How to Prepare for Movers: The Ultimate Checklist
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and lose track of your responsibilities before a move. However, you can save yourself a lot of stress if you do everything you can to get ready. Even still, you may be lost with how to prepare for movers.
The best way to prepare for movers is to create a checklist of your responsibilities. Go room by room and organize, clean, and pack your belongings starting weeks before you move. Separate important documents and things you need for work so they don’t get lost amongst the many moving boxes.
It’s also important to board your pets and hire a babysitter if you have kids. This makes things much less stressful on your moving day. Follow along as we explore 12 ways to prepare for movers and make your moving day go smoothly.
How to Get Ready for Movers
1. Create a Checklist
It’s much easier to prepare for movers if you create a thorough checklist. The checklist should include household chores and things you must do to tie up loose ends at your current home. It’s important to prioritize changing your utilities and address during the process.
Create a list of chores that you can tackle one at a time to avoid burning yourself out. Start with a list of each room in your house, and write down everything that must be done in each room. For example, you must clean your kitchen counters and empty the drawers and cabinets.
Focus on clearing cabinets, closets, and drawers in the weeks or months before your move. Once it gets closer, you can clean the surfaces in your home. Keep in mind that you must likely clean a bit more once everything is out of your home.
2. Declutter
Moving is the best time to declutter as you may see some belongings that you barely even think about. Everything must get packed, so take this time to consider what is worth keeping. Not only does this lower the shipping weight, but it also helps make room for new things.
You don’t necessarily need to throw things away when you declutter. Instead, think about what you can donate or even sell to earn some extra cash to cover moving expenses. Otherwise, you can place some items in a storage unit if your new home doesn’t have room for them.
3. Choose Your Moving Services
Have you already scheduled your move? If so, that may not mean it’s too late to request additional moving services. Special moving services come at an extra cost, but they can make your move preparation much easier.
For example, you may realize your schedule is far too hectic to pack everything without help. In that case, you can contact the moving company and request a full packing and unpacking service. This can save you hours and even days of stress, allowing you to focus on your responsibilities.
Take a realistic look at your belongings, including furniture, and think about how easily you can disassemble or pack them. It’s worth paying extra for furniture disassembly if you’re too busy or have physical limitations. Ideally, you should request these services weeks or months before you move.
4. Prioritize Communication
Professional moving crews work with countless homeowners and renters year-round. They know what they have to offer, but they may not know what you expect. It’s up to you to communicate well, ask questions as needed, and articulate your expectations.
For example, it’s important to figure out what is included in your move. Unless you schedule a full-service move, you will probably get the bare minimum moving services. A standard move entails loading the truck, transporting your belongings, and unloading them.
If you expect everything to be done, then you must let them know that. In that case, they will likely suggest that you upgrade to a full-service move. While it costs more, it ensures that all your needs are met and leaves nothing to the imagination.
5. Keep Track of Everything
Professional movers are quite responsible, but nobody knows your belongings better than you. It’s worth taking the time to create a list of your belongings before your move. Label your boxes, highlighting what’s in them and which rooms they belong in.
This will make it much easier for the crew to unload your belongings. It’s also much easier to get settled and unpack your belongings if each box is labeled. Moving crews take inventory, but it helps to have a backup inventory sheet for yourself.
6. Prepare Your Furniture
Unless you pay for a full-service move, you must take your furniture apart. This is something that many people understandably wait until nearly the last minute to do. However, you can save yourself some time and stress if you start early.
For example, you may want to disassemble furniture you rarely use days or weeks before the move. That way, you can get it out of the way and focus on trickier furniture on the big day. After all, you’ll likely need some extra time to take your bed frames apart on the big day.
7. Create Easy Access
The last thing you want to do is create obstacles for your movers and make everything take longer. You can avoid this if you create paths and make sure every room is easy to access. If you won’t be home, you must provide keys, access codes, and an alarm code.
It also helps to open your garage door even if your garage is open. That’s because it may be easier for them to move some items out through your garage instead of the front door. Communicate with your landlord if you’re a renter to see how you can make things easier for the movers.
8. Keep Track of Important Items
When packing, it’s all too easy to misplace important documents, like birth certificates and Social Security cards. You can avoid this problem if you create a special file or folder for such documents. Keep this file with you instead of putting the documents in a cluttered box.
That way, you know exactly where they are and they won’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s also worth taking your Wi-Fi router and computer with you in a separate car. That way, you can quickly set them up upon arrival without digging through boxes.
9. Hire a Babysitter
Moving with a large family can be quite hard. That’s especially true if your children are too young to help you move. In that case, it’s worth hiring a babysitter to take care of your kids throughout the process. You can save money if you drop them off at a family member’s house.
10. Plan for Your Pets
Dogs and cats understandably get overwhelmed when a moving crew enters their home. Not only can this lead to constant barking and aggressive behavior, but it’s also risky. Moving entails leaving doors open for long periods, providing a chance for your pets to escape.
The last thing you need on your moving day is to stress about your pets. That’s why it’s worth boarding your pets to get them out of the way and get some peace of mind. It costs an average of $40 per day to board your pets, or up to $100.
Otherwise, you can leave your pets with a trusted friend or family member. Once the movers are done unloading, you can bring your pets to your new home.
11. Be There for the Movers
Movers are capable of moving your belongings without you being there. However, it’s worth sticking around your home on the big moving day. That way, you can answer questions as needed and help provide guidance.
For example, they may have an important question about an appliance connection. Being able to ask in person saves time compared to playing phone tag to get an answer. It’s also a great idea to stay onsite so you can conduct a final walkthrough before heading to your new home.
12. Carry Cash
Moving crews work hard for long hours, and it’s often painstaking work. That’s why people typically tip their movers to show appreciation for their work. Movers don’t necessarily expect anything from you, but it’s worth tipping $20 to $40 per person depending on the scale of the move.
For example, $20 per person is the standard for local moves. However, people often tip $40 per person for long-distance moves as they entail extra work. Some homeowners tip drivers more as they safely transport their belongings.
We Make it Easy to Prepare for Your Upcoming Move
At Optimum Moving, communication is one of the most important things we prioritize. Not only does this make our responsibilities easier, but it helps ease our customers’ minds. The process starts when you call us at (855) 315-6683 to set up a consultation. Big or small, each move matters.
