Month: November 2018

Failing to plan is planning to fail. – Alan Lakein

This is a fact, especially if you are planning to move during the holiday season on these dates: the weekend before Christmas Day, with Super Saturday or the Saturday before Christmas, being the business brick and mortar retail shopping day of the season.

So how do you make your move MERRY even amidst this busiest season of the year? Here are some tips:

Tip No. 1: Avoid the “peak moving season.”

Now that you know the week before Christmas is very busy, you should avoid planning your move on these dates. You’ll find it extremely difficult to find movers that work during this period if so their rates will be very high.

Why is this so?

These movers have family and friends. They also want to enjoy a holiday celebration with them. Thus, many of them will have their offices closed during this period. While those who work will add several fees to your holiday move. This will make it more expensive.

Thus, if you can move your date on after the holiday season, that may be a wiser choice.

Tip No. 2: Pack those Christmas decors separately.

If you have no other option but to move before Christmas Day, then ensure you pack your decors on a separate box. This will allow you to more conveniently add it to your new house.

You may request that your moving company in Iowa place these boxes in your living room, too. This will allow you to immediately unpack your holiday treasures even as soon as you arrive.

Tip No. 3: Ready those winter garments, tools, and accessories.

If you are planning to move to Iowa, then you should already know that it experiences a very cold winter. Ensure you pack those winter garments to keep you warm. This includes:

• Boots
• Hats
• Gloves

You should also not to forget the shovels and salt as you may find this necessary.

As another safety precaution, choose waterproof plastic bins when packing up your belongings. Turn on the heat and electricity upon arriving to ensure it is working fine. Most importantly, watch out for slippery stairs and sidewalks.

We know you can get excited, but still be cautious about these things to avoid accidents.

Tip No. 4: Protect your home from burglaries.

SafeWise has reported that around 400,000 burglaries happen in the US during the holiday season (November and December).

Safeguard your new home by asking a security system provider to set-up one on your new home prior to your arrival. This will give you an additional peace of mind that your home will not be the target of burglars.

Tip No. 5: Allocate a budget for your move.

Do not break the bank by not adding a couple of extra to our moving expense. Expect it to be a bit higher than the usual rate. But you can keep your expenses low by scouring for moving boxes via Craigslist or U-Haul Box Exchange. As cushions, you may consider using old newspaper and magazines rather than a bubble wrap.

Nevertheless, ensure that the delicate items included in your move are wrapped according to industry standards. Otherwise, you may only get it broken.

We’ve come to the last stretch of our this three-part blog series. To complete your list of NOT TO FORGET THINGS, we have listed these three additional things you should ALWAYS REMEMBER:

7.Ensure you’ve cleared everything in your old place

Yes! Time and again we have experiences of homeowners leaving behind important items at their previous place. Some even forget to load and pack a 42″ Samsung LCD TV because it has been stored under the stairs.

To avoid this from happening, include it in your checklist. As a secondary precaution, assign this checklist to one of the family members who have very little thing to do during the move. In this manner, he can focus on ensuring all of the items that have to be moved out goes right into the moving truck.

Of course, with a professional moving team here in Cedar Rapids, we do our best to guarantee none of these mishaps will ever happen. We do our own checklist based on the number of boxes you have earlier told us that we will be putting on board White Glove Movers moving truck.

Thus, it is always best to coordinate all of the items that will be part of the move with your professional movers. After all, they are the ones who are skilled and knowledgeable in handling these things. They’ve been doing it dozens of time in a week and have learned to master its process very efficiently.

8.Tell people you are moving out

Yes! Unless you want to hide it, but it is but logical to tell people that you are moving to a new address. This saves lots of effort from your mailman and your friends sending over gifts and letters to your old address.

You may also consider it as a courtesy to your friends. Come out clean by informing everyone about your move and where to send future correspondences, too. Otherwise, you may find yourself receiving a call from someone who is completely disappointed because they have embarrassingly walked into your old address thinking it is still your home. Just imagine the embarrassment that poor person may have experienced.

9.Do the planning ahead of time

Ultimately, do the planning ahead of time. This means not doing it the week before your move but around four to six weeks before your scheduled move day. This will save you from a lot of stress and unwanted mishaps. It will also give you better quotes and more efficient moving team in Cedar Rapids.

Got questions about your move? Let’s talk. Call us at 319.393.3000

We’ve earlier discussed three things you should always remember when packing prior to moving to or from Iowa.

Tip no. 1: Label the Boxes

Tip no. 2: Use the Correct Packing Materials

Tip no. 3: Pack Only Those that You Need

In this article, we’ll continue the discussion with three more tips that can help your moving out simple and easy.

Tip no. 4: Separately Pack an ESSENTIALS Box

It is common for those people who are moving into a new city to assume that they can easily find everything they need at their new place. However, that is not always the case. Thus, it is important for you to pack your essentials in an easy to find box.

This should include:

• Cups
• Plates
• Spoon and fork
• Kettle and pots
• Soap, shampoo and sanitary kit
• Garden toys for your little ones

There may be other stuff that has to be put into this box. Think of all the things you use on a daily basis and add it.

Tip no. 5: Avoid moving on a FRIDAY

As much as you can, try your best not to schedule your move on a Friday. It may sound practical for some because the day following it is a weekend, but this is actually a very busy day for moving companies. Thus, you may end up having to pay more or find someone who will do the move for you.

Other problems that may arise when moving out on a Friday includes estate agents and solicitors often closed during the weekend, thus any problem you may encounter while moving in may only be resolved on the weekday, Monday. This could result in more costs that could have been avoided if you do your move on a different weekday.

But does it mean you can’t move on a Friday?

Not exactly. You just need to properly plan it and ensure all possible issues on availability can be resolved even upon your arrival. In the end, it all boils down to communication.

Tip no. 6: Get the RIGHT KEYS FROM LABELS from the previous owners

So you have the keys to the front and back door, but do you have the keys to the sheds, garage, garden gates, and conservatories? How about the rooms and windows?

These may not look obvious, but the front and back door keys may not be the only ones you need during moving day. Thus, it is best to get all the keys for your house. Moreover, it is also important to change all the locks to ensure all your insurance policies will be valid in case of theft.

Moving your stuff to or from Iowa can be very stressful, especially if you’ve failed to plan it properly. To avoid the confusion of your move and leaving yourself devastated because of unwanted property loss and broken home items, here are some things you should NEVER EVER forget when moving to or from Iowa.

Tip No. 1: Label the Boxes

This may sound simple, but you’ll be surprised by how many homeowners have forgotten to do this basic principle.

Their reason – they did things in a rush. Thus, it is important to have a checklist of your to-do list. This will ensure all that has to be done are properly taken care of, including labeling the boxes.

What should you label?

Label items that contain fragile items. Group those that are used for the kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, garage, and other places inside your new house. You’ll be surprised at how much time and effort this will bring you.

Tip No. 2: Use the CORRECT packing materials

Yes! We do understand that you want to save a couple of bucks. But that does not include the packing materials you will be using when moving to or from Iowa. You need to ensure that the boxes are strong enough for your contents, otherwise, it can simply collapse and leave your things scattered on the floor.

Oh! but this means too many boxes for me to use, what should I do?

Use all the needed boxes so you can quickly pack and unpack your items. If you do not know how many boxes you’ll need, just give White Gloves Movers a call. One of our staff will help you estimate the number of boxes you’ll need.
Do you have any food that you wish to donate? We are also affiliated with Move For Hunger. We are happy to set aside your unopened non-perishable food items and donate it for them to use it in their local food pantry. Call us, today.

Tip No. 3: Pack Only Those That You Need

This could be a bit tricky because one can easily argue that they need everything there is inside their house. But in reality, you really don’t need all the appliances when moving to your new house. You may have decided to buy a new sofa, bed, ornaments, curtains, bed-sheets, chairs and other furniture to match your new home. So what will you do with those unnecessary furniture?

It is best to have a garage sale before you move. In this way, you can raise money for your new furniture and save on the amount of space you’ll need when moving out. Otherwise, you can always donate these items to charity and let them do the selling for you.