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Moving Made Easy
Moving is a big job and checklists can make it more organized and easier. Selecting the right mover is all about finding professionals you can count on, and moving is hard to do but luckily, there are ways to ease the transition for you and your children. Moving is an exciting and emotionally challenging, difficult experience for a family; stressful for adults and is particularly stressful for children as they have limited coping skills because it is an unfamiliar. Moving is traumatic, to children who feel scared and uncertain about change and the more their lives are changing, the tighter they'll hold on to the things they can. Often associated with retirement and with precipitating shocks like the death of a spouse or by other changes in marital status; moving is ranked as one of life’s most stressful events. When moving is brought about by a death, divorce, or job loss, the sense of loss and sadness is more acute. Make sure you remain sensitive to what your children are asking to keep, because moving is traumatic and sometimes children feel like their losing everything they once loved, they may try to hold onto their things a little tighter. Psychologists suggest that moving is the third-most traumatic event in a child's life, after only death and divorce. Moving is tough enough on humans, but animals don't have a clue why strangers are removing the furniture. Moving is stressful and can leave you feeling off-balance, weary and stress-out. Most people think that, in general, moving is harder on an older child or high school student who is asserting their identity, forming meaningful friendships and becoming achievement-oriented. The stress of moving is greatest about two weeks before and after the move. But without a doubt, one of the biggest pains when it comes to moving is packing your moving boxes. Moving requires special packing techniques and supplies to offer the maximum protection possible when transporting items, and is an exhausting process; from finding a new place to live, to hiring reputable movers, to boxing your belongings and unpacking, which is also a good time to dispose of unwanted items. When hiring movers, they must have the right equipment, training and experience to do a good job, should be licensed and bonded as required in your state, and employees should have workman's comp insurance. Movers and packers are the best option as they lift the burden off your shoulders. The best way to make an informed decision about self-service moving is to get multiple quotes from trusted and professional self-service movers. When packing, always mark boxes so that movers will know where the goods should be placed. Accidents occur every day and with that in mind note that these often occur as we are packing, and moving the goods to the new premises. Stock up on boxes, packing materials, tape and markers, and places you can check for boxes are: local fruit markets, packing supply stores, shopping malls, grocery stores, and libraries. Expensive belongings, and those of sentimental value, should be individually wrapped before packing. Pack them snugly, but not too tightly, into the boxes you’ve set aside and put some packing in place to hold them firmly. Take them out of their boxes and any wrappings as soon as you can and leave them in a quiet corner, while you get the rest of your unpacking done. Once you know you’re moving, you can begin packing right away, by sorting out clothes and giving away items that you aren't going to take, packing away items you are going to take but won't need until after you've moved, spreading out the chores you have to do so you won't be overwhelmed during the last few days, cleaning up your room or any other areas you are responsible for to make packing easier, and labeling your boxes so you can easily identify where things are when you get to your new home. Try to pack children's things last and include your preschooler in on the packing process. Unlike the services offered by a full service moving company, with a self service move you will be responsible for all of your own packing and loading, requiring you to purchase all of your own moving and packing supplies and manage all of the packing yourself. Once the driver arrives at your new location, you will once again be responsible for the unloading of the truck and the unpacking of your boxes. Rushing through the packing process and not following proven packing techniques, considerably increases the likelihood of damage. Because you will be responsible for all of the supplies, packing, truck loading and unloading, you will not pay the time, materials and labor expenses associated with a full-service move. When moving your computer, remove all disks and magazines from the player and lock the unit prior to packing to prevent transit damage due to vibration, and your system's original packing carton is the best choice because the rigid Styrofoam packing materials hold the system securely in place. Many people tend to underestimate the amount of time and expense involved with packing their own items. As you can see, moving is a full time project with many possible problems that can arise. Make your life easier and relieve your self of unnecessary stress, hire a moving company or enlist friends to help in the process. There are two other very important things to keep in mind, moving is a team effort and cannot be done alone, one person cannot possibly attend to every detail of the move, and it is rewarding and can be fun.
Olympian Civil Home and Building Inspections (866) 476-2056 Copyright © 2008 Olympian Civil Home and Building Inspectors, 2008 All Rights Reserved
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