Spring Series Part 1: Moving Tips
I’m beginning a new series this spring, sharing tips from our start-to-finish home build experience. Today we’re starting off the series with the very beginning of our new build journey: the cross-country move.
Now we are not planning on moving anytime soon, but after renting various places for a decade and a cross-country move (two for Garret!), we have certainly learned a thing or two about moving. Our last and final move was from California to Ohio, where we first moved into temporary furnished apartment before our final stop. We then moved again, six months later, to our permanent house, where we are staying put!
Moving tip number 1: Be extremely selective when packing.
We used a pod for our cross-country move, so we had to be extremely selective about what we packed to take with us. It honestly filled up much quicker than we anticipated, and we ended up having to sell some larger pieces in order to make it work. Sometimes you just have to weigh the cost of your item versus renting an additional pod. Donate items, sell items on Facebook Marketplace, whatever you need to do to clear out — do it! In the end, when we finally moved into our new home in May 2018, I was so glad that we had downsized everything to a pod. An empty new home is overwhelming by itself, without having the added stress of placing your old furniture into your new place. Don’t be afraid of change — this is the time for change!
Moving tip number 2: Be extremely selective when choosing a mover.
We’ve all heard horror stories about moving companies. I followed along with the Chris Loves Julia moving company drama, and the whole thing was just horrible. I learned from their experience that this happens quite often, with moving companies scamming people and then changing names and starting a new company to do the same thing all over again to another person. We did not have this experience when we moved, because I used a trusted service that I had used previously and had a good rapport with. Do your research and hire a company with good reviews and years of experience, like Bearded Brothers Moving Group, LLC. Bearded Brothers Moving Group is a trusted long distance moving company in Youngstown, Ohio that can handle moves of all sizes. They have the expertise, the resources, and the manpower to facilitate all the details of your move from beginning to end. They even provide packing services!
Moving tip number 3: Use used boxes (if possible).
Did you know you can purchase boxes? You can get all sorts of boxes from your local FedEx, UPS, U-haul, USPS, etc. I even found a wardrobe box at U-haul that had a bar across the top so I could hang all the clothes straight from my closet! Plan ahead for a surprisingly hefty cardboard box budget if you’re doing the moving yourself. Most moving companies supply their own moving boxes, but if you are moving on your own, remember that boxes can add up very quickly. We were lucky enough to be able to use a lot of boxes that a friend in California was passing on for our big move from California to Ohio. People move all the time, so it’s always worth checking around the neighborhood or Facebook Marketplace to find boxes for your move!
Moving tip number 4: Label everything.
We started by organizing (and labeling) each box by room, which is called macro organizing. Once we had our boxes organized by room, we started micro organizing, breaking down categories even further. For example, I labeled a box “kitchen appliances” within the even larger “kitchen” box. When the moving boxes are all in an overwhelming heap at your final destination, you’ll be so glad you labeled everything, trust me. It makes unpacking efficient and way less stressful!
Moving tip number 5: Hire the movers. Seriously — just hire the movers!
Garret’s favorite summer job was working for Housing and Dining at Carnegie Melon. He considers himself a moving expert, and doesn’t like to ask for help when we move. When you have a family and work full-time though, sometimes your time is worth hiring certain tasks out. There just aren’t enough hours in the day! My best tip for moving is to stop being stubborn and just hire the movers. There has never been a time in my life where I regretted having moving help. Moving companies are experts in the field, and when you find a company that you can trust, they are worth their weight in gold!
Disclaimer: We built our home with Fischer Homes, a local home builder, so our experience might be different from yours. This post is sponsored, but all experiences and opinions are my own.
Follow along for the latest on instagram @firsthouseonfinn!