You will never be able to 100% control the safety of things after they are loaded into the car and moved to a new place, but you can take some measures to keep them safe and sound.
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And then you will not have to cry over a picture brought from Italy, or a broken antique box. Your life will be easier if you address part of your moving to professionals. Check moving company reviews, use a moving cost estimator to be prepared and save your money and, of course, download and print a moving checklist.
Determine what is valuable to you
When we think about valuable things, the most beautiful and expensive ones are remembered first. However, Shannenn Bateman, a certified relocation specialist, recommends redefining the definition of “valuable.” For example, she considers children’s favorite toys to be particularly valuable items.
“It’s hard enough for kids to handle these changes in their lives,” says Shannen. — If your child has a favorite teddy bear or other stuffed animal, this is a very valuable thing, because it will help the child fall asleep on the first night in a new home.”
Shanneen also advises taking extra care of prescription medications (as well as the prescriptions themselves) and important documents. Replacing them in the event of loss can be stressful and time-consuming afterwards. An urgent appointment with a doctor in a new city to get a new prescription will definitely not be cheap.
Make an inventory with photos when moving
The next step is to make a list of valuable items and take photos of each one (even medicines and documents). It’s a lot of work, but you’ll be grateful to yourself if something goes wrong.
Pack correctly
The golden rule of packing things when moving is to clearly mark on the boxes where and what is lying. But when it comes to packing valuables, Shannen warns against such labels.
“Don’t write ‘gold jewelry’ on the box, “she says. “Of course, we want to believe in the honesty of other people, but it’s still better to be safe than disappointed.”
Another moving tip from a professional: pack your valuables in small moving boxes. “You’re supposed to put a lot of things in big boxes,” she explains. – Pack your valuables in small boxes, they can be put on top of large ones.”
And, of course, you need to buy packaging materials. You will need a lot of things-from film to special containers.
Keep small valuables to yourself
To maximize the chances of keeping your valuables safe, don’t ship them with a cargo truck. Carry them in your car or put them in your hand luggage if you travel by air. Try not to put such things in your luggage, as they can easily get lost between point A and B.
Shannen recommends keeping the most important things to yourself, even when you get out of the car for a snack at a roadside cafe. Put jewelry and an expensive camera in your backpack, and do not leave them in the car under any circumstances.
Leave the overall items to the professionals
What about the items you can’t take with you in your backpack? For example, an old oak table, passed down from generation to generation, or an expensive mattress, on which a fortune was spent last year.
If such a thing fits in a box, pack it, but mark on all sides that it requires special care. Do not forget to mark the fragile items in the list, and then tell the transportation specialists about it, ” Shannen recommends. And also remember about the insurance, which would be good to issue.
If the item cannot be packed in a standard box by yourself, use the services of packaging specialists. They may have to be hired separately from the carrier company.
Start with the store where the item was purchased. There you will be advised who to contact for packaging.
Shannen remembers a customer who once had to transport a large, valuable piano. “There is absolutely no point in saving on the transportation of such things,” she says. “We need to hire professionals.”
Where to apply? Start with the store where the item was purchased. There you can be advised by the company with which they cooperate on the packaging of such items.
“If you’re talking about a statue, you can look for a company that serves museums,” advises Shannen. ” They will make a box that is perfect for your value.” Yes, it is very expensive. But it will remove from you the responsibility for the safety of such an important and expensive thing. “This is one of the huge advantages of hiring specialists – they are responsible for what they pack,” says Shannen.
Check your belongings before moving
Even all the precautions can not guarantee that things will move in one piece: furniture is scratched, boxes fall, antique glass is broken. Your task is to do everything possible at each stage of the move to minimize the chances of a sad outcome.
When all the things are unloaded and the car is ready to leave, make a detour and once again check the integrity of the arrived cargo. And only then let go of the car.
We know moving is an exhausting process, and you want to get it over with as soon as possible. But if you find the damage later, in the process of unpacking, it will be very difficult to call the carrier company to account.
Select and take a picture of the damage in case of detection. And not only the damaged areas, but the entire box as a whole. The point is that when they start to figure out how the damage could have happened, all your notes and photos can help a lot.
Remember the list of photos you made before you moved in? Now it will be very useful. Use it to prove that everything was in order before the cars left, and the damage is not your fault.