Moving is full of pitfalls. If you want to avoid them, you need a game-plan. That’s why it’s so important to know the common moving problems below and the easy ways to sidestep them.
Time Crunch
Have you ever heard of the planning fallacy? Basically, Wikipedia describes the planning fallacy as “a phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimism bias and underestimate the time needed.” In other words, we usually plan less time than we need for tasks because we’re too optimistic about how fast we’ll be able to complete it. This is one of the biggest pitfalls of moving: running out of time to pack because we didn’t plan enough time to pack in the first place. Tasks take longer than you expect and you run up against hard deadlines like a move-out date or the beginning of construction. How do you deal with such a problem? It’s simple—you give yourself a time cushion. Add a few extra days to your estimated packing and moving time to give yourself a bit of wiggle room.
We’ve seen it time and time again – people look at their “small” apartments and think, “I got this. I’ll do it the night before.” But then…life happens. That’s why we always remind people that good preparation always leads to a fast, efficient, safe, and cost-effective move.
The Down-Sizer
It’s amazing how much stuff you can accumulate when you stay in one place. Unfortunately, your new place might not have enough room for everything you need—but you may not have time to sort through everything you own before you’re due in the new place. The solution here is a self-storage unit. Put what won’t fit in your home into a storage unit and take your time figuring out what should stay and what should go. Remember to consider the kind of storage unit you need based on the content; Andy Jaramillo from STOR-N-LOCK Highlands Ranch explains, “If you plan to store items that are susceptible to fluctuating temperatures, such as family heirlooms, electronics, wood or leather furniture or important paper documents, you will want to search for storage units with climate control.”
The Lost Cause
There are certain things you will need on hand as soon as you move into a new house. Unfortunately, in the process of packing up the truck or van, they might get shuffled around and lost among all the other boxes. The best way to deal with this problem is to organize your belongings. Label each box clearly with the contents and where you intend to put it in your new house. As much as you can, pack boxes and belongings together based on where they will go in your new house. Keep the essentials together, and pack them last so that you can get to them as soon as you need them. Real Simple additionally recommends “Numbering each box and keeping an inventory list in a small notebook is a good way to keep track of what you’ve packed―and to make sure you still have everything when you unpack.”
The Rainy Day
The weather can be your biggest moving enemy. Not only can it slow down the process of loading up a truck, but it can also make it nearly impossible to move some delicate items. What do you do on moving day in case of rain or wind or ice or snow? Unfortunately, you can’t change the weather…but you can check the weather forecast a week early and schedule your moving day earlier or later to avoid the worst of the storm. Try to set your move-out day a little bit ahead of schedule in order to allow yourself this freedom.
The No-Show Helpers
Depending on friends is a good way to get cheap labor when you move. Unfortunately, friends might no-show you or might have schedule conflicts that prevent them from lending a helping hand, leaving you stranded on moving day with dozens of boxes, no help, and no truck. Fortunately, My Truck Buddy can help with that. We have over 20,000 successful moves under our belt, and we’d love to ensure that your move is successful, too. Our first First Principle is “Show up on time.” It probably seems like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised – this seems like a difficult concept to grasp for a lot of moving companies.
These moving tips can help take a little bit of the sting out of moving. They solve common problems and, more importantly, they give you something to rely on during a difficult process. If you want to get the most out of your move, make sure to prepare ahead of time—it’s the ultimate way to avoid major moving problems.