The Ultimate Moving Checklist

Oh boy, the time has come – your local moving is approaching, and you are not even at the beginning of planning. Now, you are easily entering panic mode and it is becoming more and more complicated to even start. You are losing the energy, the patience, and time. But don’t worry! The solution is simple – you have to create a moving checklist. And you are covered when it comes to this! After you are done with reading this test, you will be as professional as local movers for the upcoming relocation. Let’s start! 

Notebook – where you will write down this checklist

Most people think it is enough to hire local movers and their job is done, but this is not accurate. You are the one that needs to make all the planning behind the scenes, and your local movers will be there to offer guidance and support. So, the first task you will have to do is to go and buy a notebook where you will keep all the details related to your move. Besides this checklist that you have to copy-paste, you should write down what your moving budget is and how much money you are planning to spend on what. Write down all the information about local movers that you are planning to call or that you have called already and scheduled. Many people tend to forget what professional movers they hired and the moving day arrives, and they have no idea who is coming to their address. It might seem funny now, and you might think that this is something that could never happen to you. But believe us, it can! Moving is a happy moment in your life since you are starting a new chapter, but it is chaotic at the same time. Being a part of the crew of local movers is not easy, we gathered the first-hand experience. 

Research is the key to finding experienced local movers

Was a part of your plan to type ‘movers San Diego’ on your internet search in order to find perfect professional movers that can help you out? This is a point where you will find out it is not as simple as that. But don’t be disappointed, it is definitely a good start, no one can argue that. So, type that on your internet search and bring that previously mentioned notebook and choose at least five moving companies that seem interesting to you. We are not saying that you should scroll through dozens of pages of local movers in order to choose your top five. But try to scroll further than the first five, it will be helpful. Now, let’s talk for a bit about local movers in general. How do you know what company has professional movers working there and which one doesn’t? It is not simple, because once you type those magical words ‘movers San Diego’ you will get hundreds and hundreds of local movers in that area only. And we are all aware of the fact that local movers don’t have the best reputation. The reason for that is simple, local moving companies are in the grey area – there are no certain rules or regulations, so every person can gather a group of people and rent a moving truck, and call themselves local movers. We can all guess they are not professional movers. But, how to figure these things out? As for any service, you will want to consult Yelp or Google reviews before hiring local movers. Choose those 5 companies and check out their reviews, websites, how they treat their customers, etc. See how often they are posting pictures of the relocations they did, and pay attention to how the local movers look alike. You should know that there is no such thing as service with all positive reviews, especially when we are talking about local movers. They are doing physical work for you, so mistakes can happen. The more important is how they handle those issues. This is the next step of your research – calling local movers that are checked by you. Once you call them, you will get the chance to talk to their customer support. That is the team of people that will be your main point of contact for every question or concern you might have, so they should be kind, helpful, and willing to help you out no matter the question. If all of this works out for you – hire local movers as soon as possible. Professional movers get booked up pretty fast, so don’t hesitate because you might end up going through the whole process from the beginning. 

Moving budget

We know, we know, it is rude to discuss one’s budget, but this is an extreme situation. Hiring local movers comes with certain expenses. Even if you are moving on your own, that too requires many expenses. The last thing you want is to spend too much money on your local move. Not because you are cheap, but because there is no need for that. Firstly, you should know there are many affordable movers out there who will offer you exceptional service. Most local movers charge hourly rates. Therefore there is a simple rule to determine the expense for this: the bigger the home, the higher the price. And this is normal. Besides the expenses for local movers, you will have to have a budget for packing supplies, transferring utilities, renovation, decoration, etc. Once you determine how much money you are willing to spend, you can think about whether you want to ask your local movers to help you with packing as well. 

Packing Materials

Unless you are hiring your local movers to help you with packing too, you will have to purchase packing material. Professional movers cannot sell this before the move, and it probably is not the best idea because it will be more expensive than going to Home Depot or Walmart and purchasing the moving kits. The most difficult part is figuring out how many boxes you might need, but your local movers can help you with a piece of advice when it comes to this. Also, there are many moving calculators online where you can find the answer too. However, you should purchase these ahead of time. Sometimes, even when you are hiring local movers for packing and moving, you might want to get your own boxes. Professional movers will definitely agree with that. You can always use some items that you have in your home as packing materials, such as storage bins, bins, garbage bags, suitcases, etc. Get creative with this! 

Packing itself – tips and tricks

We have come to the most hated part of every move – packing! Now, you have a couple of options when it comes to this, and the best solution is to hire local movers to help you with packing and moving. If this doesn’t fit your budget, you will have to do it on your own. And for you, we gathered the tips from professional movers to make it easier for you. First rule is to start in time! Don’t procrastinate when it comes to packing, because you will just make it worse. It’s simple, you need to be packed up and ready to go when your local movers get to your location. And when it comes to the actual packing task, you should always start with the least used rooms and continue towards the ones you are using daily. Speaking of, don’t forget to pack the essential bag that should contain everything you might need on a moving day and the first night in your new home. Another tip that we gathered from local movers is to pack the heavier items into smaller boxes, so you don’t fill them up with many too heavy things because it will be heavy for them to carry those, and also the box might not be able to hold it up. And finally, don’t leave any empty space in those boxes. Get packing paper or newspapers, towels, etc and fill out any empty space. 

Take a day off work, you will need it

In the ideal situation, you will be able to book your local movers on Saturday, so you will have some time to unpack the essentials and to settle down before you have to go back to work. On the other hand, weekends are usually booked up pretty fast with professional movers and those dates might be more expensive. If you are too late to secure your spot on Saturday, you could at least to take a day off on a moving day. That way you will be able to be there with your local movers, and to coordinate the move without thinking whether you will be late for work or not. Also, it would be perfect to take the next day off too. But don’t panic if that is not possible, because you can always have someone you trust do all of that for you. That person should also sign the contract with local movers on your behalf. 

Moving day

The moving day is finally here, your local movers are on their way, but your responsibilities are not over yet. Firstly, you should take your kids and/or pets to someone who you already organized to take care of them. Now, make sure you have enough money on your card or in cash to pay local movers. Checked? Cool, let’s move on. Enough water and snacks for you and your local movers? If not, try to organize it somehow, it is such a nice gesture, you won’t believe it. Phone charged and charger is somewhere near? Great! Now, you will have to wait for your local movers to ring you and tell you they are coming in 15-30-45 minutes. It is all waiting now. Did you already figure out the way to keep the doors open, so your professional movers can easily go in and out? If not, now is the last moment to do so. Now that your local movers arrived, ask them to read the moving agreement before signing it – every professional should do that. If something is unclear, feel free to ask your local movers or ring back their office. If possible, you should be there with your local movers so you can coordinate the whole move and help them handle it in a more simple way. Before your local movers leave for good, you should check if they have loaded everything you were planning to bring. Oh, also, most professional movers will ask you to check the moving truck before they leave, so do it! It is much easier than chasing your items around San Diego. Local movers might also ask you to sign the document that guarantees that. 

If the move was done properly, make sure to tip your local movers. How much to tip the movers? That is completely up to you, and it is usually in a correlation with the level of satisfaction that you are feeling. 

Once at the new home

You might think that everything is over at this point – your local movers brought everything to your new home and left. You are there with your boxes, ready to go to bed and start the new chapter of your life. Well, it is not done yet. One thing you cannot forget is that serious local movers won’t be able to help you with unpacking. The reason behind this is simple – they don’t want to jeopardize your items during unpacking. The very next day after waking up, you should make a plan when it comes to unpacking. Professional movers have a piece of advice: Create the timeline for the unpacking as well, and stick to it. More importantly – unpack at least a couple of boxes every day after the move. If you have this tempo, you will be settled down in your new home very soon.

And if you want to make things easy for yourself, you can reach out to Coronado Movers! Our team of experts will help you with planning, organizing, and executing your move. With our professional movers, you won’t have any worry during the process, because all of our local movers are trained and experienced to handle any type of local move that you need. Give us a call or request a quote over our website, and you will get all the information needed in a short period of time. Don’t forget – we are available every day of the week, so feel free to reach out any time!