Moving Advice | Imamother

Tamiri

Sun, Sep 23 2007, 4:32 am

(1) Go through every single room and (a) throw out whatever you no longer want/need (try to get rid of as much as possible so you have less to unpack and put away on the other end (b) remove any item which does not belong in that room and put it where it belongs
(2) Go over your Pesach dishes carefully, make sure they are totally separate than the rest of your dishes and BE THERE when they are being packed
(3) Go over outgrown clothing that you are keeping and make sure you have them boxed and labeled as the movers won't do the sorting and marking for you
(4) Put all your valuables such as jewellery in one bag and take it with you
(5) The movers should do this but it's a good idea for you too: inventory all your silver items
(6) Kitchen: make sure that whatever you are NOT taking is clearly labeled (yes, including the garbage, opened packages etc). These guys pack it ALL. Make sure all meat dishes are with meat pots are with meat silverware etc. Same for dairy and parve. Get all your baking things together - in short, everything that belongs together should BE together.
(7) Try and have as many people as possible overseeing the packing. You want to keep an eye on how they do the kitchen, Pesach, silver. You want to make sure that if they take furniture apart, all nuts, bolts and little pieces are put in appropriate plastic bags, marked where they are from and given go YOU (so they won't get lost during the move). If left to their own devices, these guys will pack whatever they see without thought - they are not paid to think. Remember that.
(8) If you are taking a grill with you, clean it WELL, in advance and give them special instructions for wrapping it. On one of our moves the guys packed the grill with the oill drip pan... full. Don't ask.
(9) Offer them lots of cold drinks and pay for their lunch. It's worth it.
(10) Tip a job well done as hakarat hatov. It's a horrible job packing up someone's house.
(11) Find out in advance if there is a limitation on hauling liquour... either pack it secretly yourself in a box which you then seal or give it away.
(12) Ditto aerosol cans. Windex. Liquid cleaner. Whatever you have lying around: ask if they are going to take it BEFORE they get to your house so you can dispose of it as you see fit.
(13) After the long day of packing, go over every closet, cabinet, drawer which is left in the house to make sure they didn't forget anything. Go over the basement and attic etc. Don't leave anything to change.
Good luck!