Moving Tips, Tricks & Advice

December 14, 2023

Moving Tips, Tricks, and Advice

1. Get rid of everything

Packing all your possessions into boxes, bags, and more can be overwhelming. Make it a little bit easier on yourself by cutting back on clutter as much as possible. Before you pack a single box, do a merciless purge of unused or unnecessary items. You'll have less to pack, less to move, and less to unpack—and you'll start life in your new space with a clean slate.


2. Make a moving folder

Start collecting new addresses, rental or purchase papers, moving contracts, and more in one folder. (Consider a hard copy, rather than a digital one, in case computer or phone batteries die during the move.) If any questions come up during the planning process or the move itself, you'll have the answer (and records of agreements, payments, and more) on hand.


3. Pack as far in advance as possible

Ideally, you'll know about a move (even if you're not sure of the final destination) weeks or even months in advance. Start by packing off-season items and the items you won't miss. If you're moving in summer, you can pack winter coats in advance—and likely books and other once-in-a-while items. When it's finally time to move, many items will already be ready to go, giving you less to stress about.


4. Book early

If you're hiring moving services, renting supplies, or hiring professionals such as painters or cleaners to work on the house, book early. Waiting to do so could mean paying a higher price, or not being able to get a truck or movers at all, particularly if it's peak moving season.


5. Schedule utilities for your new place

Once the dates are finalized, contact your utility providers to schedule service at your new home. You don't want to arrive there, tired from the move, only to find that the electricity, water, or heat is off. Schedule it ahead of time, and keep records of your requests in your moving folder. At the same time, request service stops for your move-out date at your current home.


6. Keep the essentials with you

On the night before the move, tuck everyday essentials—a change of clothes, a toothbrush, must-have stuffed animals or toys for the kids, medications, paperwork, etc.—into a suitcase or bag you'll keep with you in the car, the truck cab, or on the plane. If catastrophe strikes and the moving truck gets lost, at least you'll have some essentials with you.


7. Invest in equipment

A few days before the big move, stock up on supplies. The last thing you want is to have to make a run to the store while you're packing moving boxes or making sure everything is out of the house. Order or purchase box cutters, adhesive bandages, permanent markers, packing tape, paper towels, and garbage bags. (If they aren't all used during the move, they'll still be useful afterward!)

For larger moving equipment, considering renting moving tools from a moving company. (If you hire a moving service, they'll likely have their own.) If you move very frequently, you may be better off purchasing these tools. Either by buying, renting, or borrowing, make sure you have a furniture dolly, furniture pads or covers, and tie-down straps or rope at your disposal during the move.


8. Get a truck with a loading ramp

If you're a DIY mover, you absolutely need a truck with a ramp. It may be cheaper to rent a truck without one, but the hassle (and struggle) of lifting every box and piece of furniture high enough to get it into the truck will add hours—plus sore muscles—to your move.


Packing Tips for Moving


1. Use the right size boxes

When you pack books for moving, pack them or other heavy items in small boxes; light items, like linens and pillows, can be packed in bigger ones. (Large boxes packed with heavy items are a common complaint of professional movers. They not only make the job harder but also have a better chance of breaking.)

 The Best Packing Materials for Your Next Move (and How to Use Them)


2. Put heavier items on the bottoms of boxes, lighter items on top

And if you're loading the truck yourself, pack your heaviest boxes first, toward the front of the truck, for balance.


3. Don't leave empty spaces in the boxes

Fill in gaps with clothing, towels, or packing paper. Movers often won't move boxes that feel loosely packed or unbalanced.


4. Avoid mixing items from different rooms in the same box.

It will make your packing quicker and your unpacking a lot easier, too.


5. Label each box with the room it's destined for and a description of its contents

This will help you and your movers know where every box belongs in your new place. Numbering each box and keeping an inventory list in a small notebook is a good way to keep track of what you've packed―and to make sure you still have everything when you unpack.


6. Tape your moving boxes well

Use a couple of pieces of tape to close the bottom and top seams, then use one of the movers' techniques―making a couple of wraps all the way around the box's top and bottom edges, where stress is concentrated.


7. If you're moving expensive art, ask your mover about special crating

Understand exactly how to pack artwork for moving to help keep it safe. You should never wrap oil paintings in regular paper; it will stick. When you pack pictures for moving, make an X with masking tape across the glass to strengthen it and to hold it together if it shatters. Then wrap the pictures in paper or bubble wrap and put them in a frame box, with a piece of cardboard between each framed piece for protection.


8. Take special care packing the kitchen for moving

Packing the kitchen involves a lot of different types of items. Learn how pack dishes for moving: Put packing paper around each dish, then wrap bundles of five or six together with more paper. Pack dishes on their sides, never flat. And use plenty of bunched-up paper as padding above and below. Cups and bowls can be packed inside one another, with paper in between, and wrapped three or four in a bundle. Pack them all in dish-barrel boxes.

When you pack glasses for moving, use a box with cardboard dividers to help protect the glasses, and wrap them in plenty of layers of paper to protect them.


9. Get your wardrobe in order

There are a few different options to pack clothes for moving—you can pack folded clothes in cardboard boxes, suitcases, or even leave them in the dresser (if it doesn't make the dresser too heavy to move!). For hanging clothes, use a special wardrobe box, so you can hang your clothes right in it. (Bonus: you won't have to worry about figuring out how to pack your hangers for moving!)

You need to protect your shoes from each other when you pack shoes for moving. Wrap shoes individually to keep sharp heels or buckles from damaging other shoes, and to keep dirt from one pair of shoes from messing up the rest of your shoes. You can pack socks into shoes to help them hold their shape.

When you pack jewelry, you can recycle some items to help you—you can string necklaces through straws or toilet paper rolls to keep them from being tangled.


10. Learn how to pack a TV for moving

Some movers treat TVs like any other piece of furniture, wrapping them in quilted furniture pads. Plasma TVs, though, require special wooden crates for shipping if you don't have the original box and can be ruined if you lay them flat. If you're packing yourself, double-box your TV, setting the box containing the TV into another box that you've padded with packing paper.


April 18, 2025
Moving house is one life event where experience, competence, and reliability will be the difference between success and failure. So, you should definitely take a closer look at the top 7 reasons to hire movers for your upcoming relocation. 1. Experience Experience is a significant factor in executing a successful household move. Professional movers have been trained rigorously to properly handle personal belongings throughout the relocation process. In addition to the professional training that each mover has received, it’s the little clever tricks obtained through years of hard work that have led to notable automated problem-solving abilities. Your smaller items will be carefully boxed while your larger furniture pieces and appliances will be adequately secured for the long haul and then expertly maneuvered out of the house and loaded into the waiting moving truck. Once safely delivered to your new place, all of your stuff will be carried inside and arranged exactly to your preference and even unpacked, if you wish. And the odds are that the entire move will be nothing short of a fast, smooth, and problem-free relocation experience. You may also like to read: How to Get Recommendations for Movers. In this guide, we explain why a good reputation is so important and where to get reliable recommendations for movers from. 2. Efficiency Movers pride themselves on being highly efficient, with all the tight schedules that they are required to keep, the enviable speed they demonstrate while packing and moving household items, loading and unloading the moving truck, and then unloading and unpacking the delivered items have become a moving industry standard. And then, in contrast to the inexperience characteristic for self-moves, these saved hours will magically become one entire day, and that day may even turn into more than a single day. Of course, finishing their job quickly is not enough to qualify movers as being efficient – they need to deliver quality work as well. The unmatched efficiency of professional movers will let you complete the entire move more quickly and more safely, and that should happen to be exactly what you want and need. You may also like to read: How Much Does It Cost to Hire Packers? Hiring packers could be the best money you spend during your move. Find out why and the average packing costs in this guide. 3. Reliability When you agree to hire the movers that meet your specific needs and requirements, you will be given and asked to sign a Bill of Lading – the moving agreement between you and the moving company. Make sure you read that document carefully and understand fully its content before you place your signature on it. The company guarantees that their moving crew will arrive at the pre-arranged date and time to do the services you’re paying for, and that your household goods will be handled carefully and transported safely to the new address. Also, the movers will be held accountable should anything go wrong during the relocation process. In contrast, self-moves rarely offer such a high degree of reliability because some of your friends might back out at the last minute and leave you high and dry. It happens, and it might happen even to you. Also, your pals won’t have any formal house-moving training, so they likely make some rookie mistakes – mistakes that can easily prove to be very costly in the end. You may also like to read: How to Protect Your Move: Moving Fraud Prevention Guide. In this guide, we explain how to spot rogue movers and the steps you can take to protect yourself from them. 4. Safety Safety is crucial when moving, especially on moving day, when things tend to get out of hand without a warning. By hiring an experienced team of movers, you ensure your safety, the safety of your family, and the safety of your valuable possessions. So, why is it worth the money to hire movers? Know-how Experienced moving professionals understand exactly what it takes to turn a possible bumpy house move into a smooth, hassle-free one. It’s unlikely that, while taking part in your move, they will run into an obstacle that they haven’t dealt with before. And even if they did, they’d find the best and quickest solution. Physical strength Everybody knows that movers are physically strong, but it’s not until they start lifting and moving heavyweight items that people realize how much physical strength they have. Moreover, the moving crew members have mastered various safety techniques that greatly reduce the risk of injuries. Therefore, unless you summon up a bunch of Hercules-like friends, you’re strongly advised against hauling your heavy furniture or appliances on your own. Proper moving equipment Without the right tools, strength alone is not enough for an efficient move. When you hire professional movers, they arrive in your home with the proper equipment – moving dollies – either 4-wheel furniture dollies or 2-wheel appliance dollies (hand trucks) for moving the heavy furniture and kitchen appliances in your home, furniture pads for moving furniture items easily and damage-free, and so on. If you do decide to take a DIY approach to moving, you will need to rent or purchase those pieces of moving equipment, which will be just another set of additional expenses for you. High-quality and sufficient packing supplies In addition to the right moving equipment, the team of movers will also arrive at your door to help you pack with high-quality moving supplies – strong moving boxes in excellent condition, bubble wrap, wrapping paper, moving blankets, packing tape, markers for labeling, and so on. Hiring professional packers means that you won’t have to worry about running out of supplies in the middle of the packing process, and more importantly, you won’t have to worry whether or not your valuable items will be sufficiently protected to survive the house move unscathed. You may also like to read: Safety Tips to Avoid Injuries When Moving. Moving home can be dangerous. In this guide, we offer some advice to help you avoid any injuries during your home move. 5. Cost savings in the long run The seemly high cost of hiring movers could make you think twice before using the services of a professional moving company. However, contrary to popular belief, hiring movers may prove to be as economical, or even more so, than performing a DIY move. Of course, there are plenty of factors that come into play when trying to determine the final relocation costs, such as moving budget, time, distance, and complexity of the move. In addition to the obvious costs of moving by yourself – moving truck rental, gas, road tolls, etc.), self-moves have hidden expenses that many people fail to take into consideration when resolving the dilemma: self-move or hire a mover? Such not-so-obvious DIY costs and expenses may include the cost of packing supplies, the cost of insurance for the rental truck and your belongings, the cost of food and lodging along the way, and, of course, the unexpected self-move costs and expenses that cannot be predicted. Make sure you understand the extra expenses and risks before you decide to move on your own. One wrong DIY move on your part when handling your household items could cost you dearly. All things considered, you will find out that hiring a moving company can be a great yet affordable option after all. Get accurate cost estimates from top-rated moving companies in your area. 6. Accountability Keep in mind that one of the top reasons to hire professional movers is that the best movers in the country are properly insured, which means that they will be held accountable for any type of damage to your belongings. If you move without hiring the services of a professional mover, you cannot hold your friends responsible for accidentally damaging one or two of your belongings. After all, your pals are not professional movers, so they can’t possibly have the extensive training, experience, and expertise of the pro movers. If a friend of yours broke something expensive – accidentally, of course – all they could do would be to say they were sorry. Professional movers are adequately insured, but you should still purchase additional coverage if you are moving valuable items. If you choose to get Full Value Protection, your movers will be liable to compensate you with the full cash value for any damaged or missing items. Thus said, you should never count on the Released Value Protection – the “coverage” that comes into effect when you sign the moving contract and that is offered for free. Why? It’s practically non-existent, so treat it as such. Knowing that your possessions are in safe hands will help to ease your mind on Moving day. You may also like to read: 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Movers. In this guide, we share the 10 most common mistakes that people make when hiring movers and what you can do to avoid those mistakes. 7. Peace of mind It’s no secret that a household move is as stressful as it can be – starting from the pressure of planning and executing the endless list of tasks from your moving checklist, through the exhausting hours of packing and cleaning, and finishing with the innumerable things that could go wrong in the meantime. Throw in the psychological strain of leaving your familiar faces and surroundings for a completely new and unknown place with a slow acclimatization process ahead of you, and you’ll get the general idea of why moving is often ranked as one of the most stressful events in life. And yet, relocation doesn’t have to be as worrisome as all that. While you will still have to deal with the unavoidable disruption of your routine, you can at least transfer some of the pressure to people who are used to handling it well, professional movers. When hiring movers, you’ll benefit from several positive aspects happening at once: No stress. Your stress level won’t reach any dangerous levels. Peace of mind. You’ll maintain your peace of mind knowing that your belongings are in safe hands and won’t be damaged due to improper handling. Also, you’ll know that you won’t get injured while lifting and hauling around heavy items; More time. And finally, one of the greatest benefits of hiring movers is that you’ll get more free time for yourself – valuable time to focus on other important things, such as saying goodbyes to your friends, changing your postal address, or transferring your utilities. You may also like to read: How to Cope With Stress When Moving. In this guide, we share some proven ways to cope with stress when moving home. One thing is clear – professional movers will always have a clear advantage over non-professionals. Good luck with your move.