3 Helpful Steps When Planning a Long-Distance Move

Are you planning to move far away this year? If so, you’ve got your work cut out for you! There are many things you can do to make your long-distance relocation a success. Getting started early and following our tips below can help.

1. Stay Organized

Long-distance relocations require a great deal of organization.

Keep Your Papers in a Binder

Put all of your essential papers in a binder. You should include your new lease or paperwork for your new home purchase, information about your new job in your new city, and other vital documents. Doing this will prevent your essential papers from becoming lost while you’re packing and also helps you find what you need quickly.

Make a Moving Timeline

When should you begin packing? By what date should you have found a new apartment? When do you need to switch your utility services? Knowing the deadline on all these important events will help you avoid mistakes resulting in delays and more stress. Make a moving timeline, then set your calendar with this information, so you’ll always know what your deadline is.

Purge Items in Your Home You Don’t Need

Clutter makes moving challenging — this is especially true when you’re moving long distances. Purge items that you don’t need by cleaning out your garage, selling things online, giving items to charity, and discarding things you don’t need anymore.

2. Get the Right Boxes

Use sturdy, solid boxes designed for moving to get your belongings to your new home. Cardboard moving cartons are flexible, durable, and lightweight yet strong— this makes them ideal for stacking and using for a relocation.

Plastic totes may seem like a great way to pack your belongings when moving long-distance; however, many plastic totes are not designed to stack or withstand varying climatic conditions. When stacked from floor to ceiling inside a moving truck and then transported long-distance, they can easily be damaged. In cold weather, totes freeze, crack, break and collapse. In hot weather, totes become soft, expand, break and collapse.

Check with your moving company as some offer customers gently used moving cartons for free. 

3. Find the Right Moving Company

Perhaps most important of all is to identify the right moving company for your long-distance relocation. Your moving company is a partner in your relocation, but your relocation could become far more stressful and complicated with the wrong partnership. When you’re looking for a moving company, look for:

  • Years of experience. The longer your moving company has been in business, the more they’ll know about long-distance relocations.
  • Good customer service. You’re going to rely heavily on your moving company’s customer service to respond to your questions and concerns. Find a company that provides good overall customer service.
  • Affordable rates. Long-distance relocations are expensive. Shop around to find a company that you can afford, but don’t hire the cheapest company to save money. Select a professional moving company with a good reputation and fair rates.

Long-Distance Moving Help

We can help provide you with moving tips, specialized packing materials, storage, and a whole lot more. Your move coordinator can help with the planning and can even arrange for those gently-used cartons. To learn more about making your long-distance move work, contact us to get a quote for your upcoming relocation.

Tips for Setting Up a New Home Office After a Move

Home offices are more important than ever. With over 40% of the labor force working from home, many people now have home offices where they can get work done in the safety and comfort of their own home. If you’re moving into a new home, then you have a perfect opportunity to make your home office everything you want it to be. These tips can help you set up a home office that is just right for your needs.

Choose the Right Room

Choose a room that has the qualities that you’re looking for in a home office. Below are some of the characteristics you should consider when deciding which room is suitable for your home office.

  • Privacy – Choose a room that offers sufficient privacy to conduct business.
  • View – Look for a room with a window, perhaps one with a view of your front or backyard. Natural sunlight has physical and mental health benefits. 
  • Size – Most home offices are relatively small, but you may need something larger or even a waiting area if you accept clients at your home.

Paint It

Maybe the paint in your new home office is sufficient, but if you didn’t pick the color yourself and it doesn’t suit you, consider painting it. Choose a color that you find relaxing and conducive to work. Painting the room will help it feel new and fresh and more fully your own.

Install Proper Office Furniture

You might have started working from home with an old desk and inexpensive chair. Still, if you’re planning to work from home regularly, then you should have appropriate office furniture that’s comfortable and ergonomic. It’s also essential to have proper office storage to avoid losing things and ensure that you can find the file folders you need when you need them.

Go shopping for proper office furniture. You might need to invest in a desk that’s more sophisticated than anything you ever imagined for yourself. This is your opportunity to set up an ideal workspace. Spending a little more now can save you money in the future, as good quality office furniture may last longer. You are investing in yourself.

Personalize It

Do something to your office to make it more personal for you. Decorate the room with indoor plants to add tranquility and naturalness. Add in some pictures or decor that you find beautiful and inspiring, or install some new furniture that is comfortable for lounging, even though you might not need it. Make the room a place that you wouldn’t mind spending quiet time, even outside work hours.

Manage the Wires

A home office often has many cords and cables running through it. From power cables to charging cords, you have a lot to coordinate.

Invest in figuring out a cord management system to tame those wires. Depending on where your outlets are, you might need to use power strips and extension cords as well. With so many cords strung throughout your office, you will want to make sure you find a way to do it safely. (like with cord covers).

Here are some tips for managing your cables:

  • Get wireless devices
  • Bundle the cables
  • Use power strips
  • Use a mounted power strip
  • Manage the disorder with cable covers

When your cords are in order, it helps increase productivity, positivity, and creative thinking in your at-home work environment.

Moving Soon? Hire the Right Moving Company

If you’re moving soon, contact a professional moving company to help move your furniture and belongings safely and efficiently. Contact us today to discuss your upcoming relocation.