Changing apartment is among the most common happenings we can experience in our life. And despite the fact we change the place we live in averagely a few times in our lifetime, removals are still among the most stressful situations that can happen to us. Just working out the organization of moving everything you have between houses is quite a task and when you add packing, unpacking and selecting the suitable company to assist you with the move, it seems truly colossal and quite nerve-wracking. Thankfully there are couple of things you can do to make the move as efficient as possible and considerably less stressful.

Packing and securing your belongings for transportation

One crucial tip you need to remember while preparing for the removal is that you need a coherent plan that you will stick to during the move. It is good to make a list of every item you want transported. Such a list can not only make the packing easier but also will allow you to make sure that all of your things were successfully transported to its place of destination. Removal entails shipping a big amount of stuff, including a lot of small things that can be easily misplaced when packed in a hurry – a list will help you make sure they all arrived to your new home safely. Another crucial step is tagging all the boxes as precisely as you can. One of the most useful methods of tagging boxes is by category. So all the kitchen accessories as well as appliances should be placed into boxes labelled ‘kitchen’, all the duvets and personal items in the cardboards tagged ‘bedroom’ etc. You’ll see how time-saving tagging can be once you get to the unpacking part. Don’t forget to label both sides and the top of the box, so that you (as well as the hauler) will be able to recognize which cardboard goes where, regardless of how they will be stacked inside the transporting car.

Take special care when preparing to transport delicate items. Enclose them in thick layers of fabric and bubble wrap and then tag them clearly (together with a “This way up” sign). You should also make sure that the transport provider is aware that he’ll be shipping delicate cargo and which boxes have to be handled with care.

When you are shipping furniture, it’s imperative to empty them before the removal and ship all the things inside individually. Any loose items inside cupboards and cabinets can damage your furniture during transportation. Additionally it is good to close all the furniture doors as well as drawers with some tape to make sure they won’t open on the road. You may use ordinary Scotch tape to do that. There is also a matter of putting the furniture inside the transporting car. Before trying to move your furniture from the house, make sure that you’ll be able to transport them via front doors, stairways or into the elevator (if your old apartment has one). If they do, you can move them without dismantling (make sure that you have at least one person to assist you!). If they cannot, dismantling them is the only way to transport them without harm. Be cautious with that – make sure you have all the pins and screws gathered for example in a Ziploc bag as well as that you’ve secured delicate elements of the furniture properly. Disassembling furniture is also a good idea when you need to use the transporting vehicle to the maximum, as disassembled furniture will take a lot less place.  

When securing minor things, such as books, tableware, decorations and much more, cardboards will be the smartest choice. It’s most likely that you will need more boxes than you have – but there is a few methods to get additional boxes. Firstly you may get new cardboards in all home-improvement as well as construction stores. But since you’ll most likely require lots of boxes, you can choose a more affordable method. Try visiting your local shops and ask if they have any cardboards they no longer need. Shops tend to possess a great amount of unneeded cardboards and most of the time they are happy to share. 

Another options, instead of boxes would be using bags, especially for storing clothes and small items. There is a much higher chance that you have some bags already at home. As stated above, bags will serve as a decent choice for packing textiles, magazines as well as small things, but unfortunately they have a couple of disadvantages. Bags are much less durable than boxes as well as prone to tearing, should you choose to use them for transporting things with edges (for example books, stationery and so on). Moreover – placing bags on top of each other is much more difficult than stacking cardboards the same way.

Among the most difficult things to ship are houseplants. It’s usually smartest to ship them individually, however if something prevents you from doing that, make sure that the transport provider is aware of what he will be shipping. One day before the move water the plants thoroughly and give them a moment. It’s crucial that the plants are watered enough to endure the shipment, but it’s equally important to allow them to take in what they can before placing the plants in a box (you must get rid of the excess water gathered on the saucer, so that it won’t accidentally leak through the container).

Choosing the best transport provider

Of course, apart from suitably securing your cargo for the shipment, it is also important to find a suitable hauler. What factors should you consider when making your decision? Cost of the service, obviously, is of importance, particularly on lengthy, international routes, but that’s just 1 factor. When transporting everything you have you need to firstly take into consideration if your load will be properly protected when given to the hauler. Whenever posting your listing on a transport marketplace, like Clicktrans, you not only can ask possible transport providers all the questions you need answered before making your decision about a transport provider but also you can read reviews given by former customers on each hauler’s profile page. Nothing can be more reliable than feedback left by someone who’s already used the services of the hauler you are considering.  

Prices of removal

Price of removal is really hard to asses, because it varies considerably due to how much the cargo weights and how big it is or how long the route is. If your removal consist of many fragile things, the cost is probable to go up. The same goes for international removals – routes within one country are normally less pricey than moving your items across borders.