Moving to a new house is among the most common happenings we can experience in our days. And even though we move at least a few times before settling for good, removals are still some of the most stressful activities possible. Just working out the organization of shipping everything you have from one place to another is a very large job and when you add packing, unpacking and selecting the suitable transport provider to help you with removal, it seems truly huge and very nerve-wracking. Luckily there are couple of things you can do to make the move as efficient as possible and considerably less nerve-wracking.

Packing and securing your items for transportation

One crucial tip you need to remember while packing is that you should create a clear plan that you’ll have to abide by through the whole process. It is good to make a list of every item you want to ship. It will not only help you pack but also will allow you to check if all of your things were safely transported to its place of destination. Removal entails transporting a great deal of various items, including a lot of little things that are easily forgettable when packed in a hurry – an inventory will help you make sure they all made it to your new home safely. Another crucial step is tagging all the boxes as clearly as you are able to. One of the more useful ways of tagging boxes is by category. So all the kitchen accessories as well as appliances go into boxes labelled ‘kitchen’, all the duvets as well as jewellery in the box tagged ‘bedroom’ and so on. You’ll quickly find out how time-saving tagging can be once you get to the unpacking part. Don’t forget to tag both sides and the top of the box, so that you (as well as the transport provider) will be able to recognize which box goes where, regardless of how they will be stacked in the transporting vehicle.

Take special care with delicate things. Enclose them in thick layers of textiles as well as bubble wrap and tag them in an easily visible place (together with a “This way up” sign). You should also make sure that the hauler knows that he’ll be shipping fragile load as well as which boxes have to be handled with care.

When it comes to furniture, it’s important to empty them prior to the removal as well as transport all the things inside separately. Any loose items inside closets and drawers can harm your furniture during shipment. It’s also smart to close all the furniture doors as well as drawers using tape so that they won’t open during transportation. You can use ordinary Scotch tape for that. Another issue is the matter of putting the furniture inside the shipping car. Ahead of attempting to move your furniture from the house, be certain that they will fit through the front doors, stairways or into the elevator (if your old apartment has one). If they do, you’ll be able to transport them without disassembling (find at least 1 person to help you!). If they cannot, dismantling them is the sole method to move them without harm. Be cautious with that – be sure to store all the nails and bolts gathered like in a Ziploc bag and that you’ve secured delicate elements of the furniture sufficiently. Dismantling furniture is also a good idea when you need to fill the shipping vehicle to the maximum, because dismantled furniture will take a lot less place.  

Whenever securing smaller things, like books, kitchen appliances, cosmetics and much more, boxes will be the smartest choice. It’s very possible that you will need more boxes than you have – but there is a few ways to acquire some more. For example you can get new cardboards in all home-improvement and construction stores. But since you’ll probably need quite a few boxes, you can decide upon a more affordable method. Visit nearby shops and ask if they have any boxes they don’t need any more. Shops tend to have a great amount of unneeded boxes and they are usually happy to give them away. 

An alternative to boxes would be using bags, especially for storing clothes and little stuff. There is a much bigger chance that you will find the bags at home. As mentioned, bags will be a decent choice for packing clothes, magazines as well as small things, but unfortunately they have a couple of disadvantages. Bags are much more flimsy than cardboards and susceptible to tearing, if you decide to use them for transporting items with edges (like books, cutlery and such). Also – placing bags on top of each other is much more difficult than stacking boxes in similar fashion.

Among the most difficult loads to ship are houseplants. It is usually smartest to ship them personally, but if for some reason you cannot do that, make sure that the hauler is aware of what he will be shipping. A day before the transportation water the plants thoroughly and allow the water to sink in. It’s crucial that the plants are watered enough to suffer through the shipment, but it’s equally important to allow them to absorb what they can before putting the plants in a cardboard (you have to pour off the excess water gathered on the saucer, so that it won’t accidentally leak through the container).

Selecting suitable hauler

Obviously, aside from suitably securing your items for the shipment, it is also important to select a suitable transport provider. What aspects of transportation should you take into consideration when making your decision? Cost of the service, obviously, is of importance, particularly on lengthy, international routes, however it’s just one of the things to consider. Whenever transporting everything you have you should in the first place think if your things will be properly protected in the hands of the hauler. When listing your delivery on a transport marketplace, like Clicktrans, you not only can ask possible transport providers every question you need answered before making your decision about a transport provider but also you may read reviews given by former customers on every transport provider’s profile page. Nothing is more reliable than reviews given by someone who’s already used the services of the hauler you are considering.  

The cost of removal

The cost of removal is pretty difficult to estimate, because it changes, sometimes drastically because of how much the cargo weights and how big it is or the route length. If you are transporting many fragile items, the price is probable to go up. The same goes for international removals – routes within one country are normally cheaper than transporting your items into another country.