Moving long distance to another state or city is regarded as the relocation type that is most challenging, directly after having to make an international move. It would be best if you were fully prepared for a long distance move.
Here are important tips that you can use to help you prepare.
1. Create A Long Distance Moving Checklist
A long distance move requires extensive planning, and you should avoid wasting any more time wondering where you should start or what you need to do next. The answer is simple: you will need a checklist that works and you need to get started on this right away.
It would help if you created your moving checklist so that it manages the time that you have down to the last detail. Fill in your moving timeline with tasks that only move related and relevant to your situation. From here, sort out these tasks according to their importance.
2. Collect In-Home Moving Estimates
To prepare your “preliminary” moving budget, it is important to find out how much will hiring long distance movers cost. The best way to go about finding out about the costs involved in your move is to collect free quotes from reputable long distance movers. Once you have established an initial contract, ask at least 3 or 4 companies to come out and conduct a visual inspection and risk assessment.
Make sure you get a binding written estimate from each company once they have completed your in-home survey. You can compare the quotes and the services on offer to decide the company that matches up to your needs.
3. Sort Out All Your Household Items
The next step involved in preparing for your long distance move is to sort out and inventory every possession that you own. This will ensure that you only end up moving items that you know will be used or valuables that you have always enjoyed and liked.
Make sure you tackle one room at a time and write down an inventory list in detail on every item found in each room. This activity will provide you with a clear idea of everything that you have before you start packing everything into boxes.
4. Get Rid Of Anything You No Longer Need Or Want
There are very straight-forward and strategic methods to prepare for long distance moves, and then there is a complicated and bad way of preparing. Packing and then moving everything that you own is one of the classic examples of something that should never be done when moving across several states.
As you start to sort through the items that you own, start paying attention to the furniture that you own. It would be cheaper to buy new pieces of furniture once you arrive in your new home rather than paying the costs to move your old and outdated furniture.
Once you have decided on what to discard, you can sell these items online or host garage sales. You can also decide to donate items to charity or give them away to your friends.
5. Pack Your Essentials Boxes
Unlike local moves that are typically completed in a much shorter time-frame, the cross-country moves may take a few days. This usually means that you won’t see most of your household goods for some time.
This also means that you should pack boxes that contain your absolute essentials well before the long distance moving company arrives. These boxes should only contain really important items like prescription medication, pet’s and children’s essentials, basic tools, toiletries, kitchen items, as so forth. Avoid giving these boxes to the long distance movers by mistake.
6. Change Your Address
Part of preparing for your move will mean that you have to cover just about everything before you move out. So the next important step before moving into your new home involves changing your address. This will help to prevent important mail from getting misplaced or lost during your transitional period. It would be best if you aimed to change your address around two weeks before the moving date.
There are four ways that you can choose from when it comes to changing an address. These include mail, by phone, in-person or online with the USPS (United States Postal Service).
A long distance move is a costly exercise, and you should be looking for as many opportunities as you can to save money. There are three tips to help you save a bit of money on your long distance move:
– Hiring long distance movers that offer competitive prices.
– Only take the items that you need. If possible try not to move your furniture (especially when it works out cheaper to buy new stuff)
– Pack as much as you can by yourself. Also, look out for free packaging supplies, such as moving boxes.
