You’ve hired the movers and moving day is coming up quickly, but is there anything else you need to do to prep your home for a move? For most families, it may feel like you’re overstepping to get anything ready for the movers since the movers likely have a system in place for how they pack and load your things.
They are liable for getting things moved safely which means that packing up your house for them may cause a feud later if something were to be damaged on their watch. How do you help the moving crew out without causing a bigger project for them? Take a look at these things that movers wish you knew to help them out before moving day.
Get appliances and other electrical belongings ready
The first way you can help your movers is to get the appliances ready now, instead of trying to do so on moving day. That goes for any appliance or anything electrical that can be unplugged and taken down before the move (hint - see last week's blog post!).
You don’t want your moving crew to have to try to figure out how to disassemble your washing machine, or worse, find out that they are not allowed to do that for you due to liability. Make sure you have appliances disconnected before the move and prep them in advance, such as defrosting the freezer in advance. Unplug your DVD player, coffee maker, clocks, lamps, and anything else that will need to be unplugged for the move.
Remove things from the wall
Next, check out each room of your house to see what is currently on your walls. You’ll find the moving day to be much easier if you remove these items now rather than to wait for the moving day. Remove pictures, paintings, mirrors, clocks, and anything else you’ve gotten used to being out of sight and out of mind. Put all of these items on one wall space so that they can be packed at one time.
Make a room for things not meant for the movers
If you have things that aren’t going to be moved for any reason, dedicate one space in the house for these items rather than trying to sort them out one-by-one on moving day. Your movers will appreciate if you’ve already sorted things and have a room that contains the items they aren’t meant to move. Many people choose a kitchen counter for things like phone chargers, mail, first-week box, and medicine, to avoid the movers trying to pack these items for you.
Prep your outdoor goods
You probably forgot about those outdoor items that need moved or didn’t realize they needed to be prepared as well (hint - we've given tips before on how to move outdoor items!). Your mowers and blowers are not going to be moved if they still have gas in them, so be sure to drain anything you own with oil or gasoline in them. You can run them out of gas or siphon them into a neighbor’s mower. Don’t try to bring propane tanks because your movers likely won’t accept them.
Pack some of it ahead of time
While you may be wondering if you should be packing up your house ahead of time, most of the time it’s better to have the movers handle this job to make sure everything is packed carefully. You can pack things but make sure they are labeled and marked if they are valuable.
You could always pack some of it beforehand if you have bubble wrap and proper boxes, but your movers will have all of this too. Be sure to discuss ahead of time what you’ll need to be moved so that your movers can prepare for the move. Perhaps put together a Moving Checklist.
On moving day, be sure to give your movers plenty of space to get the job done and tipping for a good job is standard. Your moving day can be simple if you do some of the prep work and stay out of the way on moving day in order to allow the professionals handle your move with care!