Steps To Finding The Best Moving Company

Finding the best moving company can turn a nightmare move into a pleasant dream. The problem is knowing how to choose the right company for your move. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the options, there are some steps you can try to narrow down your options and find the best company.

1. Licensing And Insurance

One of the first things you need to check when looking for a moving company is their license and insurance. Working with a company that is not properly licensed and insured will put your belongings at risk. Fortunately, reputable companies will have information about their license and insurance on their website.

If you cannot find this information on the home page of their website, it will often be listed in the about section. This is particularly important if you are looking for a long distance movers or interstate moving company. To operate legally, these companies must have a DoT license number. If you have any suspicions, but still want to consider the company, you should ask them for proof of their insurance or license number.

2. Consider The Services Offered

The moving company that works for one person may not work for another because everyone has different moving needs. Someone else might want to do most of the moving work themselves while you do not have the time for it. This is why you have to consider the moving services on offer.

The services of the company should match your needs. If you do not have time to pack everything in your home, you should look for a full-service moving company. These companies will take care of everything from packing your items, loading them, transporting them, and unpacking them.

While this is an excellent service, it is not right for everyone. If you feel more comfortable packing everything yourself, you need to look for a moving company that offers transportation only. These companies will pick up your boxes and drop them off at your new home.

If you have a gap between the date you move out and the date you can move into your new home, you should look for movers that offer storage services as well. These movers will pick up your boxes and other items on the date you need to move out and store them for you until they can be delivered to your new home.

When looking at services, you also need to consider if you have any special items that need to be moved. This includes pool tables, hot tubs, and pianos. These items may need special equipment to transport them, or you might need to hire specialist movers.

3. Check The Service Area

Another point to consider and look into is the moving company’s service area. There is no point in choosing a company that has good reviews and the service you need if you fall outside their service area. Fortunately, most moving companies will state their service area on their website.

This is particularly important if you are looking for local movers. Larger national moving companies will have larger service areas, and you might not have any issues obtaining their service. Local movers are more restricted, and you need to consider this.

4. Get An Estimate

Cost is something that you need to consider, but it should not be the only factor you look at. Before you consider any moving companies, you need to figure out what your moving budget is. This is the amount you can comfortably pay for the move, and it will affect the moving company you choose.

If you have a small budget, you may not be able to get a full-service company. In these cases, you will be able to get the normal moving service without the perks of someone else handling the packing. Full-service movers will cost a lot more than basic movers.

Once you have your budget and narrowed down your options, you have to get an estimate from at least three moving companies. This gives you a good range for comparison. If you are moving long distance, the company should conduct an in-home estimate. You may want to reconsider working with any long distance moving company that does not do this.

For local moves, an online estimate or phone estimate will work. However, it would help if you got this in writing as proof of the costs. Never accept a verbal estimate because this can easily be changed, and you will have no recourse should this happen.

After getting the estimates, you need to compare them and choose the best company. You should not choose the cheapest if they are a lot cheaper than the others. This is a red flag and could be a sign that they are not as legitimate as they appear.

Finding the best moving company can be hard, but there are some steps you can take to make this easier. You need to understand the services you want and check their license and moving insurance. You also need to get an estimate from at least three companies before you make a decision.

5 Simple Tips For Your Next House Move

When you’re moving home, there are plenty of chores to be done before you can get to your new pad and start relaxing. Of course, you’ll want things to go as smoothly as possible, and for this to happen, it’s essential to get organized. To get you off to a great start, pop these five simple tips on your moving checklist.

1. Clutter be gone

Moving home is the perfect time to get rid of all of your old clutter. You’ll likely come across items that you no longer use or want in the process of packing up. Instead of packing all of your possessions, pack mindfully. Put items that you are unsure of to one side. The number one rule of clutter is that if you haven’t used it in a year- you’re unlikely to miss it. Of course, special items that are sentimental or designed for occasional use can break this rule, i.e., camping equipment or luxury china. Apps like Tody can be useful to help you to get organized and clean your home as you go.

2. Early packing

Once you’ve decluttered your space, it’s time to start packing. It’s vital to start packing early on, failing to leave yourself enough time will mean that you are stressed out later on. Packing early is also helpful to give your moving company a good idea of how much stuff you’ve got to shift. Information such as this can be useful to get an accurate quote on the pricing.

3. The right removal company

It’s essential to choose the right removal company when you are moving home. You’ll want to find a reputable company with plenty of experience and expertise to offer. Some companies will also offer packing services, which can be handy if you are pushed for time. Before you start searching for a removal company, be sure to make a list of your needs and any questions you have about the service. You might want to ask if the company provides insurance, for example. For a great service, check out SMARTBOX Solutions, Inc. Whether a local or long-distance move, Smartbox offers quality at some nice prices.

4. Organize your bills

Ensure that you inform all of your providers of your house move, from your Internet to your gas and water. If you have a contract on your Internet, you’ll easily be able to take this to your next home. For your energy providers, you might like to take this opportunity to look for a cheaper or greener provider. Some energy providers offer discounts for new customers, and most eco-energy companies are less expensive than conventional ones. Of course if you’re moving abroad, you’ll simply need to close your existing accounts.

5. Pre-order new items

You’ll likely have new items which you need for your place, perhaps carpets, curtains or furniture? Make sure that you pre-order these things in advance so that you’re not waiting around to feel comfortable in your new place. Apps like Hutch can be helpful; the app technology provides users with a VA preview of what new items will look like in a room.

How To Entertain & Engage The Kids On A Budget!

One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to keep the kids entertained and busy. It’s not that we run out of ideas – here are millions of those – it’s that the kids are bored quickly and have zero attention span! Oh, and half the time, the activities that they want to do involve money, and we are not always living our best lives with all the money in the world.

Okay, so you could hook up the latest and greatest consoles and keep them busy with those, but that’s not the idea here. You want to keep them entertained where they won’t necessarily get square eyes. You want them to be engaged, excited and entertained all at once, and that means encouraging their creativity and boosting a little competitive edge in them!

Let’s check out some of the best, low-cost ways to keep the kids busy on the weekends.

Sidewalk Chalk

Chalk has no end of possibilities when you’re a child, so imagine how easy it’s going to be to entertain the kids with it? You could draw Hopscotch patterns, and you could let them go nuts drawing whatever they want to draw with it. The best part about chalk is that all you need is a good rainfall and it’s all washed away for next time. Hours of fun at a small cost to you.

Outdoor Games

Get outside away from the screens and dust off the old Cornhole boards and have a good game! If yours are broken, you could always get some new ones from https://www.cornholeworldwide.com/custom-cornhole-games/ and start using them as a family. Outdoor games like basketball and dodgeball (with softballs!) always go down well with kids!

Build A Playground

So, it’s a rainy day just like the others, and your kids are crying boredom. Get them to gather up as much cardboard, chairs and duvet covers as possible and make an indoor fortress together. You could even create an indoor assault course with the right toys and equipment. An indoor playground can keep them busy, working together and having fun!

Break Out The Craft Boxes

Glitter, glue, sparkles, stickers and molding dough all have a place in the imagination of a child. Add all the things you can get from your recycling boxes, and you have the perfect supply box for an afternoon crafting. You can task them with building robots or their own Transformer cars, and you will have busy kids all afternoon.

It’s not always easy to keep the kids busy at the weekends, but it can be fun with some imagination and thinking. You don’t have to make this too complicated – they’ll have a whale of a time getting messy and using their own thinking. Kids are easy to entertain when you know what they like. Just shut off the screens and give their imaginations some space to go wild for a change. Children need your time and attention most of all, so start there and the rest will follow.