How it works

Moving to a new house is among the most common situations we can encounter in our days. And even though we move averagely a few times in our lifetime, removals are still among the most nerve-wracking situations possible. Just working out the organization of moving everything you have from one place to another is a very large job and with securing your belongings for transportation, unpacking and selecting the best transport provider to help you with the move, it becomes truly colossal as well as quite nerve-wracking. Thankfully there are a few ways to make the move as efficient as possible as well as considerably less stressful.

Packing and securing your belongings for the time of the removal

The most important tip you should remember while packing is that you need a clear list of steps that you will stick to during the move. It is good to create a list of every item you want transported. Such a list will not only help you pack but also will allow you to check if all your belongings were successfully shipped to your new home. Removal entails transporting a big amount of various items, among them a big amount of little things that can be easily forgettable under the pressure of time – a list will ensure that you will remember to check if they all arrived to your new home safely. The next important step is labelling all the boxes as clearly as you are able to. One of the most useful methods of labelling cardboards is by category. For example all the kitchen accessories and devices go into boxes tagged ‘kitchen’, all the duvets and blankets in the box labelled ‘bedroom’ etc. You’ll see how time-saving tagging can be once you start the unpacking. Remember to tag both sides and the top of the cardboard, so that you (as well as the transport provider) can be sure which cardboard goes where, regardless of how they will be placed inside the transporting car.

Be extra careful when preparing to transport fragile things. Wrap them in protective layers of fabric or bubble wrap and then tag them in an easily visible place (including a “This way up” label). You should also ensure that the hauler knows that he’ll be shipping fragile goods as well as which cardboards requires handling with care.

When it comes to furniture, it’s important to empty them prior to the removal and transport everything that was inside separately. Any unattached things in closets or cabinets could harm your furniture during shipment. It’s also smart to close all the furniture doors as well as drawers with some tape to make sure they cannot open during shipment. You may use ordinary Scotch tape to do that. Another issue is the matter of loading the furniture inside the shipping car. Ahead of attempting to move your furniture out of the house, make sure that you’ll be able to transport them through the front doors, stairways and into the elevator (if your building has one). If so, you can move them without dismantling (find at least 1 person to help you!). If they can’t, disassembling them is the only way to move them safely. Be cautious with that – be sure to have all the pins as well as screws in one place like in a Ziploc bag and that you’ve secured delicate elements of the furniture sufficiently. Disassembling furniture is also a good idea whenever you want to use the shipping vehicle to the maximum, because dismantled furniture will take a lot less place.  

When packing smaller items, like magazines, tableware, decorations etc., boxes will be the most obvious choice. It’s almost certain that you will need more boxes than you have – but there is a couple of methods to get additional boxes. For example you may acquire new boxes in most of the home-improvement as well as construction stores. However since you’ll probably require lots of cardboards, you may decide upon a more economical way. Visit nearby stores and see if they have any boxes they no longer need. Stores usually have a great amount of needless boxes and they are usually happy to share. 

An alternative to boxes will be using bags, especially for transporting textiles as well as little items. There is a quite higher chance that you will find the bags at home. As stated above, bags will serve as a decent alternative when storing clothes, magazines and small things, but unfortunately they have a couple of disadvantages. Bags are much less durable than cardboards and prone to breaking, if you decide to use them for transporting things with hard corners (for example books, stationery and such). Moreover – placing bags on top of each other is much more difficult than stacking boxes in similar fashion.

One of the most tricky items to ship are houseplants. It is always safest to transport them by yourself, however if for some reason you cannot do that, make sure that the hauler is aware of what he is going to transport. A day prior to the move water the plants thoroughly and allow the water to sink in. It’s important that the plants are watered enough to endure the transportation, but also to allow them to take in what they can before putting the plants in a box (you need to pour off the excess water from the saucer, to make sure it won’t soak through the container).

Selecting suitable hauler

Of course, aside from suitably securing your cargo for the time of transportation, it is equally important to find a suitable transport provider. Which aspects of transportation must you take into consideration while making your decision? Cost of the service, obviously, is important, especially on lengthy, routes between countries, however it’s just 1 factor. Whenever transporting all your belongings you have to in the first place take into consideration if your things will be safe in the hands of the hauler. Whenever posting your listing on a transport marketplace, like Clicktrans, you not only may ask prospective transport providers every question you require an answer to before deciding upon a hauler but also you can read feedback left by former customers on every hauler’s profile page. Nothing is more reliable than reviews left by a person who’s already hired the transport provider you are thinking of hiring.  

Prices of removal

The cost of removal is quite difficult to asses, because it varies considerably due to the weight and dimensions of the cargo as well as how long the route is. If you plan to ship many fragile items, the price is likely to be higher. The same goes for removals between countries – domestic routes are usually less pricey than transporting your load across borders.