Archive for the ‘Domestic Moving’ Category

A Guide for First Time Movers

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

A first move, whether it’s to college, your first job or to your first house, can be a very exciting time. It can also be a time of great frustration and confusion, especially if you’re not quite clear on how to coordinate your international or domestic relocation. It’s quite likely that you will remember your first move for a long time, but not for good reasons. In order to avoid some of the seemingly inevitable problems of a first move, follow our guide below.

Ask for help. There’s no shame in asking for help during a move if you’ve never done it before. Most likely you will know someone who has gone through the process multiple times and can show you the way to make your move faster and more efficient. If you have a really great friend, they may help you with the physical part of moving along with the mental aspect of coordinating and planning.

Stay patient. Take your time and plan out your move plenty of time in advance. This will allow you to be patient and make sure that you cover every base necessary. Staying calm ensures that you maintain a clear and focused mind that can make the best decisions and evaluate each scenario effectively.

Don’t panic. Panicking in any situation, but especially a move, can lead to a lot of mistakes and things forgotten. When you are moving for the first time you want things to go as smoothly as possible, but when they don’t it’s important to keep your cool so that you don’t make things worse than they already are.

Take care of yourself. Sometimes we forget to do even the simplest things like eating when we are in the rush of a move. Make sure you take time out of your schedule to have a relaxing meal and settle down a bit. This includes getting plenty of sleep and makings sure to drink plenty of water.

Lifting Heavy Objects during Your Move

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

Most household injuries occur when we are unaware of proper safety precautions for certain jobs and activities. Injuries can occur when we are trying to fix electrical, plumbing or structural damage. Injuries can also occur when moving in and out of property due to a lack of knowledge in lifting techniques and proper support of heavy objects. Below is a short list of safety precautions you should be aware of before you start your international or domestic move to help ensure the safety of you and your family.

Lift with Your Legs – Most people outside of professional moving and weightlifting aren’t aware how important it is to lift heavy objects with the leg muscles and not the back. This means bending down at the knee and using the quadriceps and hamstrings to lift. Lifting at the back can cause serious injury.

Use Padding – Use regular or furniture blankets to protect the exposed edges of any piece of heavy furniture you are moving. This has the double effect of protecting the item itself and protecting the lifters from injury should the item become loose or move in unpredictable ways.

Belts and Gloves – Wear any or all protective gear if the situation calls for it. It’s a good idea to use a weight lifting belt when carrying heavy objects to encourage correct lifting techniques. It’s also a good idea to use gloves in order to protect from splinters or other sharp objects that may be coming out of appliances or furniture.

Dollies – When conducting a domestic or international relocation it’s a good idea to use all tools at your disposal. This includes things like dollies, which will greatly decrease the amount of muscle work needed to be used by human labor. There are lots of different dollies on the market for different types of lifting situations.

Have You Dreamed of Moving to Alaska?

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

Everyone who hasn’t been to Alaska probably has their own visions of what the country is like. Some people think of Alaska and only envision a frozen tundra ruled by vicious polar bears with a spattering of igloos and oil spills. Others probably see magnificent glaciers resting between jagged mountaintops, log cabins, grizzly old fishermen and hunters. The fact is that both visions are right. Alaska is by far the largest state in the United States geographically. It’s has highest peak in the country with Mt McKinley, rain forests along the southern coast, tundra in the north with polar bears, tons of fishing off all the coasts and plenty of hunters in the interior trying to live off the land.

The rugged beauty of the wilderness in the north is great to experience and view, but it also represents a rather large challenge when it comes to moving to Alaska. It is possible to drive a truck into major cities like Anchorage, but if it is not at just the right time of year there is a huge risk of large snow storms and generally impassable conditions. Other towns and cities have not road access whatsoever due to remote locations or being on an island. Moving to these places requires boat transportation or air transport. Most people moving to Alaska don’t have the resources and knowledge to conduct a relocation to such remote parts of the state, so they rely on a relocation service to arrange various modes of transport to get household goods where they need to go.

Travel and transport in Alaska is sometimes so dangerous that many hit reality shows have been based on certain aspects of Alaska transport. Ice road truckers details the ins and outs of transporting goods along an icy road in the Alaska interior, where there is a large energy industry. Deadliest catch travels with ocean fishermen who have to battle to very harsh conditions of the Pacific in order to catch extremely valuable sea food. Living dangerously is a part of life for many people who have moved to Alaska, but it’s not like that for everyone. There are plenty of safe and normal jobs for people in most towns and cities.

Moving Tips for Busy People

Sunday, February 26th, 2012

Moving is time consuming, and if you’re busy, there may just not be enough hours in the day to get everything done. Thankfully we live in a modern world where you can pay someone else to do just about anything. Moving for busy people will mostly be about delegating responsibility to third parties: moving companies, relocation services, lifters, packers and planners. The following are some tips to help the busy person get their move done in the most time efficient and cost effective way possible.

-Use a relocation service. Scheduling and coordinating a move, no matter how far, can be a time consuming process. A global relocation service can help arrange the door-to-door transportation of all of your household goods so that you don’t have to worry about all the details of transfer points, bills of lading, customs paperwork, invoices or any of the other types of issues that can arise during transportation.

-Delegate responsibility. There’s no need to pack all of those boxes, tape, organize and lift when you can get other people to do it for you. If you’re really trying to save money, you can guilt trip people you know into help you out. Otherwise, there are plenty of professional movers and day workers that would be happy to earn a few dollars in exchange for helping you out with transporting your household goods.

-Plan ahead. If you have a long notice before your move, you can split up jobs into much smaller chunks and get everything done over a longer period of time during spots when you are not busy. This only works if you have a few months to plan ahead.

Expediting a Domestic Relocation

Monday, February 20th, 2012

In most moving situations people have the time to carefully plan out and organize their domestic move for months in advance. These are situations in which we move voluntarily with a lot of advanced notice. Some moves, however, are a result of extensive external pressure. This can be due to financial reasons, medical issues, employment or disaster. Circumstances like these don’t allow much if any time to plan for a move, making it almost impossible for an individual to finish a relocation on their own successfully.

Getting professional help is a crucial component of successfully completing a domestic move on extremely short notice. The first step should be to contact a global relocation service, as they have the tools and expertise necessary to coordinate the door-to-door delivery of all your household goods on short notice. They can arrange to have your things delivered to whatever place the situation calls for. They can also help you figure out how to get help with any other aspect of your expedited relocation that you need help with.

Picking a Place to Retire

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Retiring is one of the most significant transitions in any one’s life. It involves a complete restructuring of an average day, a transition from a busy life to a more leisurely one. Some people like to stay in the home they’ve lived for a sense of comfort, belonging and to retain connections to the community. Other retired people want to move away from the house or place that they’ve toiled almost their entire lives. Neither approach is right or wrong, but for the people who want to move, picking a good location is essential to enjoying retirement to its fullest extent.

The first criteria for picking a new home to retire in is costs. Most retired people live on a fixed income from pensions, savings, social security or other benefits. With a fixed income it is essential to find a property that you can afford but can also grow with as housing markets recover. Cities all throughout the country have seen dramatic swings in housing prices throughout the last year so it’s a good idea to do a lot of research before going ahead with your domestic relocation for retirement.

Cost should not be the only factor for picking a retirement relocation, however. Weather is a very important factor for many seniors, which is why retirement communities in places like Arizona and Florida have seen such enormous growth in the last few decades. Proximity to family and friends is also important. Some retired people even find themselves moving in with their children to take advantage of the low costs and closeness with family. Other retired people like to move close or next to their favorite hobbies, like golf courses lakes.

Boxes Boxes Where Are the Boxes?

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

I may be alone, but I really don’t like paying for cardboard boxes. Why should I pay for a box that I usually receive for free when I order stuff online, or a box I get for free when I buy large items at the store? Or, why should I pay for something you see lying around almost everywhere: in trashcans, shipping docks, big box stores and lots of other locations. Most people really don’t need a cardboard box unless they are shipping something, or they’re moving, in which case they need a whole lot of boxes. As someone who moves quite often, I have found a few solutions to the problem of paying for cardboard boxes.

If you work for a company that has a physical location and deals in physical goods, there is a good chance that they receive and send items in cardboard boxes everyday. Don’t be shy. Ask the shipping department if they have any excess boxes that you can take for your domestic move. More likely than not they have quite a few boxes that they simply can’t use any longer because they are not suitable for business purposes. These should work perfectly for moving once or even twice. If you are a frequent move like me, you might prefer to invest in plastic bins instead of boxes. They last a long time, are relatively cheap, and stack on top of each other so that they store easily when not being used. They are also much easier to carry around than cube boxes.

Moving Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

The following are a few ways people make mistakes while moving and how to go about avoiding them. Following this short guide can help you save money and avoid getting your goods damaged when you have them transported by a relocation service.

-Lack of Planning. Without proper planning before a move, a lot can go wrong. The most damaging mistake can be the hiring of a moving company that is not up to proper standards. By hiring a moving company that is not properly licensed and well reviewed you risk anything from major damage to your valuable belongings to your household goods being held hostage by the moving company until you pay their ransom. Make sure to do plenty of research before picking a relocation service.

-Proper Packing. It’s amazing how easily things can get damaged during shipping. Without proper packing and padding there is a high chance of your household goods getting damaged while they are being transported cross country or shipped overseas. When packing your valuables, make sure to use plenty of padding like bubble wrap or even newspaper. Also make sure the place heavy items on the bottom and lighter more fragile items on the top. This goes for inside the boxes and the stacking of boxes.

-Make a Budget. The costs of a move can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t create a proper budget for all of the things involved in a domestic relocation. These costs include but are certainly not limited to boxes, tape, dollies, trucks, hotel rooms, eating out and gasoline. People who do not plan a budget for such items can find themselves running out of money quickly or in serious credit card debt that just keeps piling up with interest. Don’t make the same mistake. Plan a budget with a little wiggle room so that you won’t be surprised by the costs of your domestic move.

Adapting after a Move to Hawaii

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

So you’ve moved to paradise. You wake up every morning to the warm but fresh ocean air. Puffy rain clouds slowly drift and dissipate against the mountain landscape only to reform again in the afternoon to bring light showers. For the locals, there is nothing really especially about what is going on day after day, but to someone who has just moved to one of these islands of paradise, the experience may be transcendent. That is not to say that there aren’t difficult things to get used to in Hawaii. There are some things that are just simply harder or more expensive to do than while on the mainland.

Due to Hawaii’s remoteness from any other land source (in fact, Hawaii is the most remote place in the world), many goods that can not be produced on the island have to be shipped. This raises the prices on things like gasoline, consumer products and agricultural products that can’t grow on the island. Shipping charges will also be more expensive due to the necessity of air and sea travel. This also means that many things you might normally find readily available in a large city will take time to procure. This may not apply too much in the big city of Honolulu or on the rest of Oahu, but some of the other smaller items may have a lack of goods and services that you may have taken for granted on the main land. These are not the only things to consider when moving to Hawaii, but they are some of the bigger challenges you can expect after moving.

Minimalism and Moving: A Perfect Match

Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Have you ever been in some one’s house and wondered they could have ever moved all of that stuff in there? They have huge wooden cabinetry, large and expensive entertainment systems, expansive stoves and other large items that look almost impossible to move. Hopefully, people who have homes like this don’t move often, but if they do, it must be a nightmare. For the frequent mover, having a lot of heavy and hard to move items would be suicide, not just physically, but financially as well. Hiring movers and trucks can get very expensive.

It’s these reasons why being a minimalist is a huge advantage for people who move frequently. When it comes to moving in and out of apartments and homes, the less the better. Having only a few essential items saves time, money and the huge headache that comes from having to worry about the safety of all your things. Living the minimalist lifestyle isn’t for everyone though. Some people really appreciate and love having certain things in their lives and don’t want to give them up for the mere convenience of having a faster and cheaper move every once in awhile. For people who do want to become more minimalist, however, there are a few things you can do to start the process.

Minimalism at its core is about need over want. The first step in reducing the amount of clutter in the home is to go through each item and determine how important it is. There are two main questions to ask about each item. How often do I use this item, and how much do I need this item? If you find yourself looking at things you haven’t used in more than a year and they take up a good amount of space, it’s probably a good idea to get rid of it. Do this with every item in your home until you find yourself surrounded by the things you always use and find most important. The feeling can be liberating, especially when you are moving.