How To Decide Which Moving Services Are Right For You

Whether you are happy or unhappy to be moving houses or offices, moving is a significant life stressor. You can help reduce your anxiety about getting yourself and your belongings relocated by developing a good understanding of the moving services available to help you make a successful transition and by learning tips for choosing the right mover.

Before selecting a mover, take a few minutes to think about your needs. Do you want to do most of the packing yourself, or would you prefer a full service mover who will handle all of the packing and unpacking for you?

When it comes to moving services, some people prefer to do everything themselves. They want to pack and load their own belongings, take care of the transportation, and unload and unpack at the new location. There are some advantages to this approach. It is usually less costly than hiring traditional movers, and people with a lot of fragile items such as fine china or delicate computer equipment may feel better doing all the handling themselves, rather than trusting movers who might accidentally cause damage. The disadvantages, or course, are that self-moving takes a lot of time and energy. It is also physically demanding. One person alone usually cannot manage it, especially if there is heavy furniture that must be moved.

Another moving services option is known as self service moving. In self service moving, a moving company delivers a pod or crate to your home. You pack all of your belongings and load them into the crate. You then notify the moving company, who transports the crate to your new residence. You are responsible for unloading and unpacking your things. This saves you the trouble of having to drive a moving truck or a van, but you are still the one providing all the physical labor of packing and loading. Like moving completely by yourself, self service moving is only a viable option if you have friends or family who can help you move.

Another popular moving services option is hiring the moving company to load, transport, and unload your belongings. You take responsibility for packing your household goods into boxes and unpacking them when they have reached your new location. You can often obtain boxes and other packing supplies from the moving company at little or no additional cost; alternatively, you may locate your own boxes or purchase ready-to-assemble boxes from office supply shops.

This limited-service moving option allows you to arrange your own belongings so that you can be sure that fragile items are carefully packaged and that the boxes are labeled and sorted to your satisfaction. It still requires time, energy, and a certain amount of physical labor, but at least you are spared the effort of having to load and unload heavy boxes and furniture.

A final type of moving services is called full service moving. If you arrange for full service moving, the movers will come to your home, pack up all of your belongings, load them onto the truck or van, transport them to the new location, unload them, and unpack them. Full service moving can be especially convenient if you are physically unable to handle the exertion of packing, if you have a full schedule and don't have time to pack, of if you are moving out of town or out of the country.

No matter which type of service you choose, it is important to select your mover carefully. You should only work with moving companies that are licensed and insured by the U. S. Department of Transportation. Movers should be able to provide a motor carrier license number. It's also a good idea to check with your local Better Business Bureau to make sure there are no complaints against the company you plan to use, and to ask the company for references. Finally, to avoid misunderstandings about cost, be sure to tell the moving company exactly which services you want and what type of items they will be moving. This will enable them to give you an accurate estimate.


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