By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group
Believe it or not, some people think it is a super idea to type “find a moving company” into the search bar and check "hire mover" off your list in five minutes. This is an interesting fact. That is not the ideal way to choose movers. You need to have an actual conversation with your potential mover, since these are the folks you are trusting to move all your things in a secure and proper manner. Here are a few of the basic questions a professional mover will ask on the introductory phone call.It is a huge help if you take pictures of your rooms and have written down furniture dimensions when you talk with a mover. They will need to know how many bedrooms and living spaces are in your home, and how many floors your home is on. You really cannot be too detailed about your rooms, since the mover is working from a standard template, and every home is unique.
If you have a living/dining combination (popular in the 60’s and back in the 2000s), do not forget to mention the dining room table, china cabinet, and eight armchairs when you list your "living room" items. Formal dining rooms are getting rare nowadays, so some movers do not even mention that room on their basic list--and if you do not think about it to tell them, think about the overall hinderance on the ambience of moving day when you recognizes the moving van isn't large enough for all those chairs and a table.
Knowing the dimensions, and whether things come apart, is also a vital factor of a precise estimate. Sofas are commonly between 5 and 7 feet long, some have detachable cushions, and others are sleepers. A hardwood double sleeper weighs much more than a rattan sofa, so be as exact as you can be with details. Some furniture comes apart, so be sure to tell the coordinator so the moving team can bring the right tools to disassemble and put back together.
At this point, you could be pondering why the moving company is asking you all of these questions. Well, they are making an effort to calculate not only how many boxes you will require for all of your belongings, but also how many linear feet in the moving van your possessions will consume. Movers will have estimates for boxes based on number of bedrooms and house size, but that's very general, and it assumes that you have purged a fair amount of old Christmas decorations and preschool art.
After you have picked your mover, and had one or two phone conversations, the mover will schedule an in-home appointment to verify their estimates are right. People are frazzled during a move and do tend to forget items like the lawn furniture or the lawn mower, because they're not going in cartons, and this is great example of out of sight, out of mind. However, these items will be included during the in-home estimate.
Developing a working relationship with your mover is key to a smooth move. They do not judge your housekeeping, so call your local mover, select your appointment date for your estimate and do not stress about the dust bunnies. Click here to get started today!
