Despite being an exciting event, there’s no doubt that moving into a new home can be extremely challenging. The whole process of packing, organizing, loading, transporting, unloading, unpacking, and so on can be incredibly frustrating. It often gets to the point that even local moves become one of the most stressful things anyone can go through in their lifetime. It’s no wonder many people absolutely dread moving.
However, this doesn’t have to be the case for you. As professional movers in Los Angeles, CA, our goal at Tom’s Marathon Movers is to make moving as effortless and hassle-free as possible. We are moving industry leaders for providing both local and long distance moving services in the most efficient and careful manner. We’ve created a full-proof plan to help take away all the stress associated with moving houses in Los Angeles and beyond.
That said, here are our expert tips to ensure that your transition to a new house goes off without a hitch.
Tip #1: Set Aside Enough Time for Your Move
In many cases, the primary cause for stress when moving houses is not having enough time to plan, pack, and get everything ready for the move. To avoid this situation, we recommend that you start early and make a plan at the very beginning. Ideally, you should create a feasible timetable detailing everything you need to do each day until the final moving day.
To give you a better idea of how to plan for your Los Angeles move, here are some crucial aspects that you should include in your timeline.
You’ve Finalized a Moving Date
Once you have an official moving date settled, it’s time to get organized. You can start by doing a quick run-through of your home and decide which items can be thrown out, donated, or sold and which need to be packed up for your Los Angeles move. You don’t want to waste time and energy moving anything that no longer serves a purpose for you or your new home.
It is also time to hire professional movers to help you out. You’ll want to hire a moving company as soon as possible to make sure they are available when you need them.
One to Two Months Prior to the Move
You should be starting to pack your belongings, especially seasonal items and things that you do not use often. Place all your packed items in one area and label them accordingly to ensure that you have everything in order.
If packing is too overwhelming or time-consuming, check with your moving company to see if they offer packing services or packing supplies.
Tom’s Marathon Movers is a full-service moving company that will pack and unpack your items for you. We also have packing supplies like boxes, bubble wrap, packing filling, etc. You will only pay for what you use! We will even label everything so it’s easier to organize and unpack at the new house.
Two Weeks Before Moving Day
Two weeks before moving, you should be doing a final check of your home. Do you have everything packed and ready to go? Is your house clean?
You should also make sure you have any necessary paperwork filed and have secured parking permits for the moving trucks.
One Week Before Moving Day
The week before your move, you should be calling your moving company to confirm that the transportation is right on schedule.
Moving Day
On the day of your move, you can rely on your movers. Make sure that they take extra care of your belongings to prevent any damage. Double-check your drawers, cabinets, and storage rooms for possible items you might have left behind.
Once you’re satisfied with everything, it’s time to say goodbye to your old home.
Tip #2: Develop a Reasonable Budget
Moving houses not only takes a lot of your time. It also requires a good amount of money. You need to allocate a proper budget to manage all your moving needs.
If this is your first time moving, it’s highly likely that you are not familiar with how much you need to spend. For instance, some moving companies might charge per room and others might charge per number of boxes.
To avoid making a mistake, you need to develop a budget that includes the different elements of your move.
This can include the following:
Packing Materials
Packing materials are essential to ensure that all your belongings are safely packed and organized. As such, you need to purchase boxes of varying sizes, packing tape, markers, plastic wrappers, shrink wrap, safety containers, etc. While these don’t seem like much, it’s important to include them in your budget, so you can have a clearer picture of how much you need to allocate in total.
House Cleaning
The next item on the list should be house cleaning. Whether you clean your house every week or every month, you need to make sure that your house is spic and span on the day that you leave. You can choose to hire professional cleaning services or do the dirty work yourself. Either way, you need to budget for hiring cleaners or buying cleaning supplies.
Home Enhancements
Besides general cleaning, making the essential adjustments to your house is crucial to prepare it for the next occupants. If you notice imperfections in your home – such as a malfunctioning security system, tarnished paint, termite-infested wooden structures, or a creaky door – you need to get them fixed. This will inevitably contribute to your overall costs, so it’s important that you take this into consideration.
Professional Moving Company
Hiring one of the best Los Angeles moving companies is a must if you want to avoid the stress of transporting your belongings. Just make sure that you hire reliable movers in Los Angeles – like Tom’s Marathon Movers – to ensure that everything is safely packed and transported.
New Beginnings
Besides all your moving expenses, it’s vital that you set aside some money to help you get started on new beginnings. Whether that’s money for grocery shopping, furniture shopping, a new piece of fine art, or a housewarming party, having some savings on hand is a good safety net.
Taking all these elements into consideration, you can expect to pay an average of $5,000 to move a home. The price can go up or down depending on how these components come into play.
Tip #3: Find Professional Movers in Los Angeles Early On
A moving company will be the biggest asset you’ll have for moving houses in Los Angeles, CA. That’s why it’s important to find a trustworthy company and hire movers in Los Angeles that can offer you the best moving services possible.
Ideally, the ideal moving company should have the following qualities:
Reliability
You’ll be entrusting your belongings to a team of movers so you need to be sure that your movers are reliable.
More specifically, you need to be assured that all your valuables will not only be safely transported, but also will be delivered to your new home on time. For these reasons, reliability should be one of the top qualities you look for in a moving company.
Accountability
Another essential quality to look out for is accountability. Moving companies should take full responsibility for the safety and security of your belongings during a move. In case of any damage or accident, the moving company must have the proper insurance coverage to adequately compensate you for your loss.
Efficiency
Moving houses is naturally a time-consuming project, especially if you’re moving in Los Angeles and dealing with traffic. From loading all your furniture to traveling to your new local residential property to unloading your possessions, every task takes a lot of time and effort.
In many situations, heavy lifting is necessary to transport your belongings. Without the proper knowledge or experience, you can make mistakes, which will only add to your expenses and delay your schedule.
To prevent this from happening, you need to find a moving company in Los Angeles that is highly efficient. They should have the experience under their belt to offer a wide range of moving services and handle any problem with ease. In addition, they should also have enough moving trucks and other essential tools and equipment to be able to complete the job. Only then can you have peace of mind that the moving process will go as smoothly as possible.
Transparency
Professional moving companies in Los Angeles should be completely transparent. This means they should offer a free quote to their potential clients so there are no surprise costs or hidden fees.
Every cost or potential cost must be laid out and explained properly, so you – as a client – have a more comprehensive understanding of what you’re paying for and what you can expect. They should have contingency prices laid out as well for if or when something unexpected happens and they need to do extra work.
To help you make a good decision, don’t hesitate to contact local moving companies and ask for cost estimates. Then, you can compare prices to see which moving team is the best for you.
Excellent Customer Service
Finally, when looking for the best movers in Los Angeles, you must evaluate how they interact with their clients. Are they professional and polite? Are they accommodating? Is communication prompt and clear? These are the questions you need to ask yourself.
If a company has unparalleled customer service, they will cater to all your needs as best as they can. Whether there are immediate changes to the schedule or an addition to the required services, the best Los Angeles movers will find the best solutions for all your concerns.
Once you find a moving company with these qualities, you can be confident all your packing and moving requirements will be handled without stress or pressure.
Tip #4: Make a Detailed Packing Plan
According to most movers, forgetting an item or two is one of the most common issues many people encounter when they do short- or long-distance residential moves. Missing an important possession can be stressful and worrying.
As such, we encourage you to make a detailed list of everything you need to pack and move to your new home, especially the irreplaceable items. This can help you maximize your time, minimize downtime, and ensure that you don’t leave anything behind.
Whether you live in a one bedroom apartment or a three bedroom house, you need to visit each room and note every item and piece of furniture you need to bring with you on your move. Make sure to open every cabinet and storage space to check that everything is accounted for and nothing remains after you’ve packed.
Don’t forget to label each box accordingly by including the category and the room it will be placed in at the new house. (For example: personal items – bathroom; delicate antiques – living room; jewelry – bedroom.) This will also make it easier for you to unpack when you get to your final destination in Los Angeles.
Tip #5: Pack a “Survival Kit” for Moving Day
It’s finally your big day! The moving truck is arriving, and it’s time to start fresh in your new home in Los Angeles. To help you adjust better, we suggest packing a survival kit that contains all the essentials for when unforeseen circumstances arise.
These can include the following:
- Bottled water
- Snacks
- Change of clothes
- Phone and chargers
- Towels
- Soap
- Toothbrushes
- First aid kit
- Toiletries
- Basic tools
- Toys, stuffed animals, and other items for kids
This is just a basic list of what you can pack in your survival kit. Feel free to add more to your own kit to make local or long distance moves in Southern California more comfortable.
When in Doubt, Hire Tom’s Marathon Movers
Tom’s Marathon Movers is one of the top moving companies in Los Angeles, CA. We are affordable movers that you can trust. We have a team of full-time employees who specialize in careful planning, packing services, storage services, local moves, and long distance moves.
Unlike other movers, we offer our expertise for all your moving needs, from packing possessions, furniture, heavy items, and other specialty items to transporting all your goods safely and on time.
As a top-tier moving company in Los Angeles, CA, we are committed to providing all our Los Angeles customers with only the highest quality services and impeccable professionalism at affordable prices.
Hiring movers like us can help you properly plan, pack, move, and unload at the new house in no time with little stress!
Whether you need residential or commercial moving, local movers or long-distance movers, our goal is to give you a stress free moving experience in Los Angeles. Call us at (310) 397-3607 or contact us online to get started on your move today.
