Let’s welcome LeighAnn from Intentional by Grace. She’s going to share with us her recent move in which she had BAD customer service. Take to heart her 10 tips for moving…because this sister knows what she’s talking about!
Moving is hard regardless of whether you hired long distance movers to move across the country or you are just moving around the corner so if you want to have the best moving services, look at this useful reference about local moving services here! In my lifetime, I’ve moved eighteen times, and no my family is not in the military. Well, my brother is, but he’s not the reason I’ve moved so much.
To give you perspective, I’m 28 years old. That’s a whole lot of moving, friend. I’m praying, crossing my fingers and toes, and praying some more that we get to stay where we’ve been planted this time. You see, we just moved 1,500 miles across the country from East Tennessee to the Northwest quadrant of Colorado (aka, High Rockies). We traded one mountain range for another.
photo by awnisAlan
A quick note about the actual place you are going. Don’t assume you know enough just because you’ve done a little online research and know the general layout of the city. Take some time to really dig in to what city you’re choosing to call home. Learn about the history, the “good” and “bad” parts of town, the places all the reviews say you have to check out. You’ll also want to learn about the city’s culture, how accessible public transportation is, and if the real estate is affordable. You can always check the apartments for rent online as you plan your move.
With this move, as in all my other moves, I learned a few tips and tricks. I want to share some of them with you because moving is hard enough without having to worry about whether or not your stuff will arrive in one piece or not. For us, all of our stuff never arrived. It’s lost in transit and probably sitting on some other family’s doorstep just like the pair of dollar store lawn chairs leaning against my garage door. I involuntarily traded a few expensive items for these little trinkets. Thankfully, we have a decent inventory of our things, so we’ll get reimbursed…we hope.
I don’t want this to happen to you. So consider this a big sister telling you all the mistakes she made in hopes that you won’t make the same ones. These tips will save you some sanity as well as some well earned cash.
10 Tips for a Cross Country Move (save time and money)
1. Take inventory. Most moving companies will inventory your items for you. However, I would suggest going the extra mile and doing it yourself. But if you don’t have enough time to do it, you can contact the movers at https://americansmover.com/ and hire them to do it for you.
2. Pack tight. News flash. I don’t care what the side of the truck claims, your moving company does not care about your great-aunt Tessy’s heirloom vase. Let me repeat. They do not care. Your boxes will be tossed, dropped, and turned upside down even if you write “this end up” on your boxes in big red letters. The best way to ensure your items stay in one piece is to pack the boxes very tightly. Use bubble wrap, newspapers, leftover grocery bags, and if you must, actual moving paper that you can purchase from your moving company to wrap your items. Packing boxes is like a jigsaw puzzle. Make sure nothing rattles when you close the box up. You can hire an Interstate Moving Broker to be confident that your belongings will be transported safely to your new home.
3. Invest in good boxes. The best boxes for moving are those you find tossed out back at your local liquor store. If you think about it, those boxes have to transport breakable objects full of liquids that will stain whatever it touches. Think: Red wine. They have to be good, right? An added bonus, they are free.
If you live near a manufacturing plant that uses boxes to ship items all over the world, then you might try calling them. Sometimes, they’ll have extra boxes they can’t use because they changed a product. We got several, never before used boxes by asking a local medical device company if they had any extras. Make sure that you arrange packing supplies such as boxes, paper cores, kraft tubes, tapes, bubble wrap, etc.
Whatever route you take for boxes, don’t skimp on the good ones. Remember, the moving company does not care about your stuff.
4. Break down yourself. For most cross country moves, you will not be loading onto the truck that will actually drive your items all the way to your new destination. Your belongings will be loaded onto a truck, taken to a warehouse, unloaded, and reloaded onto another truck. That truck will take your items to another warehouse and so on and so forth. This isn’t always the case, but it is likely that this is how it will work for you.
We made the mistake of assuming that what did not get broken down when loading the truck would not be broken down once it reached the warehouse. Wrong.
Let me give you an example. The man of my prayers and I love to ride our road bikes. Road bikes are not cheap. In addition, they have all kinds of gears and gadgets that aren’t cheap to replace. If you put these on the moving truck, go ahead and assume that the movers will take it completely apart and stuff it in a box. If you have large items that are capable of coming apart, do yourself a favor – break them down yourselves and pack them tightly in a box.
5. Buy the insurance. Most moving companies Edmonton offer some sort of insurance. Buying the insurance means that your moving company will pay you for what is lost, broken, or stolen. It will probably take weeks, and maybe even months, for that reimbursement check to grace your mailbox, but it is worth the wait. We ended up claiming almost $500 worth of lost, broken, and stolen goods. Ouch.
6. Research. Don’t just go with the cheapest company. A simple Google (or better yet Swagbuck) search for reviews will help you weed out the bad companies. We had a company picked out, and even had wonderful conversations with them. However, once we searched online for some reviews, we quickly learned that they were a total scam company so it really pays to research the company before doing business with them. This also applies when you’re looking for car shipping companies to transport your car to your new home.
7. Donate. When our moving company did a walk through of our home prior to moving day, they estimated the weight of all of our items. This is what our rate was based on. If on the day you actually load, your items weigh less than what they estimated, you get a discount. If you don’t love it, use it, need it, then donate it to your local thrift store. You could also consider a yard sale.
8. Stay calm. Just go ahead and get used to the idea that this is going to be a process. You will get a window for when your items will arrive at their new home, but take a moment (or two) and accept in your heart that your items will not arrive on time.
We were given a window of 4-8 days. On day eight, our truck finally arrived with all of our stuff, or so we thought. We learned that all of our stuff wasn’t on that truck. Those items didn’t make it for another week (in case you were wondering, it was all of our one year old’s toys…).
Getting angry, yelling profanities, and kicking your movers won’t help the situation. It will guarantee that your stuff gets dropped a few extra times before arriving safely in your carpeted, echoing rooms.
9. Lay high traffic mats. Most moving companies will lay out mats and cardboard in high traffic areas. However, have some extra boxes on hand with some duct tape to cover your carpet and floors yourself just in case your movers aren’t interested in protecting your floors. You should cover your door frames and chair rails where furniture will be coming in and out to protect against nicks and scratches, as well.
10. Start early. Don’t wait until the last minute to pack your boxes. The last thing you need to be doing is packing boxes as residential movers load the truck. You will get sloppy, and you need to make sure your boxes are packed tightly and your inventory list is complete. Plan for carry-out for at least 3-4 days prior to moving. Factor this into your cost of moving when you plan.
When you pack a box, grab a pen and paper and make a list of every item in the box. Then, assign the box a number. Write this number beside your list of items. Then, put two check boxes beside each box number. Check off when the box is loaded onto the truck, and then, check off when the box is unloaded into your new home.
Here is a free printable you are welcome to use for your packing inventory list.
Download your Free Packing Inventory List
What about you? Do you have any tips for making your cross country move a little easier?
Leigh Ann’s life goal is to create a home where it is impossible to not think about God. At Intentional By Grace, she blogs about her journey of intentional living in order to make this goal a reality.
She is the wife of three years to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to a loveable little boy, Samuel. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her husband, conducting kitchen experiments, researching every natural alternative known to man, and making her little boy laugh. She does it all by the grace of God.
You can follow her by liking Intentional By Grace on Facebook.
I sold that house and moved across town about 15 miles. THAT experience was a nightmare. I used a company recommended by Dave Ramsey and they were horrendous!alfa movers
Choosing the best moving boxes can save time and money, these boxes provide safety to the items and save them from any damage.
My husband just got offered a new job across the country, and we have to do some long distance moving. As I was reading your article, you state that the best boxes are the ones from liquor stores because they are built to home breakable objects. That is some excellent advice, thank you!
This young lady has given some misleading info. Let me clear a few things up.
First off, YES….if you are doing the packing, do pack “tight.” However, please be sure to ask the moving company if they will cover broken items in boxes that you pack! From my experience, they do not!
Next, I would not wander around town looking for “used” cartons. Most cartons are designed to be used once, and then be discarded or recycled. A used carton loses its strength and can collapse under weight more easily than a new carton. Better to go to the local Public Storage warehouse and buy new cartons…..or… buy them from your mover (they may give you a better deal since they are making a profit off your move!).
Your “rate” is NOT based on the estimate……information from the estimate is used to determine how many cubic feet of space your goods will take up in the truck; how much, and what kind of packing material will be needed for the move; and lastly, a rough idea of what the total weight might be. To calculate the actual rate you will pay, they weigh the truck empty before they get to your home, and then weigh it after loading. THAT is what you will pay for. But YES, get rid of anything you may eventually discard once you get to destination. No need to pay to move it across country, and THEN throw it away!!
And finally, the most important thing I’ve learned in my 15 years in the moving business: do not leave car keys, airline tickets, important medicines, or other vital items laying around your house on move day. Once the crew gets up to speed….they will pack anything and everything laying around! Find a hall closet and put a big “X” on the door with tape, and tell the crew that it is off limits. Then put all your hand carry items in there for safe keeping.
Thanks for sharing what you’ve learned over the years with us, Richard!
— Julie, HH Team
Thanks for posting this. Give yourself plenty of planning time. Determine your moving method. Pack tight. Track down important papers. Take inventory and label your boxes. Stay calm.
Thank you a lot for taking the time for you to share such a good information.
My cousin and his family are moving to the other side of the country and have been looking for a moving company to use. Your tip about doing your research was very insightful. You advised to not just go with the cheapest company. It seems that reviewing each company they look at could be beneficial. What kinds of things should they look for?
Definitely reviews and feedback from customers.
Definitely some of the most important advises for a move! My sister’s family is moving cross country in three months and she has organizational issues even before the packing is started. Your advises and tips seem to be of a great help for her, so I’m surely recommending your post to her. Thank you for sharing all this helpful information!
Thank you so much for this! I have been searching for a book or journal that I could buy that would have all of this type of information. I went to Barnes and Noble and searched Amazon and no one has a planner. I love having planners!
I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Thanks for these great tips Leigh Ann! I’ve moved across the country 3 times in my life so far on various budgets and one thing I can attest to is that dropping unnecessary weight and planning are the best things to do. Moving furniture cross country is expensive and a lot of times I’ve found it to be cheaper to sell it off and buy it again when you get to your new city. As far as rental trucks go, Penske has been my favorite so far because they aren’t sticklers about drop-off times. Time tends to tick away while moving and its easy to underestimate the length of time you’ll need to rent a U-haul only to find out that extra day late fee cost an arm and a leg. Also, besides liquor stores, shoe stores are great sources of large, cardboard boxes great for moving.
Thanks for more tips, David! LeighAnn did sell and re-buy a lot of her furniture and some she just gave to friends. Good info on Penske!
Six years ago, I moved across country from CA to TN. I made the decision not to bring my belongings but to give/donate/sell all my belongings there and buy everything once I got to TN. However, there are always things you cannot part with (photo albums, etc.), so I shipped 48 boxes of books, and some kitchen items, and some clothing via UPS.
I marked each box with a black marker numbering the box only – 1, 2, 3, etc. and kept a spreadsheet on the computer (and hard copy) of the contents of each box. I also had a UPS tracking number for each box and insured certain boxes.
All the boxes were shipped to my sister’s house and were stored in her garage until I arrived. They all arrived perfectly.
On the first leg, I flew to TN with my cat and one large suitcase which was checked in. When I arrived I dropped my cat off with my niece in Nashville where she kept him for 2 months for me. The large suitcase had several items missing in it – and I suspect TSA just ‘helped themselves’ to my belongings.
The I flew back to CA where a friend picked me up to get my car that was still parked there so we could drive across country with another big suitcase and my laptop. And then I flew my friend back home after we arrived in TN.
Two and a half years later, I sold that house and moved across town about 15 miles. THAT experience was a nightmare. I used a company recommended by Dave Ramsey and they were horrendous!
I ended up getting an attorney involved and it was resolved six months later. Much of my furniture was damaged, and yes, I mailed Dave Ramsey a letter telling him he might NOT want to recommend them. They had over 50 complaints and Better Business complaints as well.
I didn’t have any luck getting free boxes back home but did find a good box company online with many package-deal combinations for a much better price than places like U-Haul and the boxes were of incredible quality and so was the tape.
When I moved again the second time, I got the same boxes, and because they were in such good shape, and the only marking on them were numbers, I was able to sell them via Craigslist.
Moving is stressful enough. I don’t know that I could ever trust a moving company ever again, so I would probably elect to do it myself somehow or get rid of everything once again.
I honestly don’t know.
Gail, wow! You’ve been through just about every experience! 🙂 Thanks for sharing your stories here so we can learn from them. You’re my hero!
Wow, that’s an experience! Funny that we did our move backwards. Me from TN to Colorado, and you from California to TN. Neat. Moving companies are difficult. I hope I never have to use one again!
That is GREAT that they paid to move you but what a bummer about the lost and broken stuff!! We are moving next week and I’m thankful that we are borrowing a trailer and our whole family is coming to help us move! I’m hoping we don’t break or lose anything 😉
Having family help out is really the best way to go! 🙂
As a little girl a moving company did move my family and we lost a lot of stuff. The motivating factor for not losing beloved items again is what prompted me to find out prices for do it yourself. I even contacted semi companies that allowed DIY (needed the trucker license!)
I actually moved from Los Angeles to Casper, Wyoming, by renting a 21-ft U-Haul. I did the interview process with the moving companies and found that I would be saving 50% by renting a truck 1-way.
I drove my mom, 3 cats, and our immediate items in a car to Casper over a 30 hour period, deposited them there, drove 3 hours to the Cheyenne Airport, flew an 18-seater plane into Denver, running layover to Phoenix and then into Long Beach airport. Took a bus back to my apt. The next day my friends and I packed the truck. I then drove the U-Haul solo the first week of January back to Casper. Then had to drive back to Cheyenne to turn it in. Grabbed a taxi (no bus service) to the Cheyenne Airport and drove back to Casper.
I’m not sure how much I slept in a 2 week period then, but I’m not sure I could have done it with the family I have now as easily but then again my husband is a trucker so we’d have more options. Would I DIY the same way with them? Yes.
These are good tips from Leigh Ann if you do have a moving company do the work. I would suggest that if you have a young family to also find a way to attach a small cargo U-Haul for the items you need (like those toys!), appliances/cooking prep, and bikes. Take the items you would miss yourself or even mail them ahead if small enough. Then when your furniture and extra clothes go on the truck it won’t be a loss.
Denise, thanks for sharing your story!!! Wow! You did that ALL by yourself? You’re rockin’! 🙂
Yes, hindsight is 20/20. I did learn something by not having those toys. My son didn’t even need them. We cut out A LOT of toys when they did arrive. 🙂
As a librarian, I moved an entire high school library with boxes I got from the liquor store. I pulled up in the back of the store with my minivan several times a week and load up! They are sturdy boxes.
I’m not sure why, but the thought of you picking up all those liquor boxes and then taking them to school really made me giggle. 🙂
You do what you gotta do. Good boxes are good boxes!
Don’t buy the basic insurance. Spring for the replacement value insurance. It sure paid off for us!
First of all, it started to snow – heavily – while they were loading, so our 24′ extension ladder and a few other things ended up as gifts to the new owners of the house once the snow melted.
They too had a check list of everything that was suppose to go on the truck, but they didn’t keep up with it, so there was no way of knowing if everything made it on the truck also made it off again – or even made it on in the first place as with the ladder. Be prepared and do the check list yourself.
Also, they under estimated our belongings so when the truck arrived there wasn’t enough room (they already had some other boxes plus a car onboard) so they ended up bungee wrapping our patio furniture and other weatherproof things to the back of the truck on the deck that sticks out the back. After driving cross-country during heavy snows (covering our things with road salt and dirt for a couple of days)the finish was ruined and the road dirt impossible to remove ~ sigh~
Another thing, if they say they will wrap your furniture in protective plastic, (one of the reasons we went with this company instead of the others), make sure they do it in the house where you can see them do it and not on the truck as they claimed they were. They told us they were wrapping it on the truck, but when they unloaded everything, nothing was wrapped except for a few things and then only in light, loose blankets. They didn’t even bother to protect our piano because “it already had a few scratches”! They ‘repaired’ the finish on as much as they could but I can still see where the damage was done, and some of the pieces weren’t even a year old yet.
We learned that if something is really valuable, take it in our own vehicle. Don’t trust it to the movers, it could get lost or damaged.
The good news for us is we received a check for several thousand dollars to replace the things left behind or damaged, but it doesn’t cover the frustration that went along with it and the time spent finding out how much it would cost to replace the damaged things. However, if we would have gone with the basic insurance, we may have only gotten a hundred or so at best for it all.
Vikki, thanks for chiming in with your experience! It’s so important that we all share what happens with us so that someone else can avoid the same problems.
Vikki, I think we used the same company … your experience was like reading de ja vu! Sheesh! Great tips!
Move it Yourself! We have moved 12 times-Once across country from Colorado to Ohio. We rented a u-haul truck. At the time we had 3 kids under the age of 6. My father-in-law and husband drove the trucks while I drove the car. In all my years of moving we never lost anything-some minor things may have been scratched or broken. We used blankets, towels, washcloths, pillows for packing. All our stuff arrived when we did!
I like the control of moving myself…but Leigh Ann’s husband’s company was paying for this service. 🙂 Good job at all that hard work, mama! You’re superwoman!!
Yes, our new job paid for the service, but moving ourselves was our first choice. However, it would have been just me and the husband. We didn’t have the awesome help you had! So it was the best option for us this time.
Wow, these are great tips, Leigh Ann! Especially the tip on the boxes – that’s always the hardest part, finding good boxes without paying an arm and a leg. I’ve found that produce boxes (the kind with the detachable lid) are great for all kinds of things: they’re sturdy and the perfect size for heavy stuff, plus they usually come with brown paper padding and sometimes trays that can be used to help stabilize more fragile items. Most grocery stores are happy to give them to you if you can catch them before they destroy them.
Sometimes if you call ahead, they’ll save them for you before they put them in the crusher…or at least we did at the grocery store I worked at as a teenager. 🙂 But then again, it would be sorta funny to be rummaging around the back of a liquor store. LOL
Oh, we’ve used produce boxes too, Anne! I completely forgot about those. Mark would call ahead there too, but we didn’t have as much luck with groceries remembering to hold them for us to get there in less than 10 minutes. haha! They’re busy people. I don’t blame them. But yes, they are great boxes too!