What to Do While You Wait for Your Moving Truck

Before we wrote about why when relocating hired moving trucks usually arrive later than we do at our new homes. This is a follow-up to give you some ideas on what to do while you wait for the moving truck to finally arrive. The further away you've moved, the longer you may be waiting. It can take anywhere from just an hour extra to an entire day. Make sure you know the estimate time of arrival beforehand, so you aren't completely surprised when they show up.

1. Keep Calm

If you read a lot of moving reviews by people, you'll notice a common complaint is the moving truck hasn't arrived when they expected. These people drive themselves crazy by calling the moving company one million times, fretting that their stuff is now being sold at a thrift shop and all sorts of anxiety-inducing activities. None of these things actually help, unless you are looking to raise your blood pressure.

While it is understandable to be freaked out that all of your stuff is in the hands of strangers, freaking out does not make your stuff arrive any faster. You've already expended a lot of energy starting this move, so give your blood pressure and general anxiety levels a break by keeping as calm as possible. Worrying doesn't do anything, it only makes you seem like you are doing something. Take some deep breaths, smell the flowers or whatever to try to make yourself feel better. Preferably plan ahead to have some extra time when you arrive, so that you can make good use of this valuable time.

2. Make Sure All the Utilities are On 

One of the most basic things you can do is make sure all the utilities you planned to have up are on. Sometimes in the mix of a move, utility companies will mess up dates or time to turn stuff back on, and on other occasions we may completely forget to call the utility companies. Go turn on the water, light, a/c, internet or whatever else should be up and running. If something isn't running, you now have time (if not energy) to call utility companies now.

3. Clean 

You are not supposed to pack cleaning supplies in a moving truck, so you should have your cleaning supplies with you. If you aren't lucky enough to be move into a brand new home (most of us aren't), consider giving the house a good move-in scrub. I know people who are move out are supposed to clean up after themselves, but as a neat freak I personally  like to give everything a brief scrub (especially bathrooms).

Unpack your supplies and start scrubbing away. I even like to bleach bathrooms to get rid of some of the nasty grime that can build up with inattentive residents. Make your home to the level of clean you want it to be as part of the move in process.

4. Send Out a Scout 

You will want to leave at least somebody to wait for the moving truck to arrive. If you have a partner, teenagers or whoever can drive send them out on a scouting mission. Find the local grocery stores, schools, hardware stores, pizza shops or whatever other places you will need to learn the locations of. This will also give you a chance to gain your bearings around your new location.

Make sure not to get too adventurous with your exploring. The thing about gaining your bearings is that you should plan a little time to be lost. Even though Google maps says the store is only 20 minutes away, it doesn't account for the 30 minutes you may spend correcting a couple wrong turns.

5. Unpack the Stuff in Your Personal Vehicle or That You Have with You 

Plan ahead to have items with you that you can unpack while you wait for the truck. Doing this means you can begin the long journey ahead of unpacking all of your stuff into your new home. These small items may just seem like a tiny fraction of the entire move, but it is a tiny of a fraction of things you won't have to deal with when the rest of your items arrive.

6. Plan Where Stuff is Going to Go 

Now is a good time to discuss where you actually want some of your stuff to go. While you shouldn't set your head and heart on too specific of arrangements, it is a good use of time to get a general idea of where some furniture and other items should go. You can even get out a piece of paper to sketch out different ideas for each room.

Deciding where furniture goes before the movers arrives gives you a chance to tell them exactly where to put things. This means less moving around of heavy items that you will need to do later.

Where is my Truck?

When you use a moving company one thing you may notice is the moving truck drive takes a lot longer to get your new location than it is going to take you in your personal vehicle. It can be frustrating to arrive at your new home and wait for a long time for your stuff to arrive. Most of us want to get our stuffed moved in as soon as possible, because the sooner we start assembling our new home the sooner the whole move will finally be over with.

Moving truck drivers are not just cruising around during this time to make your family wait. The following is explaining why moving trucks take so much longer to get to a location.

1. No Moving Trucks Allowed

There are many roads that trucks are not allowed on. For that reason moving trucks often have to go on out of the way routes to get to your new location. These routes are usually extremely inefficient, but it is absolutely necessary for moving trucks to take the alternative way due to traffic regulations.

2. Traffic Rules 

The average driver goes around 5 mph above the speed limit. Professional moving truck drivers cannot take this risk of speeding at all. A traffic ticket is a huge threat to their livelihood;l so if the posted speed limit is 25 mph, they are going 25 mph.

3. Slow Down, Speed Up 

It takes moving trucks a lot more time to speed up or slow down. This has a lot of impact on how efficient a drive can be. For one thing, it means moving truck drivers need to drive extremely defensively, because if someone slams on their breaks they need more than enough room to stop. It also means getting started when the red light turn green takes a lot longer. All of these little things add a lot of time onto a drive.

4. The Law

The law is that drivers can only drive 11 hours a day. In addition, they are only allowed to work a total of 14 hours a day. For long-distance moves, these laws make a huge difference. Some moving truck drivers would love to pull all nighters to just get the job done to get home sooner, but doing so can get them and the moving company in a great deal of trouble with the Department of Transportation.

5. Unexpected Traffic 

Remember that unexpected traffic can happen anytime, anywhere. Unpredictable accidents, popular events and many other things can cause traffic to be extremely heavy. While most drivers will try to avoid expected rush hour traffic, incidental traffic is nearly impossible to avoid.

4 Simple Ways to Make Your Move Greener

Many individuals are seeking out little ways to live a greener lifestyle, altering the way we relocate is a great place to start. While we may be in a rush when we move, there are minor adjustments we can make so the move is a little greener and sometimes even easier, cheaper and more efficient.

1) Get Rid of Stuff 

The less stuff you need to move, the easier the move. If you get rid of enough stuff, it can even mean needing a smaller moving truck and/or less trips you need to make with your own vehicle. With fewer trips and smaller moving vans, it means releasing less gas emissions into the environment. 

Go through your home with four boxes. Each one dedicated to selling, donating/giving away, recycling or just throwing away. Now is the time to purge. There is nothing more infuriating then needing to pack up junk, move junk then unpack the junk while you wonder why oh why you even bothered moving any of this stuff in the first place. Just keep in mind what you need versus what you are holding onto for no particular reason. 

2) Greener Boxes 

Buying new boxes can be a waste of money, energy and resources. Instead you can opt to rent green boxes,   

save boxes for your move or dumpster dive for boxes. Cardboard accounts for a lot of thrown away material in recycling and dumps yard. 

Also, remember to get green packing materials as well. If you know you are moving save cardboard egg cartons, newspapers, magazines and other materials to pack up more delicate items. You can also use clothing, bedding, towels and other soft materials most homes already have on hand. 

3) Clean Green 

Part of every move is cleaning up after yourself and cleaning your new home before you start unpacking. Consider purchasing some green cleaning supplies that have less chemicals that can be harmful to you and the environment. Although these type of supplies cost a little more, you can buy them in bulk through Amazon or Costco to save a little money. 

4) Waste no Food 

Before you move eat all the food in your fridge. Don't buy food you are not going to have time to prepare before the move. People frequently will empty everything in the fridge into the trashcan, because it is impossible to move perishable items long distances. Instead of wasting food, it is best to try to plan to eat as much of the perishable items as possible.  

Do not toss non-perishable items! Pack them with you or donate them to your local food bank. With so many in need, it is really a major shame to waste food. Not to mention generating food takes a lot of energy! 

Tips to Keep Your Stuff Dry in Self Storage

Keeping dry in climates where it rains all of the time can prove to be a serious challenge. A constant battle against the cold and the damp ensues, and unfortunately this battle will continue when putting items in self storage. 

Avoiding water damage in humid, saturated areas is not beyond your reach. It just takes a little extra care to make sure that your stuff will be safe when it is tucked away in self storage. Comment with any extra tips you may have! 

Wet Weather Storage Tips 

1) Do not use cardboard boxes: Cardboard boxes pull in the moisture from the air, this causes the boxes and possibly your stuff to grow mildew. If you are putting your stuff in storage for more than a month, definitely get plastic containers to store away everything in. Containers will protect your belongings from moisture in the air and any actual water damage. You also can keep the containers for storage in your home, the next time you move, or you can resell them on Craigslist. 

2) Price for humidity: When pricing different self storage units , make sure to ask what level does the company keep the relative humidity at. Relative humidity above 60% can lead to various problems, but in some areas it may be difficult to find anything lower than that. It is good to keep the relative humidity in mind when you are trying to decide which self storage facility to go with. 

3) Consider a climate controlled unit: In a particularly wet climate, you will probably not want to store yourself in outdoor units. This will leave yourself vulnerable to all temperature changes and the crazy levels of humidity. An indoor climate controlled unit keeps the temperature level, and they usually manage the humidity to some degree. 

4) Dehumidifiers: If you live in a wet climate, you are probably already very familiar with dehumidifiers. If you get a self storage unit with power, plug in a dehumidifier to battle some of the moisture. It is dangerous to leave a humidifier unattended for longer periods, so make sure to get a dehumidifier that has a timer. You also may want to occasionally physically check on the dehumidifier to make sure it is in working order.  If your storage unit does not have electricity, consider a non-electric dehumidifier like DampRid. 

5)  Battle the odor before it happens: Even with taking all the necessary precautions, some items may still be affected by the moisture in the air or water damage. A pretty stinky odor can arise items that are getting even just a little bit damp. A small bowl of coal will absorb any of these odors to avoid any unpleasant smells in your storage unit, and it can even prevent the build up of unpleasant smells on your stuff. 

6) Consider Chemicals: Anhydrous calcium chloride tablets and other moisture sucking chemicals are capable of pulling moisture out of the storage unit's air. Keep the chemicals in a small container where you can obviously see them, so they won't spill and make a mess.

7) Dry Everything: Make sure everything is bone dry when you put it in your storage unit. Damp clothing,
boxes, furniture, etc. will not dry off in a closed, dark unit. This is just a recipe for breeding mildew, mold and other atrocities. Try avoid moving on a rainy day if at all possible. If you are moving on a rainy day make sure to cover everything with tarp, trash bags, etc. to make sure items stay drive when you move them into your storage unit.

We understand finding a dry day in damp climates
like the Pacific Northwest can be nearly impossible during wet season!
I feel your pain, happy moving!

Tricks and Tips to Selling Your Home When You Have Children

Wish You Could Pack up the Kids Too? 

Getting your home ready to sell and showing it becomes complicated when you have children. Kids have this magical way of making messes everywhere that they shouldn't when are trying to move, and often it can be an up hill battle for parents to keep their sanity while trying to successfully sell their homes. 

The one consolation you can have is that people with kids will get any messes your little monster may have created. The problem is people without kids may not. The following are some simple ways to try to reduce the kid-related chaos in your home long enough to sell it. 

1) Pack up all the toys you can get away with. Toys are a lovely way of distracting the children, but you don't want them to distract the eye of your buyers. An excess of toys can make buyers feel like the space is a lot smaller than it actually is. Go with the goal of packing up half the toys, and see if you can get away with a little more. If you have the space, put them in the basement, the shed or self storage. You'll be surprised how much more spacious and less cluttered your home looks like without all the Fischer Price, action figures, etc. You may even find yourself whimsically daydreaming of the day that your child grows out of the toys, but for now just enjoy the lack of plastic piles while you can. 

2) The Toilet Problem. Kids are messy, smelly and just plain gross, especially when it comes to hygiene. Before the house is going to be shown make sure to check all of the toilets in the house, and to dispose of any stink diapers. Make sure all cleaning supplies, bathtub toys, diapers, etc. are stored away out of sight. The last thing you want a potential buyer to think about when considering your home is unsanitary smelling and cluttered bathrooms.  

3) Put Your Kid to Work. Selling your home can be a team effort. Give your kids small tasks to take care of. Washing windows, cleaning tables, keeping their room clean, dusting, etc. can all be tasks that make the house look more nice. Try to motivate your child to help sell the house by putting the move in a positive light. 

4) Put Your Kids Away. When you are showing your house, if at all possible have the kids out of the house. Send them to grandma's, a friend's or just outside to play. If you are using a realtor, it is best to take your whole family outside of the house. People like to browse their potential new home in privacy and quite. Two things that kids, and even you, can be quite disruptive of. 

5) Eat out. Spend the least amount of time as possible in the kitchen. This avoids any unwanted messes. If you do cook at home, keep it to simple meals that won't leave a mess. Make sure your kids know not to eat or make food when someone is viewing the house. 

6) Put away the kid stuff. Cradles, potty stools, high chairs, cribs, etc. should all be put away when someone is coming to view the house. These serve as visual and physical barriers to people who want to take a good look at the house.