Summertime…but not all of our customers are thinking about their summer vacations. Some of them are thinking about moving. May through September is the busiest time of the year for moving and this means that our maid service fills out our schedule with move in and move out cleanings. With 1000 people a day moving to the DFW Metroplex, lots of the moving we see here is ‘moving in’. But, with more and more alternative housing options being offered in Dallas and its surrounding areas — upscale, full amenity apartment towers; planned business and residential co-op neighborhoods; and active living communities – there’s also quite a bit of ‘moving out’ too. People are upsizing or downsizing, starting out or winding down, ditching their acreage for city blocks or vice versa, as they move to their next dream home.
We are cleaning experts, not moving pros but we’ve got some tips and tricks that will help this summer’s movers own the process:
1) Yield to the pros. True for house cleaning and moving! We recommend checking the internet for how the pros do it. Look for moving timelines and checklists you can download (or use online and save to Google Drive to eliminate the paper!) to keep you on track and master the moving process.
2) Create a moving binder. It can be virtual/online or in hand. It can be pretty or all business. But set up a folder where you can retain all of your paperwork – contact numbers, documents, contracts, receipts – and keep your critical moving info easily within reach. You’ll thank us at tax time too!
3) Set up a decision scheme and location. Start with a few categories to sort your belongings: Toss – Donate – Sell – Take. Go room by room. Start with a little-used room like the guest room which, once the contents have been sorted, can be your Moving HQs – a place to gather the items you’ve sorted and help you zero in on the loads that need dropping off at the thrift store or hauled outside for the garage sale.
4) Put your smart phone to work. Better than writing it all down, take a photo or video of the contents of every box. This will give you an inventory and condition report should anything be missing or arrive broken. Print a copy of the photo to tape onto the box, or at least be sure to label each box with the room it goes to for easy, priority unpacking.
5) Specifically for moving in…Draw a floor plan of your new space. Mark where you want your items to go so your movers can put them right in place, straight off the truck.
6) Hire a move in or move out house cleaning. Why not start with a clean slate, literally! Ask for a professional house cleaning in your buying contract and move in to a freshly cleaned new home. Or save yourself the time and stress of cleaning up once your items are gone. A move out cleaning says Welcome Home to the new owners better than a bottle wine, but admit it: you’re really scheduling it for your own sake and sanity.
7) Remember The Golden Rule: only move what you love; take photos of items you are done with but which hold special memories.
For more tips and resources, see these websites:
Moving Tips from the Pros at Allied
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