Moving Day April 8, 2008

My husband and I have moved three times in the past thirteen years, all in the same area. The moves were relatively painless since we could make multiple trips with our car transporting our breakables. We used towels and blankets to pad our belongings and never had to use packing materials other than newsprint for glass and ceramics. For our furniture, we used a moving company where we rented the van and they provided labor on an hourly basis. By the time we actually moved the furniture, we could get it done in less than a day.

Once we decided to move to Arizona from the Seattle area, it was a very different story. In anticipation of our move, we had already downsized so we had less “stuff” to contend with at the outset. I started preparing for the move two months in advance, determining what we would take and deciding what to do with items we wouldn’t. The least desirable outcome is that you throw stuff in the garbage or a dumpster. Have you ever been to a dump? I have. I remember the dump on Long Island where I grew up. Seagulls flying everywhere, huge mounds of garbage and the smell! Plus there were folks who picked through the garbage to find usable things. I don’t know about you but I’d rather give stuff to folks who need it rather than make them pick through the dump. 

What to do with the stuff you don’t want:

1. Hold a garage sale or sell items on eBay or craigslist.
2. Take clothing to a consignment store or, if your clothes are no older than a year or so you can sell it to Buffalo Exchange or Plato’s Closet.
3. Give items away - Freecyle, FreeSharing or 2good2toss. I am fortunate enough to have two young adult children who were happy to have “new” furniture. Let people know you are moving and have stuff to give away. We had a double bed that we were able to give to a divorced mom whose teenager was sleeping on the floor. She offered to pay for it but it was the thank you note we got was worth a lot more.
4. Donate to charity – Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Goodwill, The Arc, Savers or Value Village. 
5. Recycle your old computer and other electronics. Many manufacturers and retail stores will recycle used electronics for you.

Pack the stuff you have left:

1. You don’t need Styrofoam peanuts or petroleum-based bubble-wrap as packing material. Mayflower recommends using newsprint. Professional movers use newsprint – lots of it. Tape is for the outside of the box. I got a little carried away with tape when packing pictures.
2. If you use a moving company, ask them if they provide used packing boxes. We got new and used boxes for free.
3. Recycle your moving materials. We had Mayflower pick up our moving boxes and packing materials. We paid to have the materials picked up but we knew they would be recycled.

Hire a Mover:

1. Get several estimates. Estimates should always be performed in person. There is no way for a legitimate moving company to provide a reasonable estimate over the phone or via the internet. We were surprised that the company that we’d used for previous in-town moves was more expensive. We signed a binding “not to exceed” contract with Rainier Moving Systems, a Mayflower agent.
2. Understand what your homeowner’s insurance and the moving company’s insurance covers during loading/unloading and transport.
3. If you decide to pack your own belongings as we did, understand the amount of labor involved. I started packing two weeks ahead of time and still couldn’t get everything packed. We had to contact the moving company at the last minute and request assistance. Scott, our driver (who was a gem) finished packing for me.
4. We moved, as chance would have it, at the slowest time of the year for moving companies (between October and April). Better for us. Drivers are rated 1-4 with 1 being the best. Moving at a slow time of the year guaranteed us a more experienced driver.
5. See 12 Steps to Hiring a Mover for useful tips.

Quite frankly, I was more than a little worried about a move this big. Horror stories abound about scams and ripoffs, furniture being damaged or held hostage. Our furniture arrived on-time, with nary a scratch. I was disappointed that a concrete frog that my mom had given me did not arrive with our stuff. Somehow it had disappeared. Two weeks later, Scott appeared on our doorstep with the frog in tow. It had been hidden underneath a couple of packing blankets. Now that’s customer service.

Resources:

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Protect Your Move
• WikiHow: Moving House and Packing
• Mayflower: How to Pack
• MovingScam.com
• National Education Association: Hiring a Mover

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