Moving News and Relocation Advice

Professional grade moving boxes offer the strength, durability and quality you need in order to move your goods safely. The quality of your moving supplies has a direct effect on the condition that your household items arrive in after your move, so if you care enough to take your things with you when you move, you probably care enough to make sure they get there in one piece.

Moving boxes are one of the most overlooked needs during a consumer move and many people put off purchasing quality moving boxes until the last minute. The smart thing is to treat your moving supplies like any other part of the whole moving plan and budget.
If it’s put off until the end, you will most likely end up using cheap, second quality material. Professional quality moving supplies are called that because they are used by the professionals whose very livelihood depends on getting your items to your new home safe and intact. Don’t put off purchasing quality moving supplies until the last minute.

Moving Boxes

Professional boxes are stronger because they need to be. The stronger the box, the greater the level of protection for your household items. You do not want to trust your valuable goods to a box that quite literally can’t stand up.

Moving Industry Box Standards

The moving industry standard for boxes require that they be at least 32 ECT (or 200 lb test) in strength. These ratings help ensure that your household belongings will arrive safely. Moving supplies that contain weaker boxes will crush under the pressure of your load. Some retailers will sell cheap moving kits with boxes as much as 46% weaker and, quite simply, those just won‘t stack up. Where ever you choose to purchase your moving boxes, make sure to ask about their test strength.

Moving during the summer months usually includes a variety of lawn care maintainance tools and equipment as well as an assortment of outdoor furniture. For the past decade there has been an incredible surge in the trend of outdoor living spaces and this has caused an increased amount of outdoor table sets, Adirondack chairs and portable fireplaces.

In essence, this means that modern moving includes just about everything outside of the kitchen sink, too. If you are worried about how you’re going to pack and transport your assortment of outdoor living equipment and furniture, we have some great tips to help you get moving and get grilling in your new location.

Moving and Packing Outdoor Furniture:

Packing is easy if you have furniture with no breakable parts. Hose down/clean off your furniture and disassemble it if need be. Tape any parts disassembled together, or put small pieces in ziplock bags and tape to the furniture. If you have glass tabletops, wrap them in bubble wrap and put them in flat boxes used for mirrors and artwork. Tape box shut and boldly mark “Fragile – Glass”.

You will need tape, large flat moving boxes for any glass tabletops, packing paper and bubble wrap for glass tabletops

Moving and Packing Lawn care Equipment:

Lawn care equipment can be tricky to transport safely. You will need to clean your lawnmower’s undercarriage of all grass and debris (use a hose). Drain gas and oil out of the lawnmower into storage containers. Contact your local recycling company or Environmental Protection Agency office for information on disposing of the gas and oil.

Office moves require the specialized services of a moving company that knows how to service the business community. Whether your business is a non-profit charitable group of a high end conglomerate, every moment spent inoperable is going to affect your bottom line.

An Office move needs to be carefully planned and orchestrated to minimize company down time and maximize efficiency to keep vital areas up and running even during the transition time. Working with your moving company, you will orchestrate and stage your move so that no one department is down longer than absolutely necessary. In fact, most Office moves will take place according to your regularly scheduled downtime. If you are closed on weekends, that is the best time to relocate your business. If weekends are your busiest time, then a weekday would be the best option for you.

Office moves aren’t just about moving a local accounting firm or retail establishment. There is an endless variety of business types that utilize professional moving services in order to get their business going in the right direction without interruption.

Office Moves are for more than just offices

• Educational institutions
• Non-profit associations
• Schools and libraries
• Manufacturing and industrial plants
• Professional offices
• Government offices
• Hospital/medical equipment/professional health care provider offices
• Restaurants and eateries
• Retail stores

No matter what kind of business you’re in, the right moving company can make a world of difference in the way you, your staff, and your business operate during the transition from old location to new. Always keep in mind that your move should be planned according to your best schedule, not the moving company’s.

Moving questions are as varied as the people who ask them and the residences and professional businesses that are in need of service. Some questions are more common than others, however, and many focus on the same areas of concern.

What is my move going to cost?

By far, the most frequently asked questions have to do with estimating costs. Because each home and its contents, as well as the destinations, are so different, there simply is no definite answer. The cost of a move is based on many factors including weight, distance, length of time and the services involved.

The good news is that simple estimates are free. The best option is to contact each prospective mover and request a free, no obligation estimate. Keep in mind, though, that the decision of choosing a moving company shouldn’t always be based solely on the costs. Reputation, safety, services should all be factors.

What’s the difference between Estimate Types?

There are both Binding and Non-Binding moving estimates. When you receive a binding estimate you cannot be required to pay any more than that amount. A binding full service move estimate must be in writing and a copy must be made available to you before your move. It is in the company’s best interest to be completely thorough on your estimate because they’re the ones that will be paying out of pocket if they underestimate the costs of your shipment. When a mover gives a non-binding full service move estimate, they are not permitted to charge for giving that non-binding estimate.

A non-binding full service move estimate is not a bid or contract. It is provided by the mover to give you a general idea of the cost of the move, but it does not bind the mover to the estimated cost

There are many full service moving techniques that movers employ to properly and professionally pack your household items before transport. Many customers express curiosity about certain packing techniques and want to understand them better, often using the same techniques in a future self-move.

Professional Moving Techniques

• Wrapping Furniture:
  A professional moving staff will wrap your furniture, even the overstuffed furniture, though that may seem like overkill to many. The padding used to wrap the furniture piece is there not only to protect the furniture, but to protect your home too. 90% of your furniture’s surface may be padded but that last 10% can cause some heavy damage to your walls and flooring while being moved.
  
  Statistically, most scratches and nicks occur while carrying objects through the home during packing and unpacking so it is very important that every piece of furniture be fully padded and protected to reduce the risk of damage to both the furniture and the walls during the loading process.
• Using Professional Grade Moving Boxes:
  Professional grade moving boxes offer proven and guaranteed strength and quality that will have a direct affect on the condition that your household items arrive in after your move. The reuse of older boxes isn’t an option because boxes get weak when reused, and ruined when they get wet. One of the biggest concerns is the side of the box where the seam is glued. Over time, this glue becomes unreliable.
  
  Professional boxes test over the 200lb industry standard

Full Service Moving includes professional packing services and you’ll see the difference.

If you have decided to change your lifestyle with a long distance move to a whole new location then you‘re in luck. The United States offers an almost endless variety of climates and cultures from which to choose that making the first decision about where to move to may be the hardest of all.

The difficulty in choosing a new place to live may lie in agreeing with your partner about your wants and needs as a couple. Let’s face it, our society is used to the freedom of making our own choices and having to compromise on such an important choice as a home location isn’t going to be easy. You might prefer the mountains while your partner is more of the dry desert type. (Just a hint, but California offers both within a 25 minute drive. Live on the mountain, take a drive down directly to the desert!)

Here is a short list of wants and preferences to help you narrow down your choices

• Big or Small Town
• Ideal Weather
• Educational Opportunities
• Recreation
• Geography
• Culture
• Community and Politics
• Religion

All of these can factor into your calculations to find the right place for both of you to live. The best part about using a list to narrow down your choices is that you will find that you probably do agree on many factors of what your ideal location should be like.

There are so many wonderful cities and towns to live in that making the decision of where to live is the first step in the exciting journey of your long distance move.

As leasing options for retail and office space become more attractive, small business moves are becoming big business. In a time of economic boom, leasing costs for retail and office space are astronomical, mostly because so many businesses are vying for the same space that the demand far outstrips the supply. In the current economic environment, however, many small businesses and offices have closed, leaving empty real estate that landlords are scrambling to fill. The increasing supply of space and the comparatively low demand of businesses to move in have resulted in a dramatic decrease in real estate leasing costs.

This has been welcome news for many businesses that have scraped by in small, out of the way locations well off the beaten path of Main Street. Now they have the option, so if moving to a better location with more potential customers at a lower leasing price, they are paying it.

For local small business moves such as these, offices and business owners are usually only moving across town to their newer, better locations. Because of the short distance involved, many of them are opting for a Self Service Small Business Move option in order to further cut down on costs and increase their profit margin. A self service small business move allows these businesses owners to pack up their shop or office with very little effort and have the goods delivered directly to the new location. Moving across town doesn’t usually require the specialty packing that a long distance move would need in order to reduce the potential for damage.

A Self Service Small Business Move offers flexibility and savings for your company.

Saving money is top on many people’s lists right now. Tighening the belt and decreasing spending on non-necessary items is one way to save. Another way to save is to cut down on existing costs in any way you can.

For instance, moving to a new city or town in order to ensure the stability of your job or career is a necessity for many right now. The moving costs associated with that are also, in their basic form, unavoidable. There are ways that you can still save money during your move, however, and that is by cutting down the costs of your move altogether.

A full service move is the preferred choice for most business professionals and busy families who don’t have the time or resources to pack and transport their goods themselves. By choosing a self service move over a full service move, though, can save you a lot of money, which is very important for families right now.

As a matter of fact, the main reason people choose a Self Service Move is to save on costs. It is less expensive to provide all of the manual labor themselves rather than hire a moving company to do it.

By using this option you will be contracting a moving company to deliver a large trailer or moving truck to your home. You and any family or friends that you can recruit will then load the truck with your furniture and boxed belongings. A professional driver will deliver your goods safe and sound to your new home, eliminating the worry of driving a big truck yourself.

Saving money and cutting down costs is important, and a Self Service Move is a great way to do just that.

Residential moves have their share of hazards, especially when people decide to move everything themselves even though they are not accustomed to physical labor. There are some well known tips for packing and moving that most everyone follows, such as bending and lifting with your knees rather than your back and being careful not to overload boxes to avoid stressing muscles. These safety tips are relatively common knowledge, but many accidents happen due to some overlooked safety hazards.

Residential Moving and Safety Concerns:

• Walkways and Pathways
  Before you begin to unload the trailer at your new home, take a moment to review the pathways that you will be taking from the trailer and into the home. Check for any uneven sidewalk or walkway areas that can cause tripping. If you have steps in your front walkway, make sure they are clearly seen and that everyone is aware of how many steps there are. (You won‘t be able to see them if you‘re carrying large boxes!)
• Slippery when Wet
  Many common surfaces become slick when wet. While the common culprit is rain, dew collecting in the early morning can also cause slippery surfaces. Before you begin to unload, lay down a traction mat, which can be rented from your moving company. This type of mat is especially helpful if you will be walking over grassy areas and serve a double purpose of clearly marking where you want people to walk.

Taking advantage of some fast safety tips will not only help ensure your safety, but also help make sure your goods remain intact, rather then shattered after being dropped on a slick sidewalk.

The current economic situation has caused a number of corporations to shut offices and relocate key employees to a more central location. This in turn causes an increased number of people embarking on long distance moves due to job or career change. Luckily, there are some ways to recoup the financial losses involved with such a move.

The rules for moving-related tax deductions vary from government to government and sometimes state to state. In the U.S., moving expenses can be claimed if individuals or families moved in the previous year because of a change in job location or because they started a new job. That’s the good news. Now here are the details:

Tax Rules for Long Distance Moving Deductions:

The new corporate location must be at least 50 miles farther from your previous residence than the previous corporate location. That sounds a little wordy, but it basically means that if your old house was 10 miles from the corporation location then the corporation had to have moved at least 60 miles from your home’s location for you to qualify for reimbursement of corporate related moving costs for your move.

The IRS will figure the distance using the shortest of the more commonly traveled routes. In other words, you cannot take the scenic route to ensure that you meet the mileage requirement.

Again, remember that the IRS only considers the location of your old home and its distance to the original corporation versus the distance to where the corporation relocated to.

If you are in luck and you find that your long distance move due to a job change falls within the distance limits for tax deductions then you have safely passed the first of a few criteria that the government has set up for this special tax deduction.