Month: April 2021

After months of house hunting, preparation, and packing, you’re moving day is right around the corner.

You’re close to the finish line, but there are a few steps left in the moving process before you can sit back and relax in your new home.

Here’s a to-do list to help you complete the few tasks that remain.

1. Perform a Walkthrough

Before you fill your new home with furniture and moving boxes, do a walkthrough. It’s easier to get this critical task done in an empty house. Focus on:

• Ensuring previous owners completed agreed-upon repairs
• Checking that appliances, outlets, and fixtures function properly
• Making sure everything that was supposed to be included with the sale is present

Document any issues; for instance, if the previous owners said they’d fix a broken door but didn’t, or were supposed to leave the refrigerator, but took it with them instead.

Performing a walkthrough in an empty house will also allow you to find any issues that need to be fixed later.

2. Find the Water Shut-Off and Fuse Box

Before you start moving in your things, locate the electrical fuse box and your water shut-off valve. Often, the fuse box is in the garage, basement, or storage room.

In case of an emergency, you might need to turn off the water quickly, so you’ll want to know exactly where the water valve is. In most cases, you’ll find the valve on a perimeter wall on the street-facing side of your home. If you can’t find the valve, pull out your inspection report; the inspector should have noted its location in the “plumbing” section.

3. Change the Locks

Call a locksmith and change the locks to your new home. Even if you trust the previous owners, you still don’t know how many spare keys are floating around.

Change the locks on every outside door to the house. If your main doors are missing deadbolts, ask the locksmith to install those, too.

If the garage door has a keypad or an alarm system, now is the ideal time to change the codes.

4. Do a Deep Clean

While the house is still empty, grab some cleaning supplies and get to work. A deep clean will help make you feel more comfortable and at home.

If you can’t spare much time, focus on the kitchen and bathrooms. Wiping down the inside of cabinets, polishing the counters, and scrubbing the floors make your fresh start feel genuinely new.

5. Unpack With Purpose

It’s finally time to unpack! But don’t just pile boxes willy-nilly; unpacking in an organized manner will save you time and effort later.

Start with the rooms you use most: the bedroom and the bathroom. After all, you’re probably more than ready to take a hot shower and get some rest after the stress of moving day.

As you unpack the rest of your belongings, take inventory as you go. This will help you ensure that all of your belongings made it safely to your new home.

Moving Made Easy

The most efficient way to complete a move is with the help of professional movers. If you need some help over the finish line, contact us for a free quote. We can help get you the rest of the way there — into your new home!

Imagine you have planned for every foreseeable moving scenario. You’ve downloaded and filled out a moving checklist, set a to-the-minute timeline, packed diligently, and even purchased moving insurance. What could possibly go wrong? You might be surprised!

The root cause of moving problems can be traced back to a single idea — unforeseeable circumstances. Whether these involve elements beyond your control or garden variety human error, the result tends to be the same. You suffer moving day problems, and the experience devolves into stress and anxiety. The good news is that the following covers issues that you cannot necessarily anticipate. But if and when they do, you’ll be prepared to get through them.

How To Deal With Extreme Weather

Forecasting the weather may be the only occupation people can predict inaccurately more often than not and keep their job. Planning ahead by checking 10-day patterns provides little solace when you get stung by severe weather on moving day. These are three types of extreme weather that can derail a scheduled move unless you are prepared to negotiate them.

• Heavy Snow: Freezing rain and blizzard conditions can make moving day a risky proposition. Fewer people move during the winter months because of these unpredictable weather conditions. A few-hour delay may be in order if you live in an area with good plowing and road sanding practices. But if the roads are unlikely to be safe that day, better to postpone.
• Torrential Downpours: Hard rains make driving conditions unsafe. They also can result in flash flooding. The last thing anyone wants is to be involved in an accident that results in injury or property damage. It’s advisable to wait out torrential downpours and make sure your moving route has not been compromised.
• Extreme Heat: When temperatures soar into the 90s or higher, it may be wise to expand the timetable. Safety dictates that you should only perform vigorous activity early in the morning or after late afternoon. Avoid working during peak sunlight and heat whenever possible.

Perhaps the best solution involves discussing a so-called “rain date” with the moving company—factor in unforeseeable weather events by including a flexible timetable.

Issues at Your New Home

Unexpected challenges might also come up when you arrive at your new home. Most of these problems will have easy solutions that you can prepare for. 

• Utilities: Keep the contact information of your utility providers readily available if there’s an issue with your gas, electricity, or other services when you arrive. Ensure you have an emergency kit as part of your essentials supplies that include flashlights, candles, water, and some nonperishable food.
• Handyman: Make sure you have the number of a local handyman or your landlord handy if there is an emergency with your new home.
• Essential supplies: Gather your essential supply kit while you pack your home so that if you run into any problems on moving day or need to check into a hotel, you have what you need.

Furniture Too Bulky To Get Through The New Door

Not measuring furniture to determine whether it fits through the new home’s doorway occurs more often than you might think. Most people already know their belongings fit through door “A” because it was delivered to them. But not all entrances are created equal, and a narrow opening often proves problematic.

There are several ways to resolve an oversized furniture problem, although some may seem unenviable. Take the door off the hinges to gain a couple of inches in width. Remove the item’s legs and dismantle it if possible. If that fails, you can sell it, buy slimmer furniture or call a carpenter. It may not seem like a desirable solution, but door frames and large windows can be removed temporarily and put back after the furniture is inside the home. A good carpenter can make it seem as if nothing was removed. Make sure you have a small tool kit pack in your essential supply kit. It will come in handy right away at your new home.

Moving Assistance

The best way to overcome moving day problems is to work with an experienced professional company that has negotiated these and other issues before. When selecting a reputable moving company, don’t hesitate to ask them “what if” something goes wrong.

Contact us for a free quote.