Packing and Unpacking

But, what is included in packing and unpacking services? What are you going to have to pay for and what can you expect from your movers if they take care of this for you? Let’s unpack that a bit, so to speak.

What Services Are Included in Packing and Unpacking?

When you hire local moving companies to take care of your packing and unpacking as well, you will get exactly what it sounds like you will get – they will pack up your entire home (except what you’ve already packed) and they will unpack it when you get to your new home.

They will do this under your direction, of course, but they take care of the hard work. They will also inventory all of your items as they are packed so that you can be sure that they all make it to your destination as well.

Some companies will also include the cost of any packing supplies in their quotes for packing and unpacking services. These can include boxes, packing tape, labels, and any items needed for packing large or fragile items (blankets, packing peanuts, etc.).

In other instances, you may have to pay an additional fee to ensure that you get that covered. Your moving company will talk with you about that when you work out the details of your contract.

When Should You Pack on Your Own As Opposed to Having Your Movers Pack for You?

One of the main reasons that you may want to pack on your own is if you know you’ll be getting rid of a lot of items when you’re packing your home up. Since your movers will pack up pretty much anything that is left out at your home, you will want to do any sort of purge on your own.

No matter what, you need to know that, if you’ve packed items yourself, the moving company (usually) will not accept any sort of liability if they arrive broken or if they are missing. You’re much better off having them pack items because the insurance and the company will cover it if anything goes wrong.

What Should You Include When Packing?

Everything that you want to take with you should be packed properly. That includes every piece of furniture, every little knick-knack and keepsake, and all of your clothing. There is likely a lot that you’re going to need to take with you, so you want to be sure that you don’t need to pack items that would usually be considered temporary use.

For example, it’s a good idea to go ahead and get rid of items like your plunger, your toilet bowl cleaner, and anything else that is low cost that you may use for cleaning. It’s always good to start from scratch with sponges and rags as well.

You also want to be sure that, as mentioned above, you purge any items that you don’t need. If you have clothing that doesn’t fit or you have items that you just don’t use at all, you want to be sure that you either throw them away or donate them to charity.

How to Pack Your Most Important Items?

One of the best pieces of advice related to packing your most important items is to keep them with you. More often than not, you will find that you feel a lot less stressed if you know where things like the social security cards and birth certificates of your family may be located. If you keep your items in a small lockbox, just keep that with you in the vehicle that you’re traveling in.

Your other important items should be packed together in a place where they are clearly marked. This allows you to find them quickly and ensures that you know where they are, allowing you to relax a bit and not be too concerned about where they’ve ended up during the move.

Your moving day is going to be busy, so you want to have a toiletry bag packed before your move too – yes, even if you’re only moving down the street. You’ll likely be too tired to try and find the items that you need so that you can go to bed, so having a toiletry bag that you can just get into so that you can find your pajamas and toothbrush can be a really good way to make sure that you can relax at the end of the day. Put these sorts of things in a bag that will come with you in your vehicle as well.

How Professionals Pack Your Items?

Many times, cross-country moving companies will have their own specialized cartons and boxes that they use in order to pack your items. Depending on which company you go with, they will have a specific method in which they will pack your items. They will pack room by room and make sure that any and all fragile items are dealt with properly.

Also, if you have appliances that are moving with you, they may have to be serviced before they are moved, and the moving company can help you to schedule that as well.

At iMoving, we can help you to find movers that offer the best rates for your packing and unpacking services – just include it when you get a quote from our site and schedule a company that can do the packing and unpack for you as well.

Let us help you to find your best options so that you can work out what you need to do and how.