Preparing to Move in Cold Weather

Now that the weather is changing and getting colder it’s important to know what measures to take when moving, for yourself and the moving crew as well. It’s going to start snowing a lot, and the ground is going to start freezing up and turning into ice. You should be shoveling your driveway and any paths you or the movers will be taking items out of and throwing salt on the ground. Also, be aware that there is a possibility that the movers will be tracking wet snow/dirt/salt in and out of your home. You can buy paper runners for the inside of your home at the store, or just kindly ask the moving company if they provide that; (most do).

Strong Hands LLC

Strong Hands is a small business. We are putting the work in to become well known to the Ithaca community, like many others! We are continuously learning and growing. Every family/individual personality and move is different, and we can’t wait to meet the many more we will encounter.

Getting Prepared to Move for the 1st Time

Moving out alone is something most adults will have to go through throughout their lifetime. Asking your parents for advice is a good place to start, as well as any family members or friends who have gone through the process.

It’s good to have a plan ready to go. Once you’ve thought about what date you’re moving you can go ahead and secure moving services. It’s good to do your research on different moving companies and compare pricing as well. Don’t be scared to ask for a discount or to match any other prices.

You should start with having a budget. If you’re staying in town, you probably already have a job and just need to research apartment, moving services, and odds + ends pricing. I would say the average budget for just the moving service, in town, is $800.00. It depends on how much or little stuff you have, and any other details the company needs from you.

The case is different with moving a couple hours away or even across the country. Your budget will have to be bigger. Moving out of town is more expensive. Not only will you need to figure out apartments, odds + ends pricing, but also where you’re working. Sometimes people move because of a job offer, but that’s not always the case. The average budget for an out-of-town move would be $1,000+. Again, this would vary based on the items you have, and how far you are moving.

Moving can be stressful at first but you just have to keep your eye on the prize. Once the hard part is done and over with you will feel super good to be living on your own, and on your journey to the rest of your life.

Planning Your Move

There are a lot of different reasons to move. You want something different, you got a new job, moving for school, you met someone new, etc. Whatever the case is, it’s important to plan out all aspects of the moving process. If you’re going to hire a moving company, it’s important to call 4-6 weeks in advance. You may be free, but their calendars are pretty full.

One of the first things you can do is gather up a list of the furniture you want to move. Once you’ve put together a list you can start separating the items you don’t want / need anymore. With those items you can sell them or give them away. There are many places to take unwanted items – thrift stores, charity, you can even do a consignment for those who don’t have a lot of time to sell the items on their own.

How much time in advance should you start packing? I suggest starting packing about around 2 months before your move date. It’s easiest to start with small things, and non-essentials. If you have a lot of silverware, plates, cups, you should pack all except for the ones you will be using, and/or your family members. As for mirrors, or glass items, you should tape a huge ‘X’ across the entire front, then start wrapping bubble wrap, and green tape. This will ensure that the mirror/glass will not break incase anything goes wrong.

Don’t wait until the last minute to start working on things. If you plan accordingly, then everything should be ready to go on the date of your move.

Moving Large Appliances

The first thing you need to do for preparation to move any large appliance is to clean. Appliances always get dusty and dirty inside, under and behind, maybe even the sides. Clean the appliance, the floor, and clear the pathway you’re going to take. We don’t need anyone tripping over random items. Taping off any doors that open by themselves will be helpful for you and will avoid it from opening and hitting any walls/doors. The next thing to check, if there is more than one entrance, is to measure and decide which doorway is best for you to take the appliance through.

The most important to remember is the equipment and safety measures you need to follow. You can end up with an injury if you don’t follow the necessary steps to move large appliances.

Here are items you will need to move the appliance:

  • dollies / handcarts
  • tape / wrap
  • straps
  • a partner or two (NEVER MOVE LARGE APPLIANCES ALONE)
How To Protect and Prepare Your Furniture for Your Move

Even if you choose to move yourself, it’s important to know the necessary steps in protecting and preparing your furniture. Here at Strong Hands Ithaca, we make sure to bring everything to ensure just that. Here is a list of items you must have:

  • movers wrap
  • moving pads
  • straps
  • tape
  • tools

The first thing to do before moving the furniture up/down a staircase, onto the dolly, or straight onto the truck, is to wrap moving pads around the entire piece, and wrap that in green movers wrap. This will ensure that no damage can be done to the piece, as well as your walls, railing, etc. You should also look for any legs on the couch, table, dresser that need to be removed to avoid damage to that as well.

After you’ve successfully wrapped your item, you can set up your straps to carry it, or set in on the dolly carefully. The ultimate goal is to make sure all of your furniture is protected, has no damage, and that you are satisfied with it.

Moving a Wine Collection

Moving your wine bottles between homes/storage won’t be as easy as you think it will be. Your wine collection is fragile, valuable, and the quality may change during the moving process. The most important thing is that your collection gets transported quickly.

There are plenty of options to choose from when you are looking to move your wine collection. You can do it yourself, hire a household moving company, or hire a specialized wine mover. If you have a hard time coming to terms with someone else handling your collection, moving it yourself is best. You can transport it in your own car, and everything should be in tip top shape if you follow the proper precautions to pack your wine collection. Hiring a moving company, like Strong Hands Ithaca, is a great idea as well. They will handle your items with care. But you should be aware of the weather because as you know, your collection could start to “cook” and won’t be as fresh anymore in really hot weather. A specialized wine mover is the best option to go with. They have the most experience and have all the necessities to move your wine collection over very far distances and in all-weather types.

If you love your wine collection like you say you do, it’s most important for you to do what’s most comfortable and most reasonable to move and handle it.

Using a Moving Dolly

Moving companies should always bring with them a dolly to move heavy and large pieces of furniture / appliances that you have in your home. There are two types of dollies. A furniture dolly – which is a platform of wood sitting on four wheels, and an appliance dolly – which is a metal L-shaped piece with two wheels and handles for you to push. It’s extremely important to use this or you can risk damage to your furniture and even yourself. Moving dollies are also good to use because it will make the move go faster.

The furniture dolly is great for moving couches, dressers, pianos, and much more. Some advantages of the furniture dolly are that they are in-expensive, usually costing $20-$60 depending on the model you get, it maneuvers easily, and holds super heavy items. But there are also disadvantages such as not having a handlebar or anything to actually help push the dolly other than the piece of furniture placed on it, you will also have to lift the item to get in onto the dolly, and it can only move along flat surfaces.

The appliance dolly looks completely different but has the same purpose. These can be used for boxes, appliances, furniture, just about everything. Some advantages of the appliance dollies are that there is a flat piece that you can easily get the item onto to move it, there are two handlebars for you to push and pull, and you can use this so go up or down stairs if needed. The appliance dolly is more expensive than the furniture dolly, costing about $200+ to buy.

If you’re thinking about doing a move, you should definitely buy or at least rent a furniture dolly for your safety, and also for the fact that it will make the move go faster.

Packing Your Mirror

A mirror is something everyone has in their home. Us as human beings love to look at ourselves, so of course when we’re moving, we are going to take our beloved mirror/s. It’s important that you pack and move your mirrors in the correct way, so no damage is done. As you know they are very fragile. The first thing to be done is to make sure you have the correct packing materials: – mirror box (there are different sizes to buy online or in stores) – kraft paper – cardboard – bubble wrap – painter’s tape – packing tape – permanent marker

After laying your mirror down you are going to grab your painter’s tape and make an “X” across the entire reflective front of the mirror. Then you will grab your cardboard and cut it into the exact size of the mirror and cover and tape it together. The next steps would be to wrap it in kraft paper, tape, bubble wrap it, and tape again. This will ensure that your mirror is extra protected. The last things to do are to put the mirror, all wrapped up, in the mirror box, tape the box, and label it. If the mirror box leaves extra space, you should stuff the kraft paper in those spaces, so the mirror isn’t shifting around in the box. If you feel nervous about doing the whole process you can always call a professional packing company and they will be happy to do it for you.

Tips to Help You Save Money on Your Move

Whether you’re moving across the country or across the town, moving comes at an expense. There are many different things to help reduce the cost of your move. It’s best to have an idea of a budget to get yourself started. Selling your un-used and un-wanted items, still in good quality, gives you a chance to add more money into your budget as well.

  • Compare prices with different companies. Every company is trying to compete with others. Negotiating your price for something lower may be something they will consider doing for you.
  • Packing yourself. Sometimes you will find free boxes in stores, or even from friends and family. It also wouldn’t hurt to ask them if they had any materials that they didn’t use anymore.
  • Purchase moving insurance. It might not happen, but accidents can occur, and your valuables won’t be fully covered by the moving companies’ insurance. A lot of time they are based off weight so overall your items won’t be covered like you may think.
Packing Books for Moving

Sometimes people don’t realize how much is needed to pack and move books. You have to do things carefully and without causing damage, or potential damage, to your collection. Before packing your books, you should go through them and make a pile for any that you don’t want anymore. This will ultimately leave you having to pack less books. But only if you want to.

After you’ve sorted your books, you should place them in a strong and sturdy box either upright, with the open sides facing the box, or flat along the sides of the box. If you have very fragile books, you should wrap them in packing paper or even newspaper. You should watch out for putting too many books in one box. They are light when you have one or two but putting a lot together will bear a heavy weight, things could start breaking and could potentially fall over in a moving truck or van. When placing them in the box you should fill the empty space with newspaper or even packing peanuts, so they won’t be shifting around in the box during transport. If you wanted to you could also carry your books in a suitcase.

As easy as it may seem, there are many factors that you need to think about before preparing to pack your precious books. The more careful you are with them, the less of an outcome of damaged books you will have.

Making Your Move Eco-Friendly

When moving, a lot of people don’t think about doing things in an eco-friendly way for the environment. There are a lot of supplies needed to do a move. To help keep things more eco-friendly you could re-use items, purchase eco-friendly material, and even give away items. Even the smallest effort makes a big impact on the environment.

Instead of getting brand new cardboard boxes, you can get reused ones. If you order from any online store, you can use the cardboard that your item came in with. You can even find used cardboard boxes for free at the store. If you have plastic boxes, you can use those as well. Newspaper is great for wrapping up individual fragile, and delicate items. There are also eco-friendly bubble wraps and packing peanuts that you can purchase for your move. It’s good to make use of the materials you already have.

Anything you do not intend to use in the future should be thrown / recycled, given, or sold away. You can hold a garage sale, take things to charity, and even ask your friends and family if they want anything. Of course, you will only be giving away items that are still in good condition. Moving can’t be 100% eco-friendly but anything helps to reduce carbon emission.