How to Safely Pack & Move a TV

Moving your TV may seem like a chore. It's a huge undertaking and if you have a nice, flat-screen TV, you don't want it to get broken. The right box, along with packing the TV properly will go a very long way.

After hiring movers to help with your residential move in Chicago, you want to ask about the specialty boxes they offer. They will likely have a flat panel TV box you can use to better protect your TV during the move. In addition, use these tips to help protect your TV when moving. Here’s some of the packing materials we offer here at The Professionals Moving Specialists.

Remove the Power Cord

There is no sense and leaving the cord plugged in when moving your TV. Remove it from the back of the TV (if possible) to make moving the TV easier. Cords get tripped on and cause accidents.

Remove the Base

This may not be necessary with every flat screen TV, but if your TV has a large base, remove it. Without removing it, the TV may not fit into the box, which can make it a hassle to move.

Keep All Hardware Together

There's nothing worse than arriving at your new home, unpacking your TV, and realizing you don't know where the hardware or cord is to use it. Make sure you keep all the hardware with the cord and the base.

Cover Your TV Before Packing it

A layer of foam or bubble wrap will go a long way to help protect your TV during a move. If you want to safely pack your TV, you will want to cover it with foam or bubble wrap before putting it in the box.

You can use stretch plastic wrap to secure the foam or bubble wrap, as well. This will also ensure the TV doesn't get scratched.

Another option is to use furniture pads, a sheet or a blanket to cover your TV. If you don't have the right packing materials, this is a good choice in a pinch.

Make Sure the TV is Secured in the Box

Once you've covered the TV and placed it into the box, you want to make sure it's secure. Without the right packing materials, it could shift, which could cause issues during the move. Make sure you use furniture pads, blankets, foam, bubble wrap, or something else soft to ensure it's completely secured inside the box.

Load the TV Upright

One of the biggest mistakes people make when moving a TV is loading it the wrong way. You want to load it upright and store it properly. It's best to store it in between sturdy objects, such as a mattress or dresser. The best way to pack a TV for the move is to make sure it won't move around or fall.

When you pack your flat-screen TV for moving, make sure you have the right box and you use these tips. Without the right packing, you could arrive to a cracked, scratched, or damaged TV, which could cost you quite a bit of money to replace.

If you're worried about your TV, hire residential movers to pack and move it for you. Professional movers will ensure it arrives in the condition it left your old home in.

Moving Day Essentials You Should Have on Hand for Your Move

When it's time to start packing for moving day, you must be strategic. Depending on how far you're moving and how long it will take, there are some moving day essentials you'll want to make sure you have on hand. Here are some of the top essentials to have available on moving day.

Bedding and Pillows

Arriving at your new home and searching for fresh bedding and pillows just lead to frustration. You might have dozens of boxes and have no clue where they are packed away.

Instead, pack a set of bedding for each bed in the house and make each family member responsible for taking their pillow. They can even use the pillow in the vehicle as you make the trip to your new home, which can be very helpful on a longer trip.

Cleaning Supplies

You may want to do a bit of cleaning after everything is removed from your old home or before everything goes into your new home. Cleaning supplies can come in handy on moving day and should also include wipes for hands.

A Corkscrew

If you have any thoughts of celebrating with a corked bottle of something fun, you'll need a corkscrew. Make sure you pack this item with you as it can be a real pain to figure out which box it was packed away in when you're ready to pop the bottle and enjoy celebrating your new home.

Batteries

Whether for the TV remote control or for a smoke detector, batteries are essential on moving day. You may not realize it until something needs batteries as many times these little items get overlooked.

Pack a variety of batteries to take with you on your journey. This will ensure you have what you need when a battery becomes an essential item for your move.

Basic Toolkit

Chances are, you will need a toolkit on day one when you move into a new place. Whether it's needed to hang something on the wall, tighten a screw, or for another room, make sure you have a basic toolkit. You may want to include a hammer, screwdrivers, measuring tape, pliers, a utility knife, and other basic tools.

Toiletries

The first day in a new place is usually chaos, but you don't want to be searching for toiletries when you move in. Toilet paper and toothbrushes should be packed specifically to become easy to find when you arrive. Other toiletries may also be necessary.

An Overnight Bag

You never know how moving day will go and it's smart to have a day's worth of clothing and other items ready to go. Have every family member pack an overnight bag or pack one for the entire family with a change of clothes and other essential items.

Phone Chargers

Don't make the mistake of packing your phone chargers in boxes for the movers to take with them. You may spend hours trying to locate them when you arrive if you do this. Instead, pack them with you to ensure you'll have a fully charged phone when you arrive at your new home.

Moving day is stressful. Whether you're just moving locally in Chicago or you're moving across the country, there are certain essentials you want to make sure remain with you. Let The Professional Movers handle most of your items, but make sure to pack some essentials for moving day.

4 Reasons You Need to Hire Professionals for Your Next Move

Moving is tough. There’s no way around it. Moving all of your belongings from one apartment to the next is a grueling task. And if you’re envisioning a move in your near future, you might want to think about the benefits to hiring the professionals this time around.

So, why would you pay extra money to have the professionals move your stuff? Well, let’s just say you’re moving from your current Cincinnati apartment where rent prices are on the decline  to a more expensive city like Chicago. In this case, you’ll want to save money and skip the Chicago movers, right!? Wrong.

You have to account for the time you’ll spend packing, driving, unloading — potentially injuring yourself in the process — and storing your stuff in Chicago if things go wrong. Plus, you’ll likely end up paying extra fees for rental trucks, storage and the pizzas you buy for your helpful friends and family members will add up quick.

Here are the four main reasons you’ll want to hire movers for your next move:

Reliability

Professional moving companies are professionals because they know how to get the job done. If they didn’t, the company would not be in business. Rather than depending on your friends and family on your move out date, book a moving company and give yourself some peace of mind. Professional movers are specifically trained for moments like your move. They learn the best techniques to keep your belongings intact and safe, unlike your Uncle John who just tosses your things into the back of a truck on his way out of the apartment. You can’t afford to break items during your move, so let the pros handle it.

Speed

Moving companies are trained to work at an extremely fast pace. This isn’t because they want to simply get done with your move and onto the next for a quick buck. The pros work at a fast pace, because they know you don’t have much time and they’re going to provide you with the best customer service and moving experience possible. Chicago movers, specifically, have a ton of experience working within the atmosphere of a busy city; this is something you cannot prepare for yourself. Most companies pride themselves on prompt and professional service, and by finding a great moving company, you can ensure a speedy move. It’s worth every penny.

Heavy Lifting

Ok, we know some of you have had dreams of becoming a professional weightlifter; or maybe you played football back in college. Times have changed. Without proper training to lift household items, heavy lifting can lead to major injuries to the back and legs — something you need to avoid at all costs. Hire the pros for this. They’ll bring a team of strong, qualified moving professionals and will handle the heavy lifting in an efficient manner. You and your friends might think saving a few bucks on moving costs might be worth it until you get your first medical bill from blowing out your back trying to lift that couch. Leave this to the experts!

Inventory

Kitchenware. Glasses. Shoes. Dressers. TVs. Pots. Pans. We all have much more stuff than we actually imagine. When prepping for a move it can be daunting to take inventory on all of your materials. And packing them is even more of a pain and lengthy process.

For this, hire the experts. Moving professionals understand what size boxes they need, how to pack those boxes and how to transport them as well. The pros are trained in organizing a move efficiently and this starts with the packing and inventory process. Think about wrapping glassware, lamps and your mattress; these are extremely tough tasks for all of us. To reduce the amount of damage you cause to your items, hire the experts.

Overall, we all know that moving is a time-consuming and difficult task. And you already have a ton to worry about when planning your next move; perhaps you’re weighing the rent vs. own options for your future and how much money that might cost you. That said, there are amazing companies that help to make this process easier on all of us. From taking inventory to lifting heavy items, you don’t have to do any of that yourself. Hire the moving professionals and you will not regret it!

How to Avoid Moving Day Theft

One thing you may not have put much thought into when it comes to your upcoming move is how to avoid moving day theft. You’ve spent so much time planning the move, hiring professional movers, packing the house, and throwing a moving party with your friends that it didn’t even cross your mind that theft can take place on this important day.

This is because you are more distracted than usual and some people may take this opportunity to take advantage of your busy mind. Take a look at these tips to keep in mind to make sure you aren’t dealing with moving day theft.

Handling so many people coming and going

One of the biggest problems with moving day is that you are dealing with so many different people coming and going in your home, how could you possibly notice if a burglar came in and left with one of your items? You’ll have friends and family helping you with the move, the professional movers, landlords or old tenants, the cable guy, and more showing up at the door. This means that a thief could easily walk in pretending to be one of these workers and head out the door with a valuable item.

One way to avoid this dilemma is to set up a room in the old house and new house where no one can go but your family. This room can hold all of the valuable items and have a way to be locked up. Be sure it doesn’t have windows and that only you know who is going into that room. It’s a great way to protect valuables like jewelry, money, family heirlooms, and photos from getting stolen.

The most common stolen item on moving day

Surprisingly, the most common item stolen on moving day is prescription medicine and designer items like your perfumes. While it may seem strange that people would go after your toiletry bag, they look at these pills and designer belongings as things that are easy to sell on the street.

Don’t pack your important toiletries like these that are hard to replace in your regular toiletry bag or box. Instead, put them in a small piece of luggage that you can easily identify and keep track of at all times. You’ll feel more secure knowing that these important items are in a small suitcase that thieves wouldn’t look at for medications.

Guarding your personal records

Since you’ve been gathering important and sensitive personal records before the move, you’re carrying these things around during your moving day. You don’t want someone getting your personal paperwork and trying to sell it on the street for a great deal of money.

Instead, keep these papers on you at all times to ensure they are constantly being guarded. This would be everything from bank statements to investments, social security numbers to birth certificates. Keep them in your secured room

Have extra eyes working on your behalf

Lastly, it can be really beneficial to have extra eyes working on your behalf that day. Hiring a professional moving service allows you to feel a peace of mind knowing that all of these crew members are watching your things during the move.

Having friends and family around will also help to have everyone keeping an eye on everything and having enough people to remember seeing each box go on the moving truck and come off. You don’t have to try to keep track of everything yourself.

Moving day theft isn’t too common of a problem, but when it does happen, these are the most common problems. Protect your identity, your valuables, and your hard-to-replace items by keeping these tips in mind before your upcoming move.

How to best be helpful to your professional movers

You’ve hired a moving crew with a great reputation and a great deal of experience in moving household goods. Now it’s time for your upcoming move and you want to be sure everything goes as well for you as it has for other moves. What can you do on your part to help ensure the move is a great one?

While your movers will be doing the heavy lifting and the stuff that isn’t so fun, you can do some things in preparation for the move to make sure they can do their job more efficiently. Start emptying out dresser drawers and getting some labels ready, along with these other tips, so that you can be extra helpful to your movers while they do their best to take care of you too.

Get beverages for the crew

One easy place to start is to have cold beverages ready for the team on moving day. Your movers are going to work hard and they are going to work up a sweat. Offering refreshments to your crew and anyone else you have helping you out will show appreciation for the hard work and keep everyone feeling good for the duration of the project. Having snacks like fruit and granola bars is also a great way to keep everyone fueled for the hard work taking place.

Make labels for the right rooms

If you are the one doing the packing, make sure to have everything packed and ready to go for moving day. Have a space set aside for anything you don’t want them to touch, such as an extra bedroom that they won’t go in.

If you have a packing crew, make sure to start making labels ahead of time for things like “kitchen,” “dishes,” “kid’s toys,” so that you can slap those on the boxes quickly and efficiently. If you are packing yourself, make sure everything is labeled with the items and rooms they go in before the movers arrive.

Empty desks and drawers

The movers aren’t going to move your dresser, desks, and armoires with stuff full in the drawers. Instead, you should empty them out ahead of time to ensure the furniture can be moved and nothing is damaged. Emptying any cabinets, desks, and other furniture and packing them into boxes with everything else will allow your movers to focus on the piece of furniture and the best protection for it without extra weight inside.

Disconnect electronics and appliances

One thing you may not have thought to do is to disconnect anything plugged into the wall. This means that you’ll want to unplug lamps, TVs, DVD players, hairdryers, air fresheners, and more. Have everything unplugged and wiped free of dust so that it’s easy and fast for the movers. Otherwise, you may be paying for extra time while your movers attempt to figure out how to detangle them.

Take everything off the walls

Your walls are full of art, photographs, shelves, mirrors, and more. This is the time to start taking everything down. Your movers can appropriately pack these fragile items in the right boxes, but having them down off the wall ahead of time will make it much more efficient. Anything on the wall can be taken down and set on the floor below where it was hanging including paintings, mirrors, clocks, and pictures. Then put all of the hanging hardware and nails in a bag for your new home.

Pack valuable items in your car

Another tip to help your movers is to put anything small, fragile, or very important in your own car. While it’s not required, your professional movers will appreciate not being responsible for your family heirlooms, jewelry, or small electronics. Then you can keep some of these extremely valuable items with you the whole day.

The most important thing to do to help your professional movers is to let them do what they do best. Taking steps to make the day smoother ahead of time will be appreciated, but trusting them to handle your goods with care is the best thing you can do.