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Apartment Moving Checklist

When preparing to move out of an apartment in Michigan we recommend giving yourself 6-8 weeks. Giving yourself enough time will reduce stress levels that come with apartment moving, and ensure that everything is prepared for your first day in your new home. If you do not have that much time, its okay, use this information as a guide for apartment moving in Michigan.

6-8 Weeks Prior to Apartment Moving

Begin your apartment moving preparation by creating a moving journal where you will keep notes countdownor important information during your moving process. This is the time in which you will want to decide if you will be moving or hiring a professional moving company in Michigan. Plan your moving budget, if you are moving long distance, moving intrastate, or even moving interstate, and will be shipping items prior to moving, be sure to incorporate that into your Michigan moving budget.

Check with your apartment landlord to see how much notice is required before moving, also check with your new landlord to see any restrictions the complex may have on moving into a new apartment. Look into new school districts, begin the change of address process, and make a list of who you need to notify about your move.

Begin planning how you will arrange the furniture in your new home, this will help if you need to downsize prior to your move. Also, start gathering moving boxes or moving supplies.

4-5 Weeks Before Moving

Remember that moving companies typically charge based on weight and distance. Use your last 4-5 weeks prior to a Michigan Move to use some of your food, detergents, or other items that you routinely purchase from the store. If you have valuable items that you wish to not have on the moving truck, plan what you will be transporting or shipping. Begin packing your items and continue to make address changes if necessary.

2-3 Weeks Prior to Your Move

moving-guysContact your hired moving company to make sure they do not have restrictions on what they can move. Look over your lease and see what types of cleaning or maintenance you must do on your current apartment to ensure that you receive your security deposit back if applicable.

Call your utility companies and schedule a day to have your utilities transferred to your new residence. This will ensure that everything is livable the day of your move and ready for you the first night in your new home.

The Week of your Apartment Moving

Take time to confirm all scheduled appointments, meetings, or child care arrangements. Be sure to include a follow-up call to your moving company to ensure that there are no changes and everything is still on schedule.

Double check that everything around your apartment is ready for your move out inspection. Have a box of cleaning supplies handy in case you need to touch up or realize you missed something. Also, ensure that you keep a priority box out and accessible so that you have what you need for your first night in your new home.

Moving Day

If you have any last minute packing to do, do it. Be sure to do a walk-through of your apartment, turning off lights to rooms you have completed your walkthrough in. Also, turn off your thermostat and any appliances that need to stay in your apartment.

Before the moving truck leaves your apartment to ensure that they have your cell phone number and you have yours to keep contact in case something happens during transit.

When you arrive at your new home directly the movers in which room each box or item goes so that it is easier to unpack and set up your new home.

For more information be sure to check out our printable PDFs on moving tips for Michigan residents. Allow us to give you a quote for your residential apartment move in Michigan today.

apartment

Tips on Moving With Children

Moving can be a large project. Moving with children can add to your moving stress because your child’s entire routine is disrupted. Learn how to make this transition for your children as easy as possible by following the tips below.

The best way to prepare your child for an upcoming move is to communicate and keep them involved. Let them know that the family is relocating and that everything is going to be alright. Children trust parents and depend on them to keep them in a loop with what is going on. If you are unable to take the children with you while searching, show them photos of homes. This will keep them involved throughout the entire process.

Long Distance Moving With Children

If you are moving a ways from your current movinglocation, you may have to switch schools or doctors for your children as well. Speak with your child’s current pediatrician to see if they have any recommendations to help with the process. You will want to ensure that you have enrolled your child in their new school. Do this prior to the move so that they do not have to miss much school.

When you bring your children to the new house, it is best that you have their room set up. Your child will experience feelings of loss by moving into an unfamiliar environment. Having their room set up when they get there, will help your child to relax and feel comfortable in their new environment.

To help you and your child adjust to your new environment, give your child a tour of the neighborhood including their new school and doctor’s office. If you have not already, make sure to secure their new daycare as well.

The trusted movers at Men on The Move in Michigan are committed to helping you make your move as nonstressful as possible. To make your move easy, we offer free quotes and moving supplies. Hire Men on The Move for your next move, because we are licensed, insured, open 7 days a week, and offer long distance moves. So contact us today.

Click here for more moving tips.

Tips For Packing Clothing

So, you are preparing for your upcoming move with Men on the Move, and you have almost everything packed and ready to go…..except your clothes. As you look at your neatly folded drawers or your closet that you have spent so much time color coordinating and organizing, you begin to get overwhelmed. “I wish I didn’t have to re-fold all of these clothes and put them into boxes only to have to reorganize them after the move”, you tell yourself.

We have some handy Packing Clothing tips to save you time and the hassle!

Clothing in Drawers

Before you start emptying your drawers like a mad man dumping each drawer onto your bed only to have to refold them and put them in boxes, head to your kitchen. Find your clear plastic wrap (you may have to buy more, but it’s worth it!) and head back to your drawers. Starting at side of the drawer tape the end of the plastic wrap down. Pull the plastic wrap to the other side, tear it, and tape again. You can also go all way around the drawer, which will be much quicker but will also use nearly twice as much plastic wrap. The choice is yours.

Be sure to repeat the process multiple times, covering your drawers tightly, preventing your clothing from getting dirty or falling out. The more times you repeat the step the stronger the covering will be. We recommend buying a large restaurant size roll of plastic wrap to reduce waste and having to keep opening small rolls.

This process will also work on more than just drawers with clothing, you can use this handy packing tip for silverware, desk drawers, junk drawers, and much much more.

Hanging ClothingPacking Clothing

You huge master bedroom walk-in closet is full of clothes, right? Maybe you have spent tons of time color coordinating and getting it just right. Let it be known that there is a way to pack your hanging clothes without taking even one item off of a hanger

Head to your kitchen once again and grab the box of drawstring kitchen garbage bags then head back to your closet. Take about ten hanging clothing items  (possibly more if they fit) and squish them together really really tight. Use your garbage bags to slide over the bottom of the squished together clothing and pull the drawstring tight. The hangers hooks should still be outside of the garbage bags.

We hope you enjoyed our quick time saving moving tip! Please Like Us on Facebook and let us know how they worked for you, we would even love to see your photos!

Survive Through Tough Time

Free Residential Quote from Michigan Movers to Avoid A Tough Time!

Do Not Let A Tough Time and Stress Get You Down!

Moving can be stressful, let the professionals at Men on the Move remove your stress.

We can’t ignore the fact that today’s life is full of stress. Also, there’s no denying that we all are facing difficult moments. Peoples are being laid off and unemployment level is growing at a very fast rate. From terrorism to natural calamities to global warming, people are literally stressed out of the amount of devastation simply waiting to happen.

And it doesn’t seem like things will get back to normal in near future. It seems as if things will get worst. So what can we do to succeed in this tough time? How can we make ourselves strong and determined to fight tough time? We need to change our thoughts, think big, and to think positive to survive. Finally, Motivational Life Quotes re-write negative thoughts in your mind with positive ones and thus helps you become the successful person in today’s tough time.

Moving soon? Here are some tips on shopping for a moving company

If you are moving soon, here are some tips for choosing the right moving company such as Men on the Move. Also, the professionals at Men on the Move can move you into your new home easily and quickly, contact us today!

  • As soon as your house hits the market you’ll start getting promotional cards in the mail and phone calls. Look through them for interesting deals. Research some of the names and see how they fare on consumer review services.
  • Get recommendations from friends and family. Anyone who’s used a moving company will have strong opinions about whether they were good or not. Some of the best companies just get business through word of mouth.
  • Get several in-home estimates. No company will be able to tell you an accurate figure of how much it will cost to move your stuff over the phone. A salesperson from the moving company will walk through your home, making note of large furniture, breakable items like china and how much furniture needs to be broken down for moving purposes. Don’t forget to show them the attic, garage, and basement where many items get stored.
  • If you’re working with a Realtor, ask if they have any discounts or coupons with moving companies.
  • Pack your own stuff, especially if your moving date is a few weeks down the road. Having a moving company pack your items will double the price. Even tackling a few boxes every weekend is worth saving the money.
  • Most moving companies will offer a few options for insurance to cover items that are broken, damaged or lost. You pay a certain amount, usually $4 to $9 for every $1,000 of your items’ value. Movers aren’t perfect so insurance is probably a good way to go. But check with your own insurance policies to see if you already have coverage for moving damages.
  • Don’t plan your move for a holiday weekend like Memorial Day or Labor Day. The rates go up on three-day holiday weekends, especially those that fall at the end of the month.
  • Once you get a few estimates, figure out who your favorite is and ask if they can tweak their estimate to compete with the others. A mover may bring down the price to match estimates from similar firms.

Washington Post

Moving Timeline will help make moving easier

As seen in the Detroit News on 5/8/2009. We have a similar moving timeline on our website.

Moving, and all its attendant chores may be inevitable. But the accompanying sense of chaos, while common, is avoidable. The following schedule outlines the essential tasks and leaves ample time to tend to the details.

Six weeks before: Ask friends what movers they recommend, and get quotes from three licensed companies. On-site estimates tend to be more accurate, whether pricing is by weight and distance or a flat or hourly rate. Ask if the quote is binding or nonbinding, what charges could arise and what insurance is included. Request a copy of the signed contract.

  • Dedicate a three-ring binder to move-related paperwork, such as to-do lists, contracts, receipts, checklists and phone numbers.

Five weeks before: Conduct a room-by-room survey to determine what belongings you plan to keep, sell and donate.

  • Have valuable items such as artwork and antiques appraised in case they get damaged. Photograph or videotape them, and upload the images to your computer. Also, save them to a compact disc or memory stick.

Four weeks before: Stock up on moving supplies, including boxes, box cutters, tape (packing, masking, and blue painters), wrapping material and labels.

Three weeks before: Pack infrequently used items, such as out-of-season clothing, holiday decorations, books, and special-occasion dishware. Number the boxes, and keep track of the contents on a master inventory list.

  • Color-code each room, and mark boxes and furniture with coordinating stickers to ensure the movers will know at a glance where everything should go.
  • Request that your utilities, including phone and Internet service, be disconnected the day after you leave and installed in your new home the day before you arrive.

Two weeks before: Before you pack the bulk of your belongings, think about whether you’d like to do so by room or by category (such as sports equipment and formal dinnerware).

  • Complete a change-of-address form online ( www.usps.com) or at the post office. Update newspaper and magazine subscriptions, and notify banks and credit card companies.

One week before: Print an information sheet for the movers with the old and new addresses, directions and your cell phone number.

  • Box your remaining items, setting aside sufficient clothing and day-to-day necessities for the week ahead.

Moving day

Walk through your home before movers arrive to verify everything is packed and afterward to make sure nothing was left behind.

  • Arrange for someone to be at your new home when the movers arrive to oversee them and answer questions.
  • Inspect for damages, photographing relevant objects before signing the release.
  • Start to settle in. Test faucets, toilets, utilities, phones, smoke detectors and security systems. Turn on the water heater if necessary. Begin to unpack, discarding anything that no longer serves you.