It’s the classic approach-avoidance conflict: On one hand, moving usually involves a welcome change–a bigger place, a nicer neighborhood or better schools. On the other hand, it involves the kind of hassle that most people would give anything to avoid.
Packing and unpacking and settling into a new place can be so physically and emotionally draining that some people may wish they’d never decided to move in the first place.
While there’s no magic remedy for taking all of the hassles out of moving, there are some steps you can take to make your move a little less painful. With a little bit of organization and preparation, your next move can be a smoother one.
After finding the perfect new apartment and finalizing the moving date, discarding items you no longer need will make moving much easier. For one thing, why–especially if you are doing your own moving–lug items you no longer have any use for to your new apartment? Why not get rid of some things and make moving day less physically exhausting? And if you are paying professional movers to haul your life’s possessions, why pay them to move boxes of items you no longer use?
That’s the advice that professional organizer Mary Piccoli, owner of Elmwood Park-based Great Assistants, gives to many of her clients. Piccoli helps apartment dwellers and homeowners organize their belongings before moving, and assists them on the day of the move with unpacking and putting away their belongings.
“I tell people anything they have not used or worn in a year, or boxes that haven’t been opened from a prior move, they need to get rid of. It doesn’t make sense to pay for a mover to move an item you haven’t used in a long time.
“And most people have limited space wherever they’re moving to. Ninety-nine percent of the people that I help move, very seldom are they moving from a smaller place to a much larger place. My main concern is that people need to downsize and get rid of things they don’t like or use.”
It’s important, too, when planning a move, to allow plenty of time to go through your possessions, advises Phyllis Miller, a Chicago apartment dweller who moved from a studio apartment in Lincoln Park to a one-bedroom apartment in the Edgewater neighborhood two years ago.
“You have to start getting rid of things as early as possible,” Miller says. “I didn’t allow enough time to sort through my papers, so I ended up just dumping papers into boxes and sorting them after I moved.”
When it comes to paperwork, Piccoli notes that people are often scared because they don’t know what to throw out and what to keep. She tells her clients that if it’s not a tax-related item and doesn’t relate to the place you’re currently living in, get rid of it.
Instead of holding a garage sale to get rid of things, Piccoli tells her clients to make donations to the charity of their choice. “Give your things to someone who can use them, like a women’s shelter,” Piccoli says. “Don’t even bother having a garage sale. You’re wasting your time and you’ll never get what the deduction would be for a donation.”
In addition to discarding unused items, being well-organized and preparing a checklist of what needs to be done before moving day, will go a long way towards guaranteeing a smoother transition into your new place.
U-Haul International, specialists in do-it-yourself moving, offers a Moving-Day Countdown list and suggests that two to four weeks before moving, you do the following: Reserve equipment for moving day, considering extras such as dollies, rope and furniture pads; buy packing supplies and start packing boxes; sell or donate unwanted household items; and send change-of-address cards to magazines, charge accounts, friends and relatives.
One to two weeks before moving, the following tasks should be completed: Have clothes dry-cleaned; set a date for utility disconnection at your old place and hookup at your new apartment; and return borrowed items and pick up the things you have lent to friends and relatives.
Finally, on the day before moving, have everything packed and ready to load except bedding, and pick up ice and beverages for moving day.
When it comes to transporting household items, you can hire professional movers to do the job. If you decide to hire professionals, there are several factors to keep in mind.
First, make sure that the mover you hire is a reputable one. “I would never again hire a mover I didn’t have enough information about,” says Miller. “The mover I used couldn’t find my apartment in Lincoln Park, and didn’t call to let me know he wasn’t coming on the day he was supposed to. I ended up moving three days later.”
One way to check the reputation of a mover is to check the company’s records with the Springfield-based Illinois Commerce Commission. Illinois moving companies should be members, and by checking with the Illinois Commerce Commission (217-782-6448), you can find out if complaints have been lodged against the mover you’re planning to use.
It’s also important to find out if an estimate includes a mover’s packing of possessions. The estimate should be lower if you pack your own items than if the moving company packs for you.
And you might want to consider packing breakable items yourself instead of counting on the moving company to deliver them in pristine condition. Often moving and public storage companies sell newsprint for wrapping that won’t rub off on delicate items.
You can save some money by renting a van or truck and moving your household items yourself. A round-trip move from the Northwest Side of Chicago to downtown Chicago in an average-size 14-foot truck (with optional insurance) will run about $57, according to independent U-Haul dealer Roy Lago.
Make sure that you rent a van or truck that will hold all of your possessions. U-Haul has a handy planning chart that can help you select the right size vehicle. The 10-foot air-conditioned “mini-mover,” for example, measures 9 feet 10 inches by 5 feet 8 inches by 5 feet 10 inches and holds approximately 15 boxes and a queen-size bed.
It’s also important that you have the necessary tools for your move, including dollies, furniture pads, boxes, bubble wrap and sealing tape. Some do-it-yourself moving companies such as U-Haul allow individuals to rent or purchase these essential items.
Whether you hire a mover or move on your own, don’t forget to reserve your vehicle well in advance of your moving date (particularly during the busier spring and fall moving times), and to enlist some friends to help you on moving day.
” I had a girlfriend stay at my new apartment to wait for the truck, and another girlfriend in my old apartment directing the movers,” says Miller, who used professional movers for her move. “Moving is so overwhelming and physically tiring that I also arranged to be with my friends that night and took them all out for pizza.”
