How to Find the Best Packing Supplies to Move

Finding the right packing supplies for your move may seem like a daunting task. There are good ways to go about it and bad ways. Some of the supplies you may think are good for packing may actually be the reason items show up damaged or you struggle to get them moved properly. Here's a look at a couple different ways you can find your packing supplies.

The Green Way

If you want to "Go Green" with your move and make your move hassle free, using green packing boxes is the best way to go. You may still need other packing supplies, such as bubble wrap, some packing tape and packing paper, but the boxes will be taken care of.

Not only will green packing boxes provide a more environmentally friendly solution, but they are also far more durable. Since the boxes are made of plastic, you don't have to worry about any bottoms breaking or any sides collapsing. In addition, you will rent the boxes, so you don't have to figure out where you will throw them away.

Chicago Green Boxes

The Cardboard Way

Getting your packing materials from your moving company is always the best choice if you go cardboard. They will have boxes you can use for different types of items, along with all of the other packing supplies you need. Whether you just need a few regular boxes or you want boxes specifically for items, such as a flat screen TV or a nice wall painting, you'll find them from your moving company.

The cardboard way isn't the best way, but it's acceptable. Using green boxes for your move is a much better solution. Even with the best brand new cardboard boxes, if you overload them or they get wet, they will likely break. This could damage your items. In addition, buying boxes can actually be more expensive than renting green boxes.

The Cheap and Wrong Way

Many people want to go very cheap with their moving supplies and their most breakable items suffer the consequences. Could you imagine arriving at your new home with broken dishes, lamps and other fragile items? It would just add additional stress to an already stressful day.

Choosing used boxes for your move, even if they seem like they are in good shape, is a bad idea. It may be cheap and the boxes may be free, but they are also not going to hold up the same as new cardboard boxes or plastic packing boxes. Sometimes, a used box looks great, but ends up breaking as soon as it has any weight inside it.

If you want to protect your items, don't collect free boxes from friends, family, grocery stores, restaurants or anywhere else giving them away. They may not come at a price in dollars, but they could come at a price in broken items.

Getting the best packing supplies is very important when it comes to moving. Using green boxes will give you the best possible boxes for your move. In addition, you can get your bubble wrap, packing paper, tape and specialty boxes from your moving company. This will ensure you have the best possible packing supplies for your next move.

What to Expect when Using a Professional Packing Service

Whenever you move, it involved packing and unpacking everything you own. This may seem like a very tedious task and your time may be better spent doing other things. Often, it will even require taking time off from work to get the packing done. If you don't like the idea of packing up your entire home and unpacking it when you arrive, you do have the option of hiring a professional packing service. This type of service will come in and do all the packing for you. They will even take apart furniture and other items. Then, when your things arrive at the new home, the packing service will actually unpack everything for you.

Should you Hire a Professional Packing Service?

Not all moves require a professional packing service and there are times when this type of service comes in handy more than others. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide if you need a packing service:

If you're moving a longer distance, it's a good idea to hire a packing service. The long drive can be very exhausting and it's even worse after spending days packing everything up.

When you need to move a large home or office, a packing service should be used. Any home with more than 2 bedrooms will take a very long time to get packed up.

Those with a number of obligations or needing to work during the move should also consider hiring a packing service. The money spent on the service may be worth it when it comes to the time you will save.

If the move will include a number of valuable items, antiques or other collectible items, you may want to have a professional do the packing. This will ensure everything it packed properly and you won't have to worry about anything arriving damaged.

All of these situations, along with anytime you cannot physically handle the packing, a professional packing service should be considered.

How Long will it Take for the Service to Pack you Home?

The number of time needed to pack up your home and get it ready to be moved to your new locations depends on the size of your home and the number of people packing. Some of the averages are:

• Under 1,000 Square Feet - 4 to 6 hours for two people or 2-3 hours for four people.

• 1,500 to 2,000 Square Feet - 13 to 16 hours for two people, 7 to 9 hours for four people or 4 to 5 hours for six people.

• 2,500 to 3,000 Square Feet - 21 to 25 hours for two people, 11 to 14 hours for four people or 7 to 9 hours for six people.

• 4,000 square feet or larger - 36 to 40 hours for 2 people, 19 to 22 people for four people or 12 to 16 hours for six people

With the help of a professional packing service, the job will be done faster than you could imagine. They will also make sure everything is packed correctly and there will be enough workers on site to make the process go much smoother and quicker.

Some of the other things you can expect from a professional packing service include:

• Creation of a full moving inventory

• Use of the right boxes and packing materials

• Proper packing and labeling of fragile and valuable items

• And More!

It all starts with a professional, on-site estimate for the total cost of packing your home. If you want to save time and enjoy the fact that you won't have to do any packing or unpacking, hiring a professional packing services the best choice you can make.

How Much Does it Cost to Move an Office? Part 2

(Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1.)

Since there’s so much information to cover about the cost to move an office, we split this post into two parts. We already covered the challenges of an office move and the elements you should consider in the costs. In part two, we will look at the actual costs for moving an office.

Breakdown of office relocation costs estimator

Now that you have a sense of the elements that will affect your pricing, it’s important to understand a breakdown of these potential costs. Not all of these costs will apply to your move, but many could apply to it.

• When you’re moving about 1,500 square feet of office space, your pricing could range from as low as $750 to as high as $4,500 depending on the materials, disassembly, and furniture.

• The packing and moving of a 3,000 square foot space would likely start at around $1,500 and range up to $9,000 depending on your files and furniture.

• A 10,000 square foot space would likely start at $5,000 and range up to $30,000 due to numerous employees and workstations. Consider about $50 -$250 per employee.

You’ll have additional costs for a moving consultant, long carries and shuttling boxes through elevators, packing and moving cable, data lines, and computer or phone cables, and you’ll want to tip your moving crew.  New furniture could cost $200-$2,000 per employee, computers ranging from $300-$3,000 per employee, and phone systems anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

You could also look at the expenses as it costing about $1-$2 per square foot for an office move or around $.75 per square foot for packing your office. Determine if you want a crew to pack up your office outside of business hours to save from losing out on your own operations or if you’d rather have your office staff pack their offices up during working hours which could affect your business income.

Best advice before your move

The best advice before your upcoming office move is to spend a great deal of time planning this out. You’ll need to work with a professional moving team early to make sure everything is prepared for well before moving day.

Not only do you need to work with the movers now, but you should work with internet service providers on your transfers, contractors like plumbing and cable to get you all setup, and talking to any of your staff members about expectations for the upcoming move.

You also need to prepare financially for such a big ordeal. On the lower end, you could be spending $5,000 on a small business move and up to $10,000 if your business has up to 30 people. If you wait too long to plan your move, you could end up with unexpected charges for last minute planning like expedited shipping, weekend labor rates, after-hour assistance, redoing jobs that were rushed the first time, and more.

Your cable or internet provider could charge you a rush for transferring services in such a hurry or contractors you hire to set up services in the new location could charge for rushed labor. You can’t go without plumbing, electric, internet, or other important services, so you would definitely pay whatever it takes to get things setup which could cause you a huge bill in the end.

The alternative would be shutting down the business for a few days which could cost you hundreds or thousands in unhappy or lost clients. It’s important to plan ahead to avoid any major costs like these or others that you haven’t even considered for trying to do everything at the last minute.

You’ll likely want to hire a professional mover in Chicago to handle the disassemble and reassemble of your furniture equipment, customized packing and crating, the moving of computers and servers, and other individual needs that will be worth every penny when your business is back up and running without missing a beat.

We are an experienced moving company and are used to clients that need their offices moved and special crating for extra protection of their gear. We can handle moving that large office copier, using a sanitized truck fleet to keep your belongings protected, and will help you with the logistics and scheduling with ease.

Don’t fear your upcoming office move.  Hire a great moving team, plan out the details, and look forward to a bigger and better, or smaller and simpler office space!

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A Professional Timeline for Your Upcoming Move

Setting the timeline for your next move is very important. If you wait until the last minute to handle everything, you may miss some of the most important steps. In addition, procrastinating during a move will only cause more stress. Here's a professional timeline you can customize to fit your specific residential moving needs.

10 Weeks Out

When you reach about ten weeks from your moving date, it's time to start getting things organized and make some decisions. This is a good time to look into local moving companies, especially if you're considering hiring the company to pack, move and unpack your things. Check out our reviews at The Professionals and let us know as soon as you're ready!

8 Weeks Out

At the eight-week mark, you will need to think about buying your packing materials. The Professionals will be able to help you with all of your supplies, including boxes for specialty items, such as flat screen TVs. If you're considering a garage/moving sale, this is the time to schedule the dates and get everything ready for it. Perhaps you should checkout The Chicago GreenBox and see if using their green, plastic moving totes would help keep your possessions clean and out of harms' way.

Chicago Green Boxes

6 Weeks Out

When you're about six weeks away from moving, it's time to let the school your children attend know, unless they will attend the same school after the move. You want to get all the copies of your children's school records and look into enrollment at the new schools. This is also a good time to book your moving appointment with us, and also get all of your medical records, if you're moving away from your current doctor.

4 Weeks Out

If you're about four weeks from your moving date, it's a great time to start packing anything you won't need for the next four weeks. Pack things down to just the essentials so that you can get as much packed ahead of time as possible. You can also notify the utility companies and your landlord, at this time. If you have a specific clause in your lease about notifying your landlord, make sure you check this plenty early. Some require 60 days notification, but most just ask for 30 days.

2 Weeks Out

At the two-week mark, it's time to get a plan together for groceries and food for the next few weeks. It's also a good time to have your car serviced, if you're moving long distance. You may also need to transfer insurance and pack as much as possible, as you don't want to be packing on moving day.

1 Week Out

At the one week mark, hopefully, you're just about all packed up. This is a good tie to confirm with your us and anything else having to do with your move. You can also pack an overnight bag with some essentials you will need when you first get into your new place.

The Day Before

Moving day is tomorrow and it's time to get your important documents together and anything else going with you on moving day. It's also a great time to do a final sweep of your home and make sure you didn't forget anything.

Moving Day

When moving day arrives, work with your movers to make sure everything safely makes it into the truck. You can also make a final sweep, if necessary. There are plenty of things you need to do before moving day shows up. Use this moving timeline to create your own timeline based on your specific needs.

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