Moving Tips from The Mighty Movers

Only hire the best – If you choose to hire professional movers, do your research and hire good ones. Poor quality movers really can be worse than none at all.
Licensing – Only consider movers that are licensed, bonded and insured.
Research – Investigate your potential movers through the U.S. Department of Transportation, MovingScam-dot-com and the Better Business Bureau.
Price – Price isn’t the only factor- extremely low bids indicate a desperate mover.
Avoid “rogue movers” – if you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts! Never agree to move your possessions with anyone you don’t trust.

Less is more – Use packing as a way to clean out belongings for donations, a yard sale, and/or the recycling center. Aim to eliminate 1/3 of your belongings. You’ll save time and expense.
Off the floor – Instead of the floor, use a completely cleared-off table top or counter in each room for packing boxes. You’ll find you get much more accomplished.
Tracking small parts – When taking apart items to be moved, such as tables, securely tape screws and other small parts securely to the underside of the item. You’ll always know where to look and save time putting things back together.
Criss-cross tape – Tape boxes along the seams where the flaps meet together. Then tape perpendicularly at the center of the first tape, forming a cross.
Stacking – Stack boxes with the heaviest on the bottom, the lightest on top to prevent crushing.
The 30-pound rule – Keep each box below 50 pounds absolute maximum and below 30 pounds wherever possible. Heavier boxes lead to injuries, are much more likely to burst their tape or seams and tend to get dropped.
Scale – Keep a bathroom scale in the room you’re packing so you can keep the boxes below the weight limits.

Accountant/tax preparer; Alumni associations; Attorneys
Babysitter/ child care provider; Banks (auto loans, checking accounts, credit cards, home equity, IRA’s, mortgage, safe deposit box, savings account); Broker; Business cards (order new ones if applicable)
Cell phone provider; Child care/ daycare; Chiropractor; Courts, especially for traffic tickets or local disputes; Credit bureaus; Credit card issuers
Dentist; Department of Motor Vehicles; Diaper service; Doctor; Dry cleaning pick-up and delivery
Family members and friends
Health clubs; House cleaning service; House of worship
Insurance providers (auto, health, life, other vehicles); IRS (form 8822)
Lawn care; Luggage tags (replace existing ones)
Magazine subscriptions
New business cards; New employer; Newspaper subscriptions
Old employer; Orthodontist
Parent-teacher association; Passport; Pet sitter/ dog walker/ pet day care; Pharmacy (BONUS: get year-to-date expense summary for taxes); Physical therapist; Physician (BONUS: get referral for new location); Post office; Professional organizations
Retirement plan holders; Return address labels (order new ones)
Schools (BONUS: get copies of transcripts); Snow removal service; Social Security Administration; Swimming pool maintenance (pool cleaning, pool opening or closing); Swimming pool memberships
Veterinarian BONUS get vet records and recommendations
Water delivery service

Again, start early – You want to have everything as organized as possible prior to the arrival of the movers.
Use sitters – Recruit help in watching your small kids and pets on Moving Day. Your attention will be needed for the nuts and bolts of the move.
Have food ready – Whether you have professional movers or friends and family, having coffee, orange juice, and bagels or donuts available will make it easier for everyone to get started.
Cell phone numbers – Make sure you have the cell phone number of the driver of the truck entered into your cell phone, and that the driver has yours in case you get separated or have a problem.
Proper payment – Make sure you have payment ready.