Last time I moved, we hired movers to handle it. We did our market research and discovered these data points:
* Use this as an opportunity to throw away, or at least store with family, ANYTHING you don't strictly need. The biggest lesson I learned from my last several moves was to get rid of crap before, not after.
* Do your own packing, as much as humanly possible. BOX things, mark every box with a visible number and keep track of the number. You're welcome to put your own notes on the boxes too to help in unpacking, but it's best to keep them very generic. (Destination room being a good label.) In the end, I had a pile of forty-seven 16x16x16" cubes, plus a small number of furniture items and large unboxables. This made for a short, easily-manageable list to go over with the movers. "See those boxes? There are forty-seven on them, count 'em if you like. All of those, plus that big TV, the couch, and the bed."
* Make sure the list of big items is as short as possible, and easily checkable. Ditch furniture you don't need. Seriously, in my move up here from LA, I'm seriously considering just forgetting about my bed -- it may end up costing less to buy a new one than to move the old one.
* Anything attractive to steal, small, fragile, or dear to you -- move yourself, or leave with someone you trust to take care of it. I moved my guitars and computers myself that time. In this recent move, I'm waiting for a chance to drive down to Los Angeles and pick them up myself. Shipping is damn expressive, but for things you really, really care about, it's worth it.
* Obfuscation is also a good thing. When I boxed my relatively stealable collection of console video games, the box bore only the unassuming label "14/47." I had a master list of which boxes had what, of course, but the movers didn't. Out of sight, out of mind. Thieves don't tend to steal what they don't think is worth stealing.
* Inventory the boxes afterward by number, and the big items. Check everything for damage as well as presence. Once you sign that "all clear" paper it's over. I severely pissed off my movers by turning on the TV and making sure it'd show a clear blue screen, but hey, I knew it wasn't damaged.
* You will pay too much for it. Our move, I think, was about $700 to move twenty miles. This should serve as an incentive to really, REALLY think about what you still need, and what you need immediately. If you find your 'must haves' are five 16" cube boxes plus a couple suitcases, plus a carload of stuff you'd want eventually, it might well make sense to ship the immediates, ask family to hold and eventually ship the rest, and forego the moving truck.
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momijizukamori
Pretty Good Experience
Date: 2002-10-29 08:02 (UTC)* Use this as an opportunity to throw away, or at least store with family, ANYTHING you don't strictly need. The biggest lesson I learned from my last several moves was to get rid of crap before, not after.
* Do your own packing, as much as humanly possible. BOX things, mark every box with a visible number and keep track of the number. You're welcome to put your own notes on the boxes too to help in unpacking, but it's best to keep them very generic. (Destination room being a good label.) In the end, I had a pile of forty-seven 16x16x16" cubes, plus a small number of furniture items and large unboxables. This made for a short, easily-manageable list to go over with the movers. "See those boxes? There are forty-seven on them, count 'em if you like. All of those, plus that big TV, the couch, and the bed."
* Make sure the list of big items is as short as possible, and easily checkable. Ditch furniture you don't need. Seriously, in my move up here from LA, I'm seriously considering just forgetting about my bed -- it may end up costing less to buy a new one than to move the old one.
* Anything attractive to steal, small, fragile, or dear to you -- move yourself, or leave with someone you trust to take care of it. I moved my guitars and computers myself that time. In this recent move, I'm waiting for a chance to drive down to Los Angeles and pick them up myself. Shipping is damn expressive, but for things you really, really care about, it's worth it.
* Obfuscation is also a good thing. When I boxed my relatively stealable collection of console video games, the box bore only the unassuming label "14/47." I had a master list of which boxes had what, of course, but the movers didn't. Out of sight, out of mind. Thieves don't tend to steal what they don't think is worth stealing.
* Inventory the boxes afterward by number, and the big items. Check everything for damage as well as presence. Once you sign that "all clear" paper it's over. I severely pissed off my movers by turning on the TV and making sure it'd show a clear blue screen, but hey, I knew it wasn't damaged.
* You will pay too much for it. Our move, I think, was about $700 to move twenty miles. This should serve as an incentive to really, REALLY think about what you still need, and what you need immediately. If you find your 'must haves' are five 16" cube boxes plus a couple suitcases, plus a carload of stuff you'd want eventually, it might well make sense to ship the immediates, ask family to hold and eventually ship the rest, and forego the moving truck.