The Moving Planner Blog

And count down to 2008 :) 

EIGHT WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE
Obtain a floor plan of your new residence and decide what household items you want to keep.
Begin an inventory of all household goods.
Solicit estimates from several moving companies.
Contact your insurance agent, and ask them about your homeowners policy to determine whether your possessions are cove when moving.
Establish a file for all moving papers and receipts.
Arrange to transfer child(ren)’s school records.
Choose a mover. 

SIX WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE
Begin search for good health-care professionals in your new location.
Fill out post-office change of address cards.
Send your new address to anyone that might need it — insurance agents, credit card companies, magazine subscriptions, friends, relatives, etc.
Clean out closets and dispose of all items that you will not be taking with you.
Hold a moving/garage sale or donate items to charities.
 
FOUR WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE
For self moves, reserve a truck or trailer. Obtain necessary moving supplies: boxes, twine, labels, etc. 
Start packing!!
If your mover is doing the packing, arrange for it to be done one or two days before loading begins.
Send furniture, drapes and carpets for repair or cleaning as needed.
Begin to use up overstocks of staple foods.
Gather valuable personal papers that you may need at your destination location, including medical and dental records, school records, birth certificates, etc.
Make travel plans and arrange any motel or other reservations.
 
THREE WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE
Arrange to have utilities (gas, electric, phone, cable, water, etc.) disconnected in your present home, and connected at your new home.
Ready car registration and insurance records for transfer.
Notify State Motor Vehicle Bureau of your new address.
Arrange for child care on moving day.
If necessary, reserve apartment elevator for pickup and/or delivery dates.
 
TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOU MOVE
Arrange to move pets.
Check with mover about moving house plants. (Some movers will not move plants.)
Dispose of all items too dangerous to move, including flammable liquids.
If necessary, have your automobile serviced and ready for the trip.
 
ONE WEEK BEFORE YOU MOVE
Transfer all bank accounts.
Cancel newspaper delivery.
Have enough medication to last at least two weeks. Have prescriptions forwarded to a pharmacy at your new destination.
Buy traveler’s checks.
Make arrangements to pay for your move.
Withdraw items and close safety deposit boxes.
 
TWO DAYS BEFORE YOU MOVE
Have mover pack your goods (unless doing it yourself).
Defrost and dry refrigerators and freezers to be moved.
Set aside valuable items to carry with you including jewelry, sterling silver jewelry, vital documents, money and valuable small items.
 
MOVING DAY
Be on hand to answer questions and give directions to movers and stay until they are finished.
Accompany driver for inventory of your household goods.
Complete information on bill of lading and carefully read the document before you sign it.
Make sure you have your copies of the bill of lading and inventory.
Keep the bill of lading until your possessions are delivered, the charges are paid, and any claims are settled.
Before the van leaves, take one final look through the house to make certain nothing has been left behind.
Give the driver directions to your new home.
Notify the driver and the van line where you can be reached during the move.
 
DELIVERY DAY
Be on hand to answer any questions and give directions.
You must pay the driver before your goods can be unloaded. This is a Federal requirement for interstate moves.
Supervise unloading and unpacking.
Check carefully for any damaged or missing items.
Note on the inventory any damaged boxes or obvious damage to unboxed items before you sign anything.
 

HAPPY MOVING!  and Happy 2008

You are ready to move! Your things are packed, you have a smile on your face and everything is looking good. The movers are there. In fact they were early! Everything seems to be going according to plan. You decide to go to Starbucks while the movers are carrying your things out. After all, you’ve earned it! You organized a huge move and you have everything running smoothly. You go to Starbucks and grab yourself something with loads of caffeine in it. As you head back to your soon to be old place, you smile with gratification at how well you’ve handled things. You did it! You rock! When you get back, to your amazement, you discover that the movers have cleared everything out and loaded everything into their truck. Yes! Thanks to your great planning and project management skills, you are on your way to being finished with the move!

The movers follow you to the new place. As they pull up, you think about the unpacking you have to do. You don’t wince a bit. Unpacking is no problem for you because you are the super-mover! You leap tall boxes in a single bound. You can unpack with the best of them. You aren’t worried. You notice that some of the movers seem preoccupied with a few of your boxes. You watch them. Ok. Nothing is wrong you determine from a distance. You go back to thinking about how wonderful you are. As you stand there observing with your satisfied smile, one of your new neighbors comes over to greet you. “Welcome!” You smile, laugh and talk with your new neighbor. You are witty and charming and your new neighbor is impressed. You have had such a pleasant move that you are in an awesome mood.

You wrap up your conversation with your new neighbor and go inside to unpack. The movers bring in the last box. You tip the head guy and they leave. Ahhh, the sweet smell of success! You managed to plan, coordinate and pull of a move without a hitch. You are really something! You decide to start unpacking things in the corner with the most boxes. As you begin unpacking you notice something odd. Some of the boxes seem to be damaged. It looks as if the movers slammed some of the heavier boxes down on top of some lighter weight boxes thereby crushing the smaller boxes. Oh no! What can this mean? What are you going to do? You don’t panic. You are, after all, the super-mover. You open the first box. It had a coffee maker and those goofy coffee cups a friend purchased that you just hated. Guess what? They are all smashed to pieces. Oh no! Caffeine at any time of the day! Now that you can’t have that, what will you do! The temperature starts to rise in your body as you rush to another box. You slice the top open in a hurry almost taking your fingers off. Slow down! You’re breathing heavy as you lift the flap of the box and peer sheepishly inside. Oh my goodness! Everything is broken in this box too. As you scurry from box to box like a squirrel on steroids, your mind is racing. What are you going to do? Who are you going to blame for this mess? How could you have missed this? Well you were outside talking to that darn neighbor! You did go to Starbucks and get that caffeinated something. Maybe that’s when it happened.

As you finish going through the boxes, your smile has faded. You realize now that this Moving company damaged your property. You are angry and upset. You want restitution and you want it now! You grab your camera and start taking pictures of the damage. One plate, two plates, three plates, four. Five plates, six plates, seven plates more. You count the damage like a kid counting in a nursery rhyme. As you count, you try to remember what you just did with that invoice the head moving guy gave you. You finish taking pictures and counting and you remember where you put that piece of paper. You pick the paper up and scan it quickly for the address. You are going over to the office of this Moving company RIGHT NOW to show them the damage they inflicted on your precious belongings. Oh but wait! There is no address! What? No address? Yep, no address!

How can this be? How can there NOT be an address for this business? Now that you think about it, you did just pick them out of the phone book. There was nothing but a banner that said something about great movers and their phone number. There was, however, no street address and no city and state. You take a deep breath. Surely 411 will be able to help! You dial 411 and wait impatiently for an operator to take the line. “Acme Movers please.” The operator responds dryly, “City and state please.” You gasp as you move the phone to your chest. You realize that you don’t even know the city and state of this company. What are you going to do?

This scenario plays out across the world everyday. When you move, you shouldn’t just trust your belongings to anyone. You’ve worked hard for the things you have and your Moving company should reflect that. You need movers you can trust. You need movers with a solid reputation and you need movers that have an actual physical address for their business not just some phone number for you to call. Moving is serious. When you have a problem or when you need to ask questions, you need to be able to do it in person or over the phone. Moving companies with physical offices provide you with some assurance that the business is going to be around tomorrow. And, if something does happen to the company, there is a viable lease paper trail for them that can perhaps allow you to pursue legal remedies against them. Companies with just a phone number can operate out of any place, by any person. You really have no way of knowing what’s going on with a Moving company like that. A lot of people think a SOHO office isn’t important. However, it is very important. Often the location of a business will determine where you have to go to pursue any legal issues. If all you have is a 1-800 number, you may have a hard time legally getting to any money you should receive for damage to your property. Not to mention the fact that a Moving company with a SOHO office provides you with a place to go and scream. Yeah, you can call someone over at the Moving company to scream about your stuff, but, as we all know, caller id is easy to use to screen those pesky unsatisfied customer calls. Once they know your number and that you are dissatisfied, they will probably stop picking up your calls. Now do you think that it’s worth the risk?

When it comes to your important possessions, play it safe. Select a Reputable Moving Company. Make sure the company has references and make sure that you take the time to contact those references. Invest the time to go to the Moving company’s office. How does the office look? Is it well kept? Is it a pigsty? How a business office is maintained can tell you a lot about the company right away. If things are out of order and in disarray, that is probably exactly how that business is managed. Make sure the company offers insurance. Make sure you know their policy on damage to your goods. Never do business with a company that just has a phone number. You may not be able to reach anyone at that number should you require assistance or need help with claims. Don’t just select a company because of the price. Doing that can end up costing you less in the short term, but way more in the long run. Invest in your things and choose the right mover. Your valuables are counting on you.

Nice long distance comment by Shtara Williams.

Moving long distance can be a lot of fun IF YOU PLAN IN ADVANCE. I emphasize that, PLAN IN ADVANCE. That isn’t to say if something unexpected comes up you can’t move immediately, you can, but you should consult those who are out there to help you.

If you do know in advance that a move is coming up and to where the location of that move will be, half the chaos can be avoided and the actual fun of the planning can begin. Is your move going to be permanent? If so, you might get on the computer and do some checking on home values in the new area. Get to know what is on the market there, and don’t forget to do the same for your present local area, assuming you will sell your home here.

Do you plan to pack and move everything yourself, take advantage of one of the state to state truck rentals? If so you are in for a LOT of work, but it can be done. First, start thinking of what you absolutely must keep vs. things you would like to keep but isn’t necessary. The next step is to start separating these things, making a third section of the stuff you don’t want to keep, even if you could. If you would like to make a little extra money, think of a garage sale, otherwise Salvation Army or the Red Cross might be glad to haul off your castoffs; a lot of churches also might like to have things to give to the needy.

The ‘easy’ way is to call one of the coast to coast, or nation to nation movers. They will come in, pack your goods and even store them until the move. You will still have to separate the wanted from the needed and what you don’t want at all. This will leave you free to spend more time house hunting in the new area of the country and to talk to local realtors about your present home.

Kids hate to be pulled away from schools they are comfortable in as well as their friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. Today with our chat rooms and messenger services they NEVER have to be totally pulled away. The kids can chat everyday with their friends and exchange pictures as the school year advances. With the free long distance rates offered by most cell phone companies after 7pm, they can even call their friends in the evenings once the homework is finished,if your move is some states away.

The great thing about today’s world of moving is that old friends are as reachable as they were before the move, regardless of whether the move is across the nation or around the world. As long as you make sure the new home has easy internet access, you are never disconnected from ‘home’.

If you are driving your car to another state, check out the sights to see along the way. For instance, if you are making the move along I40 (Interstate 40) in the USA, and you pass through New Mexico and Arizona on the way to California, or heading east from California, you are going to see some neat things. There is the huge crater in Arizona that was made thousands of years ago when a meteor plunged onto our planet; not too far from the crater is the ORIGINAL London Bridge. It was taken up, brick by brick and reassembled here in the USA, in of all places, the desert. Then, continuing east you will encounter the Painted Desert. Here rocks of all colors reign supreme, a nature-made painting on the canvas of the desert, very close to the Painted Desert is the Petrified Forest. A forest stood in primeval glory until the meteor fell from the sky to make the crater mentioned earlier.

Make a vacation of the move, something that will be remembered as the years pass by. If you are not hauling your own belongings down the interstate, or up the interstate, your main worry right now will be getting to the next motel and what do you want for dinner tonight. If you have chosen to carry everything yourself, then make sure the cold box has enough ice in it, and you’ve got everything waiting for the next Rest Area.

In today’s world we can make a move of thousands of miles and enjoy it all the way. Gone are the months of wagon train torture, gone are the mid-twentieth century’s headaches. Kids crying because they ‘HATE’ this move or their very real fear they might not be liked at the new home. Whether you are moving from some small American town to another six states away, or to a villa north of Madrid, Spain, it can be one of the most memorable journey’s of your life. A joyous journey, one to save dozens of snapshots, thanks to the ‘new’ digital cameras.

Moving can be fun. Make the best of it and enjoy!

Citysearch Audiences in South Florida Vote FlatRate Best Mover — No Contest!

Miami, FL (PRWEB) November 28, 2007 — When asked to vote for the best mover in the city, Miami chose FlatRate Moving as the hands-down winner. With a steamy climate, gorgeous views, and a population that’s always on the move, it’s no surprise that Miami residents knows their moving companies. Now Miami has chosen local favorite FlatRate Moving as the Best Mover in its latest Best of Citysearch (BOC) award, courtesy of the audiences and editors at Citysearch. FlatRate has already achieved multiple awards for its New York branch, from both Citysearch and Forbes Enterprise — now FlatRate’s Florida offices have achieved Number One status for their quality, ease, and flat-rate prices on moving day.

The secret to FlatRate Florida’s success? Commitment. “We make a promise to customers and keep that promise with every move,” comments Relocation Consultant Natalie Moore. “So many moving quotes seem to offer one thing, yet deliver another, with (worst of all) hourly quotes that too often multiply on moving day into many times the original estimate. FlatRate was built upon the idea of a single, simple quote based on inventory, and that’s what we maintain — with no surprises, and no fluctuating costs.” This commitment combines with FlatRate’s highly skilled movers (each of whom undergoes an intensive training program), friendly staff, and superb trucks to create the perfect move every time.

FlatRate Florida provides a wide variety of relocation services, with support on every aspect of the moving process — from planning and packing, to transport, unpacking, and more. Its services extend beyond Miami to offer local, national, and international moving support originating from throughout South Florida. For every move, its guaranteed price includes:

• Careful and strategic wrapping of all pieces of furniture for maximum protection
• Packing and unpacking of all electronics (including TV’s, stereos, speakers, microwaves, computers, VCR and DVD players, and more)
• Packing and unpacking of all pictures, mirrors, rugs, and lamps.
• Packing and unpacking of all hanging wardrobes (with FREE wardrobe boxes on the day of the move)

But Miami’s FlatRate Moving isn’t just a hit with Citysearch audiences. As proud members of the Better Business Bureau, FlatRate stands among the top 5% of companies, with zero complaints in the past 36 months! The company has achieved rave reviews and unparalleled customer feedback, plus superb editorial ratings, awards, and more, in its ascent to become South Florida’s top mover.

“We’re proud and delighted to have been voted Miami’s top mover,” adds Moore, “and we’ll continue to work hard to maintain that trust with every move we make.”

About FlatRate Florida

FlatRate Florida is one of five superb locations offered by FlatRate Moving nationwide. With a flagship location in New York City, and with three other strategic locations across the U.S. (in New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles), Flatrate Florida is part of an ongoing commitment to flat-rate pricing with no hassles, and no surprises. FlatRate Florida is able to meet the needs of any move, from residential, to commercial, and from local to cross-country or even overseas moves. Committed to integrity, and to earning the goodwill of its customers, FlatRate Florida’s excellence and honesty within the moving industry has made the company the mover of choice in South Florida today, and that commitment has directly led to its latest Citysearch award. The company is also committed to giving back to the community on a local and international level, as well.

For more information on FlatRate Florida, please visit http://www.flatrate.com/fl/ For more information on FlatRate’s five superb locations nationwide, please visit http://www.Flatrate.com or http://www.Flatratemoving.com.

To view FlatRate Florida’s Best of Citysearch Award results, please click http://miami.citysearch.com/bestof/winners/mover.

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The time you move is your oppertunity to throw away old furnitures and get new ones! Ergonomic Furniture can make a great difference to the health of many people. With putting a little bit of extra effort in designing ergonomic X99 chair, Traditional Casegoods, Zody Chair, Keyboard draws, and Flat panel monitor arms employers can improve the productivity of their employees. This will also make employees feel more comfortable and minimize the possibilities of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

According to a study, it is not the time you spent on computers that cause these MSDs, but the factor responsible for MSDs are the poorly designed office furnitures. A well-designed ergonomic office furniture can prevent many injuries and illnesses. It would be not an exaggeration to say that ergonomic office furniture may offer biggest economic advantages to employers in reduced health insurance costs.

Zody Chair - Meet Zody, the high performance task chair that blends science based wellness and comfort, international design, and best in class sustainability. Science. Zody is the only chair to have PAL a patent pending user selected asymmetrical lumbar support system and a passive pelvic support. The back support system was developed with the help of the Human Performance Institute at Western Michigan University. As a result of this research, Zody earned the first ever task chair endorsement by the American Physical Therapy association.

Keyboard draws - Keyboard Drawer, Steel Platform,Gel Arm Rest,16″Slides,7 Position Height Adjustment. Keyboard Drawer, Accessory Tray, Keyboard Drawer With Mouse Solution, Adjustable, Articulating Keyboard Trays. 

X99 chair - X99 family answers every seating need. Achieve excellence through synergy. Harmony through unity. Stimulate your body and mind with a chair that is both captivating and stylish. Designed and engineered for a global environment by Haworth, Comforto and Germany’s ITO Design, X99 maintains the highest level of performance. The exhilarating ride is highly responsive to all body movements, and every personal adjustment has been precisely engineered. A brilliant integration of design with performance.

Flat panel monitor arms - Flat Panel Monitor Arm,Stellaris Clamp Mount LA2-23,Arms Fold Back, 14″ of Horizontal Movement, Tilt/Pivot.

Flat Panel Monitor Arm,LA2-2500 Stellaris Enhanced System,2-3 Monitor Support,29.5″ Vertical Pole,14″ of Horizontal.  

Traditional Casegoods - Load of parts, configurations, and individual casegoods are available in this Traditional Casegoods series.