Moving Safety: How to Avoid Theft When you are Moving

When it comes time to move, theft is probably the last thing on your mind. You have endless to-do lists, and you just don't have time to worry about the worst. Unfortunately, due to the upheaval of a move, it leaves us quite vulnerable to theft. Here are some ways you can ensure the safety of your items when it comes time to move. 

1. Keep Door Locked 

When we move strangers (movers, repair men, etc) come in and out of our houses continuously. We also may have friends, family, etc coming in and out as well. The traffic increases the likelihood that your door will be left unlocked, or perhaps you will forget to lock your doors. The best way to avoid an easy theft is to keep all of your doors and windows locked at all times. It may also be a good idea to change all of the locks when you move into a new home just to make sure there isn't a stray key into your home out there. 

2. Valuable Items 

Jewelry, cash, weapons, etc. should all be stored safely away where strangers cannot easily access them. As soon as you move in you or trusted family member should put these items somewhere safely tucked away. A safe is ideal for such items, but a locked room or hidden storage area can work just as well. Many people will suggest hiding valuable items in closets, so that is an area many thieves will look first when they break into homes. That is why I urge you all to be a little more creative than that. Just don't be careless by leaving these items out in plain view or where they can easily be found by any unwelcome visitors in your home. 

3. Paperwork 

Another major problem these days is identity theft. Tax returns, bills, etc. should all be tucked away in a locked cabinet or somewhere safe. The valuable information on random pieces of paperwork can give a stranger all the room they need to create a huge nightmare for you down the line. Also remember to shred and throw away any unneeded paperwork that has your personal information on it. 

4.  Medications

Any important medications or toiletries should be moved on your person. Pack them in a purse, glove box, carry-on or whatever, to avoid them being swiped during a move or after. If you do not want to bother with this precaution, I suggest packing them in with clothes, book or some other box where no one would suspect to look for such an item. There is nothing worse than not only not having an important medication available when you need it, but now having to go to a doctor in your new area to get a new prescription. 

5. Alarm System 

I suggest installing and activating an alarm system, like ADT, to protect your home from intruders. Installing it before you even move in is ideal. Moving to a new place can be scary, and this extra precaution gives you a little more peace of mind when settling into your new home. 

6. Make Friends with Neighbors

Being friendly with the neighbor isn't a thing everyone wants to do, but it is a good way to protect your home. In the long run it gives you another set of your eyes on your home. This will serve you the whole time you live in this house

Declutter the Garage: Garage Floor Edition

Even the most clean and stylish homeowners often view garages as storage spaces. Considering it is a part of the house most people visit every time they leave their home in their vehicle, it shouldn't be left as an eye sore. Even if you don't mind the clutter, a cluttered garage can result in a lot of time wasted sifting through everything to find a certain item.

If you really want to give your garage an effective makeover- the best way to go is from the bottom up. Most junk and clutter will be addressed when you start on the floor. If you are looking for a quick fix, this may may not be a great place to start. Without further ado here is how you can get started giving your garage a much needed face lift.

Paint the Garage Floor 

Oil spills, dirt, mouse droppings and lord knows what else, all cake on a garage floor over the years making the garage look like scenes from a horror movie rather than an integral part of your home. One way to really spruce up your garage, as well as ensure the long-term integrity of the garage floor, is to treat and paint the floor of your garage. Here is a website from DIY Network that takes you through the process of re-painting a garage floor.

To upgrade your floor even further when you do this, I recommend going for a more non-traditional color. We are all too familiar with the ugly grey of garages, and it has a negative connotation in our minds. Instead browse for colors like rose, sunset or any number of tan-hued garage floor paint colors to give your garage a more warm look. Here is one option for garage floor paint from Home Depot.

Clean the Garage Floor 

If re-painting the garage floor is just not in the household budget right now, considering using a pressure washer or hosing out your garage floor. This will get out oil, dust, nests and all the other gunk that accumulates on the garage floor. Even just a quick sweep will make all the difference in the appearance of your garage. You'll be surprised how much your garage will shine after preforming any of these relatively low budget steps.

Remove Junk off the Floor 

Like any room in a house, all items should have a place in your garage. Items that sit on the floor take up more space than they need to. It also makes things appear a lot more cluttered than they actually are in reality. Invest in shelves, organizers, hangers, bins, buckets or whatever else you need to get all the random items off of the floor. Make sure after you or a family member uses an item, that the item goes back where it belongs afterwards.

Avoid Using Cardboard Boxes as Storage in Garages 

Cardboard boxes are cheap, versatile and great for moving, but when it comes to permanent storage they are not ideal. Cardboard can absorb moisture, smells, dust and can attract mice, so it is best to avoid them as storage items in your home. Not to mention that ugly shade of brown reminds many of us of the horrible process of moving, so it makes look as if you are transit rather than trying to settle in your home.

Instead of cardboard boxes opt for plastic, metal or just about any other material, because these material will last longer than most cardboard boxes will in the elements. You can find great sales on storage shelves and plastic bins a couple weeks after holidays (mainly Christmas and Halloween) when stores are trying to sell off extra bins they have on stock. Also, IKEA often has bargains on these type of items, as well as plenty of attractive options.

Handy Moving Infographic: 7 Insane Stats about Moving in 2013

The two main things a person who is in the process of moving should take away from this infographic:

1. You are just one of 40 million people in the United States whom decide to move every year, so you aren't completely bonkers for wanting/needing to re-locate.
2. When you can schedule your move, so you movers are not overly busy/tired when they move all your precious belongings. Scheduling moves during the winter and early in the week is is a great way to ensure your movers are not harried, but it also gives you some bargaining power when you are negotiating with movers.

Moving Industry Infographic by MyMovingReviews.

9 Movies about Moving!

Want to get into the spirit of moving with movies about moving? You've come to the right place! Here are some of my all time favorite movies about moving. 

The Amityville Horror (2005) 

The Amityville Horror may not make you in the mood to move into a new house, but it is still a fun movie. In this film a family moves into a home to discover it is haunted by the ghosts of those killed in a mass-murder in the house. I like the 2005 version with Ryan Reynolds (who is incidentally easy on the eyes ladies) starring as the main character, but there are about a dozen different versions of this movie from different time periods. 

Homeward Bound 

This is a really fun movie where a cat and two dogs are left behind at an aunt's rancher by a family who move to the city. The family promises to come back and get the pets once the family can find a big enough space for three pets in San Francisco. The three pets escape the rancher to find their family in San Francisco making an incredible journey. The animals do talk to one another in the movie, but their mouths do not move with any creepy high-tech effects. 

Footloose 

A young Kevin Bacon moves to a town where dancing is illegal! He soon has the whole town dancing to realize that a little bit of harmless fun never hurt anyone. This fun film is filled with a fun 80's soundtrack, lots of dancing and love story to boot.

Moving 

This is a classic Richard Pryor film that is filled with great laughs. As you can imagine Pryor is up to his typical shenanigans, and he hires a terrible moving company. This may make you afraid to hire any movers to help you with your move, but remember it is just a movie. Not all moving companies are that bad. This is a great film maybe to watch after the move, so you can remind yourself the move could have been worse! 

Beetlejuice 

A young couple moves into a home, but they don't realize they are dead! They try to haunt the house to make the current owners move out, but the new residents are not impressed by this young couple's spookiness. The couple decides to employ the haunting specialist Beetlejuice to scare the residents away. Michael Keaton plays a very memorable Beetlejuice. Also, young Winona Ryder plays a goth teenager. This is a cult classic film that you will never forget. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 

Harry Potter gets a whole new life when he moves from under the stairs of his mean aunt and uncle's to the school of Hogwarts. A great movie to inspire kids that moving can in fact improve life by giving everyone new opportunities in a new home. The book is even better than the movie for all my book worms out there. 

Karate Kid

This a movie that focuses on how difficult moving can be for a teenager. The main character, Daniel, moves in his senior year to a whole different state. He finds it difficult to fit in, but he soon meets new friends that will change his life forever including the famous Mr. Miyagi. Spoiler alert: You will be practicing a lot of wax-ons and wax-offs yourself with all the cleaning and painting that is usually involved in moving.

The Beverly Hillbillies (The Movie) 

This old television series was made into a hilarious movie in the 1990's that is just hilarious, but it also has its tear-jerker moments.In this film a family of hillbillies strikes it rich than moves to the big city, and you get to laugh at the expense of the hill billies as they learn the ropes of urban living. Jim Varney (the actor that played Ernest P. Worrel in so many movies) does a fantastic job playing the job Jed Clampett.

Twilight 

A great movie for tweens who just love romantic movies. In this movie a teenage girl moves to Washington where she meets a cute vampire and major troublemaker. Adventures, romance and such ensue. Teenage girls (and some of their moms) just can't seem to get enough of these books and movies.