Moves Become Increasingly Complicated

Most people handle their own first move, usually out of their parent’s house. It’s usually fairly simple because they don’t have much, and sometimes it’s a short-term move like going off to college. As time goes on and you acquire more, and often more valuable, property, a move can become a complicated process. What was once a move with a friend or two in an afternoon becomes a multi-trip project with a lot of friends – if any show up to help.

A local move can be complicated enough, but a long distance move presents logistical challenges most people never imagined. We’ve prepared this article to help you avoid common moving mistakes. The following is a list of what we think are the top ten moving mistakes made most often by average people.

Common Moving Mistakes

1. Underestimating the project at hand. It’s easy to not recognize how much you have acquired since your last move. It’s also easy to think that it will go smooth and not take that many hours to do. It’s easy to think you know how to pack well, load trucks in a way that prevents damage and get it all done on time. Big moves require experienced movers.
2. Overlooking circumstances beyond your control. Many moves have turned into nightmares because people fail to expect the unexpected. You need to think about how to handle traffic accidents, sudden inclement weather, traffic congestion and other unforeseen calamities.
3. Forgetting about terminating and establishing services. It’s important to make a checklist of services, including account numbers, and make sure each is terminated at your old address and started at your new address. Failing to do this could leave you without vital services or cause you to get bills for services at each address. Don’t forget that if your move takes a few days you may still need water and electricity at your old address.
4. Signing a contract with a bad mover. There are thousands of horror stories from unscrupulous movers with hidden charges, poor delivery records, uninsured for damage they cause and even holding property for ransom until you pay their add-on fees. Check online reviews before hiring any mover to avoid this moving mistake.
5. Ignoring the importance of insurance. Every mover wants to say they never damage or lose customer belongings, but the truth is, even the huge van line companies frequently lose things in their warehouses and damages can occur. To help cover this, be aware that insurance is relatively inexpensive and provides peace of mind at a time when you may already be a bit stressed out.
6. Not knowing that movers won’t move everything. Most movers will not move firearms and ammunition, jewelry, gasoline tanks, grills with propane tanks, and other potentially hazardous items. Some movers won’t move specialty items like pianos, art, antiques, etc. Ask before you sign a contract.
7. Paying to move things you should throw out. Most people find that they accumulate a lot of “stuff” and typically keep things they should have discarded. Cleaning out your home of unnecessary items can reduce your moving costs by hundreds of dollars – and make your new home less cluttered.
8. Packing your must-have items. When you pack those boxes to load on the truck, you need to think about what you need until those boxes are unpacked. Things like medicines, charger cords, toiletries are things you can’t go without very long.
9. Failing to keep an eye on the inventory manifest. There are unscrupulous movers who may pack and load everything but some things just don;t make it to your new home. You complain but those items simply are not listed on the inventory. You lose your property and have no recourse to file a complaint or claim. Take a few minutes to review your inventory.
10. Not budgeting beyond the direct moving costs. It’s easy to think about only the cost of boxes and renting a truck. Often you will need money to eat out, perhaps a hotel for a few nights, boarding pets, fuel for long distance moves, tolls, and deposits along the way. Envision the entire process and budget for every step of the process.