Moving is a common event in the lives of modern adults. In fact, tens of millions of people make either a short or long-distance move every year. The fact that it happens all the time doesn’t make the process any easier.

Uprooting your entire life for even a short-distance move proves intensely stressful for anyone. You live with the constant worry that you’ll forget something important.

To help you reduce stress and make moving a little easier, we’ve put together this checklist for moving. Let’s dive in!

1. Decide What to Purge

It’s an understandable impulse to focus on figuring out how to pack everything for the move, but that’s not necessarily the best strategy. Not everything you own warrants inclusion on the truck.

Take an inventory of bulky items like furniture and appliances. If some of them are nearing the end of useful life, consider replacing when you arrive at your new home. After all, a five-year-old washing machine with two major repairs behind it probably isn’t worth the trouble of relocating.

2. Deal with Crucial Documents

Decide early on how you plan to deal with crucial documents. The last thing you need is birth certificates, passports, automobile titles, or deeds going missing or getting destroyed in transit. You can go a few different ways with documents, such as:

• Transport them with you in a secure document box
• Create digital backups
• Transport them ahead of time and store them in safety deposit box

Transporting them with you often offers people the most peace of mind, but secure digital backups are always a good idea.

3. Pack an Essentials Box

Even the most ideal move will leave you tired. So, when you finally arrive at your new home, the idea of unpacking a bunch of boxes won’t prove an appealing prospect. You can avoid the worst of the first day unpacking with an essentials box.

An essentials box contains things that everyone will need, such as toiletries, medications, charging cables, and a change of clothes for everyone.

4. Confirm Utilities at Your Destination

Before you leave for your new home, contact the utility providers in your new town or city and confirm they’ll turn on the utilities at your new address before you arrive.

While you can probably live without Internet access for a day or two, you’ll absolutely want electricity, water, and temperature control.

5. Consider Pro Movers

Consider hiring professional household movers. In addition to speeding up the moving process, professional movers often provide secondary services such as packing, crating, and storage. These secondary services can streamline the process and reduce the odds of property damage during the move.

Make Your Checklist and Get Moving

While moving is a common experience for adults, relocating your entire life rarely gets easier. Following our checklist for moving can help take the worst edges off the stress of the process.

Browning Moving & Storage specializes in local and long-distance moves for households and commercial enterprises. For more information or a preliminary quote, contact Browning Moving & Storage today.

Moving can be a significant expense, and, while donating unwanted items to lighten your load can help reduce costs, the many essentials you need for a successful move can add up.

An average household move requires approximately 100 boxes. One way to cut costs is to supplement your box supply will free ones.

Wondering where to get free boxes before the move? Check out these seven places where you’ll find them!

1. Supermarkets

On your hunt for where to get free boxes, supermarkets should be your first stop. They receive daily shipments that come in boxes of all different shapes and sizes so you’ll be spoiled for choice.

Call ahead and ask one of the managers to put some aside for you. Washing detergent boxes are among the sturdiest they’ll have. And potato chips come in huge boxes that are perfect for large but light items like pillows and cushions.

2. Nextdoor

An ideal place to secure moving boxes is through Nextdoor, an online app that allows neighborhoods to create private social networks. This community platform is a free network for your area and surrounding community.

Nextdoor includes a “classifieds” section, which is often used for posting giveaway items – including moving boxes. The chances are that people in your neighborhood have extra boxes they want to pass along.

3. Craigslist

With one of the biggest free sections online, Craigslist is a great choice when it comes to finding moving boxes.

But, since most people move on the weekend, you’ll have less competition if you search their free section for moving and storage boxes on Mondays and Tuesdays.  

4. Liquor Stores

The boxes at liquor stores are great for moving since they are durable enough to carry glass bottles. As such, they’re great for transporting collections of DVDs, books, and CDs. Find out when your local liquor store gets their shipments and ask them to hold some for you.  

5. Homeware Stores

Homeware stores are an ideal choice for moving boxes since they receive regular shipments of the same kinds of items you’ll be transporting.

Lamps, wall art, and kitchen supplies all come in large boxes that also have to be sturdy enough for their heavy contents. And, you might even get lucky and score some boxes from a shipment of plates, making the challenge of packing dishes a lot easier.  

6. Freecycle

This online forum is a great place to find extra boxes from people who’ve recently moved.

All you need to do is create a post requesting ‘free moving boxes near me’ and specify how many you need. The Freecycle community cares about making use of unwanted items, so you’re sure to get lots of responses from people more than willing to pass on their boxes to you.

7. Bookstores

Books are heavy so the boxes that they’re shipped in need to be strong, making them ideal for fragile items, as well as your own collection of books.

But bear in mind that the bookstores in smaller towns may only receive shipments once or twice a week. As such, it’s best to call ahead a week or two before the move, so they have enough time to some aside for you.

Where to Find Free Moving Boxes

As this list shows, there are plenty of different places to find free moving boxes.

And, since you’ll be saving people from having to recycle the boxes themselves, they’re often more than happy to pass them onto you.  For more information about making your move as smooth as possible, contact us today!

Over 10% of all Americans move every year. That’s over 35 million people thinking, “Should I hire movers or handle the move myself?”

There are pros and cons to both choices, but it primarily boils down to three things — time, money, and the amount of work.

Let’s look at what you should consider when debating whether to move your household yourself.

What to Consider When Moving

There are several things to think about when deciding which route to take for a move. The amount of stuff being moved is a big one. There’s a big difference between moving a couple of pieces of furniture and a few boxes versus a house full of possessions.

Time is another critical factor. Do you have time to pack and move everything yourself or are you on a tight timeline?

The distance of your move is also a consideration. Moving from coast-to-coast is a much more significant undertaking than moving a few blocks across town.

When You Should Move Yourself

Moving your household yourself has several advantages over hiring movers:

• Lower cost
• Pack how you want
• Move as fast or slow as you want

It has its share of disadvantages too:

• You have to do the heavy lifting
• It’s up to you to do all the planning
• Problems are your responsibility

When you move yourself, you have total control over the process. If you’re not under any time pressure, you can move at your own pace. You can pack however you like; there’s nobody giving you any direction about what goes where or how to pack your boxes.

The lower cost is what convinces most people to choose this option. Yes, you can probably save some money by moving yourself, but there can be hidden costs that you should consider as well.

When It’s Best to Hire Movers

While you might pay more for hired movers than doing it yourself, the difference might not be as much as you think. When you handle the move yourself, you need to supply all your own packing materials, which likely cost money. And you’ll need a vehicle to transport your belongings.

If you’re only moving a few things over a short distance, your friend’s pickup truck might work. But if you’ve got a house full of furniture, you’re going to need a bigger vehicle, which you’ll likely end up renting. Assuming you’re even able to drive a larger truck, that’s going to eat up a fair bit of your budget by doing it yourself.

Several other advantages of hiring a moving company include:

• They do all the heavy lifting
• They’re experts, so it’s efficient
• Their experience helps when unexpected problems arise
• It’s less stressful for you
• They’ll carry insurance

DIY or Not – The Bottom Line

So, what is the best way to move? If you’ve got a few things to move over a short distance, consider handling the move yourself. But if you’ve got many things or you’re moving a significant distance, it’s worth hiring a mover.

Choosing a good moving company is the key. Do a bit of research before making your choice. Check with the local Better Business Bureau for complaints. Find some reviews online. Spend a little time checking them out before deciding.

Browning Moving & Storage will provide a customized, cost-effective move. Check out what our customers have to say about us.