When you’re preparing to make a move, it may seem like there isn’t going to be a truck big enough to fit all your furniture and belongings. You might be right. But then again, maybe the answer isn’t a bigger truck. Perhaps, some of your belongings should just be sold, instead of moving them to the new home. Here is a list of items that you may be better off selling than moving.

1. Piano. This is probably one of the heaviest items you own. In addition to its weight, transporting pianos can wreak havoc on their insides. You’ll definitely need to pay for a tuning, and maybe even repairs, once you get it settled into its new location. Piano’s are pretty easy to come by. Wait until you’re settled in your new home and start your search for another one.
2. Old clothes. A move is the perfect time to clean out your clothes closet and dresser drawers. Put the clothes you seldom wear, and the ones you’ve been hoping to fit back into some day, into boxes for your moving sale, instead of the moving van.
3. Books. One book doesn’t weigh very much, but a box of books can be VERY heavy. It’s easy to accumulate boxes and boxes of books, if you’re an avid reader. Moving is the excuse you need to let go your attachment to them and let them fill up someone else’s bookshelves.
4. Weight set. This is another heavy item that you may be better off selling than lugging along to the new home. They’re easily replaced. Just take a look on Craiglist when you list yours for sale. You’ll probably find plenty of others trying to get rid of theirs, as well.
5. Dust catchers. These are those items that you may use once in a blue moon. They sit on shelves collecting dust the majority of the time. They are nice to have, when you need them, but you don’t need them often. Add them to your moving sale stock.
6. Old toys. Get the kids in on the act too. Pare down those toy collections too. Add them to the moving sale and allow each child to keep the funds gained from their sacrificial giving.
7. Family room furniture. You’re going to have a hard enough time fitting your good furniture into the moving van, why move the older furniture too? Sell off those old pieces. You’re probably tired of looking at them anyways.
8. Freezer. Again, a heavy weight item that can be easily be replaced. You may decide you need a different size or an upright instead of chest freezer in the new house too.
9. Washer and dryer. While these are essentials they are very heavy and chances are really good that the people living in your home after you would be more than happy to take both of these off of your hands to avoid moving in another washer and dryer set, hooking them up, etc.  They are a hassle to move especially if they are tucked away in laundry closets or small-ish laundry rooms which is often the case.
10. Kitchen appliances. Some of these are so heavy they are just impractical to move and most of them are built in and generally need to stay with the home.  Just like with any other appliance, the people living in your home after you are the ideal people to sell these items to.

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I know it is still February, and according to the ground-hog day legend, spring is around the corner.  And while most of the country is still blanketed in a foot of snow it may be difficult to get excited about spring clean-up, fix-up or painting our home.  As a woman it is in my genetic factor to do something special to my home in the early spring and summer months.  Balancing that with the yard work I like to do, becomes a challenge to get it all done in time to enjoy it before hot weather sets in.  So what are a few suggestions I can offer?

1. I listened to a young friend as she excitedly told me of her plans to put a new paint job on her children’s bedrooms.  What a great idea!  Paint is inexpensive and a great preserver of the interior walls of our home.  And with the right color combination, we can have a new room without much expense.
2. It makes sense to plan ahead on what we want to do, and then budget for it.  A lot or a little redecorating can make a big difference in how much we want to spend.  After writing down the most important things – then add to or take from as you balance your projected budget.
3. As we’ve labeled this “fun projects” we can steer away from remodeling jobs, like adding a bed room.  Let’s stick with fun projects – projects you will enjoy doing and basking in the finished product as a result.  Why not make a new pillow for the “old” couch.  Pillows need refreshing on occasion anyway, so make a trip to the fabric store and talk with a sales clerk.  It would be an easy project as well as a start to dress up an area.
4. What about curtains.  I love the light weight lacy fabric in the summer time for my window covering.  Wal-Mart is a great place to at least look, and then to even change the curtain rod is a breeze.  It is amazing the difference curtains make in the feel of a room.
5. Or what about a new bedroom ensemble?  OK, paint the walls, then go with an entirely new look in bed covering.  I like to decorate with quilts, which leaves me with quilts when I don’t use them anymore as a spread.  There are many to choose from, as well as new bold colors in comforter sets.
6. My bathroom is one of those places I like to give a new look occasionally.  As a Christmas gift from one of my daughters and her husband, they did a bathroom “makeover” last year.  I was so surprised as to how it turned out with a different paint, some decorative wall art, and new shower curtain with matching towels, I’m still enjoying my “new” bathroom a year later.
7. My dining table has been with me through the years of growing children.  One spring project I took on was removing the old stain from the table top and giving it a fresh look taking care of some of the age spots that were there.  I enjoyed my finished project and it was sure cheaper than purchasing a new dining set.
8. I also consider de-cluttering as decorating.  Take a pantry or a closet for instance.  Maybe by re-evaluating the pantry space, you can determine if you need extra bins for small things or stackable shelves for can goods.  There is a lot of help out there to organize a small space to utilize more.  The same goes for cluttered closets made by being in such a hurry.  Closet maid makes great organizing tools to help get your closet back in order again.
9. If you are blessed with even a small yard space, there are always fun projects to be done.  Make your own stepping stones.  I bought the plastic flower pot “saucers” in the size I wanted my stepping stone to be.  I then bought concrete mix in a 10 lb bag along with a concrete red coloring.  I mixed the concrete mix, the red coloring, and enough water to make it the consistency of “corn bread” before cooking.  After pouring it into the saucer molds, I waited for about 24 hours before checking how it had dried out.  Often it took 36 hours to actually set.  I love my finished product.
10. Decorate your patio, or front porch with decorative flower containers.  It is according to how much sun the area gets during the day as to what you would plant.  However in a few more weeks, the garden centers and green houses will have so many flowers to choose from that will fit the area you have to work with.  Whether Wal-Mart, Lowes or Home Depot, there are so many containers reasonably priced that making a choice should be an easy enough project.

I get excited writing about spring and the many possibilities at my disposal to do something extra to my home.  It has been noted recently that we’ve used the term all wrong when we say, “I have got to clean house”, leaving a negative tone to the hearer.  However reversing that to say, “I want to do something nice to beautify my home” makes all the difference in the world.  So whether we clean, groom, paint, redecorate, make some pillows or chair covers, we are blessing the home that serves us well.

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Whether you obtain them through cheap sales, gifts, or any other means, you always seem to end up with things that just have no use for you within your home. Drawers become littered with them and your closets become stock full of these items, all useless to you and often just collecting dust. No matter how you got them, they always remain through one move to another and remaining through each spring cleaning you may perform within your home. Everyone has them and they can range from one type to another, even serving a great purpose at one time but never really getting its place in the recycling bin when no longer useful. You probably have a few sitting upon your shelves now, or even cluttering up your kitchen or bathroom cabinets, all worthless to your life, as with these 10 useless household items that everyone still has.

1. Apple Slicer. Now you had a great idea when you bought the apple slicer, whether it was to eat healthier or provide your kids with a quick snack. No matter how it ended up in your home, it just sits tucked away, most likely in an attempt to keep away from the kids, while forgetting your little resolution for a healthier diet along the way.
2. Corn on the Cob Holders. Everyone usually has a set or two, or maybe even 5 or 6 within their home, often purchased within a large pack to serve the purpose of keeping your hands a little neater when eating corn on the cob. However, after the excitement of the first use, most people just forget they are there or don’t want to bother with something extra to wash.
3. Coffee Bean Grinder. Everyone has a little do-it-yourself in them, wanting to go about the long way to obtain the things that are said to not taste as great when store-bought. However, you often find that everyone can’t be a chef and even with a coffee bean grinder, you don’t always want to go about the long way to obtain your coffee each morning, creating great irrelevance in the item altogether.
4. VCR Tape Rewinder. When you bought it, it had a great purpose, ensuring that you could watch your VCR tapes with a quick rewind each time. Once VCR cassettes were no longer hot topics on the market, DVD’s became the new video source, leaving the VCR tape rewinder in the dust of many shelves and entertainments centers everywhere.
5. Tape Recorder. Everyone has a tape recorder, often purchased at one point for a good reason but losing its purpose after a couple of times. This is why they are usually found in multiples within drawers everywhere, serving as a household item that just lingers with no particular use.
6. Piece of Plastic Connector. This may seem a bit vague, but that is just what is found in drawers of homes all over. The connector could belong to an array of items that may serve a purpose, but through time you often forget just what purpose it serves, leaving you with no use for the item at all.
7. Magazine Rack. This is a household item that isn’t useless because it has no purpose, but useless as it isn’t ever really used to store magazines. In many cases, it collects dust and books or catalogs that are long forgotten, often creating an eyesore within living rooms and dens across the world.
8. Seasoning Grinder. These are cute and can be found in many different varieties, but once purchased really become useless to households, no matter who it belongs to. Even great chefs can say they have a couple just sitting around with no particular use.
9. Deviled Egg Holder. A lot of people love deviled eggs, but how many times are you really going to eat them before getting a bit sick of them. Without a little space in between, they really can become nauseating, which is why so many people have found that owning a deviled egg holder is a bit insignificant.
10. Bread Decruster. This is another item that ends up littering the kitchen, purchased with great intentions but just never used. This is why they are so cheap, you would figure, but people continue to buy them at an incredible rate, never really getting any use from them.

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A pack rat’s home is a museum of clutter. Hundreds of unworn t-shirts, broken computers and newspapers stacked to the ceiling are just a few examples of the things you can find around a pack rat’s house. Most people would consider these items worthy of being trashed or donated, but a pack rat does not think this way. Pack rats have a personal connection to these seemingly useless possessions and are almost always reluctant to get rid of them. When it comes time to move, pack rats pose an even bigger challenge than the average collector. It’s a battle of save or toss that only the very patient can endure. If you’re brave enough to enter the towering mess and can stomach the smells, you definitely have your work cut out for you. Here are 10 challenges for moving a pack rat:

1. Disagreements over what stays and what goes: When it comes to moving a pack rat, everything , and I mean everything, will be a battle of save or toss. Pack rats find sentimental value in a number of things that the average person does not, which is why they end up with so much stuff in the first place. They may hoard items that are hazardous, unsanitary and worthless, but refuse to throw out or donate these things. The fact is that some stuff has to go, but not without a fight. So, brace yourself and be patient with a pack rat during this difficult process of moving.
2. Too much stuff: Even after you’ve minimized the clutter, it still seems like too much stuff. And it is. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest challenges of moving a pack rat, as well as finding a place to put everything afterward. Pack rats have more possessions than they can realistically handle, but they are usually unwilling to give it all up. If you’re up for the added challenge, try convincing the pack rat to reduce their clutter again and again during the moving process, until all they have left are the basics.
3. Additional weight and boxes: Pack rats will try to hold on to as much stuff as possible, without considering the amount of boxes needed or additional weight this will cause. Not to mention, they probably don’t have the room in their new place to store their belongings. It’s really more effort than necessary, so be prepared to move mountains of useless stuff.
4. Hazardous: Moving a pack rat is a challenge for both your patience and physical endurance. A pack rat’s home might feel like an obstacle course with narrow hallways and mountains of clutter that could collapse at any minute. Also, the structure of the house could be compromised by the amount of stuff weighing it down. It might seem silly, but I’d advise wearing a hard hat and protective gloves because you’ll be walking into a danger zone.
5. Difficult to organize:
   Pack rats might say there’s a method to their madness, but it will probably look like one big mess to you. Unless you’re dealing with an organized pack rat, which is very rare, you’ll probably have to sift through incredibly disheveled and disorganized rooms. Considering the amount and types of junk, you may have a hard time organizing their possessions and moving it from one place to the next.
6. Hard to stay within the budget: Moving can be very expensive, especially for a pack rat who will need more packing materials and boxes than the average person. He or she may also have to shell out for professional movers because their stuff is too heavy for one person to move. If the pack rat is trying to stay within their budget, you’d better convince them to cut their clutter in half (or more).
7. Dirty work: Moving a pack rat is a dirty job, and you’ll be battling much more than dust bunnies. Depending on what they collect and the cleanliness of their home, you could come into contact with some seriously unsanitary messes, unpleasant smells and rodents. I’d come prepared with bug spray, face masks and the nearest pest control’s number on hand.
8. Temptation to toss: If you’re not a pack rat yourself, you might be tempted to throw out useless things behind a pack rat’s back. It can be hard to fathom why someone would want to keep stuff like old newspapers, smelly shoes or broken TVs, but that’s the mindset of a pack rat. I wouldn’t recommend giving into your temptation to toss, because although there might be gobs of stuff everywhere, a pack rat will know if something is gone. Just don’t do it.
9. Reluctance to help: As stated before, pack rats have a personal tie to their belongings that most people can’t understand. Although they may want to move and get a fresh start, pack rats often struggle with change and have a hard time tossing anything. In an effort to avoid change and parting with their beloved belongings, pack rats may be reluctant to help with moving. The best thing you can do is reiterate the importance of decluttering to improve the quality of their life, and help them do so.
10. Emotional rollercoaster: Moving can be an incredibly emotional time, especially for pack rats who tend to have a hard time with change. Pack rats also may be embarrassed to expose their home to others and have their unsanitary habits revealed. The fact that they’ve agreed to move and declutter is a big step in the right direction. Therefore, it’s important to handle a pack rat’s moving experience with care, and be sensitive to their feelings.

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A corporate move is a big deal, and one you want to be fully prepared for. Making the trek across the state or country for work on top of moving into a new home will wear anyone out. Moving is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be painful either. Using these shortcuts and time-saving tricks will help ease the stress of moving and make it a smooth transition you can actually enjoy. Here are 10 tips for a painless corporate move:

1. Declutter: One of the best ways to make your corporate move painless is to declutter your home before you move. Whether or not you are paying to have your belongings hauled across the state or country, you should still declutter to make sure you aren’t taking more stuff than you can handle. This way you’ll have less to move and more room for the important things in your new home.
2. Hire Movers: Make things easy on yourself by hiring movers, if your company isn’t paying for moving services, that is. Professional movers will transport your furniture, household goods, automobiles, pets and other belongings that you cannot move alone to your new home. It will save you a great deal of time and pain to have movers do the hard work for you.
3. Organize and Label: Organizing your things and labeling boxes by object, room and if it’s fragile, will help you and your movers know where each box should go in your new home. You should also notify the movers about where you want furniture pieces to go ahead of time.
4. Know the Layout of Your New Home: When you know the layout of your new home, you can better direct movers where furniture and boxes should go. Also, you should determine whose room is whose and if that empty space is going to be the man cave or the study. This will save you time when you’re read to start settling in.
5. Give Yourself Plenty of Time to Unpack: Before returning to work, you will want to give yourself enough time to get moved in and organized. Having your house in order before your first day will make starting a new job less stressful and more enjoyable to come home to.
6. Transfer your Mail: You don’t want to be in one state and have your mail sent to another. To avoid this frustration, it’s vital that you notify the post office of your new address, give your new mailing address to family, friends and your employer. Also, don’t forget to transfer or cancel any subscriptions that you no longer want.
7. Hold on to Important Documents: Don’t move without gathering all important documents, such as social security cards, birth certificates, marraige certificates, passports, student records and medical records and taking them with you. You may have to show identification documents to your employer, so make sure these items are with you during the move.
8. Notify Insurance Providers and Banks: You’ll want to tell your bank and financial institutions that you are moving, as well as move bank accounts, order new checks and empty any safe deposit boxes before leaving town. Also, don’t forget to contact your insurance providers, including life, automobile and homeowner insurance agencies.
9. Rent Storage Spaces: Even after you’ve decluttered and downsized, sometimes you still end up with more stuff than you can comfortably fit in your new home. To fix this problem, you should consider renting one or more storage spaces to house your excess belongings. This way you can hold on to things that are important to you, without getting rid of them or trying to squeeze them inside your house. Plus, storage spaces are the only way to go if you are renting a temporary home.
10. Get Your Utilities In Check: Don’t get caught in the dark at your new home. Be sure to connect all utilty services before moving in, and don’t forget to disconnect all electric, natural gas, water, sewer, cable and other services at your old residence.

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Self storage units are popping up all over the place so you generally don’t have to look too hard to find one.  There are some large public chains like Public Storage as well as smaller independent storage facilities.  Most of them have a similar setup in that they have several units and an onsite manager that works and sometimes lives in an attached apartment effectively guarding your belongings, managing the facility, and keeping the premises clean and in good working order.  Why do you think self storage units have become so popular?  I think it is because people have figured out several ways to use them effectively to improve their lives.  Here are just seven of the possible reasons that people use self storage units:

Moving – Temporary Storage

Sometimes when people move to a new home they either have excess furniture or belongings that just won’t fit in their new home.  Yet, they just aren’t ready to part with all that great stuff.  This is a really great reason to rent a storage unit.  Of course, it could also be possible that you have some temporary construction projects at your home and don’t have space in your home for the furniture you need to clear out to remodel.  If you have a temporary need for storage, regardless of the reason then self storage units are perfect for you.  Do keep in mind though that this type of storage is prone to becoming permanent.  You know the old saying “out of sight means out of mind.”

Boat/RV Storage

In general it is very difficult and sometimes against the covenants of the home owners association or neighborhood you live in to keep a boat or RV at your home.  One great way to keep your boat and to know that it is safely stored is to rent a storage facility.  This also holds true for motorcycles, jet skis, snowmobiles, and other vehicles that take up a lot of space and/or need good storage options when their use is seasonal.

Basement No More – Lack of Storage

In several parts of the country there are no basements to store any extra items you accumulate.  Self storage units are a great alternative when closet space, attic space, and cupboard space is just not enough.  This is an example of using self storage in a more permanent way… almost as an extension of your home.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this and again can be a lot more economical than finding housing with enough storage to hold all of your belongings.

Life Change – Moving/In Out With Friends and Family

As we go through life… things happen.  College students move out of the house and then often back home for the Summer and this can cause a need for temporary self storage.  Sometimes a job loss can cause us to have to move in with friends or family or even a loss of a significant other (break-up, sickness, death).  There are lots of life events that can cause us to need to down-size and/or temporarily store our at least some items in a self storage unit.

Document Storage – Keep Your Records Safe

Whether it is your personal tax documents or records from your small or large business, one of the most common uses of storage units is for keeping permanent records.  Many companies and/or individuals have record retention policies and those records take up a phenomenal amount of space.  A great way to reclaim that space at the office or at home is to keep those documents in a storage facility.

Clothing Storage – Seasonal or Other Reasons

Another great use of storage units is for rotating your seasonal clothing.  Sweaters, coats, and other Winter items can be really bulky and take up a lot of excess space in the Spring, Summer, and Fall.  This actually happens year-round with various items getting rotated.  If you are short on closet space you can usually pick up a small climate controlled storage unit to use in this way and avoid cluttering up your home with clothes you can’t wear.  Speaking of clothes you can’t wear… as we gain and lose weight we also have to buy additional clothing.  If you tend to slide up and down the scale then you might want to have a storage unit for your “big” and “small” clothes (whichever happen to not fit this month).

Excess or Inventory for a Business

If you run a small business you may not have room at your home for all your inventory.  This could range from people that are in various businesses like Mary Kay, Nikken, or Amway.  Actually, it could be any type of business.  Inventory generally takes warehousing space and if you don’t have it readily available to you then you can find ample supply of warehousing space at self storage facilities.

However you decide to use storage units we hope that you keep them in mind and realize that there are many people just like you that have had a storage need and found their solution through self storage facilities located across the country.  So now I have provided some reasons why self storage facilities are popping up on street corners all over the U.S.  People have lots of reasons for needing self storage and as the demand goes up, so too does the supply.

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When people move long distances they generally won’t be driving their car when they move especially if they are moving internationally. So what do they do? Well, the choices are pretty simple they can either sell their car or choose to have it shipped to their new home. There are several great auto shipping companies to choose from, but if you have never shipped an auto before you might not know what to expect or how to prepare your car for shipping. Here are 10 helpful tips on how to prepare your car for auto shipping:

Pre-Shipping Rules for Your Car – Most auto shipping companies have some general requirements about the condition of the vehicle before they will agree to ship it for you. Here are some of the standard conditions:

1. Your vehicle must be fully operational or you should be prepared to pay additional fees (it costs more if they can’t drive your vehicle onto the truck, etc.
2. You need to let your auto shipper know of any modifications you have made to your standard vehicle like a camper shell, a 4×4 lift kit, or if you had the vehicle lowered, etc.
3. Your vehicle must not be taller than 7 feet. If it is, then again additional fees will apply.
4. Your vehicle needs to have at least a 4 inch clearance from the ground to allow them to load the vehicle onto the truck.
5. Your auto shipper will need a telephone number where they can reach you at all times while the vehicle is in transport.

Shipping Day Rules – There are multiple items that you need to take care of right before getting ready to ship your vehicle (the few days leading up to your ship date). Here is a quick checklist:

1. Check your vehicle for any obvious fluid leaks, due to risks to workers and other vehicles no obvious leaks are allowed.
2. Make sure you have secured your battery with a mounting bracket (don’t just set it in place).
3. Your vehicle must be clean for inspection, make sure it will pass any inspection as well (know what inspections to expect).
4. You need to have at least an eighth of a tank of fuel for the shipper to be able to move the vehicle.
5. All alarm systems for the vehicle must be disarmed and completely disabled.
6. Remove all unnecessary items like CD’s, garage door openers, EZ passes for tolls, and all personal items.
7. All exterior antennas need to be fully retracted or removed if they do not retract.
8. Remove all exterior tire covers, grill covers (bras), or full car covers.
9. One set of ALL keys (hubcaps, trunk, ignition, etc.) must be provided.
10. Remove non-permanent luggage, ski, and bike racks.

If you have taken care of everything above, then your vehicle should be ready for shipping. As always, you will want to confirm all of the specific rules that your particular auto shipping company has but these general guidelines should serve you well in most cases. The over-riding rule is to clean the car, empty the car, and don’t have ANYTHING in it that you want to keep.

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Welcome to the new Movers and Packers…

Movers and Packers is pleased to announce that it has joined a family of the largest network of movers in the U.S.  This site will serve as a place for people to get great information regarding all of their home and business moving needs.  This includes everything from local and long distance moves to auto shipping and self storage.  Everything you need for moving to a new home or business location will be fair game for this site.  We hope that you find answers to your questions and that we find a way to make your moving experience the best.

We come to you with over 10 years of experience in the industry helping over 5 million people move.  Now, of course millions more have moved without our services but we have been fortunate enough to help so many people that we feel uniquely qualified to offer advice and assistance to you.  If you have any questions or concerns about Movers and Packers or moving in general, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@moversandpackers.org.  We thank you for your continued support and we are looking forward to serving all of your moving needs.

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