Moving can be exciting – the beginning of a brand-new chapter in your life. But it is usually also one of the most dreaded tasks we face in our lives. But moving doesn’t have to be as hateful and onerous as it usually is for most people. There are ways to reduce the anxiety and lessen the workload. Whether you’re a buyer or seller in Santa Cruz, if it’s time to move, here are few moving hacks to make life a little easier.
Take Photos First
Of all the moving hacks for a Santa Cruz move, this could be one of the most valuable. What’s the worst and most time-consuming part of unpacking? That’s right – trying to remember where to put everything after it comes out of the boxes. An easy way around this problem is to take pre-packing photos of everything in your house in its place. That way you’ll have a photographic record to help you recreate your home as you unpack.
Use Household Items as Packing Material
Is it really a good idea to buy a lot of extra stuff just for the sake of moving? Probably not. To reduce weight, expense, and work, use what you already have – and what you’d have to move anyway – as packing material.
Experts say that you don’t have to buy packing materials to keep your breakables safe. “Potholders oven mitts, and even those old paper and plastic grocery bags you were planning to recycle make great packing materials. Also consider towels, pillow, blankets, the kids’ stuffed animals – whatever’s soft!”
Color Code Boxes
An easy but often overlook Santa Cruz moving hack is to color code boxes. It will save both you and the movers time. And if it saves the movers time, it will save you money.
Here’s how box color coding works. “Assign a color to each room, then mark that color on the outside of each box. Before movers arrive, add the correct color label to each room’s door. They’ll love the simplicity, and you’ll love not having to haul everything that was supposed to go in the office out of the playroom.”
Santa Cruz Moving Hacks From the Pros
Whatever tips and moving hacks (for both buyers and sellers in Santa Cruz) professional movers are willing to share are definitely worth paying attention to. Here are some hacks the pros use when they move themselves:
TIME IT RIGHT
When professional movers move, they try to avoid “both the headaches of weekday commuter traffic and the higher prices at the beginning and end of each month.” And they do this by trying to schedule the move on a weekend in the middle of the month. If you want to use this tactic, just be sure to reserve the spot with your moving company a minimum of seven days in advance to ensure your move happens on the day you want.
USE REAL MOVING BOXES
The pros don’t use boxes they’ve scavenged from the dumpster behind the local grocery store or liquor. Nope, they buy real moving boxes, the ones specifically constructed for that purpose. Cast-off, used boxes are susceptible to splitting or crushing, but new moving boxes are much more likely to hold up and protect your belongings.
DON’T USE NEWSPAPER PACKING
Another of the pro-mover moving hacks is to avoid using newspaper as packing material. The pros advise using clean newsprint-grade packing paper for breakables. “It will save you lots of cleaning on the unpacking side when you don’t have to wash off all that newsprint ink.”
NUMBER BOXES BY WEIGHT
Also, as you pack, number the boxes by weight from lightest to heaviest. “Label your heaviest boxes with a “1” and the lightest or most fragile boxes with a “5” . . . Everything in the middle then gets labeled accordingly. With this system, you can quickly identify which boxes should be on the bottom – heaviest or “1” – of the truck and which boxes should be stacked on top.”
DON’T EMPTY DRAWERS
This may seem counter-intuitive, but it’s a clever one of these pro moving hacks. Yes, you’ll have to remove the drawers from dressers to make them lighter. But don’t unload the drawers because that just doubles your work when you have to put all the stuff back in. Instead, keep the drawers loaded and wrap them with plastic wrap to contain and protect the contents. Then, when you move in, you just unwrap the drawers and stick them back in the dresser.
USE A HAND TRUCK (DOLLY)
Yes, a lot of movers may be big, strong guys, but they believe in using tools and machinery when they can to protect their backs. That’s why they all recommend renting and using a hand truck (or dolly) to move the heavy stuff. And be sure to get the one with inflatable (rather than solid) wheels to make it easier when you have to up curbs and steps.
So whether you’re a Santa Cruz buyer or seller, try these moving hacks to make a dreaded job a little easier and smoother. You could also contact your local real estate agent for more tips and advice. Find out how our agents can assist you. Contact us at (831)588-2334
