Important Checklist for Cross Country Movers

Cross-country moves can be a lot more demanding than just a move across town or to a neighboring state. Regardless of how stressful moving is, it is something that many faces from time to time. This could result from a job change, a promotion or even marriage.

Whatever the reason for the move, it can all be much easier and less stressful if you know how to go about it. In this article, we will try to look at a checklist you can use to make sure you get things done quickly and properly.

We will break this list down into three sections–research, planning and execution. Let’s get started.

Research

Once you decide to move, you need to make sure you know what you need to prepare and what it really involves. For you to prepare and make sure you miss nothing requires some research. This is a critical aspect in moving.

Below are things you need to know of and research when moving.

Travel Cost

There are different possible travel modes you can use. You could go by air, road, rail or even by bus. It is important to look at what any of these modes of transportation will cost you, so you can make a decision that will help you create a budget to work with.

Some people encourage you to have a budget at the beginning, so you can stick to it. Well, it could be difficult to have a budget for something you do not understand. It is easier to create a budget when you are familiar with the likely costs. So, doing your research should be the first thing you do before setting a budget.

Moving Cost

Aside from transportation cost, you will also need to research on moving costs. This is a very important aspect when you think of moving. Knowing the moving cost will enable you to look for different options when moving items. You can find additional information here.

Route Options

If you decide to do a road trip, there could be different routes with different costs and possibilities. Make sure to look into this so you know how much the cost will be, how long it would take to reach the destination, and to see if they have additional charges.

Planning

After doing your research, it is now time to draw up a plan. You need to decide on a bunch of things like your mode of transportation, your route, how you plan on moving the furniture, etc. Let’s look at a few of them.

Mode of Transportation

After your research, you should already know the options open to you. This is where you make definite arrangements. If you plan on hiring a truck and driving your things there, you need to make arrangements with moving companies. If you are going by air, you might need to book flights.

Whatever it is you have decided, you need to make definite arrangements to ensure there are no last-minute anxieties arising from inability to secure the right services.

Moving Option

You should at this point have decided on how you plan to move to your new property. In fact, having looked at the cost of moving your things, you can look at the items you want to move and decide if it will be more cost effective to sell them and then replace them with new ones in the new location.

You should also decide on whether you want to sell some items, to drive your car to the new location, ship it or sell it. Based on your research, you should know the implication of the above actions and go with the options that suit you the best.

There are many variables to consider and some of these are outline here: https://www.wikihow.com/Move-Cross-Country. Once you have concluded your planning, you are good to move on to execution.

Execution

Now it’s time to put the plan into action. A lot of your actions from this point on will depend on your plan. Since we cannot possibly look at all the different scenarios, we will focus on those actions that are important regardless of which method or mode you chose for your move.

Inventory

Many people miss or lose track of their precious possessions because they did not take a proper inventory of what they are moving. Having an inventory will help you stay very organized.

You can also take pictures of the major items. These can come in very handy should damages occur to them during the duration of the move. You can show the movers or insurance company the time-stamped pictures as proof of the “before” and “after” conditions of the items.

Packing

Another important thing to do is to pack your items in boxes properly. Get a good number of boxes and pack your stuff into them. This helps immensely with both keeping your stuff organized and also neatly packing them into the truck.

For an even higher level of organization, pack similar items into the same box and label them. For example, your school books can go into a box with the appropriate label while your small kitchen utensils can go into another. You will be thankful for this level of organization when you get to your destination and begin to unpack.

Conclusion

No one can give you a complete list of all the options you can take when making a cross-country move. These options given above are just a guide. Look at them and do some additional research. With a little creativity, you can turn your cross-country move into a mini vacation with loads of excitement and fun.