Why Hire Moving Labor?

Moving laborers are modern day superheroes. I love these guys (and occasional girls). They make life so much easier for those of us who decide to invest in them. While it can be an extra expense some of us think we may not afford, there are different amounts of labor you can hire. It is at least worth investigating to see how much it does actually cost to hire movers, and why people bother with movers in the first place. Here are some of the reasons people choose to hire movers: 

1. Moving sucks! I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, I absolutely hate moving. For someone who hates moving, I have done a lot of it. If you have not moved in a while and think "oh it won't be that bad", think again! Besides just the physical tole moving takes on your body, it is hard mentally as well. Stress levels will be zoomings, back will be strained and even some tears will be shed (or at least that is what I end up doing once every move).
2. Less damage to your stuff. The more experience someone has moving, the better they are going to be at packing stuff so it doesn't break. Movers are great at packing stuff because of their extensive experience, and their fear of liability if any of your stuff is damaged in transit. I prefer avoiding damage to items at all costs myself, because replacing stuff is the pain. 
3. It won't break the bank! Okay, it may break some of our banks, but it is a luxury that may be worth considering. Even if you don't hire movers to do the whole process of the move, you can hire a couple of movers for a couple of hours to move some of the bigger items. 
4. Speed! When you are trying to get a move on with your move, the best way to do it is with professional movers. They move people almost everyday, so they know how to crack the whip to get this baby over with. 
5. If your move is long distance. Just moving yourself a long-distance can be extremely exhausting. The last thing you want to do is have to pack up all your stuff, drive across the country then unpack your stuff. Anyone who has ever been on a road trip knows that the first thing you want to do after a long transit is sleep or at least have some sort of break. Movers will allow you just to worry about transporting yourself.  
6. Exhaustion. Having to reassemble your house into a new space is probably one of the hardest parts of a move. It is something that can not be as done as quickly (or sometimes as carelessly) as boxing all your stuff up and leaving. It will take time to get everything exactly the way you want it. Sometimes it is better to save your energy for this step of the process. Also, good movers make be able to offer some insight into how your furniture will fit in a room. 

If you are on the fence, there is a 10 dollar discount available from this page for Elite Movers. 

Advertising Your FSBO Property

If you home is selling for $300,000, how would you like to save as much as $18,000 by putting in some hard work? This is the premise behind the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) idea which involves selling your home without the aid of a real estate agent. The $18,000 is the standard 6% commission charged by these agents when it comes to selling your home. As you save by not paying agent’s fees, you can lower your asking price and be more aggressive in the sale. Selling your own home is not as difficult as you think and this new trend is causing great distress to real estate agents. Below are some tips when it comes to advertising your FSBO property.

Getting Exposure
Thanks to the advent of sites such as For Sale By Owner.com, those looking to advertise their property online have a huge ready-made audience. For the best chance of success, get your home advertised on these sites immediately. The aforementioned site brings in over 20,000 unique visitors each day. This site also has a mass-produced magazine which exposes your home to potential buyers lacking an internet connection.

Writing The Ad
Many of FSBO sites allow descriptions which are a couple of thousand words in length. In reality, you should only use a fraction of this amount because you need your ad copy to be short, concise and snappy. Describe your home’s features and avoid using real estate agent jargon as this makes people feel uncomfortable. Look at other adverts and place yourself in the position of buyer for a minute. Use the style of the copy that piqued your interest.

Photos
You are trying to get the best value for money when it comes to selling what is probably your most valuable asset. Therefore, don’t be lazy when it comes to taking pictures. All clutter must be removed from the exterior and interior of the home. Buyers don’t care about your possessions. They are only interested in your property so make sure it is showcased appropriately.

Avoid Open Houses
These are generally regarded as a waste of time and are far more useful to a real estate agent than a seller. Sales from open houses are lower than 10% so ask yourself: Is it really worth making such an effort for an ineffective advertising method? The answer of course is no.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
The MLS was once used exclusively by real estate agents and is a directory that allows you to tell other agents that you have a home for sale. FSBO sites tend to have this directory and it can greatly increase your chances of selling the home. The major downside is that if you sell your home because of the MLS, you are legally required to pay the agent in question a 3% commission fee. When added to the fee charged by the FSBO, this may not be a great deal better than using a real estate agent in the first place.

Don’t fall into the trap of believing that only a real estate agent can sell your home. Thanks to the advent of FSBO real estate websites, you can avoid paying that 6% commission fee and perhaps sell the home faster than any real estate agent ever could. After all, who knows your house better than you?

Some Reasons You May Want to Consider a Self Storage Locker

Selecting a storage locker really depends on what your needs are.  You will need to consider how much space you need, what you are storing and what is in your budget. Finding out what you need can be as simple as asking yourself some questions.

There are many different sizes of storage lockers available to rent. 

You may wonder why you would ever need to rent a self storage locker. I find people surprised that I rent out a storage locker for my business. It gives me a place to store extra materials for my classes that doesn't clutter up any of my rooms. For me it helps separate my business life from the rest of my life which has always posed a challenge for me. Here are some other reasons people opt to rent a self storage locker:

1) While people move they frequently rent storage space to keep the household items they don't need right away in a storage facility. This way they can organize all the basics to their house first then they can worry about other items when they have time.

2) Individuals store items they only use in certain seasons. Bicycles, lawn powers, pool accessories, grills are all items stored during winter. During summer people store their Christmas decorations, skis, snow blowers and other stuff they won't need until it gets chilly again.

3) Storing your stuff while trying to sell the house is a great way to make it more accessible to potential buyers. People have an easier time visualizing themselves in a new house if it isn't filled with someone else's stuff.

4) During repairs, remodeling or painting self storage lockers can save you a lot of time by getting your stuff completely out of the way. Instead of shifting your valuables from room to room, just move everything non-essential to self storage while the work is done to your home. This way you'll spend less time rearranging and moving furniture and more time on the actually improvements.

5) Collectors and hobbyists frequently find themselves running out of space in their home. One of my friend's who restores pinball machines wife just had a baby. During her nesting period she insisted she moved the unused arcades out of the house or sell them! While you may not have such an urgent demands as a pregnant woman, the extra storage space can be a nice way to store items you do not need around necessarily.

Making the Most out of Your Storage Space

If you’ve seen one of those storage auction shows that are all the rage these days, you know that the majority of the time when the auctioneer pops open the unit’s door a scene of chaos greets the camera: the unit’s contents are scattered everywhere, with no discernible order or organization. Such units rarely go for a very high price. On the other hand, the few units that are properly packed and arranged in an orderly fashion always ignite a flurry of bidding. Why?

Because those bidding on such units know that their owners were smart and economical and made the most of their storage space, and so were able to fit far more of their belongings inside. Making the most of the space inside your storage unit can mean the difference between paying $60 a month on a 5x10 unit and $90 a month on a 10x10 unit—but the question is, can you pull it off and pack it in? With the internet on our side, finding cheap self-storage is easier than ever, but packing your unit the right way is just as difficult—unless you know how to do it.

And it just happens to be that we do:

Write it out. Whatever you do before you move into your storage unit, the first and most essential step is to write out an inventory. This is important for several reasons: so that you don’t misplace your things, in case something goes wrong at the facility, and particularly for packing reasons. Keeping track of everything before boxing it up or stacking it together will save you from forgetting something and having to change plans later.

Box it up. Boxes are your best friend—not only are they good for protecting items and grouping like things together, but because storage units are essentially big boxes themselves their shapes are complementary, thus maximizing your use of the space. It’s important to use a single, uniform sized box—this makes sure that they all fit together and there are not gaps. The heaviest items should go at the bottom of the box, with the heaviest boxes at the bottom of the stack. If you can’t fill your box to the top use packing peanuts or else it may collapse under the weight of other boxes. Of course you should always label your boxes and seal them tightly with tape.

But what about furniture? Furniture is one of the most common—and difficult—things to pack inside a unit. Not only is furniture typically larger than everything else you store, it’s also usually a strange shape that’s hard to match with other items. Some pieces of furniture can be made wieldier: remove the legs from tables, chairs, and stools when possible and then turn tabletops on their edges so that they stand horizontally or lay them on top of boxes. Smaller chairs should be stacked atop each other. Larger chairs and couches can be turned on their sides so that they stand tall in the unit, thus taking advantage of vertical space (many unit ceilings are as high as 8-12 feet) thus saving precious floor space. Refrigerators, cabinets, and drawers can be filled with smaller items. Remember that all furniture should be wrapped, covered, and/or padded to keep it safe.

Map it out. Your goal should be to group uniformly-shaped items together, like snapping them into place as if you were playing Tetris. Once you’ve got your list, sketch out a rough map of what fits together. Remember to place square-shaped objects like boxes into corners to maximize space. If you’ve really got the time—or are particularly focused on making sure you don’t need to move up a unit size—you can even build a model of your unit against the wall of your home (preferably by the door, because you are moving things out, right?). This will allow you to see what fits together before you even head out to the facility. Take a picture of your model when you’re done so that you don’t forget how you had things arranged.

One thing to keep in mind is what items you might want to access in your unit. Packing everything in as tightly as possible can be great, but not if you need to continually dig everything out again. Items you’ll want to access should be packed as close to the door as possible. If you need to access a lot of things, leaving a corridor clear to the back of the unit might be a good idea. So is stacking things to a lower height. Either way, more access usually requires more space—this is why you need to plan ahead and sketch that map.
With the right thought and preparation you can pack your unit for the most efficient use of space. It might even save you $30—or more—a month.

Brian Shreckengast is a writer at SelfStorageDeals.com, the price-focused search engine for finding cheap self-storage units. Learn more about storing and how to do it for cheap at the Self Storage Blog.

How to Avoid Injury while Moving

Back Sprains are a Very Common Injury During Moves

Before You Move ANYTHING!


Anyone who has ever moved will tell you how draining physically and mentally relocating can be. It is imperative to your sanity and health that you try to avoid injuring yourself during a move. If you are moving  your stuff by yourself you should be prepared to work every muscle in your body. In this post I will give your preventative measure before, during and after your to make sure that you don't hurt yourself. 
There are two major things that you can do to stop injury from messing up your move. Both are quite simple, maybe even obvious to some, but it is good to go over the basic. 


Box Size

One of the biggest favors you can do you and your back is to pack boxes at a reasonable weight. While moving it is a common mistake to over-pack boxes making it a strain to lift them. Even if you don't injure yourself, it makes the move a lot more stressful on your body (and anyone else who is helping you). Here are some strategies to help pack boxes effectively.  The main thing to keep in mind is that you will need to move not just one box, but every single box you pack. Try to pack at a weight that will not kill you!  

Stretch

Stretching can help to loosen your muscles before moving which will help avoid injuries.. Moving is physical exercise, so you need to warm up accordingly to prevent injury. Warmed up and stretched muscles are a lot less likely to sustain injury tham muscles that go from being at rest to tight and rigid from lifting heavy boxes and furniture. Below are some basic stretches that you can preform to loosen the muscles you will be using to move, however there are many more stretches that you can preform then the ones outlined here.  Here is a website that outlines many stretches that may be useful to you. 

• Pretzel

         This stretch will loosen up your shoulder and back.  It feel great and easy to do! First step is to sit down then extend your right leg. You cross the left leg over so the foot is next to the knee  and upper-calf. Next you your torso to the left using your right arm as leverage against the bent left knee to deepen the stretch even further. Repeat on the other side. 

Lady Preforming a Pretzel and Stretching Out Her Back

• Shoulder Stretch 

           Your shoulders will be super sore after a move! This is a great move to do before and   after a move. Bring your left arm across you body. Now place your right hand above the elbow and apply pressure gently to stretch out the shoulder. Repeat on the others side.  

Shoulder Stretch Done Correctly by a Professional 

• Bottom Stretch

           During a move you will use your thighs and rump a lot to help lift boxes and furniture. It is important that you utilize the muscles to avoid wearing out your arms, shoulder and leg too much. This stretch helps loosen your glutes and thigh to prepare them for all the work they'll be doing.

           To preform this stretch lay on your back. Cross your left foot over your right knee. Now lift your right thigh while gently pulling the thigh with your hands. You should feel this all along the muscles on your bottom. Preform this stretch on both legs. 

Stretching Out the Glutes

Rules For Lifting Large Objects 


Now that you have all the information needed to prepare your body for a move, lets go over some basic guidelines on how to lift and move stuff. These rules will help you not just in moving, but anytime you need to lift anything heavy.

•  When you lift a box bend at the knees and keep your back straight. The key is to lift with you legs not with your back, shoulders and arms. 
•  Use your center of gravity when you are lifting anything. This means carrying items close to the middle of your body, around  your torso. 
•  Listen to your body. If something feel terribly uncomfortable, your body is trying to give you a sign. If it feels wrong STOP. Take a break! Readjust if you are going to try lifting the item again. 
• Take your time! Running around with boxes, furniture or anything, if you are in a hurry, can lead to tripping, breaking and all sorts of unpleasant verbs that we are trying to avoid. 
• If an item is too heavy get someone to help you. Doing a move by yourself is nearly impossible, so hopefully you have someone around. If you don't know anyone try asking a neighbor or coworker. 
•  Do NOT twist or stoop while carrying something. This will cause weaker muscles to have to do the lifting of the box which can lead to a muscle strain.

Happy Moving!

Just Root up and Leave: Long Distance Moves for Plants

Moving is hard on everyone: the kids, your pets and your sanity.  It is especially hard on plants, because in no way are plants evolved to be mobile. Trees don't just root up and leave as the saying goes. It will take all the powers of your green thumb that helped cultivate your house plants to make them have a successful move.  Even if you are careful as possible, you may lose a plant or two. Let us guide you through this difficult process.


Step 1: Are you allowed to move your plant to a new home? 


Different state regulations limit which plants you are allowed or not allowed to move. Research what your new state or currents state's laws are regarding moving house plants before you decide which ones you actually can move. If you are making an international move there is a chance you will probably not be able to take your plants sadly. Investigate what the rules are, but it is probably a better idea to give the plants away. If you have no friends or family in the area ask your neighbors or you can donate them to local nursing homes.

The reasoning behind these rules is that your plants can bring foreign parasites and diseases to a different location which can be very harmful to the environment. One of the most harmful and current examples of something via plants is the spreading of the Gyspy Moths in the United States. They have been spreading through out the United States every since their accidental introduction from Asia. Gypsy Moths are unhealthy for plant-life and inconvenient for humans. That is why some sates requires that certain plants get a Gypsy Moth Inspection certification for you to move them there.
Before moving you will need to switch out the soil of your plant.  In almost every state it is required that your house plant have sterile soil. You will need to switch out the soil you have to sterilized potting soil when moving.  This type of soil can be purchased at most garden shops.

Step 2: Actually Moving the Plants


Now the time has come to actually physically move the plants.  You will need to start this process three weeks before moving day ideally. If you haven't thought about this until last minute, it is okay. Just condense the steps to get through the move.

So on week one you will want to repot your plants into moving containers.  This is when you will switch the plant's soil to sterilized potting soil. Moving containers for plants mean plastic containers versus any clay or decorative plots. The reason for this is so that your pots won't break during the move. Also, plastic containers are a lot lighter than their clay counter parts.  It is recommended that you stay with the same pot size if at all possible, because changing the pot size can be very harmful to the plant.

The next week you will want to prune your plants that are bigger. Pruning plants allows for maximization of the health of the plant. You will want your plant to be in it's healthiest state when you move.To prune you simply pinch newer limbs and leaves on the plants with your thumb and forefinger. That is it! One thing to keep in mind is some plants do not respond well to pruning. Research the particular plant to make sure that you do not damage any plants.

A week before the move you will want to check your plant for bugs and insects. It is probably wise to spray your plant with insecticide, but not absolutely necessary. You do not want to carry any foreign insects to the new place you are traveling.

Now here comes the big day, the moving day. You will want to wrap your houseplants with tissue paper or an old sheet to help prevent damage to the plant. To transport the plants you will want to put them all in boxes. By placing paper around the pots you can prevent the plants from shaking around during the move. You will want to punch air holes in the side of the box to help the plant to breathe. When the box is packed into the moving vehicle, make sure they are placed upright. If you follow these directions carefully your plants should be okay for up to a three day move.

NOTICE: Keep in mind watering is vital before the move. An over-watered or under-watered plants can cause the plant to die during the dark transportation.

Now that you are finally on the road to your new home you will need to give minor attention to the plants. If you are transporting the plants in your car do not transport them in the trunk if at all possible! This is the worse thing that you could do to a plant, because conditions are hot, dark and extra bumpy. You will want to give plants occasional access to fresh air and make sure the temperature does not drop too low. You will not have to worry about watering the plants on the way. If you get a chance overnight let the plants out in your room and open the box so they are exposed to some light.

Once you arrive at your new home the plants will be one of the first things that you want to unpack. When you unpack them remove them from the bottom of the box. This will help you to prevent damaging leaves and branches. Slide them out gently. Choose spots for your plants where you they will flourish, do not move them around much in the first week until they are acclimated to their new home.