Tips for a Smooth Move

Before the Move

• 1. Throw out items you no longer need and trash - Go through all your stuff a month or more prior to the move and throw out the trash.
• 2. Then take all the items you no longer have use for and have a gargage sale / yard sale and/or give them to your family, neighbors, Salvation Army, Thrift Stores and other places that can get them back into circulation. No point in moving junk and cluttering up your next place too.
• 3. Make a good backup of your computer files a week before the move. Atlas Van Lines posts several tips specifically for moving computers, antiques and collectables.
• 4. Create a "Must Have Box" with things you will need upon arrival (medications, toilitries, towels, tv remote, current phone book, any documents needed to cross state or national borders with certain items, etc.). Mayflower provides a list of items for this box.
• 5. Locally, your sanitation department may pickup large amounts of trash twice a year for free on your normal trash pickup day if you schedule them about a full week in advance. You might wish to schedule a special trash pickup if you are moving out.

Basic Packing Tips

1. Use boxes. Wal-mart bags doesn't cut it. Put heavy items in small boxes and light items in large boxes.

2. The new economical plastic totes sold by Wal-mart types can be good moving totes for large light items and clothing. If you use your towels as packing material you will not have to pack them later.

3. Label boxes by contents and room. If you have suitcases, use them. Its silly to move empty suitcases. Entire family help to the extent possible.

4. Clearly identify major go/no items (like the fridge stays). Securely pack and wrap heirlooms (grandma's rocking chair)

5. Remove light bulbs from lamps before packing them. Wrap the bulbs in newspaper, put them all in one box and label it.

6. Get your pets (dogs, cats and kitty litter) out of the way, it is very stressful for them, they may run away and many people are allergic to them.

7. Knockdown aquariums and Drain water beds.

8. Measure very large objects and make sure they can be gotten out of the house. We have ran into a few instances of rooms being built around large items.

9. The garage is often overlooked. Box up small items in the garage. Be sure to check you backyard for hoses, bar-b-que grills, toys, trampolines, garden tools and other items. Some may need to be disassembled before the move.

10. Make sure all propane bottles are turned off and handle them carefully. Most are not supposed to be transported in an enclosed space. Do not forget any items in the attic.

11. Use personal cars to move fragile items (computers, stereo's, tv's, vcr's), loose clothing, house plants, and firearms if possible. Firearms are a distraction and could be a safety hazard.

12. Pack computers and other consumer electronics in their original packaging if you still have it. Make plans for hauling off any remaining trash when the move is over.

13. Collect a few carpet scraps for sliding the furniture on as you move it out of one house and into the other. Mayflower provides some Packing Tips and a list of the 10 Most Often Forgotten Items on their web site.

Things to anticipate:

• 1. For those who like to plan ahead, Mayflower offers a 6 Week Moving Planning Checklist online.

• 2. Moving "food storage"

• 3. Kids have lots of sizeable toys and bikes

• 4. It is often very helpful if someone can watch very young children off site.

Piano's

• Have at least 4 healthy adult males to move a piano
• Use a piano dolly if possible
• Take extra care with piano legs (they are weak).
• If you try to roll one on its rollers, it may scratch the floor. We have rolled them across cardboard before.

When loading large rental trucks:

• When backing large trucks, be sure to watch out for trees, wires, and roof overhangs.
• Be sure the ground is dry enough to support the truck. These units get stuck very easily.
• Note - several of them have lights inside the trailer. They are controlled from the cab.
• If young children are on the site, be sure to corral them before moving the truck and consider keeping them off the loading ramp and out of the rear of the truck. Plus do not leave them unattended in the cab (they may take it out of gear, start it, beep horn, lock themselves in, etc). If they are onsite, try to have some toys and a grandma to keep them busy.
• If truck has an "overhang" (some storage in front up high) put books and some heavy items up there and tie a rope across them.
• Put your "Must Have" box mentioned in our Before the Move section and any tools or other items you want to be able to access during the trip or immediately upon arrivel in the cab of the moving van, in the front seat of your car or in a locked room. Otherwise when people come to help you "load", they may mistakenly put them in with all your other stuff, making them very hard to find.
• Put large items in front
• Tie ropes horizontally across the load (between the truck walls) at various intervals to prevent shifting of contents.
• Put heavy food storage items and book boxes on the bottom.
• Put refrigerator or freezers at rear if you want to plug them in.
• Put large mirrors and framed glass between mattresses
• "Nest" couches (One upside down upon the other)
• "Nest" chairs (One upside down upon the other) or stack boxes to a height that an upside down chain on top of them reaches the ceiling.
• Use the furniture pads supplied by the rental truck firm (if there are any) to protect furniture and other items from being scratched. Wrap items in them, place them on top items, squeeze them between items. We often use flat cardboard for the same purpose. Some old refridgerator or appliance boxes from a store can easily be cut with a utility (carpet) knife into useful shapes and sizes.
• Put large plastic kid toys and loose bags on top of load.
• Put bookcases along the wall facing the interior of the truck and fill their shelves with small boxes.
• Put pianos on side walls (with their back to the wall) and tie them to the wall.
• Constantly be tossing / squezing bulky, light items (plastic flowers, Christmas decorations, pillows, plastic toys, blankets, etc) on top the load as you begin to fill the truck. This keeps them from taking up valuable room later.
• Put bicycles, trash cans, bar-b-que grills, and hand tools at rear of truck. (Hand tools may be needed during journey). Run some rope around the various items near the back of the truck to prevent them from shifting (tie them all together a bit).
• Sometimes bicycles can be tied up high on the wall of rental trucks either horizontally or vertically
• Small flat tools can often be inserted flat against the wall between the outer wall and the inner braces of the rental truck. Just be sure to get them out before you take the truck back.
• Keep any tools you may need at the final destination or during the trip near the back of the truck. You might also keep a heavy duty extension cord there. As per our earlier note, put them in the front of the truck before the move, or people helping may load them in the middle of the truck by mistake. Move them to the back of the truck once the truck is loaded.

When driving / traveling in large rental trucks:

• Know how tall you are, do not be hitting tree limbs, low wires, etc. You will almost never hit them on the open road, but you may once you get off the main roads.
• Make sure you have any maps and phone numbers you may need in the cab
• Keep a flashlight in the cab
• Have money or a credit card to pay for fuel, food, tolls, etc.
• Be sure to put a padlock on the rear door. Many people get to their destination and find someone already stole their stuff. The "flat round" type that makes it more difficult to cut with bolt cutters (little of the hasp is exposed) might be the best for this application.
• If you must park the truck overnight during the move, park it in a well lighted area observable from your hotel room if possible. Conside backing it against (quite close to) a telephone pole or a vertical wall/fence. This makes it much more difficult to remove large items.
• Pull over on a sideroad into a parking lot if you need to look at a map.
• When you need to briefly park/stop the truck try to do so in way you can drive out of the position vs. backing up (poor vision behind the truck)
• Be sure if the truck takes diesel or gas before refueling
• Make sure you are aware of the return policy times (back by 8pm etc) and hours the location will be open. Do not speed or drive hazardously to make those times, but do not lolligag and get caught by them.
• Have a cell phone and phone book of your destination city in the cab.
• Obey the laws, speed limits, towing regulations, etc
• If you are caravaning with your family in a car, cell phones make the trip much easier (send them for food, you know when they are making bathroom stops, etc.)
• Several of these trucks have a fire extinguisher in them. Make sure you know where it is and how to operate it.
• Wash the windows when you get fuel if they need it.
• If you left food in your refridgerator near the back of the truck, you may be able to plug it in somewhere overnight and again immediately upon reaching your destination.

When unloading large rental trucks:

• When backing large trucks, be sure to watch out for trees, wires, and roof overhangs.
• Be sure the ground is dry enough to support the truck. These units get stuck very easily.
• Toss any ropes and packing blankets into a pile as you unload. This makes them easier to find later. Often a youth can fold them up for returning with the truck as you unload.
• Note - several of them have lights inside the trailer. They are controlled from the cab.

Appliances:

• 1. Washers and Dryers - Empty any clothes from them
  • Turn the washer hoses off and disconnect them
  • Drain washer hose and stick end of hose in washer.
  • Put dryer spiral vent hose and clamp in dryer.
  • Washers and dryers can usually be easily prevented from scratching each other by putting a large piece of cardboard between them in the truck.
• 2. Refrigerators and freezers
  • Unload them before moving them.
  • Food can be briefly stored in ice chest and cardboard boxes, then rapidly put back into the fridge after short moves.
  • Move them right side up. Do not turn them on their side or back.
  • You may be forced to remove their doors in order to get them through a door or other limiting opening. The door handles are often a problem in clearing tight spaces.
  • When moving them, have someone watching the extension cord and making sure you do not hit the coils on the back of the unit against a door or wall.
  • For long moves, you can put the fridge near the back door of a rental truck and plug it in with an extension cord when the truck is not moving.
  • Once you reach your destination, plug it back in.
  • On rare ocassions, it may be necessary to take the door off a refridgerator or freezer to pass through a door.
• 3. Use and appliance dolly if possible, otherwise use a regular dolly with a large piece of cardboard to prevent it from scratching the appliances.

You may need to pull the loaded drawers from "chest of drawers", load the frame, then reinstall the drawers. If you fail to do this, the top section may tear off or loosen from some lightweight or old chests.

Tools

• 1. Tape measure to help determine the best path through the house with larger items.
• 2. We ask the move out families to supply most of the tools, but it never hurts to have some basic tools with you.

When positioning a truck with a loading ramp, it is generally best position the truck with the ramp all the way to the ground. If you try to put the ramp on a step or porch besides being a little precarious, when you start to slide large items up it, they hit the roof of the porch or top or a door jam.

When moving large objects be especially cautious of hanging lights, low ceilings, and the top of door jams.

Kid Safety

• Try to get very young children out of the home (have someone watch them)
• No kids allowed in the truck
• If truck has a hoist, no kids ride it up and down and they stay clear of it at all times.
• Allow kids to move their personal items as much as possible.

We have found area grocery and liquor stores to be excellent sources of boxes.

If it is an across town move, and we are doing it in several trips, be sure to pickup the packing blankets from the new site and return them to the moving site so they can be used again on the next load.

Move In Tip - many families use the garage as a staging area for boxes. If you leave a lot of boxes in the garage, make sure it does not flood. Several garages in this area take on water during heavy rains.

If some items go to a local storage unit at your new destination:

• Decide what items will be going to storage before you begin loading.
• Pack those items together and as a group either in the front or back of the truck to allow off loading them first or last.

Upon Arrival

• Locate your "Must Have Box" and put it in a safe place
• Hookup TV, VCR, electronic games to keep young children occupied

My Personal Checklist of things I take as a helper:

• Steel toed work boots, lifting belt, long sleeved shirt and a baseball cap
• Tape measure.
• Small tool box
• Rope / twine
• Utility (carpet) knife
• Several flattened, large appliance boxes for cutting up as padding
• Weight to hold the empty boxes above down in back of my truck
• Pickup truck
• Ice water if it is extremely hot
• Written down address I am going to if I am not familiar with the location
• Travel alarm (watch)
• Ink pen and paper in pocket
• My glasses (sometimes have to read fine print installation instructions)