No Sweat Tips for Managing a Long Distance Move

June is smack-dab in the middle of moving season! And while moving during the summer brings unique challenges, long-distance moves can be even harder. If you’re moving to a far-flung location, your movers likely can’t get your belongings to your new home within a few hours. Whatever your reason for a long-distance move, we have a few tips to ensure that despite the heat, you won’t be sweating it.

1. Start Organizing Now
Create a moving checklist with everything you need to do before the move happens. Arrange all tasks in order of importance, so everything gets accomplished promptly. Bonus tip: When organizing this list, put a deadline beside each responsibility, so you’re accountable for completing it.

2. Hire Your Movers
Remember, a long-distance move isn’t something you want to tackle on your own. Ensure your moving company is experienced with long-distance moves. A professional long-distance moving company will ease your stress level considerably!

3. Budget for Your Long-Distance Move
Determining your budget can be more complicated than you expect. While you may have moved 10 or even 100 miles before, long-distance moves are more expensive. The good news is that your chosen moving company should give you an accurate estimate based on your home’s size and the distance, so you can budget accordingly.

4. Consider Shipping Your Car
You may decide you’re not comfortable driving your car a long way, which is why you might consider hiring a company to ship your car to your new destination while you fly there.

5. Decide What Stays and What Goes
It’s essential to decide if you want to keep all the furniture in your current home. For example, if the couch has seen better days and you know you want a new one, why move with it? Remember, the combined weight of your belongings dictates the cost of your long-distance move.

6. Pack Your Trickiest Rooms First
You’ll find packing the complicated areas of your home first can help relieve a lot of the tension that comes with moving a long distance. Start with storage areas like basements, attics, garages and even spare bedrooms. Most people opt to leave their bathrooms and bedrooms for last when packing.

7. Be Aware of What You Can’t Pack
There are limitations to what you can pack and move when working with a long-distance moving company. For example, it’s against the law for any moving company to move anything flammable, explosive or corrosive. You also can’t have your mover move pets, plants or any perishable foods.

8. Get Pets Ready for the Move
If you are flying to your new location, ensure the vet has approved your pet for flying and go over any health conditions that could pop up. If you are driving, map out where to stop for restroom breaks, what hotels accept pets, etc.

9. Pack a Suitcase for Yourself and Your Family
When you move a long distance, it can take one to two weeks for all your items to arrive at your new home. For that reason, have a suitcase containing all the things you may need until your furniture arrives at your new home. This essential bag should contain clothing, medications, a first-aid kit, jewelry, important documents, etc.

10. Make Time to Say Goodbye to Your Old Home
Not only are you moving out of your home, but you are also moving away from an area where you might have established roots. Since this is a long-distance move, chances are you may not see your friends and family in person as often as you would like anymore. Luckily, with technology, you can easily stay in touch with those you leave behind.

A long-distance move may seem daunting when you first have the idea of moving to a new location. However, when you work with the right moving company that handles long-distance moves and use these tips, your long-distance move won’t having you ripping your hair out or sweating everything you need to do.

Sincerely,

Rick Supplee, owner
Teachers Moving