A good move should typically be planned over a few months. Usually if you have looked at homes and you have a closing date, it is possible to really reduce the total stress of your move by breaking down everything into:
• Moving prep
• Packing
• Managing your packed inventory
• Unloading and moving in.
These are the main sections that we will be covering, so feel free to move ahead if you would like to jump to a particular part of the process that you are currently in with your move!

The preparation stage:

Before you even start packing up some of your belongings to move, there are a number of things that you should do in preparation for your move. Some of the earliest things that you can do is starting the process of forwarding your mail. You might also want to think about changing over your utilities. These can be done by calling and giving them a starting and ending date of the services. Pick up some of the packing supplies that you will need to start the process of packing up some of the “not every day use” items in your home, such as knickknacks, pictures, china, and any items that you have more than one of that is not in use everyday. The preparation process can be much more time-consuming than you might think, so it’s crucial to start as early as possible when you know that you will be moving.
What services should you transfer?
There are many items that you will have to transfer over to a new property and some services you might even have to start up if this is going to be your first home. Contact the utility company in your area as soon as you know that you have a new home. This will help make sure that the utility companies will be able to switch on the power, water, and gas when you are ready to move in so you are not moving in the dark. Mail services will be one of the next things that you can take care of. By contacting your local mail provider, will make sure that all of your credit card bills, subscriptions and more will all be transferred over to the new house. Transferring your credit card and bank account address over to your new home is also extremely important! As in most cases, subscriptions will verify your senders address as the billing address for your credit card and financial statement. Making sure that all of your financial information has been changed over by the time you are in the new home should be a priority.

Where can I get inexpensive packing supplies?

When you have enough time to prepare for your move, there are many resources that you can use in order to get some excellent and inexpensive packing supplies. Spending some time picking up some free boxes or even asking friends or family to donate some plastic totes, really can help you to save money on your packing supplies. When you’re in a rush and you have to go out and buy boxes or depend on a company to provide them, this can lead to some extra expenses that will put a dent in your pocket and can be avoided. Just make sure that any of the inexpensive packing supplies that you pick up are still useful and functional.
Should I measure my new home?
In the preparation phase, you should consider taking along a tape measure or at least asking for floor plan. Having the ability to do a quick layout for all of your furniture and items will help to make sure that when you are unloading them on the moving day, you know exactly where they go and most importantly that they will all fit into your new home. Checking the measurements of each room will also make sure that if you need to buy new furniture or get rid of some items in order to fit in the rooms in your new home, that you can take care of this early on. You don’t want to have a sectional couch that doesn’t fit right in your living room and you have to sit on the floor to watch the Saints!

How do I track what I need to take care of?

Using a check sheet to make sure that nothing is forgotten, is a great way to stay organized when you are moving. There are all kinds of moving check sheets available online and one of the best ones that you can use for tracking what needs to be accomplished at first priority and what you should consider doing later on in the preparation stage, can be found here.

Getting a mover or renting a truck?

There are many people that choose to rent a moving truck and move themselves. The worst issue with renting a truck is that they may come with hidden costs as well as the chance that someone could potentially become injured during the move. The cost of a rental truck is often just one aspect of the move. Any amount of damage that the truck incurs during a move, will put you liable for the cost. With the cost of extra insurance or even some minor damage to the roof on a rental truck, you have exceeded the cost of hiring full-fledged movers. Be sure to contact reliable help in advance, if you are planning on renting a truck. Working with friends or family and making sure that everyone is available on your moving date, can make the process much easier for everyone. (But sometimes it’s hard to find good reliable help.) If you are planning on getting a professional mover to help you with the process of your move, you should also consider handling this and some of the earliest phases of your moving process. Movers generally ask for at least a few weeks to a month notice when it comes to scheduling your move. Not Lefty’s Moving Services! We only require a day in advance to schedule your move. If you are moving during a time of peak demand you may also want to consider contacting movers for quotes almost as soon as you know that you have the home. Working with Lefty’s Moving Services can be a great way to ensure that you can prevent injury as well as ensure that you have a very efficient move. Lefty’s Moving Services will also lead to a far less chance that items being moved into your home could experience any type of damage. It’s also nice to have Lefty’s Moving Services because you don’t have to ask a big favor of friends or family when it comes to moving every new item into your home. Booking early will also ensure that you can get some of the most reasonable rates for Lefty’s Moving Services in your area!

The Packing Stage:

During the packing stage it’s time to start boxing up some of your belongings that are not in use every day. Taking on the packing process as early as possible with some items that you don’t use that often, can help you to stay more organized. With any type of packing, you need to make sure that you are keeping a good inventory list as well as labeling packages for the best results when you are going to be unpacking as well as loading items.

How should I be packing boxes?

Some of the best advice that Lefty’s Moving Services can give on the subject of packing is using an order of least importance and packing almost like you’re going to be going on vacation. Start with some of the big stuff that you don’t think that you will need until you move into your new home. Having to constantly pack up and unpack boxes for items that you need can be aggravating and you will feel like you are living your life in chaos. Around a week before you move, you should be down to items that you can fit into a typical suitcase that you would take on vacation. These essentials really should be down to a few sets of clothes, maybe a few electronics, some toiletries and your true essentials. This can lead to some irritating living situations for a few days, but it will make sure you are ready and packed before your moving day. Should I pack room by room? It’s a good idea to do a little bit of sorting before you start packing up every single room individually. You could easily pack some of your couch cushions along with the blankets and cushions that you would normally keep on your bed. If you would rather pack up items in a room by room basis for unloading this is also a great way to proceed with the organization of your move. If you do find that you have a lot of soft items or items of a specific type, sometimes it can be beneficial to pack them together because they’ll be much more organized in one box and easy to pack up in this way. As long as you keep a good list of what is in every box, it won’t be too confusing when you have to unpack. Sorting is also a great way that you can save on packing supplies and make sure that you can utilize the space and safety of items during a move. The general rule of thumb when packing up any type of box is having each box be somewhat specific. This means keeping a box that is all related to blankets, or a box that is all related to office supplies. Keeping boxes that are very specific to each room will help to make sure that Lefty’s Moving Services can easily place these boxes into the new rooms of your home so that they can be unpacked immediately. The problem with boxes that are organized without a room specific label or purpose, is that they all end up in the middle of the living room in your new home and they may even take you days to get unpacked. Having all of the items in the room that they are intended to go in can really speed the process of unpacking.

Managing your moving inventory:

As you are packing up it also remains extremely important that you are keeping an inventory list throughout the entire process of packing each box. Forgetting about what you pack into a box before you moved, could mean that a box gets mishandled or it gets moved to the wrong place in your new home. Making a moving inventory and then managing all the boxes with your move is a hassle-free practice that can lead to some of the best in moving results.

How can I stay organized?

Make sure that you have some labels available for each box that can make it through the entire move. Something as simple as color coding every box with a different colored marker on several sides could even be enough to help you determine where every box should go. Most boxes should also be labeled with the contents inside so that you will know how to handle them as you are unpacking them. Also, to make sure that Lefty’s Moving Services will be careful not to stack items incorrectly leading to breakages. Many people moving today are beginning to use mobile inventory tracking through a label printer as an additional safeguard with their moving items. Moving van for example is an application that can help you to pull up a box in item list for every single box that you packed. You can even add photos of every box after its packed and print off labels with itemized lists that can stick to the sides of boxes as you pack them up.

How can I keep items safe?

If you have fragile items in boxes or items that need to be moved a certain way to stay protected, make sure that this is included on your labels. Something like a fragile sticker or even just an arrow on your box will help to make sure that one end can stay up and that the box will not face any type of rough handling. Putting a sticker on the side or a label that says that a box is particularly heavy can also help Lefty’s Moving Services. A heavy box can sometimes be dropped if someone is unprepared for it. As it can be tough to know just how much a box weighs by looking at it or by the label on the side. So it is important to think about labeling items for their weight, just as well as labeling them for being fragile. If you can, try to cut down on the weight of boxes by packing items like books into a limited size box that can support their weight and not lead to injury throughout the process of your move.
Moving in:
Even after you have taken an extensive amount of time to prepare with your packing, with moving over all of your utilities and with the process of unpacking a moving truck, you will still have a lot ahead of you before you can feel settled in your new home. Luckily, there is a process that you can use to make setup much less stressful.

Start assembling some furniture:

You should have some of your furniture items set up so that you can at least enjoy a comfortable sleep in your new home. One of the first places that you should start is by making your bed up or ensuring that you can have your couch all set up for relaxing. It’s likely that you’re going to need a place to sit or relax in the first night in your home. With the bed assembled you can be ready to enjoy a good night sleep and then get back to work unpacking more of the house the next day.

Set up the kitchen:

Feeling comfortable enough to cook a few meals in your new home is important. Setting up things like the coffee maker or just having a few plates, pots and pans out will help you feel much more comfortable as you start the unpacking process.

Get cleaning before you get too far:

While there are still a number of items packed up in boxes, it’s usually good idea to consider cleaning or doing any of the basic painting/decor items that you might want to do without all of the other items in the way. You can dust most of the house early when there is less furniture and items in the way within a room. Unpacking some of your cleaning supplies so that you can quickly clean up in every room and clean up after you have all your boxes unpacked is very important. Another approach is to have all the cleaning and painting done before you move in.

Have a plan for garbage and recycling:

Before you spend too much time unpacking boxes and getting settled, make sure that you have a plan for all of your garbage and recycling of your packing supplies. Organizing all of your packing supplies in a garage or in a basement area can help to make sure that you could give them back to family members if they lent you totes or if you have to give them back to a moving company. You could also consider getting rid of some of the boxes that you of unpacked on a service like Craigslist. All of the paper and packing materials that you have used through the move will also have to find their way into the garbage or get recycled. Making sure that you have plenty of recycling bags or the directions the closest garbage or recycling depot, will help to make sure that your home isn’t cluttered up with packing supplies for an extended amount of time after your move.

Clear some of the clutter:

It can be tough to look at all of this stuff across your home and feel the need to unpack it all immediately. Work through some of your necessities early on and if you need some extra space in each room you should consider using some of the closets and storage areas temporarily for items that you are not going to need right away. While all of your items are neatly packed away in boxes you can start eliminating certain items from high traffic areas. A great example of this might be your holiday decorations which can go immediately into storage. Clearing away some of the clutter so that you have more room to breathe can be a great way to feel less stressed with the future of your unpacking.

Don’t take on too much at once:

It takes time to get settled in a new home and it will also take time before you will be completely happy with the arrangement of items in each room. Many people get into a new home and absolutely exhaust themselves trying to unpack within just a day or a weekend. Unpack boxes over time and work by order of importance. After a week or even two weeks you may find yourself living in a much more established home without the stress of having to spend every waking hour unpacking and organizing. Lefty’s Moving Services has the goal of making every move a stress-free move for our customers. Lefty’s Moving Services hope that this guide helps some of our clients in the process of planning and settling in their new home. If you are interested in working with Lefty’s Moving Services for your next move feel free to e-mail or call us anytime for a free moving estimate for a long distance or local move! Lefty’s Moving Services is your Louisiana moving specialists!