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Like any sane person, I hate the process of moving into a new place.

It’s expensive, back-breaking and time-slaying — and in all the times I’ve hauled my stuff to the next place, I don’t feel like I’ve ever taken with me any great nuggets of stress-reducing wisdom. I just continue to fester in my own worthless anxiety each and every time.

But during my latest move (just across town), I was determined to get an education, to make this move my easiest, most serene ever. The end result was neither easy nor serene, but I do feel that I learned a few things.

Spring being the heart of moving season, here are a few tips for making your next move a little smoother.

On stuff

Jack Kerouac said, “If you own a rug, you own too much.” Unless you’re a wandering beatnik, you probably need your rug. But what about the rest of it?

We are clutterers by nature, and for mostly the wrong reasons. We hold onto things for sentimental value or the fear that we MIGHT need them someday.

Try reducing your load of what-have-you to only the things you have immediate use for.

“If you aren’t using something and don’t have immediate need for it, it’s just taking up valuable space,” says Donna Smallin in her book “One-Minute Organizer.”

If you can’t let go of the sentimental or might-use-someday stuff, Smallin says, pack it up in a box and tuck it away in some dark corner. If you haven’t opened that box in six months to a year, and you can’t even remember what’s in there, take it to the Goodwill. Don’t even open it.

You need to ask yourself, Smallin says, “what’s the worst thing that could possibly happen if I decided to let this go?”

Another good clutter-killer, when moving into a new place, is to find an apartment that offers less storage space. Living in a home with gigantor closets just makes you feel like you’ve got to fill them with things.

Posting items you no longer need in the classified ads or on Craigslist.org. can score you a little extra cash. But if you have a lot of stuff, selling items individually can be an awful time-suck. A garage sale is a nice consolidation of tasks but still a lot of work.

Sell the stuff you can actually get money for. But for the rest of it: chuck it, recycle it or donate it. Purge your clothes, purge your Crockpot, purge your third TV.

On one of the last days of moving, I had a few remaining pieces of furniture I knew I couldn’t sell for much. I certainly didn’t want to move them across town, so, I dumped them in my frontyard and posted an ad on Craigslist that said, “Hey everybody, free stuff on the corner of 33rd and R!” It was all gone within half an hour. Saved me a truckload of pain.

On moving stuff

Moving always brings to light the necessity of having a friend with a big truck. Anytime you move to a new city, make that one of your goals: Must find friend with truck. Or, better yet, a friend with a big truck and trailer.

That’s the cheapest way to move, but if you shop around on the Web, you can find good deals on moving vehicles and services as well as a couple of moving alternatives.

I have a few friends who’ve saved money in long-distance moves by having their bigger stuff shipped through UPS.

On food

Food is one of the forgotten aspects of moving. You’ve done all this other vile work, and then you realize, “Zoinks, I’ve got to clean my nasty fridge and uproot the mold-deli-meat zombie that’s developed self-awareness and begun to create its own society in my bottom drawer.” (Hint: The only way to kill a mold-deli-meat zombie is to remove its head from its body).

Moving your food to a new place is good reason to cleanse and simplify your supply. Wondering why you ever bought that can of cream of mushroom and chicken soup? Take it, and all other questionables, to the Food Bank.

Anything that’s far beyond its expiration you want to toss. But what about stuff that’s borderline?

I stumbled upon StillTasty.com, an insanely helpful site that tracks the shelf life of thousands of different items of food. On the site, you simply type in the food in question, and StillTasty will tell you how long something can stay in the pantry, fridge or freezer before it starts to taste funky.

Full story
link: journalstar.com

admin Moving News and Tips

FAIRVIEW, Ore. — Police cracked down on movers who are operating without valid licenses in a sting operation on Wednesday.

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with Oregon Department of Transportation workers to catch illegal movers who are trying to work without having the proper certification.

Police and ODOT have teamed up for similar sting operations a few times before and each time they find more people trying to conduct moving business illegally.In most cases, the crews advertised their services on Craigslist. A quick records check shows officials whether the business is legit and licensed.

Multnomah County deputies watched from a decoy house in Fairview as they waited for movers to show up.
But ODOT officials already know they don’t have the proper certification and right away, they are confronted by police.
Two men who arrived claimed they have all the right paper work, but ODOT workers said they’ve only applied for certification and have not received it.
In the state of Oregon, moving services are regulated by the Department of Transportation.
Every mover must be registered to pack and load, plus have certification to carry if they drive as well.
ODOT official Norm Cooper said it’s all to keep citizens safe.”If you were aware that they were drug users or if they were on parole or they already had criminal records. You might not want to have them in your home,” Cooper said.

After the movers are caught, deputies and ODOT workers inspect their rigs. Some of the trucks exceed weight limits and that will lead to even more fines.
Darrin Gilbert and his partner use their Jeep to drive around and pack people up, but they haven’t been doing it legally.

“It’s a wasted day, a loss of business and a loss of extra cash for the fines I have to pay and stuff,” Gilbert said.
He will have to pay a $427 penalty, but he said he admits he is wrong, and even though he learned the hard way he knows he can turn things around.

“I need to go down and fill out the application packets I just received,” Gilbert said.
During Wednesday’s sting operation, the sheriff’s office and ODOT gave 26 tickets to illegal movers. Some of those people had been caught in previous stings.

kptv.com

admin Moving News and Tips Craigslist, Illegal Movers, weight limits

moving can be a very stressful process for anyone, even if they’ve done it multiple times. It is not meant to be one of the easiest things you’ve ever done, but it doesn’t need to be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done.

If you’ve decided you are going to use a moving services you will want to get in touch with multiple moving companies right away.

please note that moving on weekends and holiday , long weekends happen to be the busiest time so if possible try doing a move during the week days.

admin Moving News and Tips

1.Eligibility

deciding you want to move to Australia or France or Barbados, but will you be allowed in? Does your nationality or family status give you automatic entry? And do you have the necessary documents/paperwork to prove it? Alternatively, what visa/work permit requirements will you need to meet?

2.Income Prospects

This may not affect retirees, unless you’re looking to supplement your pension. However, if you are of employment age you need to think about how you’re going to finance your new life overseas.

3.Language and Savings

Savings are even more important if you are planning to move abroad without any definite job to go to, since they buy you time while you get settled and look for work. And given how much there is to adjust to in any relocation.

admin Moving News and Tips

Don’t wait until the last minute to place your order. There is a lot of paperwork and scheduling that goes into planning an international move and you cannot expect a professional company to handle your shipment properly if you give them a day or two days notice. This is a completely unreasonable time frame. The price quoted is based on the volume of your shipment. You can estimate your volume easily yourself. Your international mover can provide the tools and assistance for you to determine the volume of your shipment.

How does this moving company handle unexpected problems? Are they responsive to your questions? Do they answer you promptly? Do they advise you promptly if there are any additional costs incurred on the day of pick up? Maybe you did not pack everything and needed them to pack some items for you. Maybe you added some items at the last minute and this may cause an increase in your shipment’s volume. How will the international moving company keep you informed of the status of your shipment? Email is one of the best, most effective forms of communication today.

http://www.westpointrelocation.com/

admin Moving News and Tips

U-Haul International Inc. has placed Denver in fifth place on its list of “The 2008 Top 50 U.S. Destination Cities,” up from ninth place on the 2007 list.

Atlanta took the No. 1 spot for the second straight year.

Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Portland, Chicago, San Antonio, Austin and Orlando rounded out the top 10.

Phoenix-based U-Haul based the rankings on destinations for movers traveling more than 50 miles, compiled from more than 1 million U-Haul truck transactions in 2008.

admin Moving News and Tips

Carrying a unicycle, console television and lawn-mowing equipment, a six-man team from Wheaton World Wide Moving worked behind the scenes of a popular reality television show Saturday.

Castleton-based Wheaton is donating its time, manpower and storage space to Bernard McFarland and his family, who were chosen to receive a new home through ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.”

Intermittent lightning, mostly pitch-black streets and obstacles caused by camera crews and trailers made moving the family’s belongings out of the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood on Indianapolis’ Near Northside a little challenging — but it wasn’t anything the moving men couldn’t handle.

“We just did our jobs,” said driver Michael Crawford. “There’s really nothing glamorous about it.”
The crew did not meet the McFarland family, but might get to when they return Saturday from a Paris vacation — courtesy of the TV show.

Wheaton still pays its employees for the work, but all of the company’s services are donated to “Extreme Makeover,” said Stephen Burns, Wheaton’s board chairman. The work would cost the average consumer $5,000 to $6,000.
The Wheaton crew moved all of the family’s possessions out of the house last Saturday, so the house could be demolished Sunday and construction could start on the new home. Filming will wrap up Saturday.

The men went into the house Saturday night, after the ABC show told McFarland that he and his three teenage sons would receive a new home in the 2300 block of North Oxford Street. They unloaded the items into a storage unit on the Northeastside on Monday.
Wheaton has helped with at least 10 “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” rebuilds throughout the country, said A.J. Schneider, Wheaton’s spokesman.

The difference with these moves is that typically the company can meet with the family ahead of time to plan and schedule a move, examine tight spaces and determine what is most valuable to the owners.
During filming of an “Extreme Makeover” episode, during which an old home is torn down and a new one built in only a week, Wheaton’s employees must be in and out in a matter of hours, sorting goods into piles for use by the show or for storage.

Wheaton will store the family’s belongings for about 60 days, Schneider said.
The show will air May 17 as the series’ sixth season finale.

http://www.indystar.com/

admin Moving News and Tips

With foreclosures up a whopping 30 percent over last year, moving and storage scams are also on the rise. It’s bad enough when you lose your home, but many families get scammed on their moving bill too.

And moving companies are slicker than used-car salesmen. Their tricks of the trade fool just about everybody. Here’s how to make your moving bill match the estimate given — and get your furniture delivered in one piece and on time.

I. The Big Scams

‘The Hostage’
You get a lowball estimate from a moving company, but once they’ve loaded your furniture on their truck they change the charges, sometimes doubling or tripling their original quote. If you balk at the number, they simply refuse to give you your belongings until you agree to the inflated price.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29972260/

admin Moving News and Tips