By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group
Choosing to DIY Or Select Professionals
Your life situation is one of the major aspects in determining who's going to pack you up. If you are heading to your initial job out of college, odds are very good you and a handful of buddies can take care of the whole thing--you usually do not have a lot of belongings, and what you might have may not be horribly expensive. But when you're exiting a five-bedroom residence, and have three or more kids, a couple of pets, and a lifetime of things, you may want to consider employing a team to do the packing.
The Invisible Costs OF Do-it-yourself
Prices are the motivator for most families who opt to carry out their own packing--on the outside, it appears to be significantly less expensive to do it yourself. The truth is that many people's assessments of the charges to complete their own packing are usually woefully short--they neglect to consider all the packing materials they are going to need, and amateurs will not be nearly as proficient at packing a box as an seasoned professional moving company in Little Rock. Expect lots of misused supplies if you do it yourself--one of the secrets of the pros is knowing which insulation and cushioning to use with regard to a given item--when to utilize paper, when to pull out the bubble wrap, or utilize the foam. And what about packing peanuts? Should you use those?
One more factor to consider will be the delicate things that require more care and expertise to wrap and pack--you want to avoid your crystal to arrive at the new residence in a hundred pieces. There really is an art to packing; it is a touch physics, a smattering of chemistry, and plenty of common sense--and it requires many years to perfect the skills. Artwork and decorative mirrors call for out of the ordinary or customized boxes; breakables have to be enclosed in a manner in which the glass could expand without shattering, and electronic products need to be packed so there's no threat of an electrical fire.
Whenever you do decide to employ a professional mover for your packing, they're generally a portion of the moving company's team and therefore are bonded and insured--this means that what they pack is covered through their insurance, should there be any breakage or damage.
What to Expect from a Packing Crew
The biggest thing you're going to get is efficiency. Yes, they are strangers (at least up to the point they start packing up your Holiday decorations as well as the children's craft projects), but they're going to get the work accomplished promptly and correctly. This is what to anticipate from your crew, if you've previously decluttered and organized. You need to be there to direct the project and respond to any inquiries they have; an expert team might pack 100-150 boxes in a day.
Before they show up, have the laundry completed, and the dishwasher unloaded. Should you be going to hold a few things back until moving day, put them aside and let the packers know. Pack overnight bags with all your necessities for several days, don't forget bathroom towels and blow dryers.
· Some teams work with each other in a room, while others separate.
· Boxes will likely be entirely filled--you will find zero misused room.
· Some belongings will be in unusual boxes--that could be to assure all boxes are at capacity.
· Things are less likely to break or be destroyed within a carton that doesn't have much wiggle room.
· Several household doodads cannot be packed--nail polish remover, cleaning supplies, as well as other chemicals. They can't be transported on a moving van, thus will not be packed. The moving company will give you a listing of forbidden things.
The Hidden Benefits of Professional Packing
If any of the aforementioned information caught your eye, it was probably the part regarding a team packing 150 cartons in a day. If you do hire a professional moving company, you can live in your home till right before the moving vans arrive--it can be much less hectic than crawling around and over packing containers for a few weeks and failing to remember where you packed the toaster. Moving to Little Rock is enough anxiety--let the professionals carry out the packing for you to help you settle down, or at a minimum concentrate on everything else.
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