By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group
Some folks believe that it's a super idea to let their fingers do the walking and check "hire mover" off your list in five minutes. This is an interesting fact. That is not the best way to choose movers. You need to have an actual conversation with your potential mover, since these are the folks you are trusting to move all your belongings in a safe and proper way. These are some of the basic questions a professional mover will ask on the first phone call.It is a huge help if you have pictures of your rooms and have written down furniture dimensions when you talk with a mover. They'll want to know how many bedrooms and living spaces you have, and how many floors your residence is on. You really cannot be too specific about your rooms, since they're working from a standard template, and every house is unique.
If your residence contains a living/dining combination (popular in the sixties and back in the 2000s), do not forget to include the dining table, china buffet, and eight armchairs when you go over your "living room" contents. Formal dining rooms are more rare nowadays, so many movers don't even include that room on their standard list--and if you do not think about it to tell them, contemplate the overall hinderance on the ambience of moving day when you realizes the moving van is not big enough for all that furniture.
Knowing the dimensions, and whether things can be disassembled, is also a vital component of a precise estimate. Sofas are normally between 60 and 84 inches long, some have detachable cushions, and others are sleepers. A hardwood queen sleeper weighs a lot more than a rattan couch, so be as specific as you can be with details. Some furniture comes apart, so be sure to tell the coordinator so the moving team can bring the specific tools to take apart and put back together.
At this point, you could be wondering why the moving company is asking you a ton of questions. Well, they are attempting to figure up not only the number of boxes you will require for all of your “stuff”, but also how much space in the moving van your possessions will take up. Movers will have estimated guesses for box counts based on number of bedrooms and house size, but that is very rudimentary, and it assumes that you've purged a large amount of old shoes and preschool art.
After you have chosen your professional mover, and had one or two phone conversations, the mover will schedule an in-home appointment to make sure their estimates are right. People are stressed admist a move and do sometimes forget stuff like the kid's swing set or the jet skis, because they're not being packed into boxes, and this is prime example of out of sight, out of mind. However, these items will be included during the in-home estimate.
Developing a working relationship with your mover is key to a trouble-free move. They do not judge your housekeeping, so contact your local mover, select your appointment date for your estimate and do not be anxious about the dust bunnies. Click here to get started today!
