ministrations.of.moving

If you live somewhere long enough eventually you are called upon to help with a move. At first you just show up at the house to help unload and eat pizza but in no time at all you are practically scheduling the whole procedure.

At this point my roommate and I can tell how easy a move will be as soon as we pull up in front of the apartment. The signs are always there. The size of the moving truck, the number of boxes (in this case more is always better since that means people have already packed most of the stuff), whether the roommates are helping or just standing back, what time the move starts, what food has been procured for the helpers, the number of helpers present - that sort of thing.

So with my wealth of experience and knowledge I offer these tips for your own move:

When reserving a moving truck from U-haul (other truck facilities are exempt from this because they charge more and aren't always overbooked), especially if you are tempted by the online reservation system, go into the local office and get your name on the list (or at the very least call the local office). As it turns out, the online reservations are only printed out the night before and they have no time specified that the truck is to be available. So, if you want the truck in the morning go in and talk to the guy and get your name on the list and then go in to pick it up when the office opens. If all that seems like too much, just rent from budget or something.

Pack up everything you can the day and week before so that there are boxes to load immediately. A good comment to hear is something like, "You don't even need us..." that sort of thing. There is nothing worse than having people stand around while you try to find something for them to put in the truck. Remember they are helping you out and they probably have other things they need to get to eventually.

Big furniture first! Or not. This seems obvious but it is actually too formulaic. If you have people who can lift you probably also have people who can load a few boxes. Be flexible and you will accomplish more with fewer hiccups.

Feed the help! Donuts, bagels, coffee something like that. It gives your friends something to do and an excuse to not tire themselves out. It keeps people who don't have anything to do from being in the way and helps them feel like they aren't wasting time.

Those are a few tips which if followed will help you have a less stressful and more successful move.