Making the decision to move is only the very first of a long list of decisions waiting for you.  Once your house is sold and you know when and where you are moving, you will need to make plans for the best move for you.  A professional mover in Seattle is as near as your keyboard or telephone, and consulting with them will help you decide just which of the many services they offer are the ones that you can make use of.  To help you get started here is a brief rundown of moving services that are generally offered.

Free Estimates
All moving companies of reputable status will offer free moving estimates.  They will most likely send a consultant to your home to assess your belongings in order to give you an accurate estimate.  Be wary of companies that don’t visit you to do an estimate.  If they just give you a quote over the phone or online, the actual numbers could change and be a lot higher than originally expected.  Using an online quote as a starting point can be helpful but bear in mind that it will be an estimate.  Be sure to get a final quote in writing before committing to a moving service.

Packing and Unpacking
Depending on how much time you have and how busy your lifestyle is, you will need to decide if you will pack and or unpack yourself or have the movers do it for you.  For many folks, packing up their things to move is a very personal thing and not something they want left to strangers.  Likewise with unpacking, they want the adventure and excitement of unpacking all their cherished belongings and carefully choosing where to put them in their new home.  For others, however, the perfect moving scenario is to sell the house, go away on a little trip and come back to a new home all unpacked and ready to live in.  For them, the more the moving company can do the better.  Movers will most often offer as little or as much of a service as you wish.

Boxes and Packing Supplies
If you are doing your own packing, make certain your moving company can supply you with boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape and any other materials you may need.  These items can be purchased separately so you need only buy what you actually need.  Movers can also offer some good packing tips if you ask them, such as the best boxes for particular items and how to pack fragile items.

Oversize Furniture/Specialty Items
Even if you are doing all the packing yourself, you may still need to know if your moving service will move your piano or large pieces.

Storage
If you are moving into a home with big renovation plans, you may want to ask your movers if they offer temporary storage of your items until you are finished with the renovations.  Most Seattle moving companies will offer this for a fairly reasonable extra charge.

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After a move, most people are left with dozens or even hundreds of boxes they don’t know how to dispose of.  Obviously, you are anxious to get rid of all that stuff that is only cluttering your beautiful new home, however, you should take the time to do it right and dispose of them in a useful and eco-friendly way instead of just throwing them in the garbage.

Here we give you some tips as to how to give moving boxes a good use after you don’t need them anymore:

1.    Contact a box broker
In many cities, there are companies that specialize in buying and selling used moving boxes; find one near you and sell them all of yours.

2.    List your boxes on BoxCycle
This is a service within the US.  You access the website, list your boxes for sale, and the company will sell them for you.  The service has great reviews, a clear sign of how well it works.

3.    Post on Craigslist
This is another great place to list the boxes you want to get rid of, sell, exchange, or just give away, and it is free.

4.    Use some of them as compost containers
This is a good option if you have an herb garden or beautiful yard at home and you are into organic gardening.  You just have to ensure the boxes are protected from animals that could destroy them.

5.    Contact a charity
Normally, libraries, community groups, and shelters need lots of boxes to move books, clothes, shoes, appliances, and food, among other things.  You can find a lot of places to help with just a few phone calls.

6.    Find local recycling programs
Almost every city has a place for recycling big quantities of cardboard material.  In some cases you will have to take the boxes to the recycling center yourself, but that is not a big inconvenience.  Make sure you find out details like how many boxes they will take, sizes, and if you have to flatten them before delivery.

Seattle moving companies can help you find the different recycling, reusing, and disposing options in the area; maybe they will even offer to take your boxes to help you dispose of them.  The important thing to remember is that when moving, cleaning up and disposing of materials in the right way is as important as packing, unpacking, and getting your home organized.

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If you are planning on doing the packing yourself for an upcoming move, or even doing the move yourself, be sure to ask your moving company for the supplies you need.  There is no longer any need to scour the local grocery store for boxes to pack up your household goods.  Moving companies now offer a great selection of supplies to make packing up your home easy and efficient.  Here are some of the basics you’ll want to have on hand:

Boxes are the most obvious thing you need, but be sure to take time to think about the sizes and shapes you need.  Moving companies have specialty boxes for clothing, china, mirrors and artwork, lamps and even wardrobes where your clothes can be packed on hanging rods.  Keep in mind that the more uniform your box size, the easier they will be able to load into your truck or van.  Remember to pack heavy items such as books in smaller boxes that are easier to carry.

Packing tape will be necessary for forming your boxes as they will be purchased flat, and also for sealing your boxes once filled.  A tape dispenser that applies and cuts the tape in one step makes this job a lot easier and can also be purchased from your moving company.  A small cutting knife is handy to have as well for opening the boxes when it’s time to unpack and for collapsing them again once they have been emptied.

Carton markers to identify what is in each box will make both loading the moving van and the unpacking process a lot easier.  You may also be able to buy pre-printed labels from your moving company for fragile items.

Bubble wrap and newsprint for packing fragile items is available in rolls and sheets.  There is nothing worse than arriving at your new home with broken dishes, so it’s important to wrap everything well.  For some items that you really can’t wrap, Styrofoam packaging peanuts can be purchased in large bags to pack in and around large loose items.

Mattress and furniture covers can also be purchased to keep things nice and clean and prevent any rips or tears during loading and unloading.  You should also have some moving pads or blankets available for placing between pieces of furniture to prevent dents and scratches.  If you would rather not use blankets of your own, they can be purchased or sometimes rented from your Seattle moving company.

This should just about cover anything you need to pack up your house for a smooth and accident free move.

If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.psmoving.com as the original source.

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