My kids are pretty spaced out in age. I have two teenage boys, a 7 year old boy and a sweet toddler for a girl. I spend a small fortune buying the kids the things that they want so I want to be sure to get as much use out of it all as possible. My blog is all about using a storage unit to keep things around the house organized and keep your kids interested in the toys that you have spent your money on. You will find tips for storing clothes to be handed down to the younger kids and so much more.
While most moves that cross state lines are billed at a set rate, many local companies charge by the hour for their services. This means that if you are hiring local movers, you can save a bit of money by preparing your home to enable the movers to work more quickly. Below are five easy ways that you can help speed up your move to meet a deadline and save some money.
Figure Out How to Keep Your Doors Open
If your movers have to constantly stop to open and close the doors every time they enter or exit your home, this can drastically slow them down. While most doors are not a problem, if you have self-closing screen doors, you will want to find a secure way to keep them open for the day of your move. If your screen door does not have a hook to attach to an external wall, you may consider using a large doorstop. However, this can create a tripping hazard for movers. You may want to consider using a coin to keep your door open by sliding it in the open door near the door hinge.
Give Your Neighbors Notice
Letting your neighbors know when you will be moving can help speed up the process. If you live in a house, you will want to let your neighbors know that there will be a large moving truck in the area and ask them to allow space for the truck to park in front of your house. This saves you from having to track down neighbors to move their cars when the moving truck arrives.
If you live in an apartment complex, letting your neighbors know that you will be moving can let them keep the hallways and gates clear for you. You will also want to talk to your property manager about keeping any doors or gates propped open so they do not repeatedly close the doors during your move.
Consolidate Belongings Into a Single Room
While you pack, you should designate an area near your entrance where you can store completed boxes. While you should mark which room these boxes should go to in your new home, consolidating them into one place in your current home can help movers quickly assess what sizes of boxes you have and create a plan for quickly and securely loading them on the moving truck.
This also creates more space for taking large furniture apart and helps ensure that a box is not forgotten in a back room of your home.
Take Apart Whatever Furniture You Can
While you do not have to take apart all of your furniture, taking apart some furniture and wrapping it in protective stretch film means that your movers will not have to do this task. Of course, if you do not have proper tools to take your furniture apart or if you are physically unable to, you should leave the furniture dismantling to the experts.
Get Everyone out of the House
You may think that having more people on hand to help will speed up your move. However, often family members are simply in the way, slowing your experienced movers down on moving day. By scheduling for everyone to be out of the house during the move, you will help ensure that all packing is completed before the move starts and no one will be underfoot when movers are trying to move large pieces of furniture around the house.
While none of these tricks will make your move free, when combined they can save you an hour or two of moving time, which can end up saving you money. Contact a service like Bell Moving & Storage to get started.
Share14 January 2016
