By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group
Believe it or not, some people think it is a good idea to do a quick internet search and check "hire mover" off their to-do list in five minutes. This is an interesting fact. That is not the best way to hire movers. You need to have an actual conversation with your potential mover, since these are the folks you are entrusting with moving all your belongings in a safe, secure and proper manner. These are a few of the fundamental questions a professional mover will ask on the first phone call.It is a marvelous help if you snap pictures of your rooms and have recorded furniture dimensions when you chat with a mover. They will need to know how many bedrooms and living spaces are in your home, and how many floors your residence is on. You really cannot be too meticulous about your rooms, since the mover is looking at a standard template, and every residence is one-of-a-kind.
If your house has a living/dining combination (popular in the sixties and again in the 2000s), do not forget to mention the dining room table, china cabinet, and eight armchairs when you list your "living room" furniture. Formal dining rooms are more rare anymore, so many movers don't even mention that room on their normal list--and if you don't think about it to tell them, think about the overall wet blanket on the mood of moving day when everybody realizes the truck isn't sizable enough for all that furniture.
Measuring the dimensions, and whether things come apart, is also a key part of an accurate estimate. Sofas are usually between 60 and 84 inches long, some have detachable cushions, and some are sleepers. A hardwood queen sleeper weighs a lot more than a rattan loveseat, so be as exact as possible with details. Some furniture comes apart, so make sure and communicate that to your coordinator so the moving crew can bring the specific tools to take apart and put back together.
At this point, you might be pondering why the moving company is asking you all of these questions. Well, they are trying to calculate not only the number of boxes you will require for all of your belongings, but also how much room in the moving van your items will consume. Movers will have estimated guesses for box counts based on number of bedrooms and home size, but that is very general, and it assumes that you've purged a decent amount of old shoes and preschool art.
After you have chosen your mover, and had one or two phone conversations, the mover will schedule an in-home appointment to verify their numbers are accurate. People are frazzled during a move and do sometimes forget stuff like the kid's swing set or the lawn mower, because they're not being packed into boxes, and this is prime example of out of sight, out of mind. But, these items will be accounted for during the in-home estimate.
Developing a working relationship with your mover is vital for an uneventful move. They don't judge your housekeeping, so contact your local mover, set your appointment date for your estimate and do not worry about the dust bunnies. Click here to get started today!
