5 Ideas for Getting Rid of Stuff Before Moving to a New House

Author: inforadio Category: Moving Tips

Many people have too much clutter. It’s easy to ignore clutter until you have to move. Use these five ideas from this residential moving company for getting rid of stuff before moving to a new house.

1. Consider the Item’s Functionality Over Sentimental Value

When you pick up an item, consider its utility. What does the item do for you? If you do not actually use the item, think about whether it is worth the space that it takes up inside of your home. Do you want to spend time packing and unpacking it and paying to move it? If it only holds sentimental value, remember that your memories are in your mind, not the item.

2. Get Rid of Broken Items

Just about everybody has an appliance, piece of furniture or piece of equipment that is broken and waiting to get fixed. If you haven’t had this item fixed yet, the chances are good that you won’t manage to after you move. Instead of hauling the broken item to your next home, donate it for parts. Post it as a free item on Freecycle or in the free section of your community’s classifieds. The burden of the broken item will be released from your mind.

3. Choose a Charitable Organization

When you look at your clutter, you might see that many things are useful. Close your eyes and picture someone else using them. Think of a young lady wearing the high-heeled shoes at her prom, or a young man going out on his first job interview in that suit that has been in the back of your closet. Think of a person preparing dinner and serving it on those plates, or mixing cookies in the bowl. Choose a charitable organization that sells gently used items. Independent charity shops, as well as national organizations such as the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America and Goodwill, are a few options to consider. If your religious institution or school has an annual sale, donate your clutter to the sale.

4. Sell Items for Cash

Host a yard sale and sell items. You can advertise for free on social media and community yard sale sites. Price your items to sell quickly. Used clothes should be priced at 5 to 10 percent of what you paid. Some things, such as VHS and cassette tapes, cheap plastic toys and misfit oven mitts should go in a “free” box. You could earn enough to pay for dinner at a nice restaurant and a movie on your last night in town.

5. Have a Giveaway Party

Invite your friends and family to come over on packing day or another day just before you move. Get all your stuff out. If it’s embarrassing to show how much stuff you have, feel the discomfort. Consider giving some of those things away to your friends and family at the party. If someone admires that throw pillow or mug, let them have it. You won’t have to move it, and your friend will be able to use it.

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7 Must-Know Tips for a Cheaper Relocation Experience

Author: inforadio Category: Cheaper Relocation

Moving across the country is no small thing. While a move across your state or city can usually be handled in a weekend, there are a lot more logistical issues to deal with when you’re crossing state lines, and if you aren’t careful, the costs can quickly add up. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to cut down on your expenses and plan a smoother relocation experience.

1. Consider Your Options

Renting a truck and handling your relocation yourself may seem like the most cost-effective option on the surface, but that’s before you start factoring in mitigating circumstances and hidden costs. Long-distance moving companies may cost a little more upfront, but they make budgeting easier. Since interstate moves are charged according to weight and distance, it’s easier to come up with an accurate budget ahead of time.

2. Court Multiple Companies

Not all moving companies are created equally, and your charges may vary wildly depending on the crew you settle on. Fortunately, there are a number of resources online who vet their moving partners ahead of time and provide you with free estimates through some of the most reputable companies around.

3. Scavenge For Supplies

Going to a packing store to get supplies like boxes, tape, and bubble wrap may be the easiest solution, but these companies tend to charge a premium for their goods. Many of the products you’ll need can be gained for free. Check with your moving company to see if they have extra boxes laying around, contact your neighbors to rustle up extra supplies, or hit up local retailers and package stores, and you should be able to quickly get together a healthy supply of boxes without spending a dime.

4. Pick the Right Season

Just like any business, moving rates can fluctuate according to supply or demand. The hotter months increase the labor for companies, and it’s a busy time for relocations, so rates have a tendency to skyrocket. September through May is the off-season for moves, and crews are usually much more willing to provide discounted rates in return for assured business.

5. Evaluate What You Really Need

It goes without saying that the less you have to move, the cheaper your relocation will be, but be prudent in your decision making. Evaluate the weight of your items with their sentimental and practical value. According to the cheapest Lakewood moving companies, most movers charge by weight. So, you may be better off donating that heavy couch and just splurging on a new one once you reach your destination.

6. Enlist Help

While it’s unlikely that you can expect your friends or family to travel with you during your move, they can still be a valuable asset when packing up your belongings. This can be one of the most labor-intensive aspects of a move, and an offer of free drinks and pizza can be significantly less costly than the rates moving companies charge for packing. But for the real heavy lifting and miles and miles of driving, you might want to hire long distance home and apartment movers.

7. Don’t Forget Your Car

Whether you’re looking to ship it across state lines or drive it yourself, you should consider whether or not bringing your vehicle with you is going to be worth the cost. Interstate vehicle shipping averages $1000, and even if you move your car yourself, you have to think about gas, mileage, and wear and tear. Running a thorough cost-benefit analysis may be a prudent choice given the steep overhead involved.

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How To Move A Refrigerator Like A Professional Appliance Mover

Author: inforadio Category: Move A Fridge

Moving a heavy appliance such as a refrigerator can be taxing. Whether you are moving to a new house or you need to move your refrigerator to a different room in your current home, you must carefully plan for the process. An average refrigerator can weigh up to 250 pounds (113kgs). Moving it should not worry you much though. With the necessary requirements put in place, you should be able to move the refrigerator safely even without hiring residential moving companies. Here are a few things that you will need to consider.

1. Gather moving supplies

When you hire a professional mover or a moving company to move appliances for you, they will normally come with their moving supplies. Since you are doing this on your own, you will need to buy all the requirements yourself. That includes a rope to close the refrigerator doors, an all-purpose towel, and a moving blanket. Additionally, you’ll also need a tape measure to measure your doors and stairways and a moving strap. You may also require a cooler to keep the leftovers and other things that were in the refrigerator before the move. Also make sure to get the appropriate moving towel to avoid inconveniences. Most importantly, invest in purchasing or renting an appliance dolly to save your back.

2. Ask for help

As much as you would want to move your fridge solely on your own, that might not be possible. You need extra hands for the heavy lifting. Therefore, be sure to ask for help from friends or family members who are willing to lend a hand.

3. Hire a moving truck

If you are going to move the refrigerator outside your home, then you will definitely need a transport truck. A normal sized fridge will not fit in your car unless you drive a big truck. Therefore, depending on your budget, hire an appropriate moving truck. Alternatively, if you have a friend or family that owns a truck, you can request them to help you with the move.

4. Additional things you will need to do

  • Use a tape measure

Measure the stairways and the doors in your house to make sure that the refrigerator will fit through them. It is important to know the sizes in relation to the refrigerator because you need to ascertain the angle at which you will use as you carry it through doors or down the stairs.

  • Defrost first

You will need to unplug the refrigerator some hours before the move in order to defrost it. This makes sure that the fridge does not drip water as you move it around. After unplugging it for at least 24 hours, use the towel to wipe off the extra water to ensure that it is totally dry.

  • Use ropes to tie the doors in place

Make sure that the doors are tightly closed so that they will not fly open as you carry the appliance around. Closing the doors also ensures your safety and eases movement.

5. Finally plug-in and use

Once you arrive at the destination, set the refrigerator appropriately and make sure to plug it to the source of power in order to cool it before returning the leftovers and other things that you had kept in the cooler.

It is not difficult to make a move. With the help of two or three people, you should be able to move heavy appliances such as refrigerators like professional long distance movers.

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How to Pack Your Bathroom for Moving with Speed and Efficiency

Author: inforadio Category: Pack Your Bathroom

Moving to a new home is an opportunity to make a fresh start. Because the bathroom is such a necessary space, it has a tendency to collect a lot of items that must be sorted through before moving. This can present a challenge, especially to people who have to pack and sort things on a tight deadline. Keep these tips from Cheap Movers Boston (cheapmoversboston.net) in mind when the time comes to tackle the bathroom stage of moving.

1. Get rid of old items.

Don’t bother packing and moving things such as:

  • Old toilet scrubbers
  • Worn out cleaning accessories
  • Mostly-empty bottles of surface cleanser
  • Dirty rags and other cleaning items

Not only do these things take up lots of valuable space inside boxes, but they can also be very heavy and bulky to move. They are inexpensive to replace, too. Do yourself a favor and simply discard this junk instead of trying to move it.

2. Get rid of excess belongings.

Is there a reason you still have your very first set of towels? Do you really need to hang on to the bath mat with the bleach stain? These are all excess belongings. Items in good condition can be donated to local thrift stores; items in poor condition should be thrown away. Don’t bother packing items that you already own plenty of. Do yourself a favor and downsize a bit.

3. Let go of all those extra toiletries.

Birthdays and other gift-giving occasions usually bring waves of bath oils, shaving gels, and other cheap toiletry products. The trouble is that you already have plenty of these products that you buy yourself. You have brands and products in mind that you like; you don’t need people buying cheaper versions of things you already own. Get rid of all these extra soaps, shampoos, bath oils, and shaving products. They’re just going to get in the way and hold you back.

4. Place essential items in a clear bin for easy organization.

This hack will help you prepare for the inevitable hectic last night/first-morning shift into your new property. Pack a clear bin full of cleaning products and another full of essential toiletries. This way you can see at a glance that you have safely packed all the necessary items you need to move into your new location successfully. These items can be easily lost; a clear bin will help you keep track of them even in the busy back-and-forth between one location and another.

5. Make the most out of the space in your new bathroom.

Once you’ve moved into the bathroom, it’s essential to get everything organized as quickly as possible. If you don’t, you might end up throwing beauty products on the counter or tossing makeup in the drawers and never bothering to get it organized. To start, try setting aside a spot for small storage containers to house your makeup, shampoo, soap, and other beauty products without them scattered around the bathroom. You can even label the storage to make sure that everything stays in its proper place.

Have some extra space above the toilet? Try adding storage by installing a shelving unit that’s just big enough to store towels, Q-tips, and extra toilet paper rolls. It is also a great place to add decorations if you’ve got some jars or an artificial plant that you bought to spruce up the place. Just make sure you don’t store any chemicals here – you don’t want anything that could be knocked off the shelf and end up making a spill or damaging the toilet.

And don’t forget about the space under the sink! Instead of tossing cleaning products in that area, you can make the most of it using plastic storage drawers that stack vertically. It is the perfect place to store bathroom accessories that you don’t use, particularly, as your extra stash of soap or nail polish remover. You can also use a plastic bin to organize the cleaning products that you stash under the sink. It is also a great way to prevent chemical leaks and spills from ruining your brand new vanity.

Make your next move a breeze.

Bathrooms can present some practical challenges to people who need to pack and move into a new home. Keep these tips and hacks in mind the next time you have a big job to do; they just might make your next move a whole lot simpler.

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