Packing Your Own Things Effectively To Lower Your Bill

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Packing Your Own Things Effectively To Lower Your
Bill
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• This is a series of general rules to follow
  that in my experience is the difference between
  cheap and stress free, and well you can probably
  guess the alternative.

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1. If it can be in a box... It SHOULD BE IN A BOX.

• Boxes are the be-all and end-all of moving. The
  key is they can be stacked. Small 2 cubes for
  dishes (wrapped in packing paper, see video), and
  big boxes for everything else. 4 cube and
  wardrobe boxes. That's pretty much it. Big boxes
  Less trips to the truck Faster.

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• Tiny liquor boxes, or random sizes of random
  boxes you have accumulated are actually very time
  consuming because they don't stack as well.
  Either on dollies or on the truck in the load.
  Once again they also require more trips to the
  truck. You want larger boxes of relatively
  uniformed sizes.

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2. No loose Items.

• I like to tell people this. " It takes just as
  long for me to carry that floor lamp and this
  little bag of loose stuff to the truck as it
  would to wheel 200lbs of boxed items... but the
  boxes would be easier because they're on wheels."
  This is typically an hourly service, do not under
  estimate how much longer it takes if there are
  things still laying around.

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• Anything tall/ skinny like bed rails or
  shovels/rakes or brooms tape them up in bundles
  of 4 or 5. Not too many that it gets awkward, but
  enough that it's worth picking up.

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• Lamps are an issue, take the shade off and get
  it in a wardrobe with some clothes/ blankets, tie
  the cords, or at least have them set aside with
  the shade off. Tall floor lamps do not move well,
  collapse if possible, or at least pack the glass
  type shades.
• Kitchen appliances go in the bottom of larger
  boxes while packing near the kitchen, they will
  take the weight.

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• Electronics can be.. can you guess? that's
  right in boxes too. Put one in, drop something
  soft, then something flat, then another one(eg.
  amplifier,tea towels,cutting board, dvd player) 
  until at the top of the box then fill the sides
  in with towels or paper or anything you have.

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3. boxes Must Be Tight.

• The concept of using boxes gets kind of wrecked
  when they are not full. There are 2 things that
  determine where in the load the box goes
• 1. how heavy it is.
• 2. How loose it is.

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• The heavier the lower in the load, the looser
  the higher in the load. A box that has 1 heavy
  item in it has to move up in the load because it
  will ruin the structure of the tier being
  stacked, thus creating more risk to the more
  fragile items in the middle because of it's
  weight. This concept directly applies to dollies
  as well. If we cant stack it, it may as well stay
  loose.

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4. Bins

• The items just mentioned can be in bins as
  well. Do not buy bins that either have lids that
  will not stay on, or are too big to fit though
  doorways sideways.

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• ALL garage items do well in bins. The garage
  typically gets loaded last and that section of
  the load is dirty, with sharp, loose objects.
• ALL liquids should be in bins, If there is a
  leak the rest of the load doesn't get ruined.

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5. Drawers

• All drawers stay in everything. Some clothes
  can stay in dressers but anything loose has to be
  removed. This is because many of these items are
  put on end to move or even upside down in the
  load.

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6. Label, Label, Label.

• The fastest unload is to put all of your boxes
  right back in the immediate room to entry way,
  however if distributing throughout the house if
  there are no labels it becomes a nightmare.
  Everything needs to be handled more than once
  this way because we cannot stack dolly loads that
  are all in 1 location, thus increasing your bill.

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Preparation for the Movers Arrival

• Other things you can do to speed things up
• 1. clear hallways in front entry area
• 2. no vehicles in driveway
• 3. Any items possible moved as close to the
  loading point as possible

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Make the Process Even Faster...

• 1. While you are packing box by box stack them
  in the first immediate room to the entry way.
  This way we can draw from the boxes quickly and
  mix them with furniture as we go. This is the
  fastest way to move. (keep in mind sofas need to
  be accessible, they are the 1st thing on the
  truck)

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• 2. Pull things slightly away from the wall.
• 3. Disassemble yourself if possible. When
  people ask me if I will take everything apart and
  put it back together again this is what I say "
  I work for you today. I can do anything and
  everything you need me to do. Hell I will build
  you a new deck when we get there but at minimum
  of 100 per hour it may not be cost effective."

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• That being said, most bed frames are not a big
  deal. We do them daily so of course we are fast
  at it. You know if you have anything that is
  brutally time consuming (like ikea). Just keep in
  mind that moving quotes do not include
  extraordinary circumstances.

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• 4. Take the mirrors off your dressers and
  disconnect the table top from its base. Not
  taking the table apart is sloppy work for a
  mover. The table comes apart for a reason, it's
  designed to move that way.That dresser is the
  first thing we want out of that bedroom. It
  creates space in the room to maneuver the bed and
  its the best base in the house to stack on.

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• This website is a constant work in progress, I
  sincerely hope this is helpful. I also
  appreciate any feedback, good or bad. Good luck
  with whoever you choose and I hope to hear from
  you!
• http//www.proservicemoving.ca/