I think we can all agree that one of the most time-consuming parts after buying and selling a house is moving everything out of the old house and into the new. It’s always amazing how much stuff can accumulate over time and how tedious it is to box everything up and take it somewhere new.
Fortunately, my dad moved furniture professionally for a few years, so he’s always given me a lot of help when moving apartments while I was living in Nashville and most recently, when I moved into my new home. If you’ve been following along with any of my house updates, you’ve seen all of the new furniture I’ve been adding to my house. Most of it has come from Facebook Marketplace, which means my dad and I have driven all over Northern Indiana picking up furniture and home décor, loading it into his truck, and unloading it and moving it into my house. I don’t know what I would have done without his help because organizing is not my specialty. 🙂
I asked my dad for his professional tips on moving because hiring a professional moving company such as Moving Solutions is a nice luxury, but it can be expensive and hard to schedule movers so oftentimes, you need to move yourself. After 7 years working for a moving company and helping his family move countless times over the years, I thought he’d have some pretty good advice to share.
Here are his 6 essential tips for moving:
- Plan ahead
- Make a plan and stick to it. That can mean going room by room or cleaning out every closet first. Maybe you want to move out all the large furniture first and then tackle the small stuff. What’s most important is that you know where to start and when to finish.
- Take small stuff every trip
- If you’re moving locally (less than 100 miles), take a few small items every time you go to your new house. Books, lamps, dresser drawers, and other odds and ends items are easy to move and can fit in any vehicle. Make the most of your driving time by moving the small stuff while you’re already making the trip. One thing that was easy to move was clothes on hangers! I would take a bunch of hanging clothes from my closet, throw them in the back of my car, and hang them up in my new closet the next time I went to the house.
- Cut down on excess furniture
- Only take what’s absolutely necessary! If you have furniture, decor, clothes, etc. that have been sitting in an attic or the back of your closet for a while, sell or donate them prior to moving. The chances that those items will just take up space in storage at a new house are pretty high. Plus, it can feel really rewarding to donate a few items and start with a cleaner slate at your new place.
- Stock up on supplies
- Make sure to have plenty of boxes, furniture pads, and packing materials, if needed. Towels and blankets can be used to package fragile items, but the last thing you want is to run out of materials and risk breaking your items or make a last minute run when you could be using that time to pack. Save time and effort by stocking up on supplies before you get started.
- Move during nice weather
- This might seem obvious but at least looking ahead at the forecast before scheduling a big move can save a lot of headache! It might make sense to get big items moved a day earlier or a day later than planned when the sun is shining so you’re not loading and moving during the rain and snow. I hauled a truck and a trailer full of furniture from a warehouse sale for 6 hours and I can’t imagine how much more difficult it would have been in bad weather.
- Be ready when the movers arrive
- If you are hiring professional movers (or just asking family and friends to help), be sure to have boxes packed and ready to go when they show up. Make the most of your time and money by not making them wait for you. When my parents came to Nashville to help me move after college, I hadn’t prepared anything and based on their reactions that was a mistake I’ll never make again.
Sometimes it’s just not feasible to move on your own and hiring a moving company is the best option. Whether you’re looking for Nashville long-distance movers or moving down the street, these tips can still be used when preparing for movers to arrive or attempting to do it on your own.
Do you have any lessons from moving or a tip to share? Drop a comment below!
Laura All Day Long 