What to Do While Your Movers Are Packing and Moving
The mere fact that you’ve decided to hire the best full-service movers in your area speaks of your serious intention to have a smooth move from start to finish. Your choice to use a professional moving company for your upcoming move makes all the sense in the world when you just know that you won’t be able to rely on your friends to help you out.
Moving many miles across the country is another instance when it’s best to hire professionals to pack and move your items – quickly, safely, and hassle-free. Also, you just may not have enough time to tackle all the tasks that come with a house move, or you just may not be mentally or physically ready to go through the ordeal of organizing a self-move.
Whatever the specific reason for using the services of a full-service moving company, it’s a very good idea to know what you’re expected to do when your movers are packing and moving your things.
Be ready for your movers’ arrival
The very first thing you want to do is to be well prepared for your packers and movers. Why? By being ready for your team of professional movers, you should be able to reduce the overall move time, which automatically means that you’ll pay less money in the end.
Remember that time is an important factor, especially during a local move when the price is calculated on an hourly basis. So, be ready for the pros to cut down on the time they work on your move.
What to Expect from Your Move
First Time Mover
Here is where it all begins – you’ve been given notification that you and if you have a family, are moving. The excitement of this new move is typically followed very quickly by panic as you realize all the things that go into moving down the block let alone across the country! While the task is certainly daunting, we are here to help. You need to stay proactive throughout the process and make sure you have a good plan going into the move.
Experienced Mover
This isn’t your first rodeo and you have a few moves under your belt at this point. However, since most members only move every few years you can be a bit rusty. The information below is meant to serve as a quick refresher for what you and if you have family can expect for your move.
Assignment Notification
While each service does this just a tad bit differently, you are typically notified of a permanent change of station through an assignment notification process. This could be an e-mail, phone call or a notification from a supervisor that you will be moving. It’s important to understand that an assignment notification does not mean that you have “orders” just yet. At this stage, it’s recommended that you start some of the preparation work which may include starting to look at places to live at your new destination and getting yourself organized for the pending move. The one constant within the Department of Defense is change, so we caution you not to make any permanent decisions until there are orders in hand
Orders
After days, weeks and potentially months of waiting you now have your orders. Your orders are an important document to have, so make sure everything is accurate. In addition to the administrative details (your name, social security number, etc.), make sure it has the correct duty station, dependent information and reporting dates. If you see anything that does not look right, you need to let the administration section know that there is an error so it can be corrected as soon as possible
Scheduling the Move
By now, you should have a basic game plan in order as you prepare for the move and depending on your timeframe, maybe even started taking some of the steps outlined in our tips. Now that you have orders in hand, you get to schedule your move. When you sign in to DPS you can expect to be asked a series of questions about your move.
Small Load Movers
helps you find licensed full service movers who specialize in small load moves for cross-country or local moving. Whether you need a moving company for moving a refurbished piano you bought on eBay, a few household appliances, an assortment of furniture, or the contents of a tiny studio apartment, our movers can help. Instead of renting a truck or storage container and moving the load yourself, you can quickly arrange services through a local or nationwide mover for this type of small long distance move. Small shipment or one item moving companies consolidate your belongings with other transfers to fill the truck, save on fuel, and cut down on costs and can work with you on price even if you only need to hire movers to move one item. These specialty service movers for small moves weigh your things to determine your total moving expense, so you only pay for what you ship.
Cheap Small Job Movers
Many normal moving companies don’t handle these mini-moves/small moves because it’s more lucrative for a company to relocate 3-4-bedroom homes and large offices. So, when you first start looking, tracking down a mover to handle small local moving jobs (like a few pieces of furniture) might seem tricky. Great Guys taps into an entire nationwide network of movers for small moves, helping you obtain quotes from licensed, insured moving company professionals that perform this type of move. No matter what type of moving service you’re looking for, we know the right company to help.
What Is A Small Load Move?
In the moving company industry, a small load move is any move under 2000-lbs. For residential small moves, a studio or 1-bedroom apartment typically qualifies as a small move. Small load movers also ship household appliances, hot tubs, pianos, safes, furniture, and other items. Small moves could also include the typical dorm or college student move. Ultimately, if the cumulative weight of the shipment is less than one ton, then it’s considered a small load
How Much Do Small Moves Cost?
Local small moves can cost anywhere from $200-$500 on the low-end for a local in town move (see what your move will cost). Even if you only have a few belongings, you’ll likely run up against a company’s required minimums. You may only be moving a single couch down a flight of stairs, but the company needs to cover the cost of sending their employees across town with a truck to complete the move. Be sure to ask about the minimum cost, size of crew, or hours billed when getting quotes from short distance movers.
State to state small moves can be completed for as little as $999, but will likely depend on how popular of a moving route you’re taking. If the location you’re moving to is a popular destination, a mover will have an easier time filling empty space on the truck. The process isn’t quite as easy if you only have a few boxes to move across the country to a tiny town off the major highway route.
Moving Help
Experienced
While you might be tempted to gather some friends and hire a moving truck on your own, it’s worth remembering that house movers do this for a living. Moving people’s houses seven days a week provides them with a wealth of experience that can’t be learned overnight. A furniture mover booked through the platform will know everything from the best way to pack delicate items to how to pack the moving van. has been connecting customers with professional moving services for years and has helped thousands of people move successfully, safely, and without stress.
Reliable
There’s nothing worse than standing out on the front doorstep, waiting for moving help to turn up that no-shows on you. On your moving day, time is of the essence and every minute counts. Book your professional movers through Handy and your packers and movers will turn up on time and ready to get the job done. Handy will work hard to ensure that you connect with the right professional movers who will arrive right when you need them to.
Skilled and Capable
Too many people learn too late that there’s much more to moving than merely packing and unpacking boxes. For house movers on the Handy platform, relocation services are second nature, and they’ve developed the skills to make it seem effortless. Book professional furniture movers through the Handy platform, and they’ll take care of all the work for you, including lifting bulky items and negotiating those awkward corners and angles that you might not be able to yourself.
Moving and Packing Tips for Your Smoothest Move Yet
Moving—like getting a tooth pulled or driving a very long distance through uninteresting landscapes—is one of those trials almost everyone must face. It’s sometimes unpleasant, it’s never exactly fun, but it usually leads to a positive outcome. Of course, particularly with moving, the success of the endeavor really depends on avoiding moving mistakes and planning ahead to make the process as smooth as possible.
Fortunately, and likely because almost everyone does end up moving at some point, there are plenty of tried-and-true moving tips out there to make the whole process easier. Following a moving checklist can help you make sure everything’s in order before, during, and after the move; another good moving tip is to commit to having a good attitude about all the change to come. Some moving tips focus on packing advice, while others offer reminders to cancel various services or arrange for things to be prepared at the new house; still more focus on smaller details, such as how to care for pets during a move or what to do when the movers are late. The most important moving tips, though, may relate to the physical move itself.
A lot can go wrong during a move. (A lot can go right, too.) With all the details and moving parts, there’s no one-size-fits-all guide with moving tips for every single scenario that could come up during the moving process. Different people will have specific needs or concerns—an antique china collection, valuable wood furniture, delicate heirlooms—that may require special accommodations, but for most cases, this general list of moving tips and tricks will help.
Get rid of everything
Packing all your possessions into boxes, bags, and more can be overwhelming. Make it a little bit easier on yourself by cutting back on excess and clutter as much as possible. Before you pack a single box, do a merciless purge of unused or unnecessary items. You’ll have less to pack, less to move, and less to unpack—and you’ll start life in your new space with a clean slate.
Make a moving folder
Start collecting new addresses, rental or purchase papers, moving contracts, and more in one folder. (Consider a hard copy, rather than a digital one, in case computer or phone batteries die during the move.) If any questions come up during the planning process or the move itself, you’ll have the answer (and records of agreements, payments, and more) on hand.