The most common moving mistakes and how to avoid them
All around the world, people who are relocating to a new home realize that moving is a very hard and stressful procedure. The fact that moving is a complex process, filled with many separate tasks, means that you’ll have to allocate a lot of time to get ready for the moving day. While doing so (especially if you have never moved before), it’s easy to make most common moving mistakes that could have been avoided with a little know-how. Don’t worry, as that’s exactly what we’re here today to help you with.
Common moving mistake #01: Improper packing
We’ll begin with the most common moving mistakes in relation to packing. Namely, people often pack chaotically, without having much of a system (or any semblance of a system at all). This makes it easier to pack, but in the long run, it is actually counterproductive, as it will take you more time to unpack later on and you won’t be doing anything to protect your items when moving.
What kind of a system should you use? The most important thing is that your items should be properly organized into several moving boxes corresponding to the specific rooms in your home. So, pack all items that are meant to be placed in the kitchen into their own box(es), all items that will be placed inside the bedroom in their boxes, and so on. While it may be tempting to simply pack everything in the nearest box you can find, having a more organized approach will later greatly ease the process of unpacking.
Differently-labeled moving boxes.
When it comes to making sure that their items are undamaged, people often don’t realize that their belongings should be wrapped (you can use towels or other wrapping materials). While being transported, a simple bump on the road could cause your items to suffer serious damage or to get destroyed all together.
So, instead of simply packing the items as they are, make sure to wrap everything carefully and place the smaller items in-between larger objects, so that they don’t have much room to move while being shipped.
Common moving mistake #02: Doing everything on your own
Another common moving mistake that we’ll discuss has to do with services provided by the moving companies. Namely, people often think that they’ll be able to handle everything on their own, not taking into consideration how tough moving really is. We’re not just talking about the time and effort that moving takes, but also about all the unexpected problems that can arise, that aren’t nearly as unexpected to professional movers.
Whether you’ll be moving locally in South Africa or you’re looking to find movers who can move you to another continent, hiring professional movers will allow you not to stress over disassembling and then reassembling furniture, finding a truck that is large enough for all of your belongings, or any other of the myriad of obstacles that you’ll need to overcome.
Avoid one of the most common moving mistakes and shake hands with reliable movers near you.
Doing everything on your own might save you some money, but in a huge majority of cases, that won’t be worth the amount of stress you’ll feel while trying to juggle your everyday chores and the demands of moving. So, if you don’t live in South Africa and you’re planning on moving here, avoid one of the common moving mistakes and hire a high-quality moving company, such as Orange Movers Miami. And if you need to move locally in South Africa, then you’re already at the right place.
Common moving mistake #03: Getting conned by rogue movers
Unfortunately, not all moving companies are honest and some of them will try to con you. These “rogue movers” are only looking to rob you of your money, without actually providing adequate service (or any kind of service at all). Learn how to spot and prevent moving scams.
– Pay attention to the way the moving company’s representative answers the phone. If he or she doesn’t mention the name of the company, that could be because the company in question is fraudulent (they operate under several different names in order to avoid the authorities).
– Pay attention to their workers’ uniforms and their moving vans. Both uniforms and vans should have the company’s logo written on them.
– They might ask you for more money than what was originally arranged, while citing some nonsense reason for doing so (strange new costs, etc.).
– They won’t offer to come by your home to give you a free estimate. Even though you can usually request a quote online (which is a pretty accurate way of getting a quote), it’s best if the movers come visit you themselves, because then they’ll know for sure the amount of belongings you’ll be transporting, as well as its weight.
– Generally, trust your instincts. If something seems to be wrong, then there’s a good chance that it actually is.
If you follow our tips you’ll be able to avoid rogue movers.
Common moving mistake #04: Failing to declutter your home
Finally, before moving it’s a good idea to declutter your home. We all have some items that we’re sorry to get rid of, but we know we’ll most likely never need. One of the common moving mistakes happens when people can’t get rid of these unnecessary items. Giving them away, recycling them, or selling them can be useful, and not only because you’ll have more room in your home.
Namely, the fewer items you have, the cheaper your move will be. However, getting rid of such items (one way or another) has other advantages as well. You can make some money if you sell them, you can make someone happy if you donate them, or you can help save Mother Earth if you recycle them, instead of letting them rot away, forgotten in your home. No matter the means of disposing of them, though, you’ll definitely make your move easier and more affordable.