Whether you’re an Issaquah mover or a Seattle mover, moving can be painful enough. Don’t let the experience bite your bank account.

1. Haggle Before Disconnecting. When disconnecting your services, you have those companies at a disadvantage. To keep you, they may be willing to give you a hefty incentive to stay.

2. Plan Ahead. Try to move during the slow season and during the slower parts of the month. You could be able to negotiate better rates.

3. Be Flexible. Similarly, be willing to move at the moving company’s convenience and schedule. Insisting on your own schedule could result in additional charges.

4. Do it Yourself. Consider packing your boxes yourself. Just make certain you use your legs for lifting (not your back) and ask for help on the really heavy stuff. It would not do to spend your savings on medical bills. And unless you are a professional mover and truck driver, leave these to the experts.

5. Keep an Eye Out on Incentives. Awhile back, the Post Office offered a Lowe’s coupon for those who went online to do an address change. Keep this in mind when you think of each company with which you do business. They may have similar incentives.

6. Hunt for Boxes. Before you shell out hard cash for pretty boxes, check at local stores-liquor, grocery or even the recycling center.

7. Investigate Before Selecting a Mover. Ask others for recommendations. When you have a list of movers, check the Better Business Bureau’s website (www.bbb.org) to ensure your recommended companies aren’t shackled with complaints.

8. Let the Government Help Pay for Your Move. Is your move job-related? If so, you could deduct some of your moving costs. One important restriction requires that you would have to travel 50 miles farther to your new office than to your old. So, if you drive 2 miles to work at your old office from your old house, but you would have to drive 53 miles to your new office from your old house, you meet this requirement. Check IRS Publication 521, “Moving Expenses,” for more details.

9. Lose Some Pounds. Donate furniture and other belongings before you move. If you don’t really need it, you could use the tax deduction, and you would save a little on not having to move so much.

10. Prepare in Advance. Make certain your new residence is ready for the delivery before the Seattle movers get there. Any delay could result in additional charges.

11. Clean Up. If your old place has a security/cleaning deposit, you could jeopardize that if you do not clean your old place thoroughly. Make sure you leave yourself enough time and energy to do it right.

12. Sleeping Accommodations. You could stay in a hotel the night before the big move, now that everything is all packed, or you could “rough it” by using a sleeping bag and even an air mattress to keep you comfy. You deserve a good night’s rest after all your hard work, but it need not cost a lot.

A little preparation could save a world of grief on your next move.

1. Give Each Item a Destination Address. Sketch a map of your new place labeling each room. Say “A” is for kitchen (you know, where all the Apples are kept). Just before the move, safely tape a sign at the entrance to each room with the tag ID you’ve given it. When you’ve finished packing each box, write your label with contents like, “A-spices,” or “A-dishes.” Then stack the boxes by their destination room so the movers can be more organized, too. Be sure to label each box on at least two sides to increase the chances the movers will see your label.

2. Keep Your Organization Tools Organized. When the moving day arrives, you may not be done. Keep everything you need for organizing the move-felt tip pens, packing tape, scissors, etc. in a box labeled “Do Not Move.” You don’t want the movers to ship your tools while you need them.

3. Designate a “Magnet” Location for All “Holdout” Items. You should move some items yourself-money, jewels, valuable documents, pets, and other irreplaceable items. Some items movers are not allowed to handle, like flammables, guns, explosives, ammunition, and other hazardous materials.

Don’t mark your valuables in a way that would attract thieves. Keep your cleaning supplies here, too, so you can clean your old home when the movers are gone. Your magnet location should include all of the papers, keys, map with directions, phone numbers, security codes and everything else you will need on the move. Label the area, “Do Not Move.”

4. Prepare a Portable Refreshment Center. You know you’re going to get hungry and thirsty with all of this activity. So, keep an ice chest and/or box with snacks and drinks.

5. Pace Yourself. Packing for a house full of possessions takes between 2-3 months. Take the amount of time you have until moving date, and divide your estimated number of boxes by that amount of time. Pack the items you rarely use, first. Say your Seattle moving company estimates you’ll need 100 boxes of a certain size to pack everything. Schedule to pack between 5 and 10 boxes per week. And keep track so that you don’t have too much to do in the last few weeks.

6. Offload Dead Weight. Donate or sell those items you never use or won’t have room for in your new home. This could give you extra cash or a tax deduction, plus it may save on the final moving cost.

7. Create a “Goodie Box.” This is your special “reward” box of items you will need to get started in your new home. This will include everything you and your family will need in the first few days. Ask each family member what they couldn’t do without after they arrive. This could include snacks for the dog, paper plates for the inevitable take-out, and your children’s favorite play things.

Every move is a challenge. These tips help to keep the madness under control so you can get back to your life as soon as possible after the move is done.

Service Disconnects

Every service your old house or apartment enjoys should be disconnected and re-established at your new residence. This may seem obvious, but if you don’t have a checklist of these, you may forget one or more.

Not all of them will necessarily apply, of course. If your new home is all electric, you won’t need gas hookup. Here is a list to get you started. This may not be complete for your own situation, so add items as you think of them.

• Phone service
• Electricity
• Natural gas
• Water
• Cable or satellite television
• Internet connection
• Mail delivery
• Gardening service
• Pool cleaning
• Bottled water delivery

Make certain to notify all of your providers far enough in advance so that they can schedule the discontinuance at your old location and start at your new location so that you are not left in the dark after your arrival. You may also find that some providers do not operate at your new location. In that case, you will need to find a new provider. If you take care of this early enough, surprises like this will be far less painful.

Mechanics of the Move

Giving each room in your new place a unique name or letter will allow you to label each box for its destination room.

When you label your boxes, make certain you label at least two sides to increase the chance the movers will see your all-important information.

It may seem to be a pain, but why not label all sides. When you have a mountain of boxes and you need an item in a box with a label that is not immediately visible, you don’t want to have to dig through the mountain just to reveal that hidden label. If the label is on all sides, you increase your chances of finding what you need without a lot of extra effort.

Keep all of the tools for your move (tape, scissors, felt tip marking pens, etc.), important information, and valuable documents in a box or location clearly labeled “Do Not Move,” otherwise the movers may take them while you still need them.

Use old newspaper, sheets and towels to wrap your breakable items. This can save you money on more expensive packing materials.

Valuables

Think about any items you would never be able to replace if the movers were to break them. Not a comforting thought, but even the best Seattle, Redmond or Tacoma movers occasional break things. That’s the nature of the business, and that’s why move insurance is offered. Why not move your valuables yourself so you don’t have to worry about them?

There is great excitement when you are going to move to a new home.  Despite the crazyness of the packing and planning with the Seattle moving company, the idea of a new place or even a new life puts a smile in most faces and a shine in most hearts.  And it can get even better, because it can put good money in most pockets too!

Moving time is a great time for a garage sale.  It is the perfect time to get rid of what is not useful anymore, to make room for all the new that will be coming along with your new home.

If you are moving into a smaller place, a garage sale IS a necessity, as well as if you are a fan of season sales; there is only so much room between four walls.  So there you go. If you want to get rid of unused clothes, old toys, unecessary furniture, and other belongings that are truly in your way, think garage sale.  You can always buy new stuff with the money you make, or even better, you can save it!

Although there is endless information in books, magazines, the web, and even from experienced friends, on how to run a successful garage sale, here we show you the best tips to fill your pockets with money:

1.    Check with local authorities the restrictions for garage sales.

2.    Invest some money on advertising in local newspapers, ad bulletin boards, and shoppers guides.  Post it online also.

3.    Ask other neighbors to join you, you can share costs and attract more buyers due to the amount of items on sale.

4.    Mark the way with flashy signs with arrows showing the way to your house.

5.    Define sale hours and avoid holiday weekends, no one will be home.

6.    Be prepared for customers who arrive too early.

7.    Set attractive prices and be ready to bargain.

8.    Put a price tag on every item and group items by price.  You can also use colors to differentiate prices.

9.    Clean the items before the sale, to make them more desirable.

10.    Put the clothes on racks for easy viewing and check the pockets beforehand!

11.    Put similar items, or things that complement each other, together; it may get you more sales.

12.    Have plenty of change in hand.

13.    Be careful with the money; have it locked up in a box or wear a fanny pack.

14.    Offer bags for the customers who buy and paper to wrap the china.

15.    Remove all signs after the sale is over.

16.    Give to charity whatever is left; it will make you feel really good!

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