Hi, my name is Kate. I am a regular person, a mother of two, who is trying to figure her through life by researching areas where I have no clue about. 

 After a long time of planning, and searching, my husband, my two kids and I are finally planning to move to a new home. I am the first to admit, I am not a person who likes changes, and this is a big one! So in the effort of learning from friend, on-line advisors and common sense, I decided to make a list of 5 steps to having a stress- free move.

1.      Choosing the right moving company: From all I gathered, unless you are moving very few items or a very small apartment, you should accept the offer of the moving company representative to come and estimate the size of your move. This way, you will know how much they see, and how much will it cost. It is very good to get a flat rate with an amount that cannot be exceeded for the inventory that was taken during the estimate. Another great way, is to check with the Better Business Bureau if the company has a lot of complaints. Last but not least, ask for references from happy clients.

2.     Sorting of your belongings: Everyone agrees on this one. This is a tedious but very cost effective step. Aggressive sorting is key to having less to move, and hence less to pay. It also makes sense: Why would you want to move unnecessary clutter to your new home and spend a lot of time trying to figure out where to put everything. The easiest way to say goodbye to your things is dividing everything in each room into three piles: Trash, keep and donation. Go on-line and find a close by charity that gives used goods to less fortunate people. Your unwanted things are someone else’s object of desire.

3.     Insurance: The NJ and NY state law gives 60 cents per damaged or lost article by weight. It’s not a lot of money if a valuable item got damaged. So if you have expensive furniture, or even your grandmother’s chest with an antique mirror, consider purchasing additional coverage. Your moving company should provide you with such option.

4.     Pack like a pro: Unless you are planning on a full pack service, you should pack your belongings like a pro. Do not pack a lot of heavy things in one box: You do not want it to break when the movers will try to load it onto their truck. Those book boxes are small for a reason, just saying… Pack some heavy stuff and top it with pillows, blankets, or towels. Label your things accurately by rooms in the new house. If you have fragile things or the box needs to be laid in a certain way, write Fragile in several places and write “up” with an arrow to show the direction that the box needs to stand. Especially if you have children, you will find it easier to also color code their boxes: Buy colored stickers and assign a color to each child. Put on all their boxes, so your child (and you) will know that all the boxes with the blue stickers go to one room or belong to that child. It’s also a friendly way to ease your child to his or her new environment.

5.     Make the proper arrangements with your building: If you live in an apartment building, you will need to call your management and make arrangement to secure the elevator for the move. Ask your moving company for when to secure it! Remember: Even though they are coming in the morning, they will be spending a few hours in the apartment packing, before heading to load your things. Elevators are typically secured for a limited amount of hours, so you need to make sure that these are the correct hours.

Many buildings in NYC and NJ require a certificate of insurance from the moving companies. This is an insurance for the possibility that some damage will be done to the building , as a result of the move. Check with your building management if they require such certificate, and give the information that needs to be on the certificate to your moving company, so that they can arrange it in a timely manner. Without such certificate, certain buildings will not allow the movers to enter.

6.     On the day of the move: You need to be very clear as to what is leaving your house with the movers. Typically, movers work very quickly, and a client who runs between their legs and gives them all sorts of instructions will slow them down, frustrate and confuse them. This will result in errors that you do not want. Every moving crew has a foreman. He is the person in charge of them. Anything should be agreed and explained to him before the move begins. If you are like me, and your mind gets empty in real time stress, write down everything the day before, so you can give him all of your wants and needs in one go.

Be nice to your movers. Offer them something to drink, even if it’s water. Offer the foreman to get them pizza at lunch break. A nice attitude goes a long way. These are professionals, and they will give you good service either way, but everyone is human. They are working very hard for you!

Tipping: Don’t tip unless you are happy with your movers. But if you are happy, do tip. This is an industry where tips are customary.

These are all the tips I gathered of having a successful and stress free move. Do you have any more to suggest to me?