Each year, over 7 million people move to different states.
Long distance moves can be stressful for families.
You need to pack up your entire home and figure out how many days you will be driving for until you reach your final destination.
If you are moving to another state, there are some hacks you need to know about before you hit the road.
Read on to discover the best moving hacks to make your move go as smooth as possible.
1. Before Moving to Another State, Purge Your Home
One important hack to consider is purging your home of unwanted things.
Start with each room in your house and create piles to keep and throw out. It’s also a good idea to donate old clothes to places like the Salvation Army or Goodwill to help people in need.
Purging your home will no doubt give you a better look at what items will be making the long travel with you. If you don’t absolutely need it, chances are you can toss out a bunch of unwanted things to save time and money choosing a smaller U-Haul rental truck, too.
Start fresh in your new home by eliminating items that you can live without before moving to another state.
2. Label Your Boxes
Organization is the best way to stay on top of everything you pack up.
Find boxes for free from retail stores that will have them laying around in the back. The gently used boxes you find for free will save you money!
Something to do before you move is to label all of your boxes. You can use a sharpie marker to label belongings that go in the kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, kids bedroom, dining room, and living room. Label all sides of the boxes to ensure that you place them in the right sections of the home.
Labeling with a marker or with colored tape is a smart way to make your move go a lot smoother. Once you start settling into your new home, you can easily work with your movers to place boxes in their appropriate rooms to save time unpacking.
3. Hire Movers
Choosing to pack your home yourself with friends and family helping you out can become overwhelming.
it may be wise to hire a moving company to help you out through the process of moving to another state.
Make sure to book a moving company weeks in advance as they fill up fast.
It’s important to read customer reviews on moving companies before you decide on the right one to hire, too.
There are plenty of ways to find the right company that is an accredited business. You can look on their website and search for an up-to-date registration, as well as a U.S. Department of Transportation number. These facts will help you determine if your potential movers are scammers or not.
Gather contact information from your movers before you head out the door. You need to have their cell phone number just in case of an emergency, such as getting a flat tire as you drive to your new home.
Another tip is to book your movers for the middle of the week to get the best deal. The weekends are usually the most popular time to move, so beat the rush and book your movers at an off time. Booking in the middle of the month is also a great way to score a better moving deal.
4. Prepare an Overnight Bag
As you make your way to your new home, you’ll need to have a bag full of your essentials.
This bag will serve as your first night bag. The first night bag includes your toiletries, medications, personal identification documents, snacks, a change of clothes, and your electronics for ease of access.
Having these essential items at the ready is a great hack because you will know exactly where they are instead of searching for them in your many boxes.
Preparing an overnight bag will help you concentrate on organizing the rest of your home as soon as you arrive.
5. Ship Large Items Using Greyhound
Have you ever heard of shipping your items using Greyhound?
Greyhound Package Express is available to assist you as you ship things cross-country. Remember to pack items to send off through Greyhound that you won’t need immediately.
The shipping process through Greyhound is available door-to-door, so your belongings will show up at your new home in a matter of days.
6. Wrap Breakable Items in Towels
Your expensive China pieces need extra care as you move from one state to the next. Instead of using plain bubble wrap, wrap your glassware in towels to give them more protection for the long haul.
Using towels will keep your precious breakables nice and safe as you travel out of state.
7. Create Travel Plans
You need to determine if you will drive your car to your new home or if you will ship it.
If you do choose to ship your car, will you drive in a U-Haul or make plans to fly to your new home?
Creating travel plans ahead of you move is a must. Travel plans are especially necessary to have in place weeks ahead of schedule if you are in charge of moving pets and children.
If you drive your car, you will need to book hotel rooms in advance. If you fly out, you will need to hire a rental car to drive to your new home once you arrive.
Things are all important things to consider as you travel out of your current state and into a new one.
Move Without the Stress
Looking for more help as you are moving to another state?
There are plenty of articles with great content on our PalDrop site to give you life advice and interesting facts to learn more about moving stress-free.
The PalDrop team is always creating new life hacks and tips to share online. Check out more of our site today!