Moving News and Relocation Advice

Moving in and of itself is stressful enough but when you are faced with moving that precious Steinway, it can be downright nerve wracking. Pianos are not only expensive, they are sensitive as well. Moving a piano will always throw it out of tune and the wrong hit or jar could not only damage the exterior but shift the delicate interior as well. Hire the wrong mover and an out of tune piano may be the least of your worries.

The first thing you want to do is find a company experienced in moving pianos. Don’t just pick any company that moves any old item. You can choose between “generalized” moving companies or specialty piano movers. There are many good moving companies that are also experienced in moving pianos. Get credentials. Ask questions.

You want to consider the crew that is scheduled to do your move. What kind of training do they have or how many pianos have they done? Apparently, the more experience they have, the better. You want a crew that works well together and has been handling pianos for long time.

The trucks should be well maintained, with good suspension. Should you have to store your piano then you should check the storage facility as well. You want your piano stored in a climate-controlled facility where it is not subject to acute temperature variations.

Regardless of everyone’s best efforts, damages can occur on a move. Make sure you get enough insurance to cover the cost of any damage that might be done, if it happens.

It is well worth your time to do good research for a mover that can handle your piano. Check with agencies like the Better Business Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce for credentials or any complaints that might have been filed against the companies you research. And always check the reviews from past customers.

It can be difficult to estimate how much it will cost to move large, heavy furniture items. Usually it is quite expensive yet necessary as it can be hard to move these items yourself, depending on the weight, shape and how many need to be moved.

Local moving companies typically charge based on the amount of time, employees and truck space needed for your move. Larger or heavier furniture in a local move will not raise the costs of your move as long as they do not require more than the average number of employees to move them.

In contrast, long-distance moving companies calculate their charges based on the weight of your goods. Therefore, should you have larger or heavier furniture, the costs of your move will be higher. Long-distance moving companies charge based on the cubic feet for your move. For a typical household, the cubic feet of your move will be converted into pounds, usually within the range of 1 to 7 pounds. Therefore, the heavier your items the more cubic feet the company will anticipate to need, raising the cost of your move.

The size of your furniture will affect the amount a company charges, but only if your move is local. To anticipate the cost of moving a larger piece of furniture, compare it to regular-sized pieces. If your piece is much larger than other items, it will require more employees to move it, which is more expensive. While removing drawers and shelves may make the item lighter, it may not make it less bulky, meaning you will still need the same amount of employees.

It is nearly impossible for you to place large items on a scale, but again comparing it to the typical size of the item will assist you in estimating the cost. As mentioned above, a company will convert the pounds of your move into cubic feet. A particularly heavy item, therefore, means more cubic feet. For example, the typical weight of a five-drawer chest is about 125 lbs. If a moving company converts using a ratio of 5 cubic feet, this means the chest will require 625 cubic feet. However, a ten or twelve drawer chest could easily weigh 250 to 300 lbs, meaning it would require 1,250 or more cubic feet inside a moving truck.

Using this conversion, you should be able to get your estimated moving costs on your large and heavily bulky furniture.

Unlike many other mammals, chinchillas are extremely sensitive to climate change and other environmental alterations. They are sensitive animals that can get distressed easily. So, if you are planning on a long distance move, take very strict precautions when moving your chinchilla.

First of all, before the move, keep your daily routine the same right up until moving time. Leave behind only the chinchilla(s) and supplies for the animal. The day of the trip, put the chinchilla in its cage along with some items from its cage and food. Putting items it is familiar with in the carrier will help comfort the animal.

Load the chinchillas into the car last so they can be the first to unload when you reach your destination. If the temperature outside is going to be hot, make sure you have a car with air conditioning. Chinchillas can become over heated very easily and die from the heat. Keep them in the cool house until right about time to move. Never leave a cage or carrier with a chinchilla inside out in sun even for a few moments.

Place the cages where someone can watch them at all times or at the least periodically during the trip. If the animals begin to get upset or hot, pull over and take care of them immediately. You don’t want a chinchilla emergency when you are nowhere near a vet.

Have the air conditioning already turned on and the house cool at the new location if it is hot there as well. If you have a quiet room, place your chinchilla there until the commotion is over.  Then you will have a happy chinchilla.

After moving in, place a box full of sand outside its cage and let it take a bath. This is a playful time for a chinchilla and will allow you and your pet to relieve the stress of your move.

Pool tables are one of those big and bulky items that are never easy to move. Unless you bring it in on a flatbed and have it in a garage with a door wide enough to haul it in without taking it apart, that is. However, unlike moving something like a piano, pool tables can be taken apart and put back together.

Your average pool table weighs around 1,000 pounds. To make this whole process easier, try to get some of your friends to help you out, around three or four should do the trick. Once you have the right amount of guys and gals, the first thing you need to do to move the pool table is to disassemble the pool table.

First things first: Make sure you have the proper tools, such as staple puller, flat head screw driver and goggles to protect your eyes.  Use the staple puller to remove the staples from out of the pocket straps. Make sure you find the correct pocket size to take out the bolts from underneath the rails. An average table will have around three for each rail. The rails should be ready to pop out so just pull them off and slide them out individually.

Now the table needs to be flipped over. Use caution, however, as the side pockets could collapse from the impact of the weight. Once it’s over, the pockets can be easily removed.

Next, remove the felt. Chances are it’s either glued or stapled to the table, or possibly even both. If it’s stapled, you’re going to go around the table and remove each staple. If the felt is glued to the table, be gentle, because it’s possible to rip the felt near the pocket areas. Once the felt is off, you’re headed towards the home stretch.

Next, you have to remove the slate from the frame. The best tool to remove the screws from the slate is a drill with replaceable screwdriver heads. Some tables have those hard-to-find screws; they could be covered up with either plaster or beeswax. Beeswax can be dug out with any screwdriver, but if its plaster, you’re going to need a carbide drill to get the plaster out. Go slowly with the drill, you could ruin the screw head. The slate should have a screw on each corner. Once the screws are removed, remove the legs and it is ready for shipment.

Then, once you’ve moved, you’ll have to put the pool table together again, but that’s a different story.

You have a manufactured home and wish to move its location. First thing you have to do is weigh the pros and cons. Do you need to move your home or would it cost less to buy a new home elsewhere?

There are a few things to consider when you are going to move any manufactured home from mobile park to mobile park, or park to private plot.

Lets just say, for example, you are moving across country from east to western United States, and at the end of the journey the hauler has to move the home up a mountain slope. Then he has to carefully load the house onto land that has rocky obstacles.

This may need the help of some specialist equipment such as cranes, jacks, earth movers and more employees. So, when planning your move you will have to make sure all these costs are factored into the price of your move. It could mean nearly doubling your hauling and set up costs.

In most cases, your manufactured home can be moved quite easily by the mover, who will carefully use hydraulic lifting gear to lift your house onto the back of a long trailer. Depending on the size of your home, this will be done in either one, two or three journeys. For example, a single-wide home will usually require one journey.

You will also need to make room in your budget for your personal moving costs, such as furniture, clothing garden items you may wish to take and, of course, yourself.

A good case to make in relation to manufactured homes is that they are very affordable in terms of cost per unit. Depending on the size of a manufactured home and its age you can purchase one for as little as $10,000 for a reasonable quality and sized home.

Wardrobe Moving Boxes are heavy duty storage boxes with “rods” in them where you can hang clothing and other items from your wardrobe. These specialty boxes are very useful while moving, and can even be useful after a move.  If you are in the midst of moving house, these boxes might be something that you want to consider to make your moving easier and more organized.

It is a good idea to get a standard size of 24″ X  24″ X 40″. This will give you enough breadth and depth to carry all the necessary clothing you might have (unless you have much more than a closetful - then you can packs into storage bins or boxes). This also makes your clothes look neatly arranged minus the nasty clutter.

When buying moving boxes for wardrobe, make sure you get the kind mentioned at the top of this post: heavy duty with metal bars along the top for hanging. You can transfer your clothing direct from your closet right onto the bars in the moving box.

Wardrobe boxes should be collapsable in three different ways. Why is this important? Well, this is for easy storage once you have finished using them. If your house doesn’t have much space to begin with, this is absolutely critical.

Or, you can use them in your new home. They are great for spare clothing you can keep in storage or in the basement (if kept in the basement, place moisture absorbers inside so moisture does not get trapped inside and ruin your clothing. Put moth balls and mice repellent in there as well. Better to have clothes that smell like moth balls than eaten away by critters).

So what will you need to buy in order to pack up your things and how can you get yourself some cheap moving supplies - or even free ones? Smart moving goes beyond mere boxes and tape. Here are some things to consider that can really help cut your moving costs.

1. One of the best pieces of advice is to begin packing early so that you can avoid purchasing too many moving supplies. If you do a little at a time you’ll know how much you need. However, don’t merely go out and aqcuire one box at a time. Get the average amount of boxes you think you will need persuant to the amount of items you have to move and go from there.
2. Save newspapers for awhile prior to your move. They make for good packing material. One caution, however, is do not use newspaper on anything porous or that could draw the ink out of the paper, such as materials. The ink will bleed and you will have a mess on your hands (which, by the way, you will literally have unless you wear gloves as the ink will come off onto your skin).
3. Ask everyone you know to save you boxes. If you know a local store owner, ask them too. Be sure the boxes are extra secure and heavily corrugated. You don’t want the bottom dropping out during the move.
4. Watch sales flyers for discounts on moving supplies. You can also check online. Many moving companies offer sales and discounts. Look for close-outs and off-season sales.
5. Keep an eye out for coupons that will get you a cheap truck rental.
6. For an easy local move, ask friends and relatives to help you move.
7. Clean house before packing and get rid of absolutely everything you don’t need. You’ll have less to bring with you.
8. Make sure you don’t rent a truck or van that is too big. The extra space is space you will be paying for but not using.

It’s just as important to have the right moving supplies as it is to have the right amount. Do you planning well in advance to ensure you have the right moving supplies on the day of your move.

Where will you stay the night before you depart for your big move? A hotel or motel might be most comfortable and convenient, but you could save a decent amount of money if you stay the night with a friend or relative. Or, if you have the gear, maybe you’d enjoy unrolling your sleeping bag and “roughing it” on your living room floor the night before you leave town? If you do, try to get hold of a sleeping pad or air mattress, which will help you get a good night’s sleep (you’re going to need it).

If you do need to stay in a motel, look into motel discounts along your route. Your automobile club membership may qualify you for a better rate. When you call about them, ask if the hotel or motel includes a breakfast with your stay. If your move involves an overnight stay and you’re game for camping, check into campgrounds and RV parks along your route. Be sure to ask whether a moving truck is allowed. Some parks have size restrictions; some RV parks may not welcome moving trucks; and some limit the number of vehicles allowed in a campsite.

Don’t forget to eat, you will need to keep up your strength, particularly on long distance moves. Try to balance your need to save money with your (and your family’s) health and comfort needs. Try to have at least one solid, nutritious, sit-down meal each day.

Breakfast can be a budget - and schedule - friendly meal purchased at a grocery or convenience store and eaten on the road: fruit, muffins, and juice for, example. Lunch prices at sit-down restaurants are typically cheaper than dinner prices. Consider having a hot lunch and then picnicking in your hotel or motel on supplies from a grocery store.

You are about to move to a new home. This home is not just new to you, it is brand new. You have bought a newly constructed home, either through an already established property builder or you commissioned it for your family.

If you are buying a newly constructed home in a subdivision or development, sign on the dotted line as soon as possible. Purchasing a new home before standard flooring, cabinets, fixtures and appliances are installed expands your decorating options and eliminates the expense of replacing those materials (the ones you would never have chosen) later.

Keep in mind that tract-type builders translate few­er decisions, while semicustom builders generally offer a variety of packages featuring different upgrades along with floor plan options.

If you intend to enlist an interior designer for your new home, involve him or her as soon as possible to help determine color schemes and select appropriate finishes.

Your designer should have a copy of the blueprints or just the room, window, and doorway dimensions to choreograph furnishings. Get to the contractor quickly to take measurements or ask them to supply them. If you have a large bed frame such as a California King, you are not going to want small or narrow doorways.

Although it’s not always feasible, staggering closing times will allow you to work on your new home before you have to vacate the other home. Jobs like painting and decorating for yourself are easier when rooms are devoid of furniture and boxes.

Integrating new decorating ideas from room to room can sometimes present a challenge. If you prefer to do it yourself, try to find someone who can help you who has a good eye for design.

In Moving News and Relocation Advice, it’s been discussed that moving is a decision based on many criteria, such as job, family and personal preferences. But, what if you are a bachelor looking to move to a town or city that offers a great life for your style of living? There’s a city for that. There are articles and blogs on moving to the best cities for every lifestyle. This one if for you men.

Combos (as in the little pretzels with fun fillings) has just released their second annual list of America’s Manliest Cities. The cities were chosen from a list of the 50 largest cities in the U.S. The cities were then ranked based on several factors: sports, manly lifestyle, how many manly stores and jobs there are, the number of manly magazine subscriptions and the sales of salty snacks.

Now guys everywhere can make their living decisions based on the thing that really matters: How manly their city is. I hear a lot of grunting coming.

Top 10 Manliest Cities:

1. Charlotte, North Carolina
2. Columbus, Ohio
3. Kansas City, Missouri
4. Nashville, Tennessee
5. Baltimore, Maryland
6. Milwaukee, Wisconson
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Indianapolis, Indiana
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

When it comes to sports, Boston tops the list. Oh, and Memphis, Tennesee has the manliest lifestyle. Overall, the bottom three of the top 50 are Los Angeles, Miami and Portland, Oregon.

So, men, when you’re ready to plan your next move, think of where you can go to be the manly man you know you are.