driver will give you his phone number so
you can keep in touch with him in transit
along the journey. We do our best to get
your possessions from Point A to Point B
safely.”
ON YOUR MARK: A FE W WEEKS
BEFORE YOU MOVE
Get Rid of It: Once you’ve decided to go
for it, make a major purge of all your unnecessary goods and possessions. Have a yard
sale, donate your unwanted items for a tax
write-off, advertise them in the newspaper or
on Craigslist.com. Getting rid of extra things
you don’t need makes for a cleaner move, and
drops the shipping weight and bulk.
Meet and Greet: If you’re using a moving
company, an agent will meet with you at
your home and conduct a survey of the items
you want to move to your new home. Some
of the points your moving agent will review
with you include the items you want to move
and the items you will leave behind, items
that will go into storage, care and handling
of items of exceptional value, and items that
will need to be disassembled because of size
or access out of your residence.
GET SET: A FEW DAYS BEFORE
YOU MOVE
Big Ticket Items: Disconnect, defrost and
clean refrigerators and freezers, empty the
evaporation pan and drain the water reservoir of the automatic icemaker. Leave the
door of your fridge, freezer or washing
machine open at least 24 hours before
loading to allow all moisture to evaporate.
Make sure that your stove has been cleaned,
and all pots and pans have been removed.
Electric Boogaloo: Electronic equipment
requires a little extra tender loving care. If
possible, pack your electronics in their original cartons and packing material. If not
available, make sure your mover provides
professional packing materials. Disconnect your wiring and code it with colored
tape to make reinstallation easier at your
new location. Back up important files on
your computer’s hard drive, and if it has a
CD-ROM drive, make sure it’s disc-free.
Precious Car Go! If your moving company
is transporting your vehicle, make sure your
car has no obvious fluid leaks, and secure
your battery in the mounting bracket.
Have your car cleaned so that movers
can perform a valid quality inspection on
moving day (a dirty car might limit your
ability to file a claim on major damage).
Make sure that your gas tank has at least
1/8 tank of fuel, and disconnect, disable
or turn off all alarm systems. Remove all
non-permanent luggage racks, bike racks
or ski racks on the exterior of your car, and
take out any personal items from your car’s
interior. And last, but certainly not least,
have an extra set of car keys and alarm
remote ready to hand over to the moving
team, as well as a working phone number
where you may be contacted.
Make Advance Reservations: Depending
on where you live, you might need to obtain
a parking permit for the moving truck or
van. Also, if you live in a high-rise building,
you should check to see if you need to
reserve use of the elevator.
