John W David's
 Moving Tips and Check List

Moving Tips and Check List

Moving is generally not the most fun things any of us do, want to do, or have to do even when it means moving into a home to which we are truly looking forward. 

However, there are two points of trauma you should be thinking about to help make the task a lot easier to bear. One is packing and moving. The other is selling your home.

1) Having and executing a game plan that removes the last minute panic usually associated with moving. This page will help you with that.

2) Not losing some of your valuables for which neither time nor compensation will ease the pain. Been there.

3) Being able to put you hands on exactly what you need whenever you need it either just before moving or when you begin your new life in your new home. 

So, let's have some fun with this. Bookmark this page to your "favorites" in your computer. And, come back often. 

1) Hold a family team meeting. Lay out the game plan the way I have set it out for you to include both the task for each member to complete according to this strict plan and time checklist. 

If there is too much variance, you will face too many uncertainties and even loss of family treasures from time of packing to time of unpacking. 

2) Check with your insurance professional concerning what coverage you have for damage and loss. Loss, damage, and even theft are just facts of life in the moving business or just in the everyday mix-ups in a big move. 

Get the insurance company perspective on how best to handle those personal treasures and collectibles. I personally like to get those things out of harms way often storing them elsewhere early on in the game. And, even then, expensive losses occurred. 

Insurance companies may want you to document and even photograph all these valuables and collectibles. 

Okay.... here's something that comes up sooooo often that we have to deal with it here and now. 

But, the moving company is insured and will cover the cost of damage or loss. Well, yes. They are insured. However, consider this simple consideration. 

If a dish from your dining set gets broken, it may be worth, say, thirty dollars. However, the moving industry average insurance coverage for its clients is about $1/lb. And, a dish may weight four ounces. That means, that precious dish of $30 for you to replace will get you about twenty-five cents. 

So, by all means be sure to check with your own a) homeowners insurance policy for moving coverage and b) top it up if you are worried about nicks, scratches, damage, or loss of anything valuable either on its own or as part of a set. 

It won't cost that much. And, it's great peace of mind. 

3) Find all important papers, including wills, deeds, financial certificates, photos of valuables, important invoices and certificates of value and, I suggest, that you place them into a safety deposit box. Just get them safely out of the way. While it is important to keep all your important documents safe at all times, identity theft is another good reason. 

4) Start collecting boxes. Each family member should collect not fewer than 30 boxes. 
Make sure to buy lots of packing tape, thick markers, labels, etc. Keep all of these things easily and readily available in one place. When a member takes something make sure they bring back the empty or the unused part for replacement. This has to be a family responsibility. 

5) Each family member should be assigned a color for their boxes, tape or patch, that can be easily identified. And, additional colors should be assigned to rooms such as kitchen, living room, and such. 

The first place to start is all "out of season" clothing and items. Get them done, listed, and out of the way quickly. Besides, it will help you to establish quickly that everything is being done properly by everybody. Unpacking will be soooo much easier then when it is done properly and consistently. 

Note: To help in the unloading, get into the new home and color code each door of each room, so that you, your family members, and the movers can reduce time and effort (and money) by knowing exactly where to place each and every box or anything else that is color coded. 

Be sure that each person and each room has several boxes left over for final packing of everyday stuff still in use up to moving day: soiled clothes, bedding, cleaning materials for use on the last day, etc. 

Each person working his / her own room should then number each box. And, into a loose leaf book, they should list the number of the box onto a separate page in the loose leaf. Then, onto the page they should, as they enter an item into the box, list the item on that page in the loose leaf book. 

When the packing is done, each person then turns in their book to mom or dad, whomever is taking responsibility for the move. And, all the books are placed out of harms way or the clutter of the move... as in... with the spare tire in the car. 

6) Have each person packing their own possessions pack them into separate boxes broken down into:
Long Term... this is stuff they aren't likely to use for a while.
Short Term... this may be clothing for the season but not all being worn or urgently needed for a decent period surrounding the move.
Immediate... similar to cosmetics, this box or these few boxes may contain the essentials of life and have to be accessed on the day of arrival in your new home. 

Make sure to number all these boxes and have their contents itemized in your loose leaf note book. 

7) Pack all boxes so that they can be handled easily. For example, boxes of books can be extremely heavy and could break or cause damage to other boxes during the move. 

Now, there are the inevitable heavy personal items, like home gym equipment. You can by a "hand trolley or hand-truck" the kind used in warehouses with big tires. This will make easier the task of moving heavy odd shapes.

8) Find out what the moving companies will supply for free or at a reasonable cost. Case in point: you should try to pack suits and other clothes for work that you don't have to press or iron on the day you have to go back to work. If the company supplies wardrobe boxes, find out how many they supply, their size, and use them. 

**** In the trucking business, the rule for packing is: "high and tight". The more space you utilize without going too heavy, the less things will move around and damage themselves or become projectiles in the truck or, worse, your own car. 

9) Wires and plugs and such... What I have done is borrow small bottles of paint and code each wire that I have disconnected from something else so that when re-assembling, all I have to do is match up the two colored ends.

Case in point: audio-video systems connections. These can be a nightmare when re-connecting them.

Do this on anything that you take apart and have to re-assemble. Then, put all those small pesky things into baggies and (ideally) tape them to the thing or place all such connections into a box marked "connections". You will definitely want to be able to access this box quickly when you arrive at your new place. 

Always try to think ahead to re-assembly... even to picture hooks. The quicker you can establish the 'things of life' in your new home, the quicker you will reduce or eliminate the stress of a disjointed life in your new home where, normally, people are upset by the loss of their routines. 

10) Live like a gypsy for a week or so. 
Cosmetics, emergency supplies, cleaning supplies, paper plates and utensils. At worst, know where everything of 'daily living' is located so that you can access them quickly and easily. 

11) Caustic, flammable, or poisonous supplies should be used up and not packed... as in "never packed!" And, definitely never place cleaning supplies or emergency supplies with any consumable items such as food or cosmetics. Ideally, just buy new "chemical" products after you move into the new place. 

Remember: your skin is just as absorbent as your stomach. And, food itself will absorb dangerous chemicals no matter how well packed if they're packed in anywhere near close proximity to food. Even you clothes can absorb and pass on to you, through your skin, dangerous chemicals with which they come in contact. 

Now: In disposing of these items, check with your municipality for their safe disposal or give them to someone who uses them.

12) Do not pack anything in Garbage cans, garbage bags, or recycle boxes or bins. 
Out of 100 people reading this memo, I can almost guarantee that someone will find these big strong empty cans, boxes, and bins too inviting to load them up with stuff.

Of that 100 families, at least 3 of them will inadvertently put them out curb side for garbage pickup. And, instantly, some family treasure is gone... forever. 

If in the course of the move you find these units empty, you've done a good job. 

Okay... What you have just read is Pure Gold. It will make your life much, much easier, get things done quicker with the least amount of fuss and discomfort for you and your whole family. And, it will save you a bunch of money. 

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