get better access to new professional networks after the move is complete.

All in all, you don’t have to be an ambitious careerist to decide to move to a state with increased job prospects. A good job that pays well will simply offer you a better standard of living for you and your family.

Moving Out of State Checklist

Education opportunities

A move to another state can also give you access to high-quality education.

Regardless of whether you yourself wish to continue your education or you want to give your children the opportunity to study at esteemed schools and prestigious universities in that destination state, proper education is arguably the greatest investment a person can make in life.

And because of that, you should never have any regrets after the move when it comes to the main reason to relocate in the first place.

Lifestyle changes

Your interstate move will also bring about many lifestyle changes for you – changes for the better, that is.

In most cases, the level of your financial security will be determined by how well your new job pays. As a rule of thumb, the higher your salary is in the destination place, the more things you will be able to afford, which will automatically increase your overall quality of life.

As a bonus, if you just moved to a state with a lower cost of living compared to the previous one, then you’re likely to enjoy an improved quality of life as long as your disposable budget has increased or has remained relatively unchanged.

One of the biggest advantages of moving to a new state is the more suitable weather conditions that can be found there. In fact, the whole interstate move may have been triggered by your desire to find a place that will offer a more favorable climate for you and your family.

If you’ve become intolerable of the sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall in the northern states (and all the issues that come with long and cold winters), then it’s only natural that you’d want to move to a state with a warmer climate. Of course, the same is true when you just can’t seem to stand the constant heat in your current area and wish to relocate to a colder place just to cool yourself down.

Pros and Cons of Moving to a Cold State

Pros and Cons of Moving to a Warmer State

Relocating to a state that offers scores of outdoor activities (Colorado, for example) will enable you to lead a healthier lifestyle. Regardless of what you enjoy doing in your spare time – hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, surfing, or sailing, the destination state can prove to be an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.

And that may be exactly what you’re after and one of the main reasons to want to put an end to your current sedentary lifestyle by seeking a much more active way of living in a different part of the country.

Moving to Another State to Start Over

Cons of moving out of state

Unfortunately, moving to another state has its share of disadvantages as well – possible drawbacks that you must be aware of before you decide to complete the interstate relocation.

Generally, the cons of moving out of state can be divided into 3 main categories: 1) emotional challenges, 2) economic concerns, and 3) logistical concerns.

Emotional challenges

While it can be an exciting adventure on its own, an interstate move can also result in a number of emotional challenges for you as soon as Moving day is over.

Moving to another state could bring about a post-move phenomenon known as relocation depression.

First of all, moving away from family and friends is likely to cause an overwhelming bout of homesickness. You may start to feel profound sadness due to the fact that you had to leave behind your best pals and even some of your family members.

That unwelcoming wave of homesickness is part of a post-move phenomenon known as relocation depression. You’ll be missing the people you love back in the previous state, and you’ll also miss your life there and how things made sense. And now, at least a few states away, you may find yourself struggling to regain your normal inner rhythm.

It’s true – moving out of state could cause separation anxiety, and this is why you have to be on the lookout for the following relocation depression symptoms: excessive sleep, uncharacteristic tiredness, unwillingness to leave the new place, lack of desire to socialize, and tangible apathy.

How to Overcome Relocation Depression After a Move

And secondly, another emotional challenge you may have to overcome after the move to another state is stress from the move itself and the adjustment to the new environment. It’s important to note that the adjustment period will start as soon as you step over the threshold of the new place and can continue anywhere from a few weeks to even months.

Adjusting to a new environment after moving can be especially tough when you’ve moved to the new state alone and when you don’t know anyone in the destination city or town. Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to speed up the post-relocation period of adaptation such as exploring the new area, using your job as a temporary shield, meeting new people, and of course – keeping in touch with your old pals.

Economic concerns

Without a doubt, a cross-country move will also cause several economic concerns that you will have to deal it in due time.

The very first financial concern you’re likely to be worried about is the cost of the out-of-state move. It’s important to keep in mind that the national average cost of an interstate move is about $4,000, with a price range from $2,200 to $5,700, or more depending on the specific relocation parameters.

The truth is that you may not be ready for the high moving costs. Since moving across the country is a type of relocation that’s best handled by a reputable and experienced interstate moving company, your main goal should be to find a low-cost cross-country mover to keep your moving expenses to a minimum.

How to Find Cheap Movers in 10 Simple Steps

Another financial concern you may have when moving out of state is the potential increase in the cost of living due to the relocation. This is especially relevant when you’re moving to a more expensive city located in a generally more expensive state. And this is exactly why you just have to do your homework before the relocation so that you don’t get any unpleasant surprises from a financial point of view.

Another potential disadvantage of moving to a new state is the complicated scenario when you arrive in the new place without having secured a job first. That can be rather risky, especially when you haven’t researched the job market well in advance. In addition to covering the high moving costs, you’re going to have serious financial obligations right after the move – rent, new home mortgage, deposits, furnishing, repairs, stocking up groceries, and much more.

20 Simple and Easy Ways to Reduce Moving Costs

Logistical concerns

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that moving to another state can be a serious logistical challenge.

Initially, you will need to invest a great amount of time and effort in planning and executing the move. In most cases, there will be too many things to think about and too many tasks to complete before you can consider yourself ready to move out. And this is exactly why you’re going to need a good time management tool to keep things organized from Day 1.

Do yourself a favor and follow a detailed MOVING CHECKLIST to increase the overall efficiency of your pre-move preparations.

There will be scores of important tasks to take care of after the move is over.

But a move to a different state can also bring a series of challenges that will await you as soon as you reach your final destination:

• Finding healthcare providers.
• Finding a good school.
• Transferring home utilities.
• Changing your postal address.
• Registering your car.
• Unpacking.

Guide to Moving to Another State: Checklist and Tips

The post Pros and Cons of Moving Out of State: Is It Worth It? appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In fact, there are several reasons why moving to a new place may trigger an allergy of some sort. The pollen count in the air can be much higher than in the area you had to leave.

Or maybe the house you just moved into has mold problems and you happen to be allergic to those mold spores without even realizing it.

The major problem is that a newly-developed allergy after moving will definitely decrease the quality of your post-relocation life. In some more serious cases, an allergy may even prove to be life-threatening.

Therefore, you should never underestimate allergies after moving house. Instead, you should take them seriously and handle them in the best possible way before things start to go haywire.

Read on to learn what to do about allergies after moving.

What’s an allergy?

An allergy occurs when your immune system overreacts to certain allergens such as pollen, dust mites, mold, pet dander, or some types of foods.

An allergy is a safety mechanism that is supposed to keep you safe from harmful substances. The problem, however, is that those foreign invaders are not dangerous – your immune system only “thinks” that they are.

As a result, your body begins to produce antibodies to fight those allergens each time you come into contact with them. And all this, as you may have guessed, leads to inflammation (anywhere from slight to severe) in your lungs and nasal passages.

Allergic reactions can range from mild to severe and they all have something in common – they decrease the overall quality of life of all allergy sufferers.

What are the most common allergy symptoms?

So, if you notice any of these common allergy symptoms, then you may have developed an allergy after the house move is complete and you find yourself in the destination area.

The most frequent allergy symptoms are:

• coughing,
• sneezing,
• stuffed nose,
• runny nose,
• irritated (itchy) eyes,
• watery eyes,
• sore throat,
• sinus infections,
• headaches,
• breathing problems, and
• skin rashes.

If you get to experience any of these allergy symptoms for a prolonged period of time after the move, then you may have developed a post-relocation allergy to a specific allergen and the only way to know for sure is to consult with an allergist and get tested for allergies.

5 Uncommon Things to Do After Moving Into a New House

Which are the most common allergens?

One thing you do know – you know that you’re not feeling well after the move. What you probably don’t know is what exactly makes you sick.

In such situations, it’s helpful to be more informed about the most frequent types of allergens that can trigger an overreaction by the immune system.

Here are the most common allergens you can come across in the destination area:

Seasonal pollen

Seasonal pollen is one of the most common allergens found in nature.

The most common allergen of them all is seasonal pollen.

Pollen-producing plants are practically everywhere (much more common in rural places, of course) and it’s hard to stay perfectly protected from all the billions and billions of pollen grains that start to dance in the air during pollen season – spring and summer.

Tree pollen and grass pollen tend to have their peaks in the spring, so your allergy symptoms may be more severe from March through May. However, weed pollen, and especially ragweed pollen, is active later – anywhere from mid-July to early September since ragweed blooms in August.

The thing is that it’s almost impossible to escape seasonal pollen – you won’t be safe even if you have just moved to a big city. Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, pollen is super light and winds can carry the tiny grains over great distances, especially when it comes to ragweed pollen.

Dust mites

Another common allergen is dust mites – microorganisms that live in the house dust. They are impossible to see with the naked eye and they feed on skin cells that we humans shed while living inside our homes.

You won’t be able to tell that you’re allergic to dust mites after moving into a new home unless an allergy test determines it. This is because the allergic symptoms are identical to the ones caused by hay fever – most often, sneezing, a runny nose, and sometimes even breathing problems.

Mold

Another strong allergen that may be responsible for your state of misery after moving to a new house is mold.

Similar to dust mites, mold spores are microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Depending on the type of mold that’s problematic and its concentration, you may be having mold allergy symptoms either during certain periods of the year or all the time.

If you happen to be allergic to mold spores, your immune system will recognize the particles as harmful (which they can be) and will start producing antibodies to fight them. As a result, you’ll continue to cough, sneeze, rub your red eyes, and blow your nose on a regular basis.

The good news here is that you may be able to find the cause of those mold spores in the new home and fix the problem, or have it fixed by professionals. Look for moldy areas in the bathroom and kitchen (under the sink and behind the fridge) simply because mold thrives in dark and damp places.

Pets

Although it’s unlikely to find out that you have an allergy to a pet after moving to a new place, it’s still theoretically possible to happen, especially if you decide to get a pet for the new home.

Pet allergies are due to allergic reactions to some types of proteins found in the skin cells, saliva, or urine of pet animals. Most often, pet allergies are associated with dogs, cats, and birds, but other pet animals can also be the source of the above-mentioned allergens.

An allergic reaction toward a pet animal is also referred to as pet dander. Dander is the dead skin flakes that pets shed and that often prove to be the allergen that’s responsible for the incorrect response of the immune system.

10 Essential Things to Do After Moving

Top 3 things you can do about allergies after moving

Even if it turns out that your allergy symptoms are relatively mild, you don’t have to put up with being miserable all the time in the place you just moved to. Luckily, there are a few actions you can take in order to find a good permanent solution to your allergic symptoms before you even think about having to move again.

Here’s what you should do if you show worrisome signs of developing allergies after moving to a new house, often located in a new state.

1. Have your allergy tested

Have an allergy skin test to identify the allergen that triggers your allergy.

You don’t have to put up with feeling miserable after the move. If any of the allergy symptoms above persists, your best course of action is to see a specialist (an allergist) in order to figure out what you’re allergic to.

There are allergens in the new place that trigger an allergic reaction in your body and you just have to know the culprit for your misery so that you can do something about it.

Make an appointment with an allergist and have an allergy test – the only way to know for sure which allergen you’re allergic to – seasonal pollen (tree, grass, or weed), house dust, mold, or pets. Or it could be something else that causes your immune system to go into overdrive.

2. Consider an allergy immunotherapy

The specialist you see about your post-relocation allergy may recommend immunotherapy – a special treatment course that can alleviate or eliminate your allergy with a long-term effect.

Immunotherapy sounds like a complicated medical procedure but it’s not. In reality, the treatment consists of you getting allergy injections with controlled amounts of the allergen or group of allergens that cause your allergic reactions. This is done over a long period of time so that your immune system learns how to deal with those specific allergens without overreacting.

Immunotherapy may prove to be the perfect long-term solution for your allergy – you will start feeling much better in the new place (won’t need to potentially move away again) and you won’t need to spend any money on any allergy medications.

3. Try to eliminate the cause of the allergy

What should you do about your allergies after moving?

Well, it depends on the specific allergen that troubles you.

• Pollen. You may choose to move to another part of the country (again!) if your hay fever (seasonal allergic rhinitis) is just too strong in the area you are in right now and you can’t seem to handle the seasonal allergy properly. While there are no entirely hypoallergenic places in the country, there are still areas with much less pollen count in the air – for example, areas near large bodies of water. Before you decide to move again, do thorough research about the distribution of the concrete type of pollen you’re allergic to.
• Mold. Do your best to get rid of the mold in the house or apartment you just moved to if it turns out that you’re allergic to mold. If you’re a renter, discuss the issue with your landlord – hiring professionals to eliminate any existence of mold in the home is usually the best thing to do.
• 

  Sneezing, coughing, and having a runny nose are common allergy symptoms.

  Dust mites. Take steps to reduce the dust in the new place – something that can help keep your allergic reaction under control. Moving to areas with an arid climate can also help since dust mites thrive in humid environments.

• Pets. If it turns out that you’re allergic to a pet that you got after moving to a new house, then you may be forced to part ways with that pet animal. That would be very unfortunate but it might be the only way to cope with allergies after moving.

While developing allergies after moving to a new house or after moving to a new state is a real possibility, the good news is that there are proven ways to fight those allergic reactions.

Figure out which allergens cause your discomfort and misery, then take steps toward eliminating the cause of the allergies or undergo immunotherapy, if possible.

If nothing seems to work, then you may have to move house again.

Will moving help your allergies? You’re the only one who knows the correct answer.

The post What to Do About Allergies After Moving appeared first on The Moving Blog.

The truth is that the air-bubbled material provides the best overall protection for breakable items as it forms soft padding around them.

If you’ve made up your mind to pack up your things by yourself – as opposed to hiring professional packers to do it for you, then there’s no such thing as using too much bubble wrap during the home-packing process.

In fact, you’re encouraged to use as many sheets of bubbly plastic material as possible in order to guarantee the well-being of your fragile belongings until you reach the new home.

But here’s the catch: using too much bubble wrap during the house packing task will definitely be advantageous but it will also cost you more money. And this can be problematic, especially when you’re moving on a limited budget.

So, one excellent solution is to get hold of free bubble wrap for your packing needs. After all, what’s better than using good-quality bubble wrap without paying for it?

Read on to learn where to get bubble wrap for free when packing for moving.

Benefits of using free bubble wrap

All in all, there are two major benefits of using free bubble wrap when packing for a move:

1. You will save money

Saving money is the obvious bonus of not paying for the quantities of bubble wrap you manage to get hold of before you begin to pack up your things. But how much money will you be able to save in the end?

It’s hard to know for sure because you won’t know exactly how much protective plastic material you’re going to use. Nevertheless, it’s useful to know the approximate prices of brand-new bubble wrap:

• A 15-foot roll of Enviro-Bubble wrap (15’ x 16’’) costs around $5.
• A dispenser box of Enviro-Bubble wrap (150 ft. x 12 in.) costs roughly $20.
• One bulk roll of Enviro-Bubble (250 ft. x 12 in.) costs approximately $30.

2. Your decision will be good for the environment

Using second-hand bubble wrap is an environmentally friendly choice because it conserves resources, saves energy, reduces waste, and lowers pollution. By choosing to reuse bubble wrap, you help minimize your ecological footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.

It’s important to know that when you do your best to keep packing materials – such as cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper – in use for as long as possible, not only will you be saving money but you’ll also extract the maximum value from those supplies before recycling or disposing of them properly.

Ultimately, your decision to reuse bubble wrap will reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the natural environment.

Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap

Get free bubble wrap from retail stores

Keep in mind that local retail stores can be a great source of acquiring free bubble wrap for your packing needs. After all, those local businesses get frequent shipments of goods (some have daily deliveries), so they are very likely to have enough free packing supplies to spare – not only bubble wrap but also cardboard boxes of various sizes.

Is there free bubble wrap near you? Yes, there is.

These are some of the retail stores you should consider checking out for free bubble wrap:

• Electronics stores;
• Home appliances stores;
• Furniture outlets;
• Supermarkets and grocery stores;
• Office supply stores.

Follow these steps to learn the best way to approach those businesses and ask them if you can get free bubble wrap from them:

• Get in touch with the largest retail stores in your area and ask to speak with their respective managers.
• Explain briefly why you’re calling and ask politely for any quantities of bubble wrap AND cardboard boxes that the store can spare.
• Inform the store managers that you’re flexible with your time (hopefully, that’ll be the case) and that you can go there during less busy hours for greater convenience.
• Be ready for rejections and don’t get discouraged if it does happen. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your request – you’re only trying to save money on your local or long-distance move. So, shake off any rejections for free packing materials – free bubble wrap in this particular case – and move on to the next local business.

If you don’t like the whole idea of contacting store managers and asking for free bubble wrap – maybe you’re too shy or get stressed easily, then there’s another option to acquire bubble wrap for free you can explore. What is it? Just visit the recycling areas near big retail stores and check for any packing materials in good overall condition.

A word of caution: Be selective when it comes to free packing supplies. Yes, it’s great to get the materials you need without paying for them, but it’s more important to make sure their condition is OK and they are safe to use. When it comes to bubble wrap, in particular, do reject any plastic materials that are visibly dirty or you suspect that they might not be infestation-free.

Get free bubble wrap online

Another way you can find bubble wrap for free is online. But where exactly, you should ask?

1. Specialized giveaway websites

Luckily, there are a number of websites you go to where you should be able to find free packing materials for your needs, including free bubble wrap.

• Freecycle. Freecycle should be your best bet when it comes to scoring free bubble wrap. The non-profit organization is dedicated to keeping still usable items away from landfills and that honorable mission of theirs should play right into your hands. All you have to do is register with Freecycle (it’s FREE, of course) and do a local search for bubble wrap. And then, all you have left is to keep your fingers crossed that somebody near you is willing to give their supply of perfectly usable bubble wrap to anyone who needs it. Since you’re already there, it won’t hurt to check Freecycle for free moving boxes near you as well.
• Craigslist. You should be well familiar with Craigslist but what you may not know is that the website has a FREE section as well where you can search for free stuff near you. So, how do you search for free bubble wrap on Craigslist? It’s simple: pick your area, head to the FREEBIES section, and type bubble wrap. With some luck, you should be able to find people in your immediate area who offer bubble wrap and maybe other packing supplies too, such as cardboard boxes.

2. Local community groups (Facebook Marketplace)

Another place you can find bubble wrap without paying for it is in local community groups on social media. The best example is, of course, Facebook Marketplace.

It’s easy to check such local community groups for free packing materials. Simply join such a group for free and publish a brief post that you’re looking for bubble wrap and possibly even for moving boxes. And then, anyone who has more packing supplies than they need is likely to answer your call for help.

Basically, it’s a win-win situation for everybody there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t try your luck scoring packing supplies for free using local community groups.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

Get bubble wrap for free from friends, family, and neighbors

Bubble wrap is essential when packing fragile items for moving.

One of the best ways to get free bubble wrap for the house-packing task is to ask your best friends, your family members, good neighbors, or close work colleagues if they happen to have any quantities of the transparent plastic material with regularly spaced air-filled bubbles on it.

The thing is that you just never know who might have a sizeable stash of bubble wrap in their garage or basement, placed in long-term storage with little chance of being actively used in the foreseeable future.

The great news is that your good friends will be willing to help you out during that transitional period simply because they know how tough it can be. This is especially true for those of your pals who have moved house before – they will understand best what you must be going through.

You can choose among several options when it comes to asking friends, family, or neighbors for packing supplies, namely bubble wrap:

• In person. This is by far the best way to ask if your friends can spare any quantities of bubble wrap for you. Keep in mind that your close friends will already be well familiar that you’re getting ready to move out so they are likely to have already offered you any packing materials they have, or even their packing labor too.
• Over the phone. This is the next best thing after meeting your pals in person. One good tactic is to ask your buddies for packing supplies in general and not go for bubble wrap only. This way, you’ll increase your chances of securing other necessary materials for packing as well.
• Social media post. Publishing a social medial post on Facebook or Twitter is an excellent way to reach all your friends at once. That way, it’ll be much easier for your social media friends to comment below the post if they want to help or if they have another idea about how they can be useful. Although a bit impersonal, using your favorite social media platform to your advantage will give you maximum outreach and the best chance of success in that specific case.

How to Pack Without Bubble Wrap

Get free bubble wrap from recycling centers

The good news about the plastic materials used primarily for protecting fragile items is that it’s very durable and it can be used over and over again. Even if the plastic sheets are slightly torn here and there, bubble wrap can be used for cushioning or space filler inside cardboard boxes as long as it’s not dirty and its air-filled bubbles are intact.

And this is exactly why you can try your luck getting your hands on perfectly usable sheets of bubble wrap at local recycling centers. And if there is such a center nearby, it may be worth the trip to go there and see whether you can have various packing supplies for free, including bubble wrap – the best protective material of them all.

Be mindful that finding free bubble wrap takes time – time you may not have the luxury to spare. Sure, it must feel nice to get something for free but your time can turn out to be much more valuable in the end. The truth is that during a house move, it’s a fine balance between time and money, and so you’re the only one who which one is more precious in your case.

If you just can’t afford to lose any time searching for free bubble wrap and free packing materials in general, then you should either buy your supplies new or hire professional packers who will arrive with their own quality packing materials.

Get a free quote from the best movers in your area to learn how much the extra service of professional packing will cost you.

The post Where to Get Bubble Wrap for Free appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Maybe you’re starting a new job in another state, or maybe you’re relocating there to continue your education, or possibly retire in style. You may also be moving there for love or doing it simply because you can no longer stand the climate in the area where you live.

Ultimately, it’s important to be moving to a new state for all the right reasons.

So, what is your major reason to want to leave your current state and go to another part of the country? Perhaps you wish to run away from where you are right now, longing for a fresh start someplace else.

Moving away and starting over in a new state may prove to be the perfect solution for you – the possibility to correct serious mistakes in the past and get a second chance to find your share of happiness in the state you’re moving to.

Do you believe that something new, exciting, and beautiful is waiting for you in that other state? Are you ready for a brand-new chapter in the book of your life?

If yes, then nothing and no one should be able to stop you from moving to a new state to start over.

1. Make sure you’re doing the right thing

You must have decided to move to another state and start over for a reason, or maybe more than just one good reason. And now, before you start working on your moving checklist, it’s time to double-check that the interstate move is the right choice for you.

There shouldn’t be any lingering doubt in your mind that what you’re doing is the right call. So, what you should do is go over your decision to move away once more in order to ensure it’s not a serious mistake that you may end up regretting after the relocation.

You want to start over in a new state but ask yourself if you are really ready for the big change. Because, for better or worse, many things are going to change big time for you after you find yourself in the new state.

After all, a cross-country move is a serious step out of your comfort zone and you have to make sure you’re mentally and financially ready to overcome the new set of challenges that are sure to come your way as soon as you arrive in the new state, and more specifically – in the new home.

The moment you confirm that your decision to relocate to another state to start over is the correct one, it’s time to start working on the scores of moving tasks so that you can give yourself enough time to complete the preparation on time.

10 Signs It’s Time to Move to Another State

2. Find a job and secure a place to live

Starting over in a new state can be extra challenging in case you have neither found a job there nor secured a decent place to live. And this is exactly why you just have to take care of these two important details before you actually move away.

Unless your move is work-related, your top priority should be to find employment in the new state before you up and move there, or shortly after the relocation is complete. A job will provide you with the financial stability to sustain your life in the new state – money to cover the monthly expenses, including paying the bills.

A steady job will also give you the right mentality to handle the tough adaptation period that you’re likely to go through – read on for more information about this.

Finding a suitable place to live can prove to be harder than you think. First of all, you will need to assess your financial situation and figure out what type of place you can afford to rent in the first place. As a rule of thumb, your rent should be no more than 30% of your disposable income in order for you to live fairly comfortably in the new state.

If you conclude that you don’t have enough money to pay the rent on your own, then one option is to look for a reliable roommate so that both of you can share the rent and some of the living expenses such as the utility bills and maybe even the groceries bills as well.

How to Adapt to a New City When You Move

3. Be very selective about what you take with you

You don’t need to haul any big and heavy furniture to the new state, do you?

One of the major reasons why you may want to start over in a new state is that you wish to run away from your current place and/or the people you’re surrounded with right now.

You want to start a new life in a new state so it’s best to take as few reminders of the old life as possible – items that will keep reminding you of the things or the people you wish to forget after the relocation.

Therefore, you should be careful what items you move with you simply because you’re trying to stay away from things that will trigger bad memories. In the best-case scenario, you will only take a handful of your most-loved belongings and will leave behind the rest.

A fresh start in a new state is often not about surrounding yourself with tons of stuff – rather, it’s about clearing your mind and decluttering your lifestyle as well. When moving out of a bad relationship, then you should think twice before moving any items that will keep reminding you of the person you’re breaking up with.

So, go through your belongings and choose to take only the most valuable ones you own – the stuff that you won’t part with no matter what. Keep in mind that the fewer items you choose to haul to the new state, the less money you’ll pay for their transportation.

Generally speaking, you’d better refrain from moving any large and heavy furniture pieces across the states.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

4. Use a reputable moving company

When moving to a different state, you might get tempted to rent a moving truck, ask your good friends to give you a hand with packing and loading those heavy boxes onto the vehicle, and drive off in the direction of your new state’s home.

What you should know, however, is that due to the great distance, an interstate move is best handled by cross-country moving companies that specialize in long-distance relocation. A DIY move to another state will not only prove to be uneconomical in most cases, but driving a large truck across the country can also be both dangerous and risky.

Do yourself a favor and hire the services of a top-rated interstate moving company to help you protect and transport the things you’ve decided to take with you to the new place.

The good news is that securing the quality services of a cross-country mover is easier than you think. All you have to do is

• Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get a free quote from the best interstate movers in your area.
• Request an in-home survey from the moving experts for accurate cost calculation.
• Read customer reviews of the moving companies to get a feel of how reputable and trustworthy they are.
• Compare carefully the quotes you have received, and pay attention to the extra services offered by the companies.
• Pick the interstate mover that has offered you the best deal in terms of moving price, extra services, and general conditions.

10 Things You Should Know About Interstate Movers

5. Use your job to ease the adaptation period

It’s inevitable that you enter an acclimatization period as soon as you arrive in the new state. Ultimately, it’ll be up to you to use various ways to shorten that adaptation spell so that you can regain your normal lifestyle in no time.

When starting over in a new state, it’s important to rely on your job to get you through the rough first days and weeks there. But how will your work help you fight off any troublesome signs of relocation depression?

First of all, the daily contact and interaction with your co-workers will help you out with the social aspect of your interstate move. You may not know anyone in the new city or town but pretty soon you’ll get to know some of your work colleagues, or maybe even all of them depending on the total number of employees.

And secondly, you won’t have too much time to be preoccupied with sad or nostalgic thoughts while you keep concentrating on your work. And this is a good thing – you have moved to another state to start over so that’s exactly what you should do.

Hopefully, spending time with different people with similar interests at work should make it easier for you to adapt to the new environment.

6. Make an effort to form new friendships

Making new friends in the new state is the key to breezing through the adaptation period.

No one says that moving to a new state to start over is an easy thing to do… but it might as well be the best decision you’ve made in a long, long time.

Once you arrive at your destination, you should consider keeping in touch with the best friend you had to leave behind. Or maybe you didn’t have any good friends in the old place and that’s exactly why you wanted to run away from there.

But if you do have a special person back there, then he or she can really help you survive those difficult first few weeks and months in the new state.

Nevertheless, the interstate move you just pulled off is all about getting that fresh start that you have dreamed about for so long. Therefore, your time and effort should be primarily invested in making new friends in the city you just relocated to.

But how and where do you find those individuals who you will later consider your good friends?

You can invite your new neighbors to a housewarming party in order to get to know them better. Besides the obvious advantages of being on good terms with the folks next door, you just never know who may become your next best friend, right?

Another painless way to meet and possibly befriend new people is to join an art class, a photography class, or a foreign language class. Going to a gym or a yoga studio is also a great opportunity to interact with individuals who have similar interests to yours.

10 Essential Things to Do After Moving

7. Arrange the new place to your own taste

One excellent way to feel like you’re getting the new start you want after the move is to arrange the new apartment or house in a completely new way from the place you just left.

Hopefully, this post-move change will help you get that sense of a new beginning, the feeling that you’ve broken away from your old life and you are now starting a new life chapter exactly the way you want to do it.

What you can do is arrange the furniture pieces in a way that reflects the fresh start, use suitable light sources to add coziness, and hang framed art around the new place to accentuate the fact that this will be your new home from now on.

As a bonus, your effort to make the new place feel like home will help you fight off any potential negative effects of relocation depression.

Guide to Moving to Another State

The post Moving to Another State to Start Over: 7 Tips to Reboot Your Life appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Of course, this will be the case when you’re moving under normal circumstances. The main reason why you would like to tell everyone around you that you’re moving is that you might be hoping that someone will offer to help you out with something when it comes to the pre-move preparation.

After all, organizing a house move by yourself is a tough task, so any type of move-related help – from advice on where to find the best movers in the area to lifting heavy boxes and bulky furniture – should be much appreciated.

However, sometimes external factors might force you to move out secretly – that is, to move out without anyone knowing. You can have a good reason to want to move away without telling anyone about your intention, and if that’s really what you want to do, or need to do, then you’ll have no choice but to go along with your decision to move out discreetly.

Here are 5 top-secret tips for moving out secretly.

1. Be positive that you’re doing the right thing

The thing with moving out without anyone knowing is that you might regret your bold decision later on. And of course, you wouldn’t want to have any regrets after the move so what you must do from the very start is revisit the reasons why you wish to move out without telling anybody about it.

If you want to move out of a bad relationship, then planning to move out discreetly will make a lot of sense since you won’t wish to go through any additional drama on the day of the move and the few days leading up to it. You probably have the gut feeling that the person you’re breaking up with will try to stop you, to persuade you to stay, and that might plant the seed of doubt in your mind, thus only weakening your resolve to move away.

If you wish to move out of your parents’ house due to some kind of a conflict between you and your folks and you’re already an adult at 18+ years of age, then you must make sure you’re doing the right thing because you might not be able to return back there if things didn’t work out for you after the move.

Whatever the major reason for moving out secretly might be, you just have to be sure it’s what you really want to do. Reassess your decision carefully and if you do feel that moving out is the only way to keep moving forward (or to keep your sanity), then it’s time for you to start working on your secret move without any delay.

How to Move Out of Your Parents’ House

2. Don’t tell anyone about your secret move

Moving out secretly means not telling anyone about your decision to move away.

You have re-evaluated your initial decision to move out without telling anyone about it and you have concluded that you’re making the right choice.

So far, so good.

And believe it or not, now comes one of the most challenging tasks ahead of you – to actually keep the move a secret until after you’ve moved out. Your secret move should remain a secret and that’s easier said than done, at least in most cases.

One careless word uttered at the wrong time could easily ruin the secrecy of the whole delicate situation. Whatever you do, just don’t let the cat out of the bag before moving day:

• Resist the temptation to share the news of the upcoming move with friends and family. Keep reminding yourself of the main reasons, whatever they may be, why you want to move out secretly;
• Be very careful about what you publish on your social media networks – even slight hints of your intention to move out discreetly might make your friends suspicious, which in turn will lead to awkward questions for you.
• Change the subject if you feel like a conversation is steering toward the main reason for you to wish to secretly move out.

If the urge to share your secret about moving out secretly is simply too strong, then one possible solution to release some of the pressure of planning a discreet move is to consider confiding in the person you trust the most – the one you know would never tell anyone else – like your best friend, for example.

And yet, it’s best to keep your secret move a complete secret until you’ve reached the new home. You’ve got your reasons to want to move out without telling anyone about it so, for better or worse, you’d better stick to your initial decision.

How to Deal With Emotions When Moving House

3. Pick the best time to move out in secret

Choosing the proper timing to move out is absolutely critical for the success of your stealth operation. In fact, it often proves to be the most important aspect when moving out secretly.

If you happen to be moving away from a bad relationship, then your partner may give you a hard time on the day of the move – they might try to stop you from leaving, or make a bad scene, or even get touchy if you’re taking with you a specific household item.

The idea of picking up a good time to move out is that you do want to spare yourself any possible drama on moving day. You must be going through a rough period as it is so the last thing you’d need are potential complications when it’s time to leave the current place.

When you’re moving out of a bad relationship – either a breakup or a divorce, the best time to move out secretly is when your partner is not around – when they are at work or out of town temporarily. Again, the main idea is to avoid any dramatic moments during the period you’re actually leaving the place.

When you’re moving out discreetly and you don’t wish your neighbors to see you leave (maybe the folks next door are the major reason you’re moving in the first place), then you may consider pulling off a move late in the evening or during the night when they will be sleeping and won’t bother you at all.

Think of a moving-away strategy that will work well for you. Bear in mind that choosing a bad time to move out can really make things even more complicated than they already are.

10 Tips for Moving Out for the First Time

4. Be very careful what you take with you

You’re taking Rex with you, end of discussion.

If your decision to move out secretly is the result of ending a long relationship, then one thing you should be careful about is what items you take with you during the stealth move.

When you’re moving out discreetly, you won’t be able to discuss how you’re going to divide your shared possessions between you, and this alone can turn out to be a serious issue. Why? If you take with you an item that your partner can claim as shared or even as theirs, then you might get yourself in legal trouble after you move away.

The best way to prevent any complications when you’re moving out without telling anyone is to take with you only the things that are yours (indisputable yours) so that nobody else can raise any claims afterward. When unsure, you’d better leave behind the questionable stuff to stay on the safe side of things.

When moving out of a rental place, you must inform your landlord that you’re moving out and you mustn’t take with you anything that is not yours – that is, the things that were there when you first moved in.

Think about this – when you’re organizing a secret move, you’ll usually want to complete the stealth relocation as soon as possible. So, moving any large items such as furniture pieces or packing up too much stuff to take with you will only slow you down and give away more hints about your intention, thus potentially botching up your initial plan to move out without anyone knowing.

Unless you hire professional furniture movers, moving any furniture items during your discreet move wouldn’t be very discreet, so it’s usually a bad idea. Also, taking a pet animal with you – a dog, a cat, or a bird can be tricky in case you’re moving out secretly due to a breakup with a partner.

Bear in mind that when you’re moving out without telling your partner and you have a child or children with that same person you’re leaving, then your secret move just won’t be possible since you’ll have to get legal counsel first about the custody of your kids.

How to Make a Home Inventory When Moving

5. Hire a mover that cares

If you really want to move out quickly and silently, then you should seriously consider hiring a professional moving company to help you do just that.

Now, when moving locally (your destination place is located in the same state, no more than 50 miles away), then one way to organize and execute a secret move is to take only the most essential items in your car and transport them there by yourself. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to do multiple trips from your old place to the new one.

But when you’re moving long distance, then your destination home will most likely be located in another state altogether, so your best chance of success is to hire a professional mover with many years of experience and an excellent reputation.

The moving company you pick won’t be interested in the reasons why you want to move out – what they will be interested in will be to provide a high-quality service to you and to be paid in accordance with the terms laid out in the moving contract between you and them.

If circumstances force you to move out very early in the morning or very late in the evening, then you have to speak with the moving company and see if they will be willing to accommodate your special requirements. Keeping your move secret won’t be easy but working with a top-rated mover can make things more manageable for you in the end.

Get a free quote from the best long-distance movers in your city and town to see if they will be willing to work with you to pull off a discreet move.

The post How to Move Out Secretly: 5 Top Secret Tips appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In addition to worrying about your regular furniture units, you’ll also need to make a decision about any IKEA furniture pieces you may own. IKEA furniture pieces are both fun and affordable, and they do have a special appeal of their own, particularly when you’ve assembled them with your own two hands.

The very first question you should answer is whether it’s worth the trouble of moving your chipboard furniture all the way to the new home. You’re going to have to take a few factors into consideration before you can reach an informed decision.

And if you do decide to move your IKEA furniture with you, then what’s the best way to protect it so that it survives the upcoming move unscathed? Bear in mind that moving IKEA furniture to a new home is a bit different than moving solid-wood furniture. Why? Particle board furniture is far less sturdy than solid-wood furniture, meaning that there’s a higher chance of it being damaged during the relocation.

How to pack and move IKEA furniture safely? Follow these 7 steps to find out.

Step 1. Double-check if moving your IKEA furniture is worth it

First and foremost, you do a risk assessment before you rush to pack and move your IKEA furniture to the new house.

Is it worth moving IKEA furniture at all? There are a few things you need to know before you can make the right choice in your particular case:

• IKEA furniture is not renowned for its strength and sturdiness. Why? It’s made from particle board – an engineered product that’s manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic resin which are pressed and extruded during the production process. Basically, this means that your ready-to-assemble furniture may not survive the move, especially if it has to be disassembled at the old home and put back together in the new one.
• IKEA furniture is fairly affordable, at least in most cases. What this means is that if you happen to be moving across the country, you’re likely to pay more money for the transportation of your pressboard pieces than to purchase brand-new IKEA furniture after the move. Do the math and see for yourself – if the numbers don’t work in your favor, then packing and moving your IKEA furniture cross country doesn’t make any sense.
• IKEA furniture seldom has any sentimental value, so it should be much easier for you to just discard your particle board pieces without any regret. If you had priceless antique furniture in the house, then things would have been completely different.

Should You Move Your Furniture or Buy New After the Move?

2. Determine whether you have to disassemble the IKEA furniture

Should you disassemble IKEA furniture when moving?

The correct answer to this question will depend primarily on what types of IKEA furniture items you own. Here’s what you should know when trying to figure out whether you should move your IKEA pieces as they are or you should dismantle them first to make things easier for yourself.

• Moving IKEA furniture without disassembling it first is the easiest option provided that the units can pass safely through all the doorways, hallways, corners, and even staircases in your home. Measure up the pieces and if they can be taken out of the home safely, then all you’ll need to do is wrap them up in protective blankets.
• Moving IKEA furniture as it is may be easier in terms of time and effort but it’s not likely to be the safest option you have. Note that the screws, bolts, and dowels that keep the pieces together in flat-pack furniture can become somewhat loose when the units are being moved around and the particle board elements could break or crack due to the added strain.
• There are risks involved in moving IKEA furniture to a new house either way but as a rule of thumb, you should consider disassembling the large ready-to-assemble furniture units such as dressers, beds, and bookcases for safer and easier handling. However, you can still leave smaller units such as drawers and nightstands fully assembled as a way to speed up the relocation process at both ends.

What to Do When Furniture Will NOT Go Through the Door

3. Take photos of your assembled IKEA furniture

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and when you’re moving your IKEA furniture to a new house, you’re likely to find out that this adage is truer than you might think.

Before you get down to business (understand disassembling the large IKEA pieces you own), you’re strongly recommended to take multiple photos of the items as they are – that is, fully assembled. Why? It’s easy to guess that you may need to use those reference photos in the new home during the reassembly process.

So, use your digital camera to take not only full-size photos of the furniture pieces from a distance but also close-up pictures of the way the segments of each unit are attached to each other. Have numerous shots of the spots that contain any fastening elements to serve as a guide when you’re putting them back together in the new place.

Keep the photos safe throughout the house move – it’s best to upload them to an online storage cloud service such as Google Drive, for example.

Do’s and Don’ts When Moving Furniture

4. Follow the instructions to disassemble partially your IKEA furniture

You’re going to have to have the correct disassembly instructions before you begin to take apart safely your large IKEA furniture.

Follow the IKEA assemble instructions backward in order to disassemble your IKEA furniture safely.

There are several things you need to keep in mind when it comes to using instructions to disassemble your IKEA pieces:

• IKEA furniture needs to be disassembled in a specific order simply because it has been assembled the same way. Failure to follow the pre-set order might lead to damage – somewhat unlikely but still possible depending on the concrete IKEA furniture model. So, don’t take any risks.
• Use the assembly instructions to disassemble your big IKEA furniture units. How? It’s simple: just work your way backward – from the last page of the assembly instructions booklet to the first.
• Don’t worry if you can’t find the assembly instructions for your IKEA furniture pieces. Just visit the IKEA website and search for the furniture model: IKEA Assembly Instructions.
• Needless to say, the assembly instructions you use to disassemble your IKEA furniture units will help you put back together those pieces once you find yourself in the new home.

How to Disassemble Furniture When Moving

5. Label each disassembled furniture piece

As soon as you begin the disassembly process, one important thing you should do is to label each furniture element as you take it apart. Proper labeling of your IKEA furniture is critical because it can save plenty of valuable time after the move.

Don’t write directly onto the furniture components – instead, stick small pieces of painter’s tape onto the items and label them accordingly. Make sure you use painter’s tape and not regular packing tape since the latter is likely to damage the surface of your IKEA furniture.

Similar to labeling moving boxes, you just have to use a labeling system that will make sense during the reassembly time. To keep things simple, you can choose to use the following furniture labeling pattern:

• from top to bottom, and
• from right to left.

By having the assembly instructions with you and having the individual pieces all labeled correctly, you shouldn’t have any problems when it’s time to put back your furniture pieces in the new place.

Another important aspect of the IKEA furniture disassembly job is to keep all small fastening elements – screws, bolts, dowels, hinges, etc. – in a safe place such as inside a sealable plastic bag. When you’re done disassembling a unit, use a permanent marker to write down on the plastic bag the name of the furniture piece those small elements have come from.

How to Protect Furniture When Moving

6. Wrap your IKEA furniture in moving blankets

It’s time to protect your IKEA furniture pieces no matter if you’ve already disassembled them or you’ve decided to keep them as they are. Whichever way you decide to go, you shouldn’t let the furniture items leave your house without being well padded with the proper packing materials.

Basically, the easiest way to protect IKEA furniture is to wrap each disassembled piece in thick furniture blankets or regular bath towels. Once you do it, use pieces of tape to keep the pads in place.

Sometimes it makes sense to bundle a few smaller furniture elements together to save space and packing materials, so feel free to do it as long as you use a few sheets of packing paper between the pieces to avoid direct wood-to-wood contact.

In case you’re moving an IKEA piece as it is, without disassembling it, then you’re going to have to wrap the entire unit in thick moving blankets to keep them from getting chipped, scratched, or dented during the actual transportation.

Also, if you happen to keep the original cardboard boxes that contained your IKEA furniture when you first bought it, then you should use them to protect the pieces on the road.

How to Move Heavy Furniture by Yourself

7. Move the IKEA furniture with utmost care

Follow these furniture moving steps and you’ll be soon reassembling your IKEA furniture in the new home.

Once you pack up your IKEA furniture pieces, it’s time to transport them safely to the new place.

The first step is to take them out of your home without any damage. In case you have already disassembled fully some of the IKEA units, then you shouldn’t have any problems with this step.

However, if you’re moving some of your IKEA furniture items without having them disassembled first, then you should ask a few friends to help you take those large pieces to the truck outside. Once inside the vehicle, use straps or pieces of rope to secure the furniture units so that they don’t shift around during transit.

Also, you should consider using a moving dolly to make things easier and safer when moving furniture to another home – not only IKEA but other types of furniture items as well.

Keep in mind that some professional moving companies will not move ready-to-assemble furniture unless it’s been disassembled first. The main reason is that IKEA furniture and IKEA-like furniture do not usually survive a house move due to their decreased strength and durability.

Be sure to contact the best furniture movers in your area if you do need professional help moving your IKEA furniture or your non-IKEA furniture.

How to Move Furniture to Another State

The post How to Pack and Move IKEA Furniture: 7 Steps appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Your decision to pack your stuff on your own is a clear indication that you feel pretty confident that you can accomplish the arduous task without having to resort to professional packing services. And in most cases, the reason for such high level of confidence is the fact that you’ve done it before sometime in the past.

As a person with previous house packing experience, you must know quite well the various packing materials: cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, furniture blankets, and even packing peanuts. And yet, it’s quite likely that you won’t be familiar with the packing power of plastic wrap.

The truth is that plastic wrap (aka stretch wrap, shrink wrap, or cling wrap) can do wonders for you during the packing process thanks to its remarkable versatility, great resistance, surprising ease of use, relative affordability, and good recyclability.

Read on to learn the best way to use plastic wrap for moving, including all the advantages of stretch wrap when packing for a move and useful information about where to buy plastic wrap for moving.

Why you should use plastic wrap when moving

It’s no surprise that plastic wrap is an essential packing material and you should definitely consider buying it and using it when protecting your household items for the road ahead.

The thing is that stretch wrap will make the packing job so much faster and safer that you’re likely to wonder why you haven’t used it before that moment. In a way, using plastic wrap for moving will feel like a great packing hack that’ll change for the better the way you view the house packing process in general.

Here are the major reasons why you should use plastic wrap when packing for a move:

• Versatility. Luckily, stretch wrap is very versatile and can be used in many situations when packing for moving: protecting furniture against scratches, keeping dirt and dust away from household items, securing loose cables and wires, keeping drawers, doors, and panels secure, keeping protective pads fixed to the items they are protecting, bundling various items together, and more.
• Durability. Plastic wrap is very thin (roughly 0.0005 inches) but it still offers a great level of strength and tear resistance when wrapped around delicate items for stronger protection. Thanks to its natural resistance, shrink wrap can withstand a lot of pressure, thus keeping your fragile things safe.
• Ease of use. Packing plastic wrap is extremely easy to use. Unlike standard packing tape, stretch wrap has no adhesive side and will not leave sticky residue on surfaces when removed after usage. As the name suggests, cling wrap clings to itself and is later easy to remove without fear of damage to any delicate surfaces whatsoever.
• Affordability. Stretch wrap for moving is fairly affordable, ranging from around $10 (5 inches x 1,000 ft) to roughly $25 (15 inches x 1,000 ft), and more for rolls of heavy-duty stretch wrap. Needless to say, wider rolls of plastic wrap should be used for wrapping larger household items such as furniture and appliances.
• Recyclability. Plastic wrap used for packing is perfectly recyclable after the move so your relocation will still be green when you use the extra thin plastic packing material for various purposes as explained below.

How to use plastic wrap when moving

The good news is that plastic wrap can be used successfully in various packing situations during the house packing process. Below you will find the major uses of plastic wrap for moving but you yourself can find even more useful applications of clear plastic wrap when packing up your things without the assistance of professional packers.

1. Use plastic wrap to secure padding materials

The most common use of plastic wrap when packing for a move is to secure furniture blankets, bubble wrap, or other types of protective padding materials onto the furniture pieces, appliances, specialty items (a piano or a grandfather clock, for example), or other large household items you’re trying to protect.

The padding materials will have to stay snugly wrapped around the fragile items and that’s exactly why you should use stretch wrap to secure those pads. Unlike packing tape, packing plastic wrap will not leave any sticky residue on any of the delicate surfaces.

As a bonus, the plastic wrap will create an extra outer layer of protection for your belongings.

2. Use plastic wrap to protect mattresses and upholstered furniture

Plastic wrap is just the next level of furniture protection.

Another useful application of plastic wrap when packing for a move is to protect mattresses. In the best-case scenario, you will have a special mattress bag in which you will insert the mattress for safekeeping. But if you don’t have such a mattress cover, then you can easily create one by stretch-wrapping the entire mattress from top to bottom.

Also, plastic film is great for protecting upholstered furniture as long as the upholstery is made of fabric. Do NOT use stretch wrap on furniture pieces with leather upholstery because the leather won’t be able to breathe under the layer of plastic wrap and may “sweat” – that is, form a thin film of moisture.

How to Move a Mattress by Yourself

3. Use cling wrap to protect items against dirt, dust, and moisture

One of the best uses of plastic wrap when moving house is to protect household items against dust, dirt, and moisture.

When it’s wrapped tight around objects, stretch wrap creates a thin yet durable protective layer around the items you’re trying to keep safe during the move. Therefore, no dirt and no dust can penetrate through the plastic coating which basically means your things will reach the new place exactly the way they have left the old one.

The plastic wrap will also keep moisture and water away – something that can be extremely useful if you happen to be moving out on a rainy day. Just be careful not to trap any moisture inside the protective layer.

4. Use plastic wrap to secure furniture drawers, doors, and panels

Clear plastic wrap for moving can also be used to keep furniture drawers, doors, and panels secure during the move.

If a drawer, a door, or a panel of a furniture item happens to open during transport, then that could lead to an accident, which in turn might result in either property damage or a personal injury (or both!). Therefore, it’s critical that no removable part of a furniture piece gets to move while the furniture is being carried around.

Plastic wrap will simply secure the removable element to the main furniture structure. You can also use painter’s tape to the same effect but never regular packing tape due to the sticky residue it’s likely to leave onto the delicate furniture surface.

How to Protect Furniture When Moving

5. Use cling wrap to wrap up drawers together with their contents

Stretch wrap can let you seal the content of a drawer or a bookcase.

Sometimes a few packing hacks here and a few packing tricks there can speed up the packing process significantly.

After all, the task of packing for a move takes many, many hours to complete, so anything you can do to finish it up more quickly is more than welcome.

One awesome trick to speed up packing is to use stretch wrap over the opening of a drawer with its contents still inside, thus turning the drawer into an instant packing box.

Mind you, this packing tactic is only possible when the things inside the drawer are non-breakable – for example, pieces of clothing, bedding, or other soft items that won’t get damaged when they are being shifted around the drawer during transport.

How to Pack Drawers for Moving

6. Use stretch wrap to bundle things together

You’ll be glad to learn that stretch wrap is also good at bundling similar items together during the packing process. Doing so will enhance the overall level of organization you should be aiming at when packing for moving.

• You can stack a few small cardboard boxes and bundle them together using plastic film for faster handling;
• You can bundle together detached pieces of furniture such as legs, boards, etc.;
• You can bundle and secure small items, especially kitchen items such as silverware;
• You can group together and secure items with long handles such as tools or mops;
• You can bundle together soft, lightweight items such as stuffed toys, pillows, etc.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

7. Use plastic wrap to prevent nasty spills

Plastic wrap can be extremely helpful when you’re packing up your bathroom items. Why? It’s simple: the clear plastic wrap will prevent any spills from bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and so on.

Here’s what you should do to make sure no spills occur when packing up your bathroom products:

• Remove the cap of a bottle, a tube, or a jar, then position a sufficient piece of plastic wrap right over the opening, and finally – close the cap again. This way, all your containers will become leak-proof;
• Insert each bathroom product into a plastic Ziploc bag for double reassurance that there won’t be any nasty spills during transit.

How to Pack a Bathroom for Moving

8. Use stretch wrap to secure power cords and cables

Safety on Moving day is of paramount importance and you must do all in your power to ensure the Big day goes accident-free from start to finish.

When moving electric appliances, one possible risk to the general safety on that particular day is for a person to trip on a power cord, a cable, or a wire that has not been secured. And that’s exactly where plastic wrap can come in to prevent such mishaps from happening.

Use cling wrap to secure power cords and cables to the side (usually the back) of an appliance so that any tripping hazards are eliminated.

9. Use cling wrap to keep rolled-up rugs from unfolding

Plastic wrap can be pretty useful during a move… but you don’t need to go THIS far.

If you’ve decided to take some of your area rugs with you, then you can use stretch wrap during the packing process to protect the carpet rolls.

Here’s what you should do: once you’ve rolled up an area rug correctly (follow the link below to learn the best way to pack rugs for moving), use plastic wrap to secure the ends of the carpet roll from unfolding by itself. Alternatively, you can use pieces of string for the same purpose.

Do NOT plastic-wrap the entire carpet roll for fear of trapping moisture inside. Instead, wrap large sheets of packing paper around the rug roll until you cover it completely.

How to Pack Rugs for Moving

10. Use plastic wrap to secure jewelry pieces

Saran wrap can help you greatly when you’re packing your jewelry for moving.

When you’re packing earrings for moving, one packing method is to use cardboard cards to organize your long earrings. Once you’ve attached the earrings to a cardboard card by inserting their hooks through the cardboard holes, use plastic wrap to secure the bundle and seal the earrings in one place.

Also, when you’ve placed and secured your earrings in an egg carton (that’s right – an egg carton), wrap the entire carton with plastic wrap to seal it, thus keeping each individually paper-packed ring in place.

How to Pack Jewelry for Moving

Where to buy plastic wrap for moving

And now that you know all the clear advantages of using plastic wrap when packing for a move, it’s only natural that you’ll be interested in where to buy plastic wrap for moving.

You can buy plastic wrap directly from one of the large home improvement stores in your town or city, either by visiting those places in person or ordering plastic film online:

• Walmart
• Home Depot
• Lowe’s
• Target

Of course, you can also check out Amazon when you’re looking to buy plastic wrap online.

How much plastic wrap do you need though? It depends on how big the home is and how many items (especially furniture items) you plan to move with you. As a rule of thumb, 1 roll of 5 inches x 1,000 ft and 1 roll of 15 inches x 1,000 ft should be enough for your packing needs when you’re moving out of a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom home.

When in doubt, it’s always better to buy one extra roll of shrink wrap – after all, you can surely find the plastic film useful even after you’ve moved into the new home.

The post How to Use Plastic Wrap for Moving appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Why is moving so hard?

There are a number of valid reasons why moving out is so difficult:

• a house move can be rather expensive at times so your savings are likely to be at risk,
• a move takes plenty of time to plan and organize, thus intensifying the stress greatly when you have to move out quickly,
• a move usually means hard work for days on end, especially when you’ve decided to pack your things on your own, and
• a house move usually means a serious disruption of your life as you’re moving away from your friends, and sometimes your family as well.

And when you’re moving with your family, things can become even more complicated. Depending on the age of your child or children, you’ll have to face some major challenges that will increase the overall level of complexity of the upcoming relocation.

Don’t panic!

This family moving checklist will help you overcome the most common difficulties when moving out of state with a family. Beginning approximately 4 weeks before the day of the move, the family relocation timeline below will guide you throughout the preparation period, focusing on the specific tasks concerning your family members, including your pets.

Ready for the ultimate moving checklist for families?

4 weeks prior to Moving day

As long as you know how to achieve and maintain a high level of time management, you should have enough time to prepare fully for the house move in roughly 4 weeks.

• Hire movers or move by yourself. This is one of the very first puzzles to solve when moving with a family. It’s critical that you weigh the pros and cons of each house moving scenario and pick the option that’s best for everyone. Generally speaking, you could try to rent a truck and move by yourself when moving locally. However, when moving across the country, you’d be better off trusting a reputable state-to-state moving company. [Movers or DIY]
• Request quotes from movers. When moving to a new state with a family, the best way to guarantee the safety of your possessions and the peace of mind of your family members is to use the services of a top-rated interstate moving company. Get free quotes from trustworthy movers in your area and pick the offer that best suits your budget and satisfies your needs. Research well the candidate movers before picking the best offer in terms of price and conditions.
• Discuss the move with your children. You just have to find the time to discuss the upcoming move with your children provided that they are old enough to understand what’s happening. Moving to a new city, oftentimes in a new state altogether, is a big deal for school-age children because they are about to change the school they go to and leave their school friends as well. Moving house can be tough for everyone, so focus on the positives in order to persuade your children to work with you and not against you when moving out of state. [Moving With Children]
• Arrange the school transfer. When moving with school-age children, one super-important task is to arrange the transfer of the schools. First of all, you have to find a good school for your son or daughter in the destination area – remember to schedule a school tour after the move for your final decision. And secondly, arrange for your children’s school records to be transferred directly to the new school. If impossible, obtain those records from the school and take them with you to the new place.
• Look for free moving boxes. Throughout your family moving checklist, you should have various ways to cut moving costs – from obtaining free packing supplies to moving only whatever’s necessary and packing your things by yourself. Consider lowering your packing expenses by getting free cardboard boxes from friends, neighbors, colleagues, large retail stores in your area, or online. The average number of boxes to pack up an entire home is 60, so each box you get for free will help you move more cheaply. [Free Moving Boxes]
• Declutter your home of any unwanted items. This family relocation timeline advises you to get rid of any items that you don’t need anymore and you don’t plan to use in the future, or the ones you have never liked anyway. Think about it – it doesn’t make any sense to waste valuable time packing useless things and then pay good money to transport them to the new house. Be pragmatic and purge your home of any unnecessary items before you initiate the packing task. [Declutter Your Home]
• Start the packing process without delay. Unless you’ve decided to use professional packing services, you must start packing up your stuff as soon as you can. Why? Packing for a move is the most time-consuming task of them all, so you should double the time you think you’ll need to protect your belongings. Naturally, you should start packing from the hardest rooms to sort and pack – in most cases, those are the storage areas in the home. [What to Pack First]

3 weeks prior to Moving day

Now that you have worked on your family moving calendar for a week, it’s time to keep marking those important moving tasks as DONE. You’ve got about 20 days left until the move-out date so it’s not the right time to let down your guard.

• Get your children to pack up their things. It’s a clever tactic to keep your children involved in the pre-move preparation so that they can feel that they are part of the team. Besides, during a move, you should welcome all the help you can get. So, encourage your children to sort out and then pack up their own things – if they are old enough to do so, of course. Give them a hand whenever necessary but give them some freedom to make decisions about the fate of their own stuff.
• Rent a moving truck. When moving only a short distance away, you may wish to try to organize a self-move for you and your family. In that case, you’re going to have to rent a truck from either one of the best nationwide truck rental companies (UHaul, Penske, Budget, Ryder) or from a smaller local truck rental agency. Make sure you’re renting a moving vehicle of the right size (storage capacity) to avoid trouble down the stretch. [Rent a Truck]
• Visit your family doctor. Moving your family to another state means you’ll have to register with another family physician in the destination place. And to be able to do that, you’re going to need your and your family’s medical records. So, pay a quick visit to your current doctor and get all the documentation needed to sign up with another family doctor in the new city. Also, remember to get your dental records from your current dentist as well.
• Decide how you’ll transport your pets. Moving away with your family also means that any pets you may happen to have are also coming with you. No matter if you own a dog, a cat, a bird, fish, or another type of pet animal, they are part of the family so you’ll need to figure out the best way to transport them safely as well. Bear in mind that professional moving companies are not allowed to move pets for safety reasons, so the most common way to move with pets is to move them in your own car. [Moving With Pets]
• Decide what you’ll do with your furniture. One of the trickiest moments when moving with a family is to come to a rational decision about what you should do with the furniture pieces you own. You may like some furniture items while your partner may hate them for some reason or another. Your children are likely to want to keep their beds too. Remember that moving large and heavy furniture across the country is seldom worth it due to the high transportation cost. So, do you move your furniture pieces or buy new ones after the move? [Move Furniture or Buy New]
• Organize a moving sale. Provided that you can find some free time in your busy family moving schedule, you should consider organizing a moving sale with the purpose of selling all the items you won’t be moving with you. That way, you’ll be able to get rid of unwanted items and earn some much-needed cash by doing so. A successful yard sale before moving takes time and proper organization so decide whether the extra effort will be worth it in the end. [Moving Sale]

2 weeks prior to Moving day

With approximately 2 weeks before you have to move away, you should check with your family moving checklist whether the progress you’ve made is satisfactory. Hopefully, you will be able to keep up with the myriad of moving tasks and not fall behind your personal planner.

• Hire a car shipper, if necessary. When moving with your family to another state that’s too far away from where you are now, you may not be too thrilled to drive across the country for days. In which case, you should hire a reputable car shipping company and fly to your destination instead. Also, if you own two cars, you’ll want to use reliable car shipping services for the second vehicle as well. [Car Shipping]
• Change your address. Moving to a new home automatically means that your postal address is about to change too. Ideally, you will initiate the change of address procedure roughly 2 weeks before moving away so that you don’t lose any important pieces of mail in the relocation process. Luckily, you’ve got 4 options to change your address with the USPS: 1) in person at the nearest post office, 2) online, 3) by phone, and 4) by mail. [Change Address]
• Transfer the home utilities. Imagine that you’ve just moved into the new place only to find that there’s neither electricity nor running water there. Oops! You wouldn’t like that, would you? So, be proactive and arrange the transfer of the major home utilities such as electricity, water, gas, phone, and cable TV to the new home. Get in touch with your current utility providers to schedule a date for disconnecting the utilities. Then, contact the new utility companies to ensure you won’t be unpacking in the dark. [Change Utilities]
• Cancel all delivery services and subscriptions. Make a detailed list of all the home delivery services and subscriptions to all other services. Then, cancel those services one by one simply because you won’t be there anymore. Also, discontinue your memberships at various clubs, gyms, organizations, or hobby groups. If applicable, get any deposits back to minimize the likely loss of money from canceling your membership cards.
• Make a decision about your house plants. When moving locally with your family, you should be able to transport some of your favorite house plants in your car. However, when moving long distance across the country, moving your plants becomes too risky for your leafy companions so you should seriously consider giving them away to friends or donating them, if possible. Professional movers are not allowed to transport plants for safety reasons. [Move Plants]

1 week prior to Moving day

Only 7 days until your scheduled move-out date. Hopefully, you’ll be able to keep things under control with the help of this moving checklist for family relocation.

• Assess whether you’ll need any packing help. Packing up your things for moving is the major task during a house move, so your principal focus should be on protecting your valuable possessions for safe transportation. It’s fairly easy to assume you’ve got the packing task under full control… only to realize a few days prior to moving day that you’re way behind your packing timeline. Assess the situation carefully and ask your best friends to help you finish the packing job, if necessary. [Friendly Help]
• Pack an essentials box for your children. When moving with children, you just have to pack a box full of essential items for them – things they will surely need during the relocation trip itself. What you pack in that box will depend primarily on the age of your kids: the essentials can vary from baby stuff (disposable diapers, baby food, clothes, toys, etc.) to teenagers’ items such as electronic devices and books. [Essentials Box]
• Prepare an essentials box for your pets. When moving with pets, either locally or long distance, you’ll also need to prepare a box full of essential pet items for your animal friends. The idea is to make sure they feel safe and comfortable during the relocation trip so consider packing pet food, special treats, bedding, favorite toys, and even their favorite blankets for extra comfort. Prepare the appropriate pet carrier for cats and birds for their own safety.
• Get your family car serviced. When you’ve decided to drive to the new destination, one thing you might forget to do is to ensure that your family car is ready for the trip. Don’t take any risks – unless your car is fairly new and in top condition, it’s a good idea to take your family car to a garage to be serviced properly prior to a road trip of hundreds or even thousands of miles.
• Plan your relocation trip. The car journey to the new home doesn’t have to be spent just driving the vehicle non-stop. If you happen to have more time to spare, then you can easily organize a fun relocation trip with exciting stops along the way. Such a plan should be particularly appealing to your children who would love to see new places and experience new adventures on their way to the new home.
• Consider organizing a farewell party. Luckily, your family moving checklist is not only work, work, and more work. Shortly before having to go away, do consider organizing a farewell party for family friends and relatives. After all, you’re moving out and you never know when you’re going to see your dear friends again. If your children are old enough, they can invite some of their friends over so that they can spend some time together before the move-out day. [Say Goodbye to Friends]

Must-read: Moving Checklist: Interactive & Printable Moving Checklist

Moving day

Move day has arrived!

Are you ready to handle the most physically demanding and mentally taxing day of the entire house move?

• Get up early. Moving day will be a (very) stressful day so you’d better get up early enough to give yourself more time in case you’ve forgotten to do something important. An early start is also a bonus when moving in the summer when temperatures can reach record values at noon and early afternoon. Do your best to persuade your family members to go to bed earlier the night before in order to have the required stamina on Moving day itself.
• Keep your valuables with you. You should have finished the house packing job by that moment and have only a few minor packing tasks to complete before your movers arrive or you start loading up the truck during a self-move. Remember to keep all valuable items with you at all times – documents, jewelry pieces, money, bank cards, portable electronic devices, and so on. Do not trust your movers with your valuables no matter how trustworthy they may seem.
• Ensure the safety of your children and pets. Moving with children can be dangerous, especially on Moving day when bulky furniture items and heavy boxes will be taken out of the home for an extended period of time. You must take precautionary steps before it’s too late – ask friends or relatives to come over and look after your children and pets in a room away from the packing and moving action.
• Dress appropriately for the occasion. One of the reasons why Moving day can be so dangerous is the probability of personal injuries – the worst thing that can happen during a house move. So, to protect yourself and those around you, remember to dress appropriately for the occasion: 1) wear your most comfortable pair of closed shoes that also have rubber anti-slip soles, and 2) don clothes that will not restrict your movements in any way. [What to Wear on Moving Day]
• Greet your movers. When you’ve hired a professional moving company, then you should be ready to greet the movers on the pre-arranged day and time. Show them around the house, give them any specific instructions, if any, and then just let them do what they do best. It’s best to hang around in case the pros have any questions for you. Also, be a good host and offer your hired workers cold bottled water when moving in the summer.
• Do a final security check. When the moving vehicle is loaded up and you’re about to leave the current place, do one final tour around the house to secure all doors and windows, and switch off all the power, water, and gas. Also, look around for any forgotten items before you lock up the place and start the family relocation trip.

Moving Day Checklist: How to Survive Moving Day in 20 Steps

The post Family Moving Checklist: Ultimate Moving Checklist for Families appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In reality, there are so many things to sort out, protect, and pack for the upcoming relocation that the job often feels overwhelming even before you start working on it. Packing for moving is, without a doubt, the most challenging project during a house move so you must make sure you’re up to the heavy task.

Luckily, some household items are easier to pack than others. One good example is packing your clothes – your pieces of clothing are not fragile in any way, so you shouldn’t actually worry about whether they will arrive in one piece or not simply because they will. They might end up a bit wrinkled up but that’s not a big worry, is it?

While packing clothes for moving, you’ll also reach the point of having to also pack hangers for moving. That’s right – packing hangers for a move seems like a very easy thing to do but there are a few peculiarities about that packing job too.

What’s the best way to pack hangers when moving? These 10 packing steps will show you the correct way.

Step 1. Decide if your hangers are worth packing and moving

With so many things to pack during a house move, you should seriously ask yourself if packing hangers for a move is even worth the time and effort you’ll have to invest in the packing task.

Here are the top reasons why you should pack your hangers when moving house:

• If you have wooden hangers in excellent condition, there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t transport them with you to the new house;
• If you own designer hangers, then you should definitely pack and move those because they will be fairly expensive and of high quality too;
• Moving your hangers means that you’ll be able to arrange your clothes in the wardrobe or closet right after you move into the new place.

However, packing and moving your clothes hangers is not always a good decision. Here are the top reasons why you shouldn’t bother packing your hangers for moving in some situations:

• Clothes hangers take up plenty of space, especially when they are not stacked up nicely but rather just thrown randomly into a box;
• Clothes hangers are cheap, especially plastic ones, so it may not be worth the time and effort to transport them to the new home;
• Hangers can easily get broken during a move unless you know how to protect them properly for the road ahead.

Step 2. Understand why hangers are tricky to pack for moving

Packing hangers for moving seems like a pretty straightforward thing to do and in a way, it is just that. However, it can be somewhat tricky, especially if you’ve never done it before.

There are several reasons why packing hangers for a move can be trickier than you think:

• Clothes hangers have the tendency to tangle in each other, partly due to their (metal) hooks and mostly due to their shape. Once they get tangled, hangers can easily get broken or in less extreme cases, bent out of shape.
• Hangers, especially the ones with metal hooks, could easily scratch the surfaces of other items – for example, damage the wardrobe or closet if they are left loosely inside it, totally unprotected.
• Unless hangers get neatly stacked, they will take plenty of space inside a moving box when they are just tossed carelessly and hastily inside the container. And if that happens, the storage space you could have used to pack something meaningful would be simply lost, thus forcing you to use yet an extra box for the purpose.

Step 3. Sort your hangers prior to packing them up

Group your clothes hangers by material before packing them up.

This step is all about sorting out your hangers into 2 major groups:

• Group 1. Hangers you’re moving with you.
• Group 2. Hangers you’re leaving behind.

Step 1 in this hangers packing guide has already given you some clues as to which clothes hangers are worth keeping and which ones are not. In a nutshell, here are the signs that will help you sort out and group all your hangers correctly:

Hangers that are worth packing and moving (Group 1):

• Hangers in excellent or good condition, including brand-new ones;
• Plastic, wire, or wooden hangers of good quality;
• Designer hangers;
• Hangers that are already in use and you’re moving some of your clothes together with them.

Hangers that are NOT worth packing and moving (Group 2):

• Broken hangers, including ones that have been fixed temporarily;
• Worn out or stained hangers;
• Very cheap and non-remarkable hangers (most often plastic ones) that you can purchase brand-new after the move.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline for Moving

Step 4. Give away or throw away for recycling all hangers you won’t use

There’s really no point in packing and moving any hangers that fall into Group 2. And this basically means that you’ll be better off giving away or throwing away those clothes hangers depending on their overall condition.

If the hangers you’re not taking with you happen to be fairly OK and can still be useful to somebody else, then do consider giving them away to a person who you know might need them. Another option is to donate those hangers – try second-hand clothes stores or certain charitable organizations that accept clothes. Also, dry cleaners usually accept wire hangers in good condition for reuse.

But if the hangers you’re not moving with you cannot be reused – too old, too broken, or too stained, then your only viable option is to throw them away for proper recycling. Make sure you discard them in the correct recycle bin.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

Step 5. Leave the hangers on your clothes (wardrobe box)

Believe it or not, the best way to pack hangers when moving is to pack some of your clothes together with their hangers. And how should you do it?

It’s easy enough: simply take your hanging clothes from the wardrobe or dresser as they are placed on their hangers and transfer them carefully into a wardrobe box of the right size. For your information, wardrobe boxes are specialized containers for transporting hanging clothes – they look like miniature versions of clothes dressers and have a metal bar on the top on which you should hang the clothes.

Clearly, using wardrobe boxes is the easiest way to move clothes on hangers but it’s far from being the cheapest one – depending on its size (small, medium, large), a single wardrobe box will cost anywhere between $10 and $15. Also, wardrobe boxes are rather bulky and will take plenty of space inside the moving vehicle as well.

Step 6. Leave the hangers on your clothes (garbage bags)

Clean, durable garbage bags will enable you to pack up the hanging clothes in your closet in no time.

Another good way to pack hangers together with your hanging clothes is to use a simple yet highly practical trick to speed up the packing process: to pack clothes on hangers in garbage bags.

Here’s how it’s done:

• Take a clean (brand-new), durable garbage bag and poke a hole in the very center of its bottom;
• Tie a small cable tie (twist tie) around the hooks of a group of 5-6 hangers as they are placed inside the wardrobe or dresser. The hanging clothes should be similar in type and size;
• Get the tied hooks through the small bag opening and pull down the plastic bag over the grouped clothes until it covers completely the hanging clothes;
• Secure the open end of the trash bag by either pulling on its drawstrings or taping it with some bits of packing tape.

Using this famous clothes packing trick, both your hangers and clothes will be packed for moving together, quickly and safely.

Step 7. Group and stack your hangers properly

One of the most important steps when packing hangers for moving is to group and stack the items properly so that they take as little space inside a box as possible.

The first thing you should do is group all the hangers you’re moving by size and material. As a rule, not all clothes hangers are of the same size though they come pretty close. For obvious reasons, it would be very difficult to pack together hangers of various sizes, so make things easier on yourself from the start.

Next, you should group all hangers by material. In other words, you should stack and pack in bundles only hangers made of plastic, and so on. It’s OK to bundle together plastic and wooden hangers of similar size but you should remember to keep wire hangers separately from the rest of the clothes accessories for safety reasons.

Stack neatly one hanger on the top of another in bundles of 10-12 pieces. As mentioned above, do not mix wire hangers with plastic or wooden ones.

Step 8. Use rubber bands or stretch wrap to secure the hangers

Once you’ve created neat stacks of clothes hangers, it’s time to secure them for safe transportation.

One good way to secure hangers is to use long rubber bands.

• Use long rubber bands for the job. If you have a bunch of shorter rubber bands, just tie two or three ones together and it should be OK.
• Get a rubber band around the neck of the bundled hangers, stretch it down and around the bottom bars, and then tie it up again at the neck part to fix the entire bundle in place.
• Use a second rubber band if the bundle of hangers looks and feels flimsy.

Another way you can pack hangers together is to use stretch wrap. Simply go around the stacked clothes hangers twice with the stretch film and you’re good to go. Do NOT use regular packing tape because it is likely to ruin the top finish of the hangers.

How to Pack Winter Clothes for Moving

Step 9. Arrange the bundles of hangers in a cardboard box

Make sure the hangers cannot move inside the cardboard box.

The next step is to transfer the sorted and bundled clothes hangers into a cardboard box.

However, before you do it, place a sheet of clean packing paper along the bottom of the box for extra protection. Then, start arranging the pre-grouped hangers into the box by material, meaning that when you’ve done packing up all the plastic hangers, then start with the wooden ones, and finally, finish it up with your wire ones.

There isn’t any specific way to arrange the bundled clothes hangers into the box – just make sure the hooks of one bundle cannot get entangled with another one. Nevertheless, the most natural way to pack hangers into a cardboard box is to do it flat by stacking them up along the sides of the container. Use pieces of paper to fill in any gaps between the hangers so that they cannot move inside the box.

When done, place a second sheet of packing paper on the top, close the box, seal it with packing tape, and label it accordingly.

Step 10. Avoid these mistakes when packing hangers for a move

Now you know how to pack hangers for moving. As you can see, the packing task is not complicated in any way and you’ve got good options, including packing the hangers together with the clothes – either in wardrobe boxes or in plastic bags.

Nevertheless, there are several mistakes that you could make while packing hangers for a move – judgment errors that will not only lead to lost time, but possibly to broken hangers or sometimes even worse – damaged pieces of clothing.

Here are the top 3 mistakes that you should avoid making when packing hangers when moving:

• Do not leave any hangers inside the clothes dresser or wardrobe if you intend to move the furniture item with you. Having hangers loose inside it may scratch the sides of the furniture piece.
• Do not throw hangers randomly into cardboard boxes. Doing so will increase the chance of them tangling into each other and breaking during transport. Also, the storage room inside the box will not be used efficiently, to say the least.
• Do not combine hangers of different materials – this is especially important for wire hangers. Always groups hangers by material to prevent any damage during transport.

Packing for a move is a huge project and you may not be able to handle it on your own, especially when you’re moving in a hurry. Consider hiring professional packers if you’re running out of time or you feel rather overwhelmed by the great number of household items to protect for the road ahead.

The post How to Pack Hangers for Moving: Just Hang In There appeared first on The Moving Blog.