And, mind you, once you make up your mind that you will tackle the tough job on your own, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Your personal Packing Timeline should remind you that you are supposed to pack up the kitchen with priority. Why? A kitchen often proves to be one of the most difficult rooms to pack for moving, so you want to start packing from those tough-to-pack premises first while you still have the energy and motivation.

All in all, there are two major challenges when packing a kitchen for a move: 1) it simply contains too many items to begin with, and 2) most of those kitchen items are super-fragile so they need special packing techniques to survive the relocation unscathed.

Sooner or later, you will get to pack your kitchen knives and when you do, you’re likely to wonder about how to safely pack knives for moving due to their sharp, open blades. Despite the dangers of packing knives for a move, you should be able to tackle the packing task safely by following the practical tips below.

So, what’s the safest way to pack kitchen knives for moving?

Dangers of packing kitchen knives for moving

Before you begin to pack up your kitchen knives, it’s important that you understand the risks of handling sharp knives of various sizes and lengths.

1. Risk of injuries

Be very careful not to get a finger cut when you’re packing your kitchen knives.

You should keep in mind that there’s always a danger of getting injured – most often an accidental cut on one of your fingers or on your palm – while packing up or unpacking sharp kitchen knives with open blades.

During the packing process, you have to be extra careful not to cut yourself with any of the kitchen knives. Needless to say, rule #1 when packing knives for moving is to only hold those cutting tools on their handles

Another way can hurt yourself when packing kitchen knives for a move is to accidentally drop a sharp knife onto your feet. You can easily avoid such an accident by first wearing closed shoes and then managing the packing action in the middle of the kitchen table so that it won’t be possible for a knife to fall down on the ground.

2. Risk of property damage

Another danger associated with improper packing of kitchen knives for moving is the possible infliction of some sort of property damage. How?

When the knives are packed incorrectly inside a cardboard box, they can cut through the cardboard, which in turn can cause extra damage to an adjacent box or a piece of furniture while the problematic container is being transported inside the moving vehicle.

Be mindful that an open blade (or blades!) sticking outside a moving box can cause various types of property damage with various levels of severity.

What to Pack First When Moving

Necessary materials for packing knives

Of course, you’re going to need to have the right materials in order to pack your knives safely for the upcoming relocation.

What are the supplies you’ll need to pack sharp kitchen knives?

• Packing paper. You’re going to need many sheets of wrapping paper to ensure the safety of those blades. Make sure you’re using white, soft packing paper that’s both ink-free and acid-free.
• Bubble wrap. The sheets of bubble wrap will create soft padding around the sharp blades and edges of kitchen knives, thus forming a protective layer that should guarantee the safety of the entire packing operation.
• Small or medium boxes. You’re going to need one or two small or medium cardboard boxes depending on the number and size of kitchen knives you’ve decided to move with you.
• Packing tape. Get a roll of quality packing tape for all your packing needs. If you have a knife block, then you may need a bit of painter’s tape to secure the knives onto the block prior to packing.
• Markers. A black marker pen should be enough to label properly the boxes.

Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap

Preparation before packing your knives

There are a few preparatory steps before you can actually begin wrapping up your knives. These pre-pack tasks will ensure the safe and quick completion of the packing job – exactly the thing you’re after, right?

1. Inspect all knives before packing

Make sure you’re not taking any knives you won’t really need after the move.

It makes little sense to pack and move knives that you won’t use for various reasons. So, take a few minutes to inspect each knife carefully in order to determine whether it’s really worth packing and moving it in the first place.

If a knife has a broken handle or a chipped blade, then you may decide to leave it behind.

If a knife has served you well for many years but it’s seriously worn out, then the house move is a good pretext to replace it.

Generally speaking, consider throwing away any knives with some sort of damage on them that has rendered them unusable.

After all, isn’t a brand-new set of kitchen knives the perfect gift for the new home?

2. Clean the knives

This is a pretty simple step – it’s not a good idea to pack dirty knives so take a moment to clean the ones you’re about to pack up.

If a particular kitchen knife is stained rather than dirty, then you should consider throwing it away… unless it has some sort of sentimental value for you.

3. Organize the knives by size

This sorting step will facilitate the entire process of packing kitchen knives for moving. All you need to do is sort out all the knives you’re taking with you according to their size.

How will that help you to pack your knives more efficiently?

Having knives with similar or identical lengths will enable you to wrap and bundle the kitchen cutting tools much more quickly and safely. The resulting paper bundles will be tighter and more secure.

Bread knives and chef knives are usually similar in size, as well as utility knives and paring knives on one side, and boning knives and filleting knives on the other side.

4. Prepare the boxes

The cardboard boxes you plan to use for your kitchen knives should only be used for that very purpose. In other words, you’re not recommended to pack anything besides knives inside those containers for safety reasons – in case a blade does manage to cut through the paper + bubble wrap bundle.

Place pieces of crumpled paper on the bottom of the boxes to form a soft cushioning layer that will add an extra degree of protection.

How to pack knives for moving: Step-by-step guide

By now you should be ready to pack your knives safely for transport. Follow the detailed packing steps below to do it quickly and easily as well.

• 

  Packing paper and bubble wrap will be your best allies when packing knives.

  Step 1. Position the stack of packing paper in the center of the kitchen table – that will be your packing station. In case the table is unavailable, then you can use the kitchen counter for the purpose.

• Step 2. Take one knife from a group of similar kitchen knives and position it at an angle close to the edge of the top sheet of paper.
• Step 3. Grab three paper sheets at the same time from the edge of the stack and roll the sheets over the kitchen knife several times until the kitchen item is completely wrapped in packing paper.
• Step 4. Position another knife from the same group to the one that’s already covered in paper. Make sure the open blade of the second kitchen item is placed in the opposite direction of the first piece.
• Step 5. Continue to roll the wrapping paper over the second piece until it is also completely covered by the soft packing material.
• Step 6. Add to the bundle a third knife of a similar size. This time, ensure its blade is positioned in the opposite direction of the second cutlery piece.
• Step 7. Roll the paper over the third kitchen knife until it gets completely covered in white, ink-free wrapping paper.
• Step 8. Consider adding a fourth and even a fifth knife if the space allows it. If not, you should follow the necessary steps to finish and secure the paper bundle.
• Step 9. Complete the paper bundle by tucking in the ends of the stack.
• Step 10. Use pieces of packing tape to secure the paper bundle.
• Step 11. Add one final layer of bubble wrap over the secured paper bundle. Again, use tape to fix the bubbly plastic material – this way, no knife should be able to cut through the multiple sheets of paper.
• Step 12. Transfer the ready bundle into the box.
• Step 13. Start rolling up another paper bundle of similar kitchen knives. Remember to alternate the directions of the blades of the knives you add.
• Step 14. Keep repeating the above packing steps until you’re done. All in all, you should get between 3 and 5 bundles altogether depending on how many knives you’ve decided to move to the new home.
• Step 15. Arrange the paper-plus-bubble wrap bundles in the box, then fill in any gaps between them using pieces of paper – newsprint is fine too.
• Step 16. Close the lids of the box and tape them shut securely.
• Step 17. Label the box KNIVES and KITCHEN.

How to Pack a Kitchen When Moving

How to pack a knife block for moving

If you have a knife set that’s arranged in its own knife block, then you can use a cute packing tactic and pack the entire block, together with the kitchen knives.

Here’s how you should do it:

• 

  Packing the entire knife block is the easiest and fastest way to pack knives when moving to a new home.

  Step 1. Secure each individual knife in its own block slot using pieces of painter’s tape. Avoid using regular packing tape since it’s likely to leave unpleasant tape residue marks. The idea is to make sure the knives won’t slip out during transport.

• Step 2. Wrap the entire knife block in several sheets of packing paper. Secure the paper with the help of packing tape.
• Step 3. Add a couple of sheets of bubble wrap over the initial paper layer. The bubble wrap will provide an extra level of protection for the entire kitchen item. Use pieces of tape to fix the plastic material in place.
• Step 4. Transfer the wrapped-up knife block into a pre-padded box. It’s OK to pack it inside a box together with other bundled kitchen knives.

While you should be able to pack your kitchen knives for moving on your own, you must observe the safety measures described above. If you feel nervous about getting hurt while handling the sharp blades of those kitchen knives, or if you’re running out of time, then do the sensible thing and hire professional packers to help you out.

Professional Packers Guide

The post How to Pack Knives for Moving: Safety Above All appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Without a doubt, the biggest change you’ll notice immediately after the move is the more limited space inside the new place. And this alone may be a bitter pill to swallow for you, especially when you’ve lived in a big house with a spacious garden outside until that moment.

Also, you will need time – sometimes much more time that you are willing to spare – to adapt properly to the new lifestyle changes that apartment living offers. Hopefully, you will be a highly-adaptable person and you won’t be bothered too much during the post-move adaptation period.

Pay attention to these 7 practical tips for moving from a house to an apartment to make the house-apartment transition much smoother and less stressful for you and your family, including any pets you’re taking with you.

1. Downsize and declutter

The most important thing you need to understand when you’re moving to an apartment from a house is that space management in the new place should be treated as a serious business simply because it is just that.

In the majority of cases, the living space AND the storage space in the new apartment will be (much) more limited, so you have to be very careful about how much stuff you bring into the new home.

So, what’s the very first step when moving into an apartment from a house? Reduce drastically the number of belongings you intend to move, of course.

• Inventory all the things you currently own in the house.
• Go through the inventory sheet and mark all the items that are not really worth packing and moving for one reason or another. Be ruthless about it.
• Prepare for packing and moving only the things you do like and you do plan to use in the foreseeable future.
• Make an effort to get rid of all the useless stuff you won’t take with you – sell, donate, give away, or discard the things you have decided to leave behind.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

2. Plan your apartment space (floor plan)

Again, the major challenge when moving from a spacious house into an apartment will be the restricted living space in the destination place.

And yes, decluttering your things prior to the move will boost effective space management but you’re also strongly advised to create a detailed floor plan of the new apartment – something that will aid you tremendously in making the right decisions throughout the relocation.

How will a floor plan of the new apartment help you out in your mission to make the house-apartment transition as painless as possible?

A detailed floor plan will help you

• use more effectively the limited space in the apartment because you’ll know in advance the sizes of any furniture pieces and the dimensions of the rooms.
• make up your mind about which furniture pieces to move to the apartment. In some cases, it’s much better to NOT take any large and heavy furniture pieces with you.
• avoid unpleasant situations where bulky furniture items just won’t fit through the small doors or narrow corridors of the destination apartment.
• know way in advance where the bigger items will be placed in the new home through the apartment layout you’ve prepared.

SEVEN (7) Tips for Moving into a Studio Apartment

3. Understand the apartment lease

The importance of reading and understanding the terms and conditions of your apartment lease cannot be stressed enough.

Keep in mind that there are several key points you should look for and understand fully before you sign the apartment lease.

• 

  Make sure you read and understand the terms and conditions of your apartment lease before signing it.

  Lease Term. This is the duration of the lease – usually, it is one year but it can be more or less in your case.

• Rent. How much is the rent? When is it due each month? And what would happen if the payment were late?
• Security Deposit. Most landlords require a security deposit to cover any potential damage to the apartment. Make sure you understand the amount of the security deposit and what might cause you to not get it back when you decide to move out of the apartment.
• Maintenance and Repairs. The lease should specify who is responsible for repairs and maintenance.
• Policies. Find out your landlord’s rules for noise, pets, guests, smoking, and so on. Make sure you are OK with these rules before signing the apartment lease.
• Utilities. You just have to know which utilities you’ll be responsible for – in some cases the utilities are included in the rent.
• Dispute Resolution. The apartment lease must outline the process for resolving any possible disputes between you and the landlord or property manager.

4. Create a moving budget

Proper budgeting for the move will help enable you to avoid spending more money than you absolutely must and to cut packing and moving costs whenever possible.

When you’re following a detailed MOVING CHECKLIST, like you should, you will know that the all-important task of creating a moving budget has to be completed at the very beginning of your pre-move preparations.

But what to budget for when moving from a house to an apartment?

• Moving company fees. Regardless of whether you’re moving locally or across the country, hiring professional movers comes with a price tag. Request moving cost estimates from the best movers in your area to know how much your mover will charge you.
• Extra moving services. Each extra service you request from your moving company – packing, unpacking, furniture disassembly and/or reassembly, temporary storage, and so on – will cost you more money.
• Additional insurance. If you’re moving high-value items, then you must purchase proper moving insurance (Full Value Protection), either through your mover or from a third-party insurance company.

Additionally, you should be well aware of the costs associated with apartment living. Create a separate budget for the immediate post-move expenses you are expected to cover when moving into an apartment:

• monthly rent,
• security deposit,
• utilities,
• renter’s insurance,
• urgent household items for the apartment,
• stocking up on groceries, and so on.

What to Budget for When Moving Out

5. Pack up your things by yourself

When moving from a house to an apartment, one of your top priorities should be to keep your moving expenses to their absolute minimum. Thus said, one excellent way to save money on your local or long-distance move is to pack up your things by yourself to the best of your abilities.

Professional packing is the most expensive add-on service you can request from a moving company so whenever possible, you should try to protect and box up your belongings to cut packing and moving expenses.

Hopefully, you will have inventoried and pared down your things by now, so the only thing left for you is to follow a good PACKING TIMELINE – a detailed to-do checklist that’s been prepared especially for the tough task of packing for a move.

• Start packing up your things as soon as you possibly can – by far, it is the most time-consuming task on your moving checklist.
• Prepare the necessary packing materials in advance so that you don’t lose precious time during the packing process.
• Consider getting free moving boxes to further lower your packing expenses.
• Initiate the packing job from the storage areas in your house – basement, attic, garage, closets, and spare rooms – as those are the premises that are the hardest to sort and pack for a move.

6. Hire professional apartment movers

Moving into an apartment from a house presents a few extra challenges, especially if you happen to be moving into a high-rise apartment in another part of the country.

Trust experienced apartment movers with your house-to-apartment move.

The first obstacle is the STAIRS. Having to carry heavy furniture pieces and boxes up the stairs is a job that’s better left to experienced apartment movers. As an extra challenge, the elevator in the building may not be out of order at that moment or you may be moving into an apartment building with no elevator at all.

The second possible hurdle may be the ELEVATOR. While it does sound convenient to be able to use an operating building when moving into an apartment, the building elevator will first have to be reserved and then properly padded with furniture blankets for extra protection.

Experienced apartment movers will make your move so much easier by taking care of the most stressful tasks for you, including the dreaded task of packing if you don’t have enough time or you just don’t feel confident enough to complete it on your own.

But above all, they will handle the heavy lifting on the day of the move so that you and your family can breathe a sigh of relief that you’ll stay 100% safe from any possible injuries. As a bonus, you won’t need to ask your friends for a big favor either.

Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get in touch with the best apartment movers in your area.

7. Change the address and transfer the utilities

Your personal moving checklist will guide you well while you’re getting ready to move into an apartment from a house. Nevertheless, keep in mind that two of the most important pre-move tasks you will have to tackle prior to the move are to change your address and transfer the house utilities.

Change the address

Technically speaking, you could initiate the change of address (COA) procedure after you move into the apartment. However, it’s better to do it before you move out of the house to ensure that you continue to receive your important pieces of mail without any problematic interruptions.

Luckily, it’s easy to change your address before you move out of the house – you’ve got 4 options to do it as soon as you find some free time in your moving calendar:

• Change your address in person by visiting the nearest post office;
• Change your address online by visiting the official USPS website;
• Change the postal address by phone; and
• Change the address by mail (of course!).

How to Do a Change of Address When Moving

Change the utilities

The second super important task that you should remember to take care of is to change your house utilities. Soon enough, you won’t live in the house anymore, so you wouldn’t want to continue to pay for services you won’t use, would you?

If you’re moving into the new apartment as an owner, then you must change the utilities to your name. On the other hand, if you’re moving into an apartment as a renter, then it’s likely that you won’t have to do anything except work out the details in the apartment lease with your landlord or property manager.

Either way, you will definitely need to disconnect the current house utilities before you move out of the house. Follow the link below to learn the best way to do it.

How to Change Utilities When Moving House

Bonus advice: Focus on the positive aspects of apartment living

For better or worse, you’re moving from a house to an apartment and there’s no going back now. Fortunately, apartment living after a house offers a number of benefits, so it’s time for you to focus on all the positive aspects of apartment living.

The major benefits of apartment living are:

• Less Maintenance. One of the significant advantages of apartment living is the reduced maintenance required. Generally, the property management handles repairs and sometimes even certain utilities.
• Security. Many apartment buildings offer enhanced security features, including gated access, security systems, and surveillance cameras.
• Amenities. Apartment complexes often provide various amenities such as a gym, swimming pool, community centers, playgrounds, and laundry facilities.
• Location. Apartments are often located in more central, urban areas, which means easier access to public transportation, businesses, restaurants, and cultural activities. This convenience can save time and commuting costs.
• Flexibility. With shorter lease terms, apartment living allows for greater flexibility. If you have to move for a job or personal reasons, you can do so with relative ease and without the hassle of selling a house.
• Simplicity. An apartment often has less space than a house, which can simplify living. There’s less to clean, less to maintain, and less to clutter up with unnecessary possessions.

Moving Into an Apartment for the First Time: Checklist and Tips

The post 7 Tips for Moving From a House to an Apartment appeared first on The Moving Blog.

The thing is that if you end up making the hasty decision to move to another state without weighing carefully the advantages and disadvantages of doing so, then not only are you likely to regret the decision after the move, but you’ll have lost too much time and money in the process too – time and money that you cannot possibly get back.

Therefore, it’s important to understand the pros and cons of moving to a new state before you pull the trigger and complete the relocation.

A comparative analysis may show that it’s not the right time for you to consider an interstate move. Or it may reinforce your belief that the planned out-of-state relocation has an impending now-or-never tag attached to it.

Pros of moving out of state

Under specific circumstances, moving to another state can bring about tons of positives for you and your family. Here are some of the most common advantages of moving across the country:

New experiences

Moving to a different state will definitely mean new experiences for you. In reality, (almost) everything will be new for you after the move, and the idea of being somewhere where you haven’t been before is exciting enough. It’s quite possible that even the climate in the destination is quite different from the one you’re used to, and that may prove to be a great thing in the end.

If you’ve become sick and tired of the monotonous daily routine in your current place, then a cross-country move will surely bring a dose of excitement back into your life simply because you’ll get to experience new things in a completely different way.

Sometimes the change of scenery can do you a world of good, and you should welcome and embrace the changes that come as a result of the relocation. An interstate move gives you the fresh start you’ve needed for years but never had the chance or the courage to make it happen.

The diverse landscapes of the new state can wake up that dormant sense of adventure in you, especially if you’ve just moved to a place that offers a variety of exciting outdoor activities. In short, an interstate move can break the chains of the mundane existence you’ve had until that moment.

Keep in mind that all the new experiences you’ll get as a result of the out-of-state move should invariably lead to personal growth – a stronger, more mature version of you with a more open mind.

10 Signs It’s Time to Move to Another State

Career opportunities

Moving to another state can also result in excellent career opportunities for you – often the case when the destination state has a booming economy and many highly-paid jobs in your area of expertise. In fact, the major reason you want to move to a new state can be to get a better job.

Moving out of state for a job can easily prove to be a brilliant decision.

Another state can offer increased job prospects in different industries – something that was not available to you until that moment. The possibility of a higher salary or a promotion also influences your decision to start packing up your things and relocate to a place where your professional skills will be better appreciated.

Moving to a different state can advance your career in a way that is virtually impossible in the area you live right now. The destination job market can be much more favorable for you, and you can get better access to new professional networks after the move is complete.

All in all, you don’t have to be an ambitious careerist to decide to move to a state with increased job prospects. A good job that pays well will simply offer you a better standard of living for you and your family.

Moving Out of State Checklist

Education opportunities

A move to another state can also give you access to high-quality education.

Regardless of whether you yourself wish to continue your education or you want to give your children the opportunity to study at esteemed schools and prestigious universities in that destination state, proper education is arguably the greatest investment a person can make in life.

And because of that, you should never have any regrets after the move when it comes to the main reason to relocate in the first place.

Lifestyle changes

Your interstate move will also bring about many lifestyle changes for you – changes for the better, that is.

In most cases, the level of your financial security will be determined by how well your new job pays. As a rule of thumb, the higher your salary is in the destination place, the more things you will be able to afford, which will automatically increase your overall quality of life.

As a bonus, if you just moved to a state with a lower cost of living compared to the previous one, then you’re likely to enjoy an improved quality of life as long as your disposable budget has increased or has remained relatively unchanged.

One of the biggest advantages of moving to a new state is the more suitable weather conditions that can be found there. In fact, the whole interstate move may have been triggered by your desire to find a place that will offer a more favorable climate for you and your family.

If you’ve become intolerable of the sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall in the northern states (and all the issues that come with long and cold winters), then it’s only natural that you’d want to move to a state with a warmer climate. Of course, the same is true when you just can’t seem to stand the constant heat in your current area and wish to relocate to a colder place just to cool yourself down.

Pros and Cons of Moving to a Cold State

Pros and Cons of Moving to a Warmer State

Relocating to a state that offers scores of outdoor activities (Colorado, for example) will enable you to lead a healthier lifestyle. Regardless of what you enjoy doing in your spare time – hiking, biking, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, surfing, or sailing, the destination state can prove to be an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise.

And that may be exactly what you’re after and one of the main reasons to want to put an end to your current sedentary lifestyle by seeking a much more active way of living in a different part of the country.

Moving to Another State to Start Over

Cons of moving out of state

Unfortunately, moving to another state has its share of disadvantages as well – possible drawbacks that you must be aware of before you decide to complete the interstate relocation.

Generally, the cons of moving out of state can be divided into 3 main categories: 1) emotional challenges, 2) economic concerns, and 3) logistical concerns.

Emotional challenges

While it can be an exciting adventure on its own, an interstate move can also result in a number of emotional challenges for you as soon as Moving day is over.

Moving to another state could bring about a post-move phenomenon known as relocation depression.

First of all, moving away from family and friends is likely to cause an overwhelming bout of homesickness. You may start to feel profound sadness due to the fact that you had to leave behind your best pals and even some of your family members.

That unwelcoming wave of homesickness is part of a post-move phenomenon known as relocation depression. You’ll be missing the people you love back in the previous state, and you’ll also miss your life there and how things made sense. And now, at least a few states away, you may find yourself struggling to regain your normal inner rhythm.

It’s true – moving out of state could cause separation anxiety, and this is why you have to be on the lookout for the following relocation depression symptoms: excessive sleep, uncharacteristic tiredness, unwillingness to leave the new place, lack of desire to socialize, and tangible apathy.

How to Overcome Relocation Depression After a Move

And secondly, another emotional challenge you may have to overcome after the move to another state is stress from the move itself and the adjustment to the new environment. It’s important to note that the adjustment period will start as soon as you step over the threshold of the new place and can continue anywhere from a few weeks to even months.

Adjusting to a new environment after moving can be especially tough when you’ve moved to the new state alone and when you don’t know anyone in the destination city or town. Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to speed up the post-relocation period of adaptation such as exploring the new area, using your job as a temporary shield, meeting new people, and of course – keeping in touch with your old pals.

Economic concerns

Without a doubt, a cross-country move will also cause several economic concerns that you will have to deal it in due time.

The very first financial concern you’re likely to be worried about is the cost of the out-of-state move. It’s important to keep in mind that the national average cost of an interstate move is about $4,000, with a price range from $2,200 to $5,700, or more depending on the specific relocation parameters.

The truth is that you may not be ready for the high moving costs. Since moving across the country is a type of relocation that’s best handled by a reputable and experienced interstate moving company, your main goal should be to find a low-cost cross-country mover to keep your moving expenses to a minimum.

How to Find Cheap Movers in 10 Simple Steps

Another financial concern you may have when moving out of state is the potential increase in the cost of living due to the relocation. This is especially relevant when you’re moving to a more expensive city located in a generally more expensive state. And this is exactly why you just have to do your homework before the relocation so that you don’t get any unpleasant surprises from a financial point of view.

Another potential disadvantage of moving to a new state is the complicated scenario when you arrive in the new place without having secured a job first. That can be rather risky, especially when you haven’t researched the job market well in advance. In addition to covering the high moving costs, you’re going to have serious financial obligations right after the move – rent, new home mortgage, deposits, furnishing, repairs, stocking up groceries, and much more.

20 Simple and Easy Ways to Reduce Moving Costs

Logistical concerns

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that moving to another state can be a serious logistical challenge.

Initially, you will need to invest a great amount of time and effort in planning and executing the move. In most cases, there will be too many things to think about and too many tasks to complete before you can consider yourself ready to move out. And this is exactly why you’re going to need a good time management tool to keep things organized from Day 1.

Do yourself a favor and follow a detailed MOVING CHECKLIST to increase the overall efficiency of your pre-move preparations.

There will be scores of important tasks to take care of after the move is over.

But a move to a different state can also bring a series of challenges that will await you as soon as you reach your final destination:

• Finding healthcare providers.
• Finding a good school.
• Transferring home utilities.
• Changing your postal address.
• Registering your car.
• Unpacking.

Guide to Moving to Another State: Checklist and Tips

The post Pros and Cons of Moving Out of State: Is It Worth It? appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In fact, there are several reasons why moving to a new place may trigger an allergy of some sort. The pollen count in the air can be much higher than in the area you had to leave.

Or maybe the house you just moved into has mold problems and you happen to be allergic to those mold spores without even realizing it.

The major problem is that a newly-developed allergy after moving will definitely decrease the quality of your post-relocation life. In some more serious cases, an allergy may even prove to be life-threatening.

Therefore, you should never underestimate allergies after moving house. Instead, you should take them seriously and handle them in the best possible way before things start to go haywire.

Read on to learn what to do about allergies after moving.

What’s an allergy?

An allergy occurs when your immune system overreacts to certain allergens such as pollen, dust mites, mold, pet dander, or some types of foods.

An allergy is a safety mechanism that is supposed to keep you safe from harmful substances. The problem, however, is that those foreign invaders are not dangerous – your immune system only “thinks” that they are.

As a result, your body begins to produce antibodies to fight those allergens each time you come into contact with them. And all this, as you may have guessed, leads to inflammation (anywhere from slight to severe) in your lungs and nasal passages.

Allergic reactions can range from mild to severe and they all have something in common – they decrease the overall quality of life of all allergy sufferers.

What are the most common allergy symptoms?

So, if you notice any of these common allergy symptoms, then you may have developed an allergy after the house move is complete and you find yourself in the destination area.

The most frequent allergy symptoms are:

• coughing,
• sneezing,
• stuffed nose,
• runny nose,
• irritated (itchy) eyes,
• watery eyes,
• sore throat,
• sinus infections,
• headaches,
• breathing problems, and
• skin rashes.

If you get to experience any of these allergy symptoms for a prolonged period of time after the move, then you may have developed a post-relocation allergy to a specific allergen and the only way to know for sure is to consult with an allergist and get tested for allergies.

5 Uncommon Things to Do After Moving Into a New House

Which are the most common allergens?

One thing you do know – you know that you’re not feeling well after the move. What you probably don’t know is what exactly makes you sick.

In such situations, it’s helpful to be more informed about the most frequent types of allergens that can trigger an overreaction by the immune system.

Here are the most common allergens you can come across in the destination area:

Seasonal pollen

Seasonal pollen is one of the most common allergens found in nature.

The most common allergen of them all is seasonal pollen.

Pollen-producing plants are practically everywhere (much more common in rural places, of course) and it’s hard to stay perfectly protected from all the billions and billions of pollen grains that start to dance in the air during pollen season – spring and summer.

Tree pollen and grass pollen tend to have their peaks in the spring, so your allergy symptoms may be more severe from March through May. However, weed pollen, and especially ragweed pollen, is active later – anywhere from mid-July to early September since ragweed blooms in August.

The thing is that it’s almost impossible to escape seasonal pollen – you won’t be safe even if you have just moved to a big city. Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, pollen is super light and winds can carry the tiny grains over great distances, especially when it comes to ragweed pollen.

Dust mites

Another common allergen is dust mites – microorganisms that live in the house dust. They are impossible to see with the naked eye and they feed on skin cells that we humans shed while living inside our homes.

You won’t be able to tell that you’re allergic to dust mites after moving into a new home unless an allergy test determines it. This is because the allergic symptoms are identical to the ones caused by hay fever – most often, sneezing, a runny nose, and sometimes even breathing problems.

Mold

Another strong allergen that may be responsible for your state of misery after moving to a new house is mold.

Similar to dust mites, mold spores are microscopic and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Depending on the type of mold that’s problematic and its concentration, you may be having mold allergy symptoms either during certain periods of the year or all the time.

If you happen to be allergic to mold spores, your immune system will recognize the particles as harmful (which they can be) and will start producing antibodies to fight them. As a result, you’ll continue to cough, sneeze, rub your red eyes, and blow your nose on a regular basis.

The good news here is that you may be able to find the cause of those mold spores in the new home and fix the problem, or have it fixed by professionals. Look for moldy areas in the bathroom and kitchen (under the sink and behind the fridge) simply because mold thrives in dark and damp places.

Pets

Although it’s unlikely to find out that you have an allergy to a pet after moving to a new place, it’s still theoretically possible to happen, especially if you decide to get a pet for the new home.

Pet allergies are due to allergic reactions to some types of proteins found in the skin cells, saliva, or urine of pet animals. Most often, pet allergies are associated with dogs, cats, and birds, but other pet animals can also be the source of the above-mentioned allergens.

An allergic reaction toward a pet animal is also referred to as pet dander. Dander is the dead skin flakes that pets shed and that often prove to be the allergen that’s responsible for the incorrect response of the immune system.

10 Essential Things to Do After Moving

Top 3 things you can do about allergies after moving

Even if it turns out that your allergy symptoms are relatively mild, you don’t have to put up with being miserable all the time in the place you just moved to. Luckily, there are a few actions you can take in order to find a good permanent solution to your allergic symptoms before you even think about having to move again.

Here’s what you should do if you show worrisome signs of developing allergies after moving to a new house, often located in a new state.

1. Have your allergy tested

Have an allergy skin test to identify the allergen that triggers your allergy.

You don’t have to put up with feeling miserable after the move. If any of the allergy symptoms above persists, your best course of action is to see a specialist (an allergist) in order to figure out what you’re allergic to.

There are allergens in the new place that trigger an allergic reaction in your body and you just have to know the culprit for your misery so that you can do something about it.

Make an appointment with an allergist and have an allergy test – the only way to know for sure which allergen you’re allergic to – seasonal pollen (tree, grass, or weed), house dust, mold, or pets. Or it could be something else that causes your immune system to go into overdrive.

2. Consider an allergy immunotherapy

The specialist you see about your post-relocation allergy may recommend immunotherapy – a special treatment course that can alleviate or eliminate your allergy with a long-term effect.

Immunotherapy sounds like a complicated medical procedure but it’s not. In reality, the treatment consists of you getting allergy injections with controlled amounts of the allergen or group of allergens that cause your allergic reactions. This is done over a long period of time so that your immune system learns how to deal with those specific allergens without overreacting.

Immunotherapy may prove to be the perfect long-term solution for your allergy – you will start feeling much better in the new place (won’t need to potentially move away again) and you won’t need to spend any money on any allergy medications.

3. Try to eliminate the cause of the allergy

What should you do about your allergies after moving?

Well, it depends on the specific allergen that troubles you.

• Pollen. You may choose to move to another part of the country (again!) if your hay fever (seasonal allergic rhinitis) is just too strong in the area you are in right now and you can’t seem to handle the seasonal allergy properly. While there are no entirely hypoallergenic places in the country, there are still areas with much less pollen count in the air – for example, areas near large bodies of water. Before you decide to move again, do thorough research about the distribution of the concrete type of pollen you’re allergic to.
• Mold. Do your best to get rid of the mold in the house or apartment you just moved to if it turns out that you’re allergic to mold. If you’re a renter, discuss the issue with your landlord – hiring professionals to eliminate any existence of mold in the home is usually the best thing to do.
• 

  Sneezing, coughing, and having a runny nose are common allergy symptoms.

  Dust mites. Take steps to reduce the dust in the new place – something that can help keep your allergic reaction under control. Moving to areas with an arid climate can also help since dust mites thrive in humid environments.

• Pets. If it turns out that you’re allergic to a pet that you got after moving to a new house, then you may be forced to part ways with that pet animal. That would be very unfortunate but it might be the only way to cope with allergies after moving.

While developing allergies after moving to a new house or after moving to a new state is a real possibility, the good news is that there are proven ways to fight those allergic reactions.

Figure out which allergens cause your discomfort and misery, then take steps toward eliminating the cause of the allergies or undergo immunotherapy, if possible.

If nothing seems to work, then you may have to move house again.

Will moving help your allergies? You’re the only one who knows the correct answer.

The post What to Do About Allergies After Moving appeared first on The Moving Blog.

The truth is that the air-bubbled material provides the best overall protection for breakable items as it forms soft padding around them.

If you’ve made up your mind to pack up your things by yourself – as opposed to hiring professional packers to do it for you, then there’s no such thing as using too much bubble wrap during the home-packing process.

In fact, you’re encouraged to use as many sheets of bubbly plastic material as possible in order to guarantee the well-being of your fragile belongings until you reach the new home.

But here’s the catch: using too much bubble wrap during the house packing task will definitely be advantageous but it will also cost you more money. And this can be problematic, especially when you’re moving on a limited budget.

So, one excellent solution is to get hold of free bubble wrap for your packing needs. After all, what’s better than using good-quality bubble wrap without paying for it?

Read on to learn where to get bubble wrap for free when packing for moving.

Benefits of using free bubble wrap

All in all, there are two major benefits of using free bubble wrap when packing for a move:

1. You will save money

Saving money is the obvious bonus of not paying for the quantities of bubble wrap you manage to get hold of before you begin to pack up your things. But how much money will you be able to save in the end?

It’s hard to know for sure because you won’t know exactly how much protective plastic material you’re going to use. Nevertheless, it’s useful to know the approximate prices of brand-new bubble wrap:

• A 15-foot roll of Enviro-Bubble wrap (15’ x 16’’) costs around $5.
• A dispenser box of Enviro-Bubble wrap (150 ft. x 12 in.) costs roughly $20.
• One bulk roll of Enviro-Bubble (250 ft. x 12 in.) costs approximately $30.

2. Your decision will be good for the environment

Using second-hand bubble wrap is an environmentally friendly choice because it conserves resources, saves energy, reduces waste, and lowers pollution. By choosing to reuse bubble wrap, you help minimize your ecological footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.

It’s important to know that when you do your best to keep packing materials – such as cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper – in use for as long as possible, not only will you be saving money but you’ll also extract the maximum value from those supplies before recycling or disposing of them properly.

Ultimately, your decision to reuse bubble wrap will reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the natural environment.

Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap

Get free bubble wrap from retail stores

Keep in mind that local retail stores can be a great source of acquiring free bubble wrap for your packing needs. After all, those local businesses get frequent shipments of goods (some have daily deliveries), so they are very likely to have enough free packing supplies to spare – not only bubble wrap but also cardboard boxes of various sizes.

Is there free bubble wrap near you? Yes, there is.

These are some of the retail stores you should consider checking out for free bubble wrap:

• Electronics stores;
• Home appliances stores;
• Furniture outlets;
• Supermarkets and grocery stores;
• Office supply stores.

Follow these steps to learn the best way to approach those businesses and ask them if you can get free bubble wrap from them:

• Get in touch with the largest retail stores in your area and ask to speak with their respective managers.
• Explain briefly why you’re calling and ask politely for any quantities of bubble wrap AND cardboard boxes that the store can spare.
• Inform the store managers that you’re flexible with your time (hopefully, that’ll be the case) and that you can go there during less busy hours for greater convenience.
• Be ready for rejections and don’t get discouraged if it does happen. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your request – you’re only trying to save money on your local or long-distance move. So, shake off any rejections for free packing materials – free bubble wrap in this particular case – and move on to the next local business.

If you don’t like the whole idea of contacting store managers and asking for free bubble wrap – maybe you’re too shy or get stressed easily, then there’s another option to acquire bubble wrap for free you can explore. What is it? Just visit the recycling areas near big retail stores and check for any packing materials in good overall condition.

A word of caution: Be selective when it comes to free packing supplies. Yes, it’s great to get the materials you need without paying for them, but it’s more important to make sure their condition is OK and they are safe to use. When it comes to bubble wrap, in particular, do reject any plastic materials that are visibly dirty or you suspect that they might not be infestation-free.

Get free bubble wrap online

Another way you can find bubble wrap for free is online. But where exactly, you should ask?

1. Specialized giveaway websites

Luckily, there are a number of websites you go to where you should be able to find free packing materials for your needs, including free bubble wrap.

• Freecycle. Freecycle should be your best bet when it comes to scoring free bubble wrap. The non-profit organization is dedicated to keeping still usable items away from landfills and that honorable mission of theirs should play right into your hands. All you have to do is register with Freecycle (it’s FREE, of course) and do a local search for bubble wrap. And then, all you have left is to keep your fingers crossed that somebody near you is willing to give their supply of perfectly usable bubble wrap to anyone who needs it. Since you’re already there, it won’t hurt to check Freecycle for free moving boxes near you as well.
• Craigslist. You should be well familiar with Craigslist but what you may not know is that the website has a FREE section as well where you can search for free stuff near you. So, how do you search for free bubble wrap on Craigslist? It’s simple: pick your area, head to the FREEBIES section, and type bubble wrap. With some luck, you should be able to find people in your immediate area who offer bubble wrap and maybe other packing supplies too, such as cardboard boxes.

2. Local community groups (Facebook Marketplace)

Another place you can find bubble wrap without paying for it is in local community groups on social media. The best example is, of course, Facebook Marketplace.

It’s easy to check such local community groups for free packing materials. Simply join such a group for free and publish a brief post that you’re looking for bubble wrap and possibly even for moving boxes. And then, anyone who has more packing supplies than they need is likely to answer your call for help.

Basically, it’s a win-win situation for everybody there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t try your luck scoring packing supplies for free using local community groups.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

Get bubble wrap for free from friends, family, and neighbors

Bubble wrap is essential when packing fragile items for moving.

One of the best ways to get free bubble wrap for the house-packing task is to ask your best friends, your family members, good neighbors, or close work colleagues if they happen to have any quantities of the transparent plastic material with regularly spaced air-filled bubbles on it.

The thing is that you just never know who might have a sizeable stash of bubble wrap in their garage or basement, placed in long-term storage with little chance of being actively used in the foreseeable future.

The great news is that your good friends will be willing to help you out during that transitional period simply because they know how tough it can be. This is especially true for those of your pals who have moved house before – they will understand best what you must be going through.

You can choose among several options when it comes to asking friends, family, or neighbors for packing supplies, namely bubble wrap:

• In person. This is by far the best way to ask if your friends can spare any quantities of bubble wrap for you. Keep in mind that your close friends will already be well familiar that you’re getting ready to move out so they are likely to have already offered you any packing materials they have, or even their packing labor too.
• Over the phone. This is the next best thing after meeting your pals in person. One good tactic is to ask your buddies for packing supplies in general and not go for bubble wrap only. This way, you’ll increase your chances of securing other necessary materials for packing as well.
• Social media post. Publishing a social medial post on Facebook or Twitter is an excellent way to reach all your friends at once. That way, it’ll be much easier for your social media friends to comment below the post if they want to help or if they have another idea about how they can be useful. Although a bit impersonal, using your favorite social media platform to your advantage will give you maximum outreach and the best chance of success in that specific case.

How to Pack Without Bubble Wrap

Get free bubble wrap from recycling centers

The good news about the plastic materials used primarily for protecting fragile items is that it’s very durable and it can be used over and over again. Even if the plastic sheets are slightly torn here and there, bubble wrap can be used for cushioning or space filler inside cardboard boxes as long as it’s not dirty and its air-filled bubbles are intact.

And this is exactly why you can try your luck getting your hands on perfectly usable sheets of bubble wrap at local recycling centers. And if there is such a center nearby, it may be worth the trip to go there and see whether you can have various packing supplies for free, including bubble wrap – the best protective material of them all.

Be mindful that finding free bubble wrap takes time – time you may not have the luxury to spare. Sure, it must feel nice to get something for free but your time can turn out to be much more valuable in the end. The truth is that during a house move, it’s a fine balance between time and money, and so you’re the only one who which one is more precious in your case.

If you just can’t afford to lose any time searching for free bubble wrap and free packing materials in general, then you should either buy your supplies new or hire professional packers who will arrive with their own quality packing materials.

Get a free quote from the best movers in your area to learn how much the extra service of professional packing will cost you.

The post Where to Get Bubble Wrap for Free appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Maybe you’re starting a new job in another state, or maybe you’re relocating there to continue your education, or possibly retire in style. You may also be moving there for love or doing it simply because you can no longer stand the climate in the area where you live.

Ultimately, it’s important to be moving to a new state for all the right reasons.

So, what is your major reason to want to leave your current state and go to another part of the country? Perhaps you wish to run away from where you are right now, longing for a fresh start someplace else.

Moving away and starting over in a new state may prove to be the perfect solution for you – the possibility to correct serious mistakes in the past and get a second chance to find your share of happiness in the state you’re moving to.

Do you believe that something new, exciting, and beautiful is waiting for you in that other state? Are you ready for a brand-new chapter in the book of your life?

If yes, then nothing and no one should be able to stop you from moving to a new state to start over.

1. Make sure you’re doing the right thing

You must have decided to move to another state and start over for a reason, or maybe more than just one good reason. And now, before you start working on your moving checklist, it’s time to double-check that the interstate move is the right choice for you.

There shouldn’t be any lingering doubt in your mind that what you’re doing is the right call. So, what you should do is go over your decision to move away once more in order to ensure it’s not a serious mistake that you may end up regretting after the relocation.

You want to start over in a new state but ask yourself if you are really ready for the big change. Because, for better or worse, many things are going to change big time for you after you find yourself in the new state.

After all, a cross-country move is a serious step out of your comfort zone and you have to make sure you’re mentally and financially ready to overcome the new set of challenges that are sure to come your way as soon as you arrive in the new state, and more specifically – in the new home.

The moment you confirm that your decision to relocate to another state to start over is the correct one, it’s time to start working on the scores of moving tasks so that you can give yourself enough time to complete the preparation on time.

10 Signs It’s Time to Move to Another State

2. Find a job and secure a place to live

Starting over in a new state can be extra challenging in case you have neither found a job there nor secured a decent place to live. And this is exactly why you just have to take care of these two important details before you actually move away.

Unless your move is work-related, your top priority should be to find employment in the new state before you up and move there, or shortly after the relocation is complete. A job will provide you with the financial stability to sustain your life in the new state – money to cover the monthly expenses, including paying the bills.

A steady job will also give you the right mentality to handle the tough adaptation period that you’re likely to go through – read on for more information about this.

Finding a suitable place to live can prove to be harder than you think. First of all, you will need to assess your financial situation and figure out what type of place you can afford to rent in the first place. As a rule of thumb, your rent should be no more than 30% of your disposable income in order for you to live fairly comfortably in the new state.

If you conclude that you don’t have enough money to pay the rent on your own, then one option is to look for a reliable roommate so that both of you can share the rent and some of the living expenses such as the utility bills and maybe even the groceries bills as well.

How to Adapt to a New City When You Move

3. Be very selective about what you take with you

You don’t need to haul any big and heavy furniture to the new state, do you?

One of the major reasons why you may want to start over in a new state is that you wish to run away from your current place and/or the people you’re surrounded with right now.

You want to start a new life in a new state so it’s best to take as few reminders of the old life as possible – items that will keep reminding you of the things or the people you wish to forget after the relocation.

Therefore, you should be careful what items you move with you simply because you’re trying to stay away from things that will trigger bad memories. In the best-case scenario, you will only take a handful of your most-loved belongings and will leave behind the rest.

A fresh start in a new state is often not about surrounding yourself with tons of stuff – rather, it’s about clearing your mind and decluttering your lifestyle as well. When moving out of a bad relationship, then you should think twice before moving any items that will keep reminding you of the person you’re breaking up with.

So, go through your belongings and choose to take only the most valuable ones you own – the stuff that you won’t part with no matter what. Keep in mind that the fewer items you choose to haul to the new state, the less money you’ll pay for their transportation.

Generally speaking, you’d better refrain from moving any large and heavy furniture pieces across the states.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

4. Use a reputable moving company

When moving to a different state, you might get tempted to rent a moving truck, ask your good friends to give you a hand with packing and loading those heavy boxes onto the vehicle, and drive off in the direction of your new state’s home.

What you should know, however, is that due to the great distance, an interstate move is best handled by cross-country moving companies that specialize in long-distance relocation. A DIY move to another state will not only prove to be uneconomical in most cases, but driving a large truck across the country can also be both dangerous and risky.

Do yourself a favor and hire the services of a top-rated interstate moving company to help you protect and transport the things you’ve decided to take with you to the new place.

The good news is that securing the quality services of a cross-country mover is easier than you think. All you have to do is

• Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get a free quote from the best interstate movers in your area.
• Request an in-home survey from the moving experts for accurate cost calculation.
• Read customer reviews of the moving companies to get a feel of how reputable and trustworthy they are.
• Compare carefully the quotes you have received, and pay attention to the extra services offered by the companies.
• Pick the interstate mover that has offered you the best deal in terms of moving price, extra services, and general conditions.

10 Things You Should Know About Interstate Movers

5. Use your job to ease the adaptation period

It’s inevitable that you enter an acclimatization period as soon as you arrive in the new state. Ultimately, it’ll be up to you to use various ways to shorten that adaptation spell so that you can regain your normal lifestyle in no time.

When starting over in a new state, it’s important to rely on your job to get you through the rough first days and weeks there. But how will your work help you fight off any troublesome signs of relocation depression?

First of all, the daily contact and interaction with your co-workers will help you out with the social aspect of your interstate move. You may not know anyone in the new city or town but pretty soon you’ll get to know some of your work colleagues, or maybe even all of them depending on the total number of employees.

And secondly, you won’t have too much time to be preoccupied with sad or nostalgic thoughts while you keep concentrating on your work. And this is a good thing – you have moved to another state to start over so that’s exactly what you should do.

Hopefully, spending time with different people with similar interests at work should make it easier for you to adapt to the new environment.

6. Make an effort to form new friendships

Making new friends in the new state is the key to breezing through the adaptation period.

No one says that moving to a new state to start over is an easy thing to do… but it might as well be the best decision you’ve made in a long, long time.

Once you arrive at your destination, you should consider keeping in touch with the best friend you had to leave behind. Or maybe you didn’t have any good friends in the old place and that’s exactly why you wanted to run away from there.

But if you do have a special person back there, then he or she can really help you survive those difficult first few weeks and months in the new state.

Nevertheless, the interstate move you just pulled off is all about getting that fresh start that you have dreamed about for so long. Therefore, your time and effort should be primarily invested in making new friends in the city you just relocated to.

But how and where do you find those individuals who you will later consider your good friends?

You can invite your new neighbors to a housewarming party in order to get to know them better. Besides the obvious advantages of being on good terms with the folks next door, you just never know who may become your next best friend, right?

Another painless way to meet and possibly befriend new people is to join an art class, a photography class, or a foreign language class. Going to a gym or a yoga studio is also a great opportunity to interact with individuals who have similar interests to yours.

10 Essential Things to Do After Moving

7. Arrange the new place to your own taste

One excellent way to feel like you’re getting the new start you want after the move is to arrange the new apartment or house in a completely new way from the place you just left.

Hopefully, this post-move change will help you get that sense of a new beginning, the feeling that you’ve broken away from your old life and you are now starting a new life chapter exactly the way you want to do it.

What you can do is arrange the furniture pieces in a way that reflects the fresh start, use suitable light sources to add coziness, and hang framed art around the new place to accentuate the fact that this will be your new home from now on.

As a bonus, your effort to make the new place feel like home will help you fight off any potential negative effects of relocation depression.

Guide to Moving to Another State

The post Moving to Another State to Start Over: 7 Tips to Reboot Your Life appeared first on The Moving Blog.

One such item in your home will be the TV set. Now, provided that your TV is in decent condition (it’s not broken and it’s not too old), then you should definitely want to take it with you. And why wouldn’t you?

Modern TVs are quite expensive, so it won’t make any sense to get rid of yours as long as it’s working just fine.

Therefore, when you transfer the packing hub into the living room, your (big) flat-screen TV will be one of the extra fragile items you will have to protect for the upcoming move. Keep in mind that all electronic devices are rather delicate and susceptible to transportation damage, and your TV set is no exception.

Read on to learn the best way to pack a TV for moving. The packing steps below will show you what you should and shouldn’t do when packing a TV for a move.

Why are flat-screen TVs difficult to pack and move?

The truth is that large flat-screen TVs are really hard to protect for a move. Why? Here are the major reasons why you shouldn’t expect the task of packing your TV set for a move to be a piece of cake.

• Dimensions. The majority of modern LED TVs are big – they have large screens for a better viewing experience. And that’s great… until those hi-tech electronic pieces have to be moved safely from one home to another. The most common TV sizes available today are 32”, 43”, 55”, and 65”.
• Weight. While new TVs are much lighter than old ones, they can still be too heavy to handle on Moving day. LED TVs can weigh up to 60 pounds for 65-70-inch models while older plasma TVs weigh anywhere between 80 pounds and 100 pounds.
• Fragility. TVs are delicate pieces of electronics and, not surprisingly, their most vulnerable parts are their flat screens. A seriously damaged TV screen often means having to buy a new TV altogether since screen repair costs are usually too expensive to be worth the trouble. So, your main focus should be on effective ways to protect the screen of your TV during the packing task.
• Cost. Latest TVs can cost up to a few thousand dollars (depending on their brand and screen size), so you definitely don’t want to see your TV damaged in any way during the relocation. Due to the inevitable moving expenses, your budget will most likely be already stretched as it is so you should do all in your power to keep your TV perfectly safe throughout the move.

Packing Timeline for Moving

What supplies do you need to pack your TV?

One thing is clear: you won’t be able to protect your TV properly if you don’t have the necessary packing materials. So, your very first step is to gather the TV packing supplies you’ll need for the job.

• 

  Furniture blankets and sheets of cardboard are the two most critical supplies when packing a TV for a move.

  A TV box. The best way to protect your fragile TV set is to transport it in its original box. TV boxes are specially designed to offer the best possible protection for TVs – not only are they made of thick cardboard, but they also match perfectly the size of the TV and have specialized Styrofoam inserts that keep the device both padded and immobilized inside the carton.

• Cardboard sheets. You will need several large sheets of clean, strong cardboard. The good news is that it’s easy to find – just break down a couple of big cardboard boxes and you’re good to go.
• Foam sheets. If possible, get a couple of foam sheets for the TV screen – they are soft and will serve as the first layer of protection for the fragile element.
• Bubble wrap. It’s always a good idea to have sheets of bubble wrap close by during the packing process. In this case, the bubble wrap will add extra protection for your prized possession.
• Packing paper. You’ll need the packing paper to wrap the TV remote, the cables, and any other TV accessory you’re taking with you.
• Furniture blankets. Secure several thick moving blankets that will help you create a soft padding layer around your big electronic device.
• Masking tape. Have a roll of painter’s tape – it’ll be very useful when you fix padding directly onto the TV case because, unlike regular packing tape, masking tape does not leave any marks when it’s removed.
• Packing tape. One roll of high-quality packing tape should be enough for the job.

How Many Boxes Do You Need When Moving?

How to prepare your TV for packing and moving

When you’ve gathered the required packing supplies, it’s time to prepare your TV set for packing. Follow these steps to do so.

• TAKE a few photos of the way your TV is wired up with other electronic devices – peripherals such as a sound system, a game console, or a video player. A few quick shots can save plenty of time after the move while you’re trying to hook up the TV correctly.
• SECURE the power cord. If the TV power cable is detachable, remove it, fold it gently, secure it with a cable tie, and pack it with packing paper. If the power cord cannot be removed from the unit, fold it, secure it with a rubber band, and tape it to the back of the TV using painter’s tape.
• UNPLUG and LABEL all cables. There’s nothing complicated here – simply unhook all cables from the TV set and label them correctly with the help of pieces of masking tape. Then, fold those cables carefully, secure them with a cable tie or a rubber band, and wrap them up in soft packing paper.
• DISMOUNT the TV from the wall mount. If the electronic unit is mounted on the wall on a wall mount, then detach it carefully from the bracket and place it gently onto the floor to be padded and packed safely. Make sure you have a helper to complete this step. Also, remove the wall mount and pack it into a furniture blanket.
• REMOVE the TV stand and pack it up. If your TV is resting on a piece of furniture with its stand, then all you need to do is detach the TV stand safely. Again, have a person help you during this step to prevent any type of damage. Wrap the stand in wrapping paper.
• CLEAN your TV set. Your TV may be somewhat dusty and you wouldn’t want to take that dust into the new home. Use a soft damp cloth to remove the accumulated dust from the case of the unit. Also, use a high-quality screen cleaner and a soft microfiber cloth to clean the large flat screen of the device.

How to Pack Electronics for Moving

How to protect the TV screen

As explained above, the screen of your TV will be its most delicate part so you must make sure you protect it in the best possible way. A scratched TV screen can definitely ruin your viewing pleasure, let alone a more serious type of damage such as a crack along its surface.

Also, insufficient or improper protection of your TV set can lead to various sorts of distortion on the screen (discolored, lightened, or darker areas), often the result of external substances such as moisture, dust, or smoke entering the display panel.

Here’s the best way to protect your TV screen prior to packing the unit:

• Position the large piece of foam sheet over the TV screen to form the first layer of protection. The soft padding will be gentle on the screen surface and won’t damage it in any way. Secure the foam using pieces of masking tape.
• Place a big sheet of thick cardboard over the entire screen so that the cardboard piece matches exactly the dimension of the TV display. If the cardboard sheets you have are not big enough, then you should attach two or more pieces together to make them the right size. Then, secure the hard cardboard on-screen protector with the help of some masking tape.

Always use masking tape (aka painter’s tape) for the purpose and never regular packing tape. Painter’s tape is gentle on delicate surfaces and won’t leave any hard-to-remove marks after it’s peeled off.

How to pack a flat-screen TV inside a box

Original TV boxes offer the best level of protection for your flat-screen TV.

We’ll take a look at two separate cases when packing a TV for a move: 1) when you do keep the original TV box the electronic unit came in when you first bought it from the store, and 2) when you have no idea where that TV box is and therefore will pack the device without a box.

There’s also an in-between scenario when you don’t have the original TV box but you’re willing to find another box that will fit the size and shape of your TV set.

Now that you’ve protected the TV display adequately, here are the steps you need to follow to pack a TV inside a box:

• Prepare the TV box to accommodate the large electronic unit. Inspect the box closely for any type of damage. If the cardboard container has been in storage for years, then it’s a good idea to strengthen its bottom and side edges using strong packing tape. Place a few sheets of bubble wrap along the bottom on the inside to form a soft insulation layer.
• Contact the largest electronics store in your city or town and ask them if they happen to have a suitable box for your TV model. Do this in case you don’t keep the original TV box but still want to transport your TV inside a cardboard container. It’s worth the effort – a single phone call can make your work much easier and you’ll be glad to know that your TV will be transported in the safest way possible.
• Transfer the flat-screen TV into the cardboard box really carefully. Don’t let the unit just drop into the box – instead, slide it downwards slowly until it lands softly onto the bottom.
• Place the original Styrofoam inserts properly to immobilize the TV inside the box. Sometimes you will have to fix those inserts onto the TV before you slide it into the carton.
• Fill in any sizeable gaps inside the TV box with pieces of crumpled paper, discarded sheets of bubble wrap, or even pieces of old clothing. This is especially important in case you haven’t used any Styrofoam inserts.
• Remove the batteries from the remote control and wrap the TV accessory in soft packing paper. Then, place it on the top of the TV inside the box.
• Add the paper-wrapped power cord to the box, if applicable.
• Do the shaking test together with your helper. You should both lift the box off the ground and shake it gently. If you feel the TV shifting inside, be it even slightly, add more padding materials inside the carton to fix it.
• Close the box and seal it shut using packing tape.

How to pack a flat-screen TV without a box

Packing a TV for moving without a box is still possible but it requires a special two-layer packing technique.

You shouldn’t worry too much if you don’t have a suitable box to pack your TV set into. The thing is that you can pack your TV without a box using a special packing technique explained in detail below.

The major concept of packing a TV for moving without a box is to create two protective layers: 1) a soft layer (furniture blankets + bubble wrap) that will be the first line of defense for the electronic device, and 2) a hard layer (cardboard) over the initial soft one that will keep the TV set from any damaging external forces.

The method of packing a TV without a box relies on the fact that you have already protected the fragile display as described above (foam + cardboard).

• Wrap the whole TV in several thick furniture blankets. Use packing tape to secure those padding blankets but be careful not to use tape on the TV surface itself.
• Wrap the TV set in anti-static bubble wrap – the plastic air-bubbled sheets should be placed over the moving blankets. Secure the bubble wrap with packing tape.
• Use cardboard sheets to form a final hard-shell protective layer around your TV. Make sure the front, the back, and the sides of the units are all covered in pieces of thick cardboard. Use plenty of packing tape to fix the sheets in place.

Packing a TV for a move without professional assistance can be somewhat risky, especially if you’ve never had to pack a TV for moving before. If you feel nervous about packing your TV all by yourself (remember that professional moving companies won’t take responsibility for any damage during transport if packing was done by their customers), then you’d better get in touch with the best movers in your area and get free moving quotes to see how much they will charge you for the job.

The post How to Pack a TV for Moving: Professional TV Packing Tips appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Of course, this will be the case when you’re moving under normal circumstances. The main reason why you would like to tell everyone around you that you’re moving is that you might be hoping that someone will offer to help you out with something when it comes to the pre-move preparation.

After all, organizing a house move by yourself is a tough task, so any type of move-related help – from advice on where to find the best movers in the area to lifting heavy boxes and bulky furniture – should be much appreciated.

However, sometimes external factors might force you to move out secretly – that is, to move out without anyone knowing. You can have a good reason to want to move away without telling anyone about your intention, and if that’s really what you want to do, or need to do, then you’ll have no choice but to go along with your decision to move out discreetly.

Here are 5 top-secret tips for moving out secretly.

1. Be positive that you’re doing the right thing

The thing with moving out without anyone knowing is that you might regret your bold decision later on. And of course, you wouldn’t want to have any regrets after the move so what you must do from the very start is revisit the reasons why you wish to move out without telling anybody about it.

If you want to move out of a bad relationship, then planning to move out discreetly will make a lot of sense since you won’t wish to go through any additional drama on the day of the move and the few days leading up to it. You probably have the gut feeling that the person you’re breaking up with will try to stop you, to persuade you to stay, and that might plant the seed of doubt in your mind, thus only weakening your resolve to move away.

If you wish to move out of your parents’ house due to some kind of a conflict between you and your folks and you’re already an adult at 18+ years of age, then you must make sure you’re doing the right thing because you might not be able to return back there if things didn’t work out for you after the move.

Whatever the major reason for moving out secretly might be, you just have to be sure it’s what you really want to do. Reassess your decision carefully and if you do feel that moving out is the only way to keep moving forward (or to keep your sanity), then it’s time for you to start working on your secret move without any delay.

How to Move Out of Your Parents’ House

2. Don’t tell anyone about your secret move

Moving out secretly means not telling anyone about your decision to move away.

You have re-evaluated your initial decision to move out without telling anyone about it and you have concluded that you’re making the right choice.

So far, so good.

And believe it or not, now comes one of the most challenging tasks ahead of you – to actually keep the move a secret until after you’ve moved out. Your secret move should remain a secret and that’s easier said than done, at least in most cases.

One careless word uttered at the wrong time could easily ruin the secrecy of the whole delicate situation. Whatever you do, just don’t let the cat out of the bag before moving day:

• Resist the temptation to share the news of the upcoming move with friends and family. Keep reminding yourself of the main reasons, whatever they may be, why you want to move out secretly;
• Be very careful about what you publish on your social media networks – even slight hints of your intention to move out discreetly might make your friends suspicious, which in turn will lead to awkward questions for you.
• Change the subject if you feel like a conversation is steering toward the main reason for you to wish to secretly move out.

If the urge to share your secret about moving out secretly is simply too strong, then one possible solution to release some of the pressure of planning a discreet move is to consider confiding in the person you trust the most – the one you know would never tell anyone else – like your best friend, for example.

And yet, it’s best to keep your secret move a complete secret until you’ve reached the new home. You’ve got your reasons to want to move out without telling anyone about it so, for better or worse, you’d better stick to your initial decision.

How to Deal With Emotions When Moving House

3. Pick the best time to move out in secret

Choosing the proper timing to move out is absolutely critical for the success of your stealth operation. In fact, it often proves to be the most important aspect when moving out secretly.

If you happen to be moving away from a bad relationship, then your partner may give you a hard time on the day of the move – they might try to stop you from leaving, or make a bad scene, or even get touchy if you’re taking with you a specific household item.

The idea of picking up a good time to move out is that you do want to spare yourself any possible drama on moving day. You must be going through a rough period as it is so the last thing you’d need are potential complications when it’s time to leave the current place.

When you’re moving out of a bad relationship – either a breakup or a divorce, the best time to move out secretly is when your partner is not around – when they are at work or out of town temporarily. Again, the main idea is to avoid any dramatic moments during the period you’re actually leaving the place.

When you’re moving out discreetly and you don’t wish your neighbors to see you leave (maybe the folks next door are the major reason you’re moving in the first place), then you may consider pulling off a move late in the evening or during the night when they will be sleeping and won’t bother you at all.

Think of a moving-away strategy that will work well for you. Bear in mind that choosing a bad time to move out can really make things even more complicated than they already are.

10 Tips for Moving Out for the First Time

4. Be very careful what you take with you

You’re taking Rex with you, end of discussion.

If your decision to move out secretly is the result of ending a long relationship, then one thing you should be careful about is what items you take with you during the stealth move.

When you’re moving out discreetly, you won’t be able to discuss how you’re going to divide your shared possessions between you, and this alone can turn out to be a serious issue. Why? If you take with you an item that your partner can claim as shared or even as theirs, then you might get yourself in legal trouble after you move away.

The best way to prevent any complications when you’re moving out without telling anyone is to take with you only the things that are yours (indisputable yours) so that nobody else can raise any claims afterward. When unsure, you’d better leave behind the questionable stuff to stay on the safe side of things.

When moving out of a rental place, you must inform your landlord that you’re moving out and you mustn’t take with you anything that is not yours – that is, the things that were there when you first moved in.

Think about this – when you’re organizing a secret move, you’ll usually want to complete the stealth relocation as soon as possible. So, moving any large items such as furniture pieces or packing up too much stuff to take with you will only slow you down and give away more hints about your intention, thus potentially botching up your initial plan to move out without anyone knowing.

Unless you hire professional furniture movers, moving any furniture items during your discreet move wouldn’t be very discreet, so it’s usually a bad idea. Also, taking a pet animal with you – a dog, a cat, or a bird can be tricky in case you’re moving out secretly due to a breakup with a partner.

Bear in mind that when you’re moving out without telling your partner and you have a child or children with that same person you’re leaving, then your secret move just won’t be possible since you’ll have to get legal counsel first about the custody of your kids.

How to Make a Home Inventory When Moving

5. Hire a mover that cares

If you really want to move out quickly and silently, then you should seriously consider hiring a professional moving company to help you do just that.

Now, when moving locally (your destination place is located in the same state, no more than 50 miles away), then one way to organize and execute a secret move is to take only the most essential items in your car and transport them there by yourself. Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to do multiple trips from your old place to the new one.

But when you’re moving long distance, then your destination home will most likely be located in another state altogether, so your best chance of success is to hire a professional mover with many years of experience and an excellent reputation.

The moving company you pick won’t be interested in the reasons why you want to move out – what they will be interested in will be to provide a high-quality service to you and to be paid in accordance with the terms laid out in the moving contract between you and them.

If circumstances force you to move out very early in the morning or very late in the evening, then you have to speak with the moving company and see if they will be willing to accommodate your special requirements. Keeping your move secret won’t be easy but working with a top-rated mover can make things more manageable for you in the end.

Get a free quote from the best long-distance movers in your city and town to see if they will be willing to work with you to pull off a discreet move.

The post How to Move Out Secretly: 5 Top Secret Tips appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In addition to worrying about your regular furniture units, you’ll also need to make a decision about any IKEA furniture pieces you may own. IKEA furniture pieces are both fun and affordable, and they do have a special appeal of their own, particularly when you’ve assembled them with your own two hands.

The very first question you should answer is whether it’s worth the trouble of moving your chipboard furniture all the way to the new home. You’re going to have to take a few factors into consideration before you can reach an informed decision.

And if you do decide to move your IKEA furniture with you, then what’s the best way to protect it so that it survives the upcoming move unscathed? Bear in mind that moving IKEA furniture to a new home is a bit different than moving solid-wood furniture. Why? Particle board furniture is far less sturdy than solid-wood furniture, meaning that there’s a higher chance of it being damaged during the relocation.

How to pack and move IKEA furniture safely? Follow these 7 steps to find out.

Step 1. Double-check if moving your IKEA furniture is worth it

First and foremost, you do a risk assessment before you rush to pack and move your IKEA furniture to the new house.

Is it worth moving IKEA furniture at all? There are a few things you need to know before you can make the right choice in your particular case:

• IKEA furniture is not renowned for its strength and sturdiness. Why? It’s made from particle board – an engineered product that’s manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic resin which are pressed and extruded during the production process. Basically, this means that your ready-to-assemble furniture may not survive the move, especially if it has to be disassembled at the old home and put back together in the new one.
• IKEA furniture is fairly affordable, at least in most cases. What this means is that if you happen to be moving across the country, you’re likely to pay more money for the transportation of your pressboard pieces than to purchase brand-new IKEA furniture after the move. Do the math and see for yourself – if the numbers don’t work in your favor, then packing and moving your IKEA furniture cross country doesn’t make any sense.
• IKEA furniture seldom has any sentimental value, so it should be much easier for you to just discard your particle board pieces without any regret. If you had priceless antique furniture in the house, then things would have been completely different.

Should You Move Your Furniture or Buy New After the Move?

2. Determine whether you have to disassemble the IKEA furniture

Should you disassemble IKEA furniture when moving?

The correct answer to this question will depend primarily on what types of IKEA furniture items you own. Here’s what you should know when trying to figure out whether you should move your IKEA pieces as they are or you should dismantle them first to make things easier for yourself.

• Moving IKEA furniture without disassembling it first is the easiest option provided that the units can pass safely through all the doorways, hallways, corners, and even staircases in your home. Measure up the pieces and if they can be taken out of the home safely, then all you’ll need to do is wrap them up in protective blankets.
• Moving IKEA furniture as it is may be easier in terms of time and effort but it’s not likely to be the safest option you have. Note that the screws, bolts, and dowels that keep the pieces together in flat-pack furniture can become somewhat loose when the units are being moved around and the particle board elements could break or crack due to the added strain.
• There are risks involved in moving IKEA furniture to a new house either way but as a rule of thumb, you should consider disassembling the large ready-to-assemble furniture units such as dressers, beds, and bookcases for safer and easier handling. However, you can still leave smaller units such as drawers and nightstands fully assembled as a way to speed up the relocation process at both ends.

What to Do When Furniture Will NOT Go Through the Door

3. Take photos of your assembled IKEA furniture

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and when you’re moving your IKEA furniture to a new house, you’re likely to find out that this adage is truer than you might think.

Before you get down to business (understand disassembling the large IKEA pieces you own), you’re strongly recommended to take multiple photos of the items as they are – that is, fully assembled. Why? It’s easy to guess that you may need to use those reference photos in the new home during the reassembly process.

So, use your digital camera to take not only full-size photos of the furniture pieces from a distance but also close-up pictures of the way the segments of each unit are attached to each other. Have numerous shots of the spots that contain any fastening elements to serve as a guide when you’re putting them back together in the new place.

Keep the photos safe throughout the house move – it’s best to upload them to an online storage cloud service such as Google Drive, for example.

Do’s and Don’ts When Moving Furniture

4. Follow the instructions to disassemble partially your IKEA furniture

You’re going to have to have the correct disassembly instructions before you begin to take apart safely your large IKEA furniture.

Follow the IKEA assemble instructions backward in order to disassemble your IKEA furniture safely.

There are several things you need to keep in mind when it comes to using instructions to disassemble your IKEA pieces:

• IKEA furniture needs to be disassembled in a specific order simply because it has been assembled the same way. Failure to follow the pre-set order might lead to damage – somewhat unlikely but still possible depending on the concrete IKEA furniture model. So, don’t take any risks.
• Use the assembly instructions to disassemble your big IKEA furniture units. How? It’s simple: just work your way backward – from the last page of the assembly instructions booklet to the first.
• Don’t worry if you can’t find the assembly instructions for your IKEA furniture pieces. Just visit the IKEA website and search for the furniture model: IKEA Assembly Instructions.
• Needless to say, the assembly instructions you use to disassemble your IKEA furniture units will help you put back together those pieces once you find yourself in the new home.

How to Disassemble Furniture When Moving

5. Label each disassembled furniture piece

As soon as you begin the disassembly process, one important thing you should do is to label each furniture element as you take it apart. Proper labeling of your IKEA furniture is critical because it can save plenty of valuable time after the move.

Don’t write directly onto the furniture components – instead, stick small pieces of painter’s tape onto the items and label them accordingly. Make sure you use painter’s tape and not regular packing tape since the latter is likely to damage the surface of your IKEA furniture.

Similar to labeling moving boxes, you just have to use a labeling system that will make sense during the reassembly time. To keep things simple, you can choose to use the following furniture labeling pattern:

• from top to bottom, and
• from right to left.

By having the assembly instructions with you and having the individual pieces all labeled correctly, you shouldn’t have any problems when it’s time to put back your furniture pieces in the new place.

Another important aspect of the IKEA furniture disassembly job is to keep all small fastening elements – screws, bolts, dowels, hinges, etc. – in a safe place such as inside a sealable plastic bag. When you’re done disassembling a unit, use a permanent marker to write down on the plastic bag the name of the furniture piece those small elements have come from.

How to Protect Furniture When Moving

6. Wrap your IKEA furniture in moving blankets

It’s time to protect your IKEA furniture pieces no matter if you’ve already disassembled them or you’ve decided to keep them as they are. Whichever way you decide to go, you shouldn’t let the furniture items leave your house without being well padded with the proper packing materials.

Basically, the easiest way to protect IKEA furniture is to wrap each disassembled piece in thick furniture blankets or regular bath towels. Once you do it, use pieces of tape to keep the pads in place.

Sometimes it makes sense to bundle a few smaller furniture elements together to save space and packing materials, so feel free to do it as long as you use a few sheets of packing paper between the pieces to avoid direct wood-to-wood contact.

In case you’re moving an IKEA piece as it is, without disassembling it, then you’re going to have to wrap the entire unit in thick moving blankets to keep them from getting chipped, scratched, or dented during the actual transportation.

Also, if you happen to keep the original cardboard boxes that contained your IKEA furniture when you first bought it, then you should use them to protect the pieces on the road.

How to Move Heavy Furniture by Yourself

7. Move the IKEA furniture with utmost care

Follow these furniture moving steps and you’ll be soon reassembling your IKEA furniture in the new home.

Once you pack up your IKEA furniture pieces, it’s time to transport them safely to the new place.

The first step is to take them out of your home without any damage. In case you have already disassembled fully some of the IKEA units, then you shouldn’t have any problems with this step.

However, if you’re moving some of your IKEA furniture items without having them disassembled first, then you should ask a few friends to help you take those large pieces to the truck outside. Once inside the vehicle, use straps or pieces of rope to secure the furniture units so that they don’t shift around during transit.

Also, you should consider using a moving dolly to make things easier and safer when moving furniture to another home – not only IKEA but other types of furniture items as well.

Keep in mind that some professional moving companies will not move ready-to-assemble furniture unless it’s been disassembled first. The main reason is that IKEA furniture and IKEA-like furniture do not usually survive a house move due to their decreased strength and durability.

Be sure to contact the best furniture movers in your area if you do need professional help moving your IKEA furniture or your non-IKEA furniture.

How to Move Furniture to Another State

The post How to Pack and Move IKEA Furniture: 7 Steps appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Coffee mugs and tea mugs happen to be one of the most frequently used kitchen items. In fact, they are often used multiple times every single day since coffee and tea are the most widely consumed drinks after water. And you won’t part with your favorite mugs simply because you’re moving to a new place, right?

When you transfer the packing action to the kitchen, you’re going to have to be very careful how you go about protecting your porcelain mugs so that they remain intact during the actual relocation.

Luckily, these 10 packing steps will show you the best way to pack mugs for a move.

1. Understand why mugs are tricky to pack and move

Interestingly enough, mugs are not as easy to pack as they seem for a couple of reasons:

• Fragile. Mugs are made from porcelain, meaning that they are fragile and can break easily if too much pressure is applied to them during the actual transportation or you just happen to drop one accidentally on the floor while packing those delicate kitchen items. You’re going to have to treat mugs as very fragile things simply because that’s exactly what they are.
• Sentimental value. Mugs are tricky to pack and move not only because of their apparent fragility but also because of the sentimental value they often hold. What this basically means is that even though porcelain mugs are inexpensive to replace, they almost always happen to be cool gifts from special people. Oftentimes, such cups contain funny quotes, or words of wisdom and inspiration, or personalized messages or images that are meaningful to their owners.

All in all, finding a few of your mugs broken due to improper packing won’t bring you 7 years of bad luck but it could bring a few tears to your face if the broken porcelain cups turn out to be your favorite ones.

2. Sort out your kitchen mugs

The next step when packing mugs for moving is to determine whether there are any porcelain cups that are not worth packing and moving to the new home’s kitchen. Bear in mind that it won’t make much sense to lose precious time packing any items (in this case porcelain mugs) which you won’t ever use again.

Follow these steps as part of your assessment of which ones to take with you and which ones to leave behind:

• Arrange all the mugs you have onto the kitchen table.
• Take a closer look at each cup and look for any signs of damage such as chipped bits, cracks, stains, and so on.
• Consider the sentimental value of each mug as well. In most cases, you’re likely to take with you a partially damaged cup simply because it is a gift from a dear friend or you have great memories associated with it.
• Sort all your kitchen mugs into 2 groups: TAKE and LEAVE BEHIND. Now, what should you do with all the cups you’ve decided not to move with you?

3. Discard the mugs that are not worth it

Some mugs just won’t be worth the trouble.

You know that you’re going to pack up the porcelain mugs that you’ve determined as worthy to make the relocation trip. However, what should you do with the cups that you will not move with you for some reason or another?

• Gift. Consider giving away to friends some of the mugs you have, especially when they are new and you know some of your pals will most likely like them. Why should you throw away something that another person will enjoy?
• Donate. Some charities may accept unused porcelain mugs, so if you have a bunch of cups you’ve never used, then consider contacting a few charitable organizations to see if they would want them.
• Sell. If you do have new mugs stored away somewhere in the kitchen and you’re planning on organizing a moving sale before you move away, then you should try to sell them together with the rest of your unwanted stuff.
• Throw away. Simply throw away in an eco-friendly way all the mugs that could not possibly be reused anymore.

How to Pack a Kitchen When Moving

4. Get the right packing materials

You just have to have the proper packing supplies to be able to protect all the breakable items found in your kitchen, including the mugs you’re about to pack up and move to the new home.

• Cardboard box. One medium-size cardboard box should be enough for your porcelain mugs – if not, then you should use two medium boxes instead of packing all your fragile items into one big one. If possible, purchase a dish barrel – a double-walled box made from thick cardboard that’s designed to provide a greater degree of protection for various kitchen breakables such as dishes, glasses, mugs, and so on.
• Packing paper. You’re going to need soft white packing paper as the first protective layer.
• Bubble wrap. You should use pieces of bubble wrap as a secondary protective layer for your favorite mugs – the ones you would really hate to see damaged after the move.
• Packing tape. Get a roll of high-quality packing tape which you will also use for reinforcing the cardboard box (see below).

Packing Paper vs Bubble Wrap

5. Reinforce the mug box

This step is about making sure that the box or boxes you use to transport your porcelain mugs won’t break during the move. If a box containing fragile items did break on Moving day, then the breakables inside it would most certainly get damaged and that’s something you would like to avoid at all costs.

One easy way to minimize the chance of a box breaking under the load of whatever is inside it is to reinforce the cardboard container using packing tape.

• Use tape to reinforce the bottom and all sides of the box you’re going to use to pack your mugs.
• Place wads of crumpled paper along the inside bottom of the container as a way to create a soft padding layer that will serve as a cushion for your breakable kitchen mugs against shocks and vibrations.

How to Pack Plates for Moving

6. Wrap packing paper around each mug

Let packing begin.

The preparation stage is complete, now it’s time to protect each porcelain mug individually with the help of wrapping paper and even bubble wrap, if necessary.

Here’s the best way to pack mugs for moving:

• Position the stack of wrapping paper on the kitchen table;
• Place a porcelain mug onto the middle of the stack of paper. Make sure the cup is completely dry before packing it up – if it’s not, dry it out;
• Get two sheets of paper from any corner and tuck them inside the mug. Do the same with the other paper corners as well until the outside of the cup is completely covered in soft wrapping paper;
• Secure the paper layer around the mug with tape to keep it from unwrapping by itself during transport.

How to Pack Glasses for Moving

7. Place bubble wrap around your best mugs

In most cases, adding a couple of sheets of wrapping paper around each mug will be enough to protect the breakable items during the relocation. As you will see below, the wrapped-up cups will be protected additionally once they are arranged inside the cardboard box.

Nevertheless, you are likely to have favorite coffee mugs or tea mugs that you wish to survive the move in perfect condition. And this is exactly why you should add an extra protective layer over those special kitchen mugs before you transfer them into the carton.

Here’s how to protect your best mugs using an extra layer of bubble wrap:

• Take one sheet of bubble wrap and wrap it over the initial paper layer of a mug that you love – a mug that has a special sentimental value for you;
• Use a piece of tape to secure the bubble wrap around the porcelain cup and keep it in place.

10 Delicate Tips for Packing Fragile Items When Moving

8. Transfer each mug into the box

This step should be pretty straightforward – all you have to do is take the already protected mugs and transfer them, one by one, into the already reinforced and padded cardboard box.

Arrange carefully the paper-packed or paper-and-bubble-wrap packed mugs onto the bottom of the box, right onto the wads of paper that you have placed beforehand as another level of protection.

Position the porcelain cups snugly one next to the other. Thanks to the padding around each cup, the breakables cannot come into direct contact with each other, which in turn will increase greatly the overall safety of this specific packing method.

When you’re done with the first row and there are more cups to fit, lay a sheet of bubble wrap over the initial row and start another one.

Be careful not to apply too much pressure when arranging the mugs inside the box. If the place does not allow it, don’t force any pieces inside it – instead, use another cardboard box but not before you reinforce it and pad its bottom adequately.

9. Pad the mugs inside the box

Do all in your power to protect your favorite coffee or tea mugs.

One of the final steps when packing mugs for moving is to ensure that they cannot move inside the box while the latter is being transported between the two homes. This is a safety measure that will minimize the chance of damage to your kitchen breakables during the move.

When you’re done arranging the porcelain cups inside the container, use pieces of wrapping paper to fill in any gaps you can see between the packed items. This way, the mugs won’t be able to shift around inside the box and should remain perfectly intact despite the shocks and vibrations from the actual transportation.

Feel free to use newspaper instead of wrapping paper for filling in the gaps created inside the box after packing your mugs for a move.

Lift the box off the ground and shake it gently – can you feel anything moving inside it? If yes, add more paper to immobilize completely the fragile items. If not, then you’ve done a great job packing your porcelain mugs for the upcoming move.

12 Brilliant Packing Tips and Tricks for Moving

10. Label the box appropriately

The final step to packing up mugs for moving is to label the box once you’ve closed the carton and sealed it up with packing tape.

Why is labeling your boxes important?

First of all, it will warn the people who are handling your boxes whether or not there are any fragile items inside the containers. In other words, the FRAGILE sign should automatically mean PLEASE BE MORE CAREFUL WHEN HANDLING THESE BOXES.

Secondly, your movers will know exactly where to take the boxes that are meant to end up in the kitchen. And this is much better than having all your boxes delivered to and stacked up in the middle of the largest room in the new home.

And finally, you will know exactly where your mugs are when you need them without wasting any precious post-move time opening up random cartons.

So, do the sensible thing and write MUGS, KITCHEN, FRAGILE, and HANDLE WITH CARE on two sides of your cup-filled boxes.

How to Find the Best Movers Near You

The post How to Pack Mugs for Moving: 10 Packing Steps appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Think about this: almost every single step during the relocation process is directly linked to all the household items you wish to move between the two homes – from inventorying and sorting out your stuff to finding the best mover near you and packing up your things for moving.

And imagine for a moment that you didn’t have anything to move to the new place – nothing but a few essential items that can fit comfortably in your own car.  Is such a relocation scenario just a classic case of wishful thinking that could never be pulled off in reality?

Selling everything you own and moving away is possible but it’s not the best choice for everyone. There are many reasons why most people will hold on to their prized possessions and will be willing to go through the necessary steps to see their things delivered safely to the new address.

And yet, moving away without any household items can be a great option for you, especially when you understand the clear benefits of selling everything and moving away with nothing but a few absolute essentials.

Here are the top 7 reasons why selling everything you own and moving away can work out great in your particular case:

1. You will earn money from the sale of your things

It’s quite possible that the idea of selling everything you own and moving away seems pretty shocking at first. Why would you ever want to do it? It doesn’t make any sense at all to let go of all the things you’ve acquired over years and years.

And yet, the more you think about it, you may start to see the logic behind the seemingly absurd idea. Above all else, you will earn money by selling your stuff and will be able to buy new stuff after you arrive in the new home.

Unfortunately, you’ll rarely be able to sell your possessions at a profit simply because all of them will be used. Nevertheless, it should still be OK to get enough money for each one, especially when it comes to your furniture pieces.

Remember that moving furniture across the country can often cost more than the actual worth of the pieces, so your large and heavy furniture units should be the first ones to go.

It’s time to organize a big moving sale where you can try to sell almost everything you own. Posting some of your things online is also a good option, especially when you have ample time until Moving day.

10 Tips for a {Very} Profitable Moving Sale

2. You will save time by not looking for packing supplies

Not having to worry about packing materials at all is a huge bonus.

Your brave decision not to take any items with you to the new home means that the arduous task of packing for a move will not only be postponed until further notice but will also be canceled altogether.

Another major advantage of selling everything and moving across the country is that you won’t need to worry about where to buy the necessary packing materials for the packing job. Taking into account that the average number of moving boxes needed to pack up an entire home is 60, then the fact that you won’t have to prepare any cardboard containers for the upcoming move must feel largely satisfying.

Make sure you use all that freed-up time wisely. For example, meet up you’re your best friends before moving away, spend quality time with the people you do care about, and even consider organizing a farewell party for your buddies.

But beware: it’s usually a mistake to attempt to sell anything to your best friends. If any of them wants to have something you have, then it’s best to give it away to them as a token of your friendship.

Where to Find Free Packing Materials

3. You will save time and energy by not packing up your stuff

Oftentimes, packing is the most dreaded job when moving house because it is the most time-consuming task on anyone’s packing checklist. Under ideal conditions, packing is an entire process that starts right after the house move is confirmed and ends the day before Moving day itself.

Packing for a move is also the most energy-draining thing you’ll have to do when getting ready to move out because of the many days spent inventorying, sorting out, wrapping up, and boxing up all the things you own.

And that’s exactly why it can be extremely beneficial to sell everything in the house and move away with just a few must-take possessions. In reality, not having to deal with packing and all the little tasks associated with packing should feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

Not having to pack up your things will also mean that you won’t need to ask your friends for packing assistance too. Be mindful that it’s never easy to ask your friends for a big favor such as helping you pack and move your belongings.

Once again, not having any items to protect for the upcoming move will free up a lot of time for you. Have you already said goodbye to your favorite places in the town or city you’re about to leave?

4. You will save money by not hiring professional packers and movers

Moving away with a few items is as close to a perfect move as it can get.

Hiring the services of a professional moving company has a couple of major advantages:

• the pros know how to pack efficiently, meaning that not only will they box up your things quickly but they will also do so in the safest way possible so that your items cannot get damaged during the move itself;
• the professionals that will arrive at your home to protect your possessions will bring all the necessary packing supplies so that you won’t have to worry about where to get quality packing materials such as cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, and packing paper.

Needless to say, professional packing and moving services are not offered for free. For example, how much does it cost to hire packers? The national average cost to hire packers for a local move is roughly $60 per hour per packer. And when you’re moving across the country, the add-on service of packing will be included in your flat-rate price given to you by the interstate moving company.

Once you manage to sell everything you have before moving away, you won’t need to hire packers and movers simply because you’ve got nothing to pack and move. As a result, you’ll be saving a bunch of money you would otherwise have to use to pay for professional packing and moving services.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Movers?

5. You will experience less stress by not having to worry about your stuff

It won’t be easy to sell everything you have and move away with only a few possessions that you can’t part with no matter what. In addition to the time and effort you’ll have to invest to sell all those items, letting them go may be harder than you think due to having become too attached to most of them.

But once you make up your mind to just sell everything and move out with almost nothing, you should experience a sense of liberation and any stress you must have felt should disappear soon enough.

Don’t forget that one of the most stressful things when moving house is the constant worry that your belongings may not reach the new place in one piece. Finding some of your things damaged after the move is over is always a possibility, especially when they have traveled thousands of miles across the country, have been protected inadequately, or have been entrusted to bad movers.

The great news for you is that your relocation experience should be as stress-free as possible simply because you won’t have anything to move between the two homes and therefore you won’t need to worry whether your items will reach the new place the way they left the old one – that is, perfectly intact.

10 Ways to Reduce Stress During a Move

6. You won’t have any boxes to unpack after the move

That’s it – those are all the boxes you’ve got to unpack. Lucky you!

If you manage to sell all your things (or give away some of them), you won’t have any boxes to transport to the destination place apart from possibly a few essentials boxes. What this means is that when you arrive in the new home, you just won’t have any boxes to unpack. It sounds too good to be true, right?

Unlike packing for a move, the task of unpacking can be stretched out in time because there isn’t a deadline looming. Nevertheless, the unpacking job is also known to take quite a lot of time and effort because it’s never only about unboxing your stuff, is it? You’ll have to arrange your things properly, get rid of all the packing materials, and then clean the whole place after you’re done unpacking.

Not having to unpack for days on end after selling everything and moving away will give you the unique opportunity to tackle other important post-relocation tasks without delay – finding a new job, getting a new family physician, enrolling your children at another school, registering your car and transferring your driver’s license, and so on.

Of course, not moving any stuff with you will also mean that you’re going to have to find time to buy new things for the new house or apartment. Luckily, furnishing the new place the way you like it is a step-by-step process that can be completed at your own comfortable pace.

How to Unpack After Moving

7. You will enjoy a fresh start in the new place

The decision to sell everything you own and move is often the result of your desire to get a fresh start in another far-away place.

It’s possible that all the material items that surround you at the moment evoke bad memories and that’s exactly what you may be trying to get rid of. A bad relationship breakup, for example, can lead to your strong wish to change everything around you.

In some cases, selling everything before moving away will be a great opportunity to attempt to run from the past and have a fresh start in another place. By not hauling any possessions with you, you will be able to buy brand-new furniture after the move and decorate the new home in an entirely different way. A new beginning often requires you to be brave enough to let go of your old stuff, and what better way to do it than to sell everything and start over in a new place?

5 Tips for Moving Out After a Long Relationship

It’s important to note that selling everything and moving away is not a good option for everyone. If you decide to do it, you must be absolutely sure that you’re doing the right thing in order to avoid bitter regrets after the move.

If you happen to be too attached to your possessions the way most people are, then you shouldn’t be looking for the best way to sell everything and move away – instead, you should be looking for the best movers near you.

How to Find the Best Movers Near You

The post Why Selling Everything and Moving Away Can Be Perfect for You appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Your decision to pack your stuff on your own is a clear indication that you feel pretty confident that you can accomplish the arduous task without having to resort to professional packing services. And in most cases, the reason for such high level of confidence is the fact that you’ve done it before sometime in the past.

As a person with previous house packing experience, you must know quite well the various packing materials: cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, furniture blankets, and even packing peanuts. And yet, it’s quite likely that you won’t be familiar with the packing power of plastic wrap.

The truth is that plastic wrap (aka stretch wrap, shrink wrap, or cling wrap) can do wonders for you during the packing process thanks to its remarkable versatility, great resistance, surprising ease of use, relative affordability, and good recyclability.

Read on to learn the best way to use plastic wrap for moving, including all the advantages of stretch wrap when packing for a move and useful information about where to buy plastic wrap for moving.

Why you should use plastic wrap when moving

It’s no surprise that plastic wrap is an essential packing material and you should definitely consider buying it and using it when protecting your household items for the road ahead.

The thing is that stretch wrap will make the packing job so much faster and safer that you’re likely to wonder why you haven’t used it before that moment. In a way, using plastic wrap for moving will feel like a great packing hack that’ll change for the better the way you view the house packing process in general.

Here are the major reasons why you should use plastic wrap when packing for a move:

• Versatility. Luckily, stretch wrap is very versatile and can be used in many situations when packing for moving: protecting furniture against scratches, keeping dirt and dust away from household items, securing loose cables and wires, keeping drawers, doors, and panels secure, keeping protective pads fixed to the items they are protecting, bundling various items together, and more.
• Durability. Plastic wrap is very thin (roughly 0.0005 inches) but it still offers a great level of strength and tear resistance when wrapped around delicate items for stronger protection. Thanks to its natural resistance, shrink wrap can withstand a lot of pressure, thus keeping your fragile things safe.
• Ease of use. Packing plastic wrap is extremely easy to use. Unlike standard packing tape, stretch wrap has no adhesive side and will not leave sticky residue on surfaces when removed after usage. As the name suggests, cling wrap clings to itself and is later easy to remove without fear of damage to any delicate surfaces whatsoever.
• Affordability. Stretch wrap for moving is fairly affordable, ranging from around $10 (5 inches x 1,000 ft) to roughly $25 (15 inches x 1,000 ft), and more for rolls of heavy-duty stretch wrap. Needless to say, wider rolls of plastic wrap should be used for wrapping larger household items such as furniture and appliances.
• Recyclability. Plastic wrap used for packing is perfectly recyclable after the move so your relocation will still be green when you use the extra thin plastic packing material for various purposes as explained below.

How to use plastic wrap when moving

The good news is that plastic wrap can be used successfully in various packing situations during the house packing process. Below you will find the major uses of plastic wrap for moving but you yourself can find even more useful applications of clear plastic wrap when packing up your things without the assistance of professional packers.

1. Use plastic wrap to secure padding materials

The most common use of plastic wrap when packing for a move is to secure furniture blankets, bubble wrap, or other types of protective padding materials onto the furniture pieces, appliances, specialty items (a piano or a grandfather clock, for example), or other large household items you’re trying to protect.

The padding materials will have to stay snugly wrapped around the fragile items and that’s exactly why you should use stretch wrap to secure those pads. Unlike packing tape, packing plastic wrap will not leave any sticky residue on any of the delicate surfaces.

As a bonus, the plastic wrap will create an extra outer layer of protection for your belongings.

2. Use plastic wrap to protect mattresses and upholstered furniture

Plastic wrap is just the next level of furniture protection.

Another useful application of plastic wrap when packing for a move is to protect mattresses. In the best-case scenario, you will have a special mattress bag in which you will insert the mattress for safekeeping. But if you don’t have such a mattress cover, then you can easily create one by stretch-wrapping the entire mattress from top to bottom.

Also, plastic film is great for protecting upholstered furniture as long as the upholstery is made of fabric. Do NOT use stretch wrap on furniture pieces with leather upholstery because the leather won’t be able to breathe under the layer of plastic wrap and may “sweat” – that is, form a thin film of moisture.

How to Move a Mattress by Yourself

3. Use cling wrap to protect items against dirt, dust, and moisture

One of the best uses of plastic wrap when moving house is to protect household items against dust, dirt, and moisture.

When it’s wrapped tight around objects, stretch wrap creates a thin yet durable protective layer around the items you’re trying to keep safe during the move. Therefore, no dirt and no dust can penetrate through the plastic coating which basically means your things will reach the new place exactly the way they have left the old one.

The plastic wrap will also keep moisture and water away – something that can be extremely useful if you happen to be moving out on a rainy day. Just be careful not to trap any moisture inside the protective layer.

4. Use plastic wrap to secure furniture drawers, doors, and panels

Clear plastic wrap for moving can also be used to keep furniture drawers, doors, and panels secure during the move.

If a drawer, a door, or a panel of a furniture item happens to open during transport, then that could lead to an accident, which in turn might result in either property damage or a personal injury (or both!). Therefore, it’s critical that no removable part of a furniture piece gets to move while the furniture is being carried around.

Plastic wrap will simply secure the removable element to the main furniture structure. You can also use painter’s tape to the same effect but never regular packing tape due to the sticky residue it’s likely to leave onto the delicate furniture surface.

How to Protect Furniture When Moving

5. Use cling wrap to wrap up drawers together with their contents

Stretch wrap can let you seal the content of a drawer or a bookcase.

Sometimes a few packing hacks here and a few packing tricks there can speed up the packing process significantly.

After all, the task of packing for a move takes many, many hours to complete, so anything you can do to finish it up more quickly is more than welcome.

One awesome trick to speed up packing is to use stretch wrap over the opening of a drawer with its contents still inside, thus turning the drawer into an instant packing box.

Mind you, this packing tactic is only possible when the things inside the drawer are non-breakable – for example, pieces of clothing, bedding, or other soft items that won’t get damaged when they are being shifted around the drawer during transport.

How to Pack Drawers for Moving

6. Use stretch wrap to bundle things together

You’ll be glad to learn that stretch wrap is also good at bundling similar items together during the packing process. Doing so will enhance the overall level of organization you should be aiming at when packing for moving.

• You can stack a few small cardboard boxes and bundle them together using plastic film for faster handling;
• You can bundle together detached pieces of furniture such as legs, boards, etc.;
• You can bundle and secure small items, especially kitchen items such as silverware;
• You can group together and secure items with long handles such as tools or mops;
• You can bundle together soft, lightweight items such as stuffed toys, pillows, etc.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

7. Use plastic wrap to prevent nasty spills

Plastic wrap can be extremely helpful when you’re packing up your bathroom items. Why? It’s simple: the clear plastic wrap will prevent any spills from bottles of shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and so on.

Here’s what you should do to make sure no spills occur when packing up your bathroom products:

• Remove the cap of a bottle, a tube, or a jar, then position a sufficient piece of plastic wrap right over the opening, and finally – close the cap again. This way, all your containers will become leak-proof;
• Insert each bathroom product into a plastic Ziploc bag for double reassurance that there won’t be any nasty spills during transit.

How to Pack a Bathroom for Moving

8. Use stretch wrap to secure power cords and cables

Safety on Moving day is of paramount importance and you must do all in your power to ensure the Big day goes accident-free from start to finish.

When moving electric appliances, one possible risk to the general safety on that particular day is for a person to trip on a power cord, a cable, or a wire that has not been secured. And that’s exactly where plastic wrap can come in to prevent such mishaps from happening.

Use cling wrap to secure power cords and cables to the side (usually the back) of an appliance so that any tripping hazards are eliminated.

9. Use cling wrap to keep rolled-up rugs from unfolding

Plastic wrap can be pretty useful during a move… but you don’t need to go THIS far.

If you’ve decided to take some of your area rugs with you, then you can use stretch wrap during the packing process to protect the carpet rolls.

Here’s what you should do: once you’ve rolled up an area rug correctly (follow the link below to learn the best way to pack rugs for moving), use plastic wrap to secure the ends of the carpet roll from unfolding by itself. Alternatively, you can use pieces of string for the same purpose.

Do NOT plastic-wrap the entire carpet roll for fear of trapping moisture inside. Instead, wrap large sheets of packing paper around the rug roll until you cover it completely.

How to Pack Rugs for Moving

10. Use plastic wrap to secure jewelry pieces

Saran wrap can help you greatly when you’re packing your jewelry for moving.

When you’re packing earrings for moving, one packing method is to use cardboard cards to organize your long earrings. Once you’ve attached the earrings to a cardboard card by inserting their hooks through the cardboard holes, use plastic wrap to secure the bundle and seal the earrings in one place.

Also, when you’ve placed and secured your earrings in an egg carton (that’s right – an egg carton), wrap the entire carton with plastic wrap to seal it, thus keeping each individually paper-packed ring in place.

How to Pack Jewelry for Moving

Where to buy plastic wrap for moving

And now that you know all the clear advantages of using plastic wrap when packing for a move, it’s only natural that you’ll be interested in where to buy plastic wrap for moving.

You can buy plastic wrap directly from one of the large home improvement stores in your town or city, either by visiting those places in person or ordering plastic film online:

• Walmart
• Home Depot
• Lowe’s
• Target

Of course, you can also check out Amazon when you’re looking to buy plastic wrap online.

How much plastic wrap do you need though? It depends on how big the home is and how many items (especially furniture items) you plan to move with you. As a rule of thumb, 1 roll of 5 inches x 1,000 ft and 1 roll of 15 inches x 1,000 ft should be enough for your packing needs when you’re moving out of a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom home.

When in doubt, it’s always better to buy one extra roll of shrink wrap – after all, you can surely find the plastic film useful even after you’ve moved into the new home.

The post How to Use Plastic Wrap for Moving appeared first on The Moving Blog.