Archive for December, 2009

Company Spotlights

  • Written by nxm
  • Posted December 9, 2009 at 6:56 pm

The professional moving industry is a big one.  There are many companies out there that offer a variety of services and charge a range of fees.  Some companies offer to pack up your things, load it into the truck, drive the moving truck to your new place, and unload it all for you.  Some companies only offer loading and unloading the truck.  When my parents moved to their new home, they boxed everything themselves and hired the movers to pack the truck and unload it.  When my aunt moved recently, she didn’t pack one box.  She had the movers do everything.  That’s my kind of move!  So, you need to decide what your budget is during your move.  If you have a large budget, you might want to consider having the movers do it all for you.  If your budget it small, renting a truck for a day might be your best bet.

Because I know moving can be such a pain, I’m going to go through a number of companies and find out what they offer and if they are a good option to go with.  Seeing these spotlights can help you in your decision of what company to go with.  One less thing to stress about, right?
These spotlights will be for the area of Phoenix. I’ll spotlight nationwide chains, such as U-HAUL, Allied, and PODS.  I’ll also spotlight local companies that are not as well known.  Depending on your needs, those lesser known companies can be a better bang for your buck.  They can also give you the sense of one-on-one customer service that feels so nice at a stressful time.  On the other hand, they might not have great customer service at all, because they don’t have a high-up corporate boss to answer to.

So the next few posts I’ll do will be spotlights.  I look forward to your reviews!

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Packing and Unpacking

  • Written by nxm
  • Posted December 8, 2009 at 7:35 pm

The first time my husband and I moved, I packed all of our books in a few boxes and told him they were ready to be loaded into the truck.  He gave it one try to lift up the box, and almost threw out his back.  Yikes.  I told him I was just trying to be organized and keep everything together with things that are like it.  He then proceeded to educate me on packing.  He explained that you can’t put twenty heavy books in the same box, it’s too heavy.  You need to evenly distribute things, if possible.

He’s right.  When moving your stuff, it’s important to keep in mind the movers, whether it’s yourself, a buddy, or professional movers.  The easier it is to transport, the better your stuff will be taken care of.  Try to keep the heavy things like books, dishes, etc. distributed with light weight things, like towels and pillows.
Jerry Seinfeld once talked about the irony of not being able to find boxes when you’re actually moving, but when you’re not moving, you see boxes everywhere!  I’ve felt like this numerous times.  I’ve hired my little brothers to go around town ‘dumpster diving’ to look for boxes.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I ventured inside grocery stores, McDonald’s, dollar stores, and many more to see if they had an extras to spare.  You can, of course, buy boxes from whatever moving company you hire.  If you’re trying to save, though, try your luck around town finding extra boxes.
When packing the boxes of your stuff, it’s a good idea to label them.  This will make the transition into your new residence much easier, especially if you’re moving into a place that has stairs.  Label which room the box will belong, and note if it’s fragile or not.
When you get to your new place, start the unpacking process with the essentials.  Get your bed ready so you at least have a place to sleep that night.  I always like to get my kitchen unpacked as soon as I can, so I can have some food and order there.  The kitchen is the gathering place of my house, so it just makes sense to have it organized and out of the way first.  Move on from the kitchen to the living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms.
Before you know it, you’ll be all settled in your new place!  Just take it one day at a time. Hope you enjoyed our moving tips.
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Filed under: Advice