Save Time and Avoid Moving Stress!

- Find & hire a reputable moving company. Whether you decide to hire Movers Chicago for your moving needs, or if you decide to work with another company, you will want to hire a company that will take care of you and your belongings. Word of mouth will often be one of your best friends when finding a great moving company. The worst possible scenario can involve lost and damaged possessions, along with the potential of a "too good to be true" priced company not showing up on time or, not at all. Save yourself this stress and go with someone who you can trust for your precious belongings and time.

- Set a schedule (and stick with it). Up to 60 days prior to your move, set up a checklist to ensure that you keep up with the progress of moving without causing you and your family a ton of stress. This will give you a chance to avoid the last minute frenzy that can come when you arrive at your moving day unprepared. Your time will be short as the day of your move gets closer, so sticking to your schedule can provide you with peace of mind!

- Get rid of anything you don't absolutely need. If you own something that isn't adding value to your life currently, chances are good that you won't need to take it with you. So, don't even bother packing items like these. In our experience, items like books that you've never (and will never) read, half finished projects, mostly used cleaning products are typically items that can be gotten rid of without much loss on your part. Set up a garage sale before you move to get rid of anything you don't need or, give anything you don't need to family or friends. Of course, throwing things away is an option if all other efforts to get rid of it fail.

- Pack like you have OCD (even if you don't). Set up a system to differentiate the different categories of belongings and implement it so that your movers know precisely where to put the items in your new home. Using colorful markers or colored tape and assigning a color to each respective room is an unbelievably easy way to accomplish this. Then set up a color coded list of floor plan of the new place and put it where your movers can easily reference it and take your goods to the correct spot. This will make your unpacking so much easier in the long run.

- Make your current house "move out" ready ahead of time. Most moving companies will not disconnect anything that is currently a "fixture" in your home. You will want to be sure that you unplug appliances any any lighting fixtures that you plan on taking with you. Later on in the packing process, make sure there are wide paths through the boxes to ensure that the movers have an easy route through to get their current box to the truck. Be sure to be clear on what your moving company will and will not move for you since, most will not move perishable foods, plants, or flammable items.

- Have plenty of moving supplies and improvise when possible. Avoid the problems of running out of supplies on the day of your move by collecting as much as you can in the weeks and even months leading up to your move. Gather boxes, tape, protective (bubble) wrap, newspapers, box cutters, and permanent markers. Save yourself some money and put less burden on the environment by improvising too, when possible. This means using suitcases, pillows, plastic containers, totes, scarves, and even towels to secure your most breakable items.

- Have essential items separate and keep them with you. Be sure you don't pack away your daily items into the abyss of everything else you have packed up. It doesn't serve you well if you have to search through multiple boxes to find any medicine you need or, your ID. Be sure you pack a "necessary item" box that you will keep with you rather than on the moving truck itself.

- Make your new house or apartment, move in ready before you move in. It's so much simpler to do things like painting, cleaning, and even making home improvements to a home or condo before you actually fill it with your belongings. Do everything you can beforehand to ensure that the only thing you do when you get there, is to unpack and make it home.

- Do your change of address and notifying of companies before you actually move. Doing your official change of address before you move can help in many ways. This can ensure that you won't have any undue past due bills, and ensure that your necessary services like utilities, phone, internet will go on without a hitch.