Moving long distance, any advice?

[rugbysecondrow]

Good afternoon.

My family and I are relocating from Maryland to Cary, NC in July. The last time I moved was when I had very little gear, no kids and life was simpler.

We plan to use a moving company vs. a pod system. I would like to save the money, but with three kids and obligations, somethings have to be outsourced.

Any advice for the move or bits of wisdom?

Cheers!

Paul

[BobbyJones]

Embrace Prayer.

[rugbysecondrow]

Embrace Prayer.


I have embraced both whiskey and prayer...trying to cover my bases. :)

[VT Skier]

It's all about organization. The more organized you are at departure, the easier things will be upon arrival. I use different color markers to label all the boxes before they go on the truck (Kitchen, Downstairs Bathroom, Upstairs Bathroom, Master Bedroom, etc.). At your arrival point, I would use the same color markers to clearly mark pieces of paper for the appropriate rooms. Color coding gets the movers in and out fast and helps everyone.

If you can be really organized, try to also organize the individual boxes for each room, so you know what to unpack first. You don't need everything in every room at once, but if you can label each room's boxes "1", "2", etc., that will help when you unpack. Many boxes can sit for quite a while, which will save you when you're exhausted and need a break.

Make a list of everything you need to turn off/transfer at departure, and use the same list to turn on/transfer everything on arrival. Some things, like mail, can be transferred/forwarded online now, which is great.

Do a google search on how to move house. Someone must have made a bunch of helpful lists that you can copy.

Good luck.

[likebikes]

get rid of as much stuff as possible beforehand. start now, today.

[mgm777]

Paul - We did the same thing a few years ago. We used the opportunity to purge a lot of household items. Old furniture, mattresses, clothing, etc, were either sold or donated. As a result, the cost of our move was greatly diminished because we got rid of a lot of stuff beforehand. Just moved the essentials. Also, as much as your budget will allow, suggest you outsource as much of the move as you can. You are busy enough with the family, housing, and kids.

Good luck.

[azrider]

get rid of as much stuff as possible beforehand. start now, today.

THIS

I helped my folks move out of a 6800 square foot house last fall and the amount they got rid of, sold, threw away could have easily fit into another 18wheeler.

The decluttering also was one of the happiest times I"ve seen my dad and the sadest I've seen my mom. Funny

[joosttx]

Hire a company that packs. Moves and unpacks. Best money you'll ever spend.

[Ralph]

One of my sons recently moved about 250 miles, using UHaul in a way new to me.

He went to local Home Depot, bought packing boxes, tape, some blankets, etc. Then packed house up. Got things ready to load.

He next rented a large UHaul truck, called a local UHaul loading crew, and they packed up his stuff in the truck. A crew of 4, didn't take them long, and they were experienced doing it. He then drove truck to new house. Then called local Uhaul for crew to unload. So all in all, crews on both sides were about $250 each, plus truck rental. And he didn't have to load or unload it. All he did was drive the truck. A 6 person family, so lots of furniture, kitchen, dining room stuff. So if me.....and paying for moving out of my own pocket, would check out something like this. I didn't know UHaul was in the loading business.

Was very proud of how he did this. Made it look easy.

[JAGI410]

Start the purge now! I moved from AZ to MN using a pod-style service and thought it worked really well. Embrace the adventure and the chance for positive change!

[donevwil]

Just went through this in April. Hiring movers is definitely the way to go. This was my first move hiring movers largely because we had a 4 bed 3 bath house full of $h!#. Life's too short and in the long run it's not that much money. Here are a few things that come to mind right off the bat:

1. Do your research when choosing movers, read reviews and try to get some personal references.

2. Make some hard decisions on things you may not/don't need to move. Sell, donate, give or throw away as much as you can, seriously.

3. Label or at least log what will go where (in the new house) and what needs to be unpacked immediately vs. what can wait before the movers arrive to pack. This way they can pack like items and when they unload you can have items placed/stacked appropriately in your new place. Having the movers ask "where do you want this?" with every piece of furniture and box will distract you from getting a head start on unpacking (more on this later).

4. Try to clean/prep and have a layout plan for the new place before the movers arrive. Nothing like wanting to move the Master bed to the other wall, but the dresser is there with boxes stacked against the third wall and you forgot to vacuum the carpet.

5. Begin unpacking ASAP so the movers can take as much of the packing materials back with them. You can not fathom how much packing paper movers use, plus you'll likely get a credit for boxes returned. Also, you can get a head start on ID'ing any unfortunate damage.

5. Unpack the previously identified "unpack immediately" boxes so you can effectively live in your new house. Forget about the "can wait" boxes until your family has had an opportunity to take a deep breath.

[zap]

As others posted, get rid of items you don't need now and collect as many boxes as you can, then get more boxes. You can never have enough boxes.

[donevwil]

As others posted, get rid of items you don't need now and collect as many boxes as you can, then get more boxes. You can never have enough boxes.

It is not possible to overstate the necessity to PURGE BIGTIME !

I know you are referring to before the move, but after a move you can definitely have too many boxes. I'm still adding a couple cut-down boxes to my recycling every week, Ugh.

[brockd15]

Buy good quality boxes in uniform sizes, like those from UHaul, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It makes stacking and organizing them so much easier than with a bunch of shapes that don't fit well together.

Don't trust packers/movers with the unboxed stuff you care about, like nice furniture. Pack it carefully yourself, or at least watch them to be sure it's done well.

As others have said, take the chance to get rid of all the clutter from the last several years and don't move it with you.

[fuzzalow]

No need to stress. Planning and advance prep work will make smooth work of it. Although in fairness, its level of stress depends largely on the space equivalence of where you are going from to where you are going to:


If the square/feet space is roughly the same, i.e. from house to house, then it is fairly easy as the move will give you the opportunity to rid yourself of stuff you should have gotten rid of long ago. This a great way to start a new phase of your family's life anew.


If the square/feet space is very different, i.e. from house to apartment, that can be very difficult and requires even more time and planning to get rid of stuff. You will likely throw entire rooms worth of stuff away. You will never be able to sell or give away stuff fast enough to downsize fast enough to make this kind of move so stuff will either go into storage or to the landfill. Either option of which can be expensive these days - garbage or space is not cheap.


Get rid of stuff. Get rid of stuff. Get rid of stuff. Get rid of stuff.
Your spouse can be very smart about what it takes to get a home up and running again very quickly. Those boxes are the items that get segmented and prioritized during a move. Everything, however gets labelled. Some stuff just doesn't need to be unpacked right away. Indeed you will find stuff that made the move that you will wonder why was packed at all and not thrown away. Get rid of stuff. Stuff like this slips past under the stress of making a move, especially if there is a time deadline that must be met with a drop dead date. Get rid of stuff.

Hire a moving company but prepack as much as you can. Their job is to move furniture & boxes into a truck and get it to the other side and unload. You take care of the rest.

Moving and life change is a great renewal and cathartic experience. It just sucks when you're doing it. But it's great. Best of luck in embarking on another chapter in life.

[fa63]

get rid of as much stuff as possible beforehand. start now, today.

This.

Hire a company that packs. Moves and unpacks. Best money you'll ever spend.

And this, if you can afford to do so.

These two things made our out-of-state move essentially painless.

[tiretrax]

All advice given is good. If you want to pack yourself, there's a national trucking company with three letters (AHX ?) that will move the boxes. They may have lower rates since they are more of a trucking company - no idea about their quality. I'll try to find the name.

We have moved many times within our city - buying and selling houses and into temporary housing until renovations were finished on the next place. I also had to take care of distributing everything from my grandparents' house to my family after they died. I found that the personnel often seemed like they were fresh out of rehab, so I recommend doing as much as you can yourself. Prior to marriage, when I moved everything myself, I never had anything break or get lost.

Good luck.

[Ken Robb]

Moving company estimates can be off by quite a bit. The cost is based on the actual weight of your goods and the estimates are based on eye-balling them in your home. Most of my real estate clients got bills higher than the estimates they were given. I suppose it's natural for the estimator/salesman to err on the low side lest he lose the contract for the move?

[yngpunk]

Good afternoon.

My family and I are relocating from Maryland to Cary, NC in July. The last time I moved was when I had very little gear, no kids and life was simpler.

We plan to use a moving company vs. a pod system. I would like to save the money, but with three kids and obligations, somethings have to be outsourced.

Any advice for the move or bits of wisdom?

Cheers!

Paul

Paul,

I've moved cross country several times, and have done both the move myself route (Uhaul, pod/trailer system) as well as using moving companies. So, a couple of thoughts, for what its worth:

1) Moving companies *love* to use more boxes and wrapping paper than what I think is needed. I suspect that this is so they can "pad" the invoice with packing supplies and shipping weight, but I've found it to be just a big of a hassle to dispose of the packing material and boxes once everything is unpacked at the new destination. I try to be environmentally friendly, but trying to recycle the amount of packing paper they use is no easy task.

2) I've done a price comparison of the various pod moving companies (ABF Upack, PODs, some others that I can't recall at the moment) and found that ABF to be the cheapest. I've used ABF Upack several times and have been very happy with them. PM me if you go this route, as I can suggest some "tricks" to try to get the price lower

3) If you want to save some money, might want to use a hybrid approach where you hire movers (either on your own or via ABF Upack recommendation) to load/unload the trailer/pod for you. You can probably also outsource the packing as well, but I like to pack my own stuff.

Good luck. Now, real question is do you prefer Western or Eastern style NC BBQ?

[45K10]

We have moved three times in the past five years:
Tallahassee to Vancouver
Vancouver to Winston-Salem, NC
and currently in the process of of moving to Boston via Bamfield, BC
Thinking of starting a reality show. Anyhow here are some my experiences/ advice:
1. Don't overlook PODS or ABF (U-Pack) you can still hire someone to pack and load everything. Both companies can provide a list of recommended movers.
2. In my experience the van-lines Mayflower, United, etc can be quite a bit higher price than using a pod type moving system and like mentioned previously the estimates aren't binding.
3. If all or a portion of the relocation costs are going to be covered by your employer go for the reimbursement option and not payment up-front if you can swing it financially. This will make it easier come tax time.
4. Like mentioned before purge, purge, purge. IMO if it hasn't been used in a year get rid of it. My wife shares this view so that makes it easy but I know this can be a sticking point for some couples.
5. Pack your bikes yourself or bring them with you on the car rack.
6. Don't go for the insurance that the movers offer. Most renters, homeowners policies cover your belongings while in transit, just call your insurance company to verify.

Good luck to you guys and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[yngpunk]

Buy good quality boxes in uniform sizes, like those from UHaul, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. It makes stacking and organizing them so much easier than with a bunch of shapes that don't fit well together.

Don't trust packers/movers with the unboxed stuff you care about, like nice furniture. Pack it carefully yourself, or at least watch them to be sure it's done well.

As others have said, take the chance to get rid of all the clutter from the last several years and don't move it with you.

Another tip:

Order your boxes from Uline (uline.com). They may have minimum order quantities depending on box size (but not too crazy - usually 5-10) and since they have warehouses all over the US, you can either pick them up yourself (nice to check out their warehouse operation) or have them delivered via freight for not that much. Much better selection than the home improvement stores.

Also, speaking about boxes. I have around a dozen of their larger bike boxes that you can have for the price of shipping from NJ, but given the size and weight (these boxes are much more sturdier than what you get from the LBS) may be easier to buy them directly from Uline @ ~$15/box

[jds108]

If you go with a full-service mover kind of setup, start out by not trusting them to move everything with the same care that you yourself would use.

Consider packing fragile and odd-shaped items yourself. Bicycles for example. Understand that they're going to load their trailer that's about 10' high inside from floor to roof. So there is going to be a lot of pressure on things that just happen to be on the bottom.

I have had packers drink beer from my fridge while I was out ticking inventory in the truck and have had boxes go missing (stolen) twice. I have also learned that the fine print in the insurance may not be usable. One trip was insured by Lloyd's of London and when the movers didn't want to pay and told me to pound sand, I hired a lawyer. He got a settlement done as going to court meant going to London (from the USA).

I could go on but need to get back to work.

[malcolm]

We've not moved in a while and when we did it was cross town but with a ton of stuff.
We used two men and a truck, I think they are national now and they did a very good job. Nothing was broken

[jmoore]

I have embraced both whiskey and prayer...trying to cover my bases. :)

smart man.



if you have any 64cm steel or ti cross bikes, you can send them to me for safekeeping. I promise to send them back. eventually.

[FlashUNC]

Purge...purge....purge.

I cannot recommend that strongly enough.

The Boss and I finished our cross country move in August. Downsized from a two bedroom loft to a tiny one bedroom apartment.

Get rid of stuff. The more the better.

I can't recommend some kind of movers highly enough. They can make the process much smoother than trying to cajole friends with promises of pizza and ····ty beer.

I wouldn't discount the cube bit offhand. We went with ULine and were very happy with the experience, ended up being cheaper than a moving van to boot. But if someone else is paying for the relo, then absolutely, movers should come in and take care of everything.

[Climb01742]

As others have said, purge.

Label with two bits of info: exactly what's inside and where you want the movers to put it in the new house. Be specific about what's inside. Not just clothes, but Dad's winter clothes. Finding stuff after move depends on how well you've labelled boxes.

Pack slowly, over time, if you can. Packing under stress and a deadline means you pack quickly and usually sloppily. Decide what's best for you to pack, like clothes, breakables, personal items, and what's best for movers to pack, dishes, TV's, mattresses.

[Louis]

One of the things that I've always wondered about is what's the best way to maximize the likelihood of finding the right area and house for you at the other end? Buying a house is a huge decision, with so many variables, and you really want to get it right.

Ideally, I'd leave most of my stuff in storage and rent an apartment for 6-12 months to really get the feel of a place and understand the neighborhoods and the good areas to ride. Unfortunately, most of the time folks only have a few days, a week max, to look around a bit and decide.

[TBLS]

Agree with the purge reco. Also plan early for stuff you want to maintain in your control -papers, medicine, keys, etc. and keep this segregated and have backup copies of cards, etc. in case you cannot locate.

Just learned this lesson tearing apart my mom's new apartment trying to find her checkbook......and insurance card...and......

[carpediemracing]

We did two moves in two years.

1100sf house (16 years so lots of stuff, and I had maybe 8? roommates over the years so many weird things left behind) -> 800 sf apartment -> 1500sf house. All the places had full basements for storage.

For the 1100->800 we moved on our own. 2 hour drive, we made multiple trips in our vehicles. We also did a PODS thing, basically jammed one full outside the 1100sf house, unpacked it into the basement of the apartment. I had a 15 passenger van, went to the dump many times before we moved, probably dumped 3-5 tons of stuff (1000-2000 lbs per trip, several trips, couches, beds, furniture, stuff in the garage, blah blah blah). We gave away stuff, sold stuff at a tag sale, etc.

When we moved it was horrible. High 80s in temp and humidity and no AC in the apartment, no AC available nearby (August so they're all gone), just miserable.

We swore we wouldn't move ourselves again. For the next move we hired a local mover, not sure how we decided on them, for the 800->1500 move. Sooooo much easier. We moved the precious stuff ourselves, in the van. Helps that we moved about 2 miles away and that we could station stuff at the wife's office which happened to be in-between the two places. We had to drive the van to the new place anyway so it'd have been the same whether we moved 2 miles or 200 miles.

[Llewellyn]

It always amazes me how many people insist on doing the move themselves (talking about within the same city here) - then they spend a whole day or more breaking their backs, calling on friends and family who'd really rather be doing something else to help, ferrying gear, and generally having a miserable time. When instead, they could spend the cash to get professional movers in and it's all done and dusted in a few hours.

Paying removalists to do the job is some of the best money you'll spend - they're pros and will get the job done with a lot less agro.

[paredown]

The bases have been well covered. We have moved a lot, locally and internationally.

My tips
1. Whether DIY or pro, use a version of the ONE BOX--a smallish well-marked box into which you put critical furniture screws parts TV remotes etc--and take it with you;
2. Expect that there will be damage--you can have a terrific crew pack you and a crappy one from the same company unpack. Be prepared to file claims;
3. Photograph & document the good stuff--international forces you to do this--but if there is a claim, you have something to go on;
4. If DIY, don't scrimp on packing materials--pack like a pro-second or third on U-Line for supplies;
5. Sometimes a combi approach makes sense--I have Pod-ded my workshop and tools (slow, heavy and painstaking)--while getting movers to pack and ship the rest;
6. while you are purging, organize like with like--you'll get more accurate estimates

Someone else chimed in about getting dinged extra--this is a fairly common way to hold you to ransom--and the answer is look at on line reviews etc and pick a company that is reputable. We were amazed at how close the real pros can estimate your household weight and volume--and the good companies will guarantee their quotes.

One last thought--when you unpack, put an ad in Craigslist Free for the packing supplies. Ours in Brooklyn were claimed within an hour of me posting the ad.

Good luck!:)

[redir]

I think it's pretty much covered in this thread. Is your moving company going to box everything up for you? If not then I found that the local ABC (in Virginia government liquor store) has the best boxes. They are not too big so that you can't fill them so much you can't lift them, they all are about equal size for when you have to play Tetris and store them and they are built strong since they are packed with glass bottles.

Plus when your bottle of whiskey runs dry you can pick another one up ;)

BTW you are moving to an area with a very good cycling scene and a 2 hour drive to some of the best mountains on the east coast.

[zap]

I would like to save the money, but with three kids and obligations, somethings have to be outsourced.



Paul

Speaking of outsourcing……send the kids to their grandparents for a day…..or week.

[DreaminJohn]

All good advice here. Especially the part about hiring pros. My 2 cents:

The "1 room per week" approach for purging and packing worked for us. This is especially useful for offices with files, library-type rooms, and little-used bedrooms with stuffed closets. Once a room is finished, consider it sealed.

You can also attack the Holiday stuff that's packed away as well as any other off-season items (here in the NE that would mean snowblowers and the like).

The worst thing you can tell yourself is, "Oh, I just have a little bit left. It won't take that long to pack..."

Best wishes for a smooth transition.

[xjoex]

I have moved across the country a few times.

Pack yourself and hire movers will make it easy and affordable. Also get multiple quotes I had quotes from $10k - $3k. I went with the lower, not one broken object.

Buy wardrobe boxes, flatscreen TV boxes, and then boxes from home depot.

Throw out as much as you can, it feels good.

Cary NC is a great area. I go there for work a good bit. Congrats on the move.

-Joe

[cderalow]

It's all about organization. The more organized you are at departure, the easier things will be upon arrival. I use different color markers to label all the boxes before they go on the truck (Kitchen, Downstairs Bathroom, Upstairs Bathroom, Master Bedroom, etc.). At your arrival point, I would use the same color markers to clearly mark pieces of paper for the appropriate rooms. Color coding gets the movers in and out fast and helps everyone.

If you can be really organized, try to also organize the individual boxes for each room, so you know what to unpack first. You don't need everything in every room at once, but if you can label each room's boxes "1", "2", etc., that will help when you unpack. Many boxes can sit for quite a while, which will save you when you're exhausted and need a break.

Make a list of everything you need to turn off/transfer at departure, and use the same list to turn on/transfer everything on arrival. Some things, like mail, can be transferred/forwarded online now, which is great.

Do a google search on how to move house. Someone must have made a bunch of helpful lists that you can copy.

Good luck.


I did this when moving from CT to MD 9 years ago, except I used huge color coded stickers.

even fresh out of college... I had a lot of stuff.

I made my inlaws use a similar system when they moved from MD to Vegas 7 years ago. In both cases, it worked great.

as others have said... purge. if you haven't touched/used or needed it in 6 months, it can go away now. I use that rule of thumb for everything. not just moving. keeps clutter down.

[Mayhem]

Moving company estimates can be off by quite a bit. The cost is based on the actual weight of your goods and the estimates are based on eye-balling them in your home. Most of my real estate clients got bills higher than the estimates they were given. I suppose it's natural for the estimator/salesman to err on the low side lest he lose the contract for the move?

I had to pay $1500 more than my estimate when I moved to NC a year ago. And I found out the day the movers came and packed everything. I actually found out after they had finished loading everything on the truck. I was so pissed I almost strangled the guy who was in charge. If I didn't have the extra money at that moment I don't know what would have happened. That was the first and last move post-military that I paid someone else to do. Never again.

To the OP: Unless you're rolling in money I suggest you suck it up and move yourself.

[rugbysecondrow]

Thanks, I love all the input. I am a purger, so we have been ridding ourselves of crap over the last 3 months. We have a ways to go, but now that we have a house contracted for in NC, it is easier to see what will work in the new location, and what will not.

I had to pay $1500 more than my estimate when I moved to NC a year ago. And I found out the day the movers came and packed everything. I actually found out after they had finished loading everything on the truck. I was so pissed I almost strangled the guy who was in charge. If I didn't have the extra money at that moment I don't know what would have happened. That was the first and last move post-military that I paid someone else to do. Never again.

To the OP: Unless you're rolling in money I suggest you suck it up and move yourself.



Do you mind sharing the moving company? I have a few quotes, one from Two Men and a Truck, they seem reputable and I have gotten good feedback from others on them.

Thanks!

[yngpunk]

Thanks, I love all the input. I am a purger, so we have been ridding ourselves of crap over the last 3 months. We have a ways to go, but now that we have a house contracted for in NC, it is easier to see what will work in the new location, and what will not.





Do you mind sharing the moving company? I have a few quotes, one from Two Men and a Truck, they seem reputable and I have gotten good feedback from others on them.

Thanks!

I suspect that a lot of these "national" moving companies (Atlas, Mayflower, etc,) are franchise organizations which in turn contract out the driving and moving to others. So, prior good/bad experiences with a particular company doesn't guarantee a repeat experience. Having said that, the times I've used movers to move, I've used the same "national" moving company, but deal with their Detroit franchise vs, a local franchise. YMMV

[Len J]

Lots of good advice on the actual packing/moving so far, I have little to add.... having moved around the country 8 times I add the following:

1.) Identify the things that you or your wife would be absolutely devastated if something happened to them....move those yourself....you'll be less stressed.

2.) When looking for a neighborhood, start with the best school district in a reasonable proximity to work (It helps with resale + if you have kids it's mandatory IMO) and then find a development where the majority of people have also relocated from somewhere else. Why? It's much easier to make friends and get engaged in the new community. We've made the mistake of moving into a development of predominantly locals and it was much harder to make friends...they already had their group of friends. It make a difference.

3.) If you've never lived anywhere other than where you grew up (or thereabouts), it is a significant change..... don't underestimate the stress in the little things you and your wife need to find.... hair dresser, doctors, dentists, dry cleaners, best take-out....all the stuff you take for granted where you come from. We have found that making a list before we moved of the "services" we use repeatedly and take for granted, helped us identify sources before we even moved, or asked the RE agent about....it made the transition that much less stressful.

Good luck.

Len

[Ken Robb]

I think the typical estimate vs. actual charge difference happens because the estimate is an educated guess as to what your items weigh made by a person looking at them in your home. After they are loaded on the moving van it is weighed and from that gross value they deduct the weight of the van before your goods were loaded and that net figure is what will be used to calculate your final bill.

Obviously this can lead to some nasty surprises and the need to come up with extra $$$ to pay the movers before they will unload your goods at your new home. Unfortunately there are some estimators who will deliberately underestimate your weight to get the order because they know once your goods are in their van you don't have any realistic recourse. If you want to cancel the contract you will still have to pay for loading/unloading at the original location.

Of course if this happened all the time changes in laws/practices would be demanded so I assume that most moves go pretty well. As usual the people who have perfect moves don't brag about it as often or as loud as those who felt cheated. My advice would be: if you get 3 estimates and one is way less than the others that number may not be accurate.

[fuzzalow]

5. Begin unpacking ASAP so the movers can take as much of the packing materials back with them. You can not fathom how much packing paper movers use, plus you'll likely get a credit for boxes returned. Also, you can get a head start on ID'ing any unfortunate damage.

I will disagree with you here as moving day is a big enough adventure that I prefer to end that part of the journey with the inspection of an empty truck and the leaving of an empty truck.

Always one of the nicest meals between my wife and I, has been with the white cartons and paper plates from whatever Chinese take-out food place we could find. At the end of moving day. Sitting on boxes or on the floor. In our kitchen. In our new house.

[11.4]

Did anyone mention purging? We're positively colorectal on this forum.

A few additional comments. First, try to use a few standard box sizes. That's because they all get stacked and if they are many different sizes, small box gets stacked in the middle of big box and causes big box to collapse. If the movers can stack boxes of the same size, it works better. It tends to cost a bit so may not work on a strict budget, but I get extra wardrobe boxes and use them for all the awkward stuff like toolboxes, fans, etc that just don't box up well. And they are a great way to pack kids -- just give each kid's room a wardrobe box and a couple small book boxes and let them box and pack stuff into the wardrobe box. Home Depot has the best boxes and best prices as long as you get their Heavy Duty series. Their wardrobe boxes aren't anything special but their small, medium, large and XL Heavy Duty boxes are just great and cheap as well.

Skip all the fancy packing crap. Even bubble wrap for the most part is unnecessary. Get about 50 lbs of white newsprint from a mover. It's great stuff and protects heavy stuff, fragile stuff, whatever. Uhaul wants to sell you twenty different packing products, but that's all expensive and doesn't do better than the paper. I've moved a lot and ship a LOT of expensive and vintage wine glasses, and do it always with paper.

Bike shops are your friend. Well ahead of time, start collecting high-quality bike boxes. Trek and Specialized boxes are usually crap. Santa Cruz makes some amazing fat boxes that you can pack all kinds of stuff into and they are bulletproof. Norco and BMC boxes are pretty good too. Shops just dump them so you can get them for free if you're prompt about picking them up. For some furniture, for mirrors, for art, for vacuums, for flat panel TV's, they are the best thing around. And of course for bikes.

We're assuming you have the requisite n+1 bikes. Pack them all in boxes. (General rule in moving is not to trust anything at all except large furniture to unboxed transport.) I have found it usually works best to strip the bike down a good ways -- remove the crankset, bars, saddle/seatpost, bottle cages, rear derailleur, etc. Pipe insulation foam works well (heavy duty Tygon clear plastic tubing is even better), augmented with bubble wrap for awkward spots, but mostly just be sure you have the big heavy duty plastic bags that some bikes get shipped in. Those protect the frame from wheels and other stuff and are great.

All furniture should be blanket wrapped and then top-wrapped in plastic. I don't think most people know how to wrap and load for a major move. If it's a small condo or apartment, it's one thing. For a big household, something else. I'd definitely do the packing -- otherwise you have chaos when you try to unpack and don't know where things are -- but have movers do the rest.

As for movers: There are virtual movers around these days. They are a bit cheaper, because all the day is hire a crew for the day, rent a truck, and pack you up. Then they stuff it in a storage locker and contract for a partial load with a truck driver. They load it into his truck and he unloads it when it gets to you. The problem is that there's little accountability and if anything goes wrong, you are truly screwed. You can buy third-party insurance but it's very hard to collect on that and you pay through the nose. I had some water damage on my last move and had total claims amounting to about $14000, but didn't get more than the $2025 I paid for the insurance policy. Be careful of those movers. Look for ones with actual warehouses and facilities. Local Yelp references aren't much use because most reviews are for local moves. The big names like Mayflower are parts of alliances of independent movers -- so one local mover may be better than another. Each mover gets a territory so if you hear good about United or Mayflower, you are hearing good about that local moving company. However, it's your driver who really is your key. Be sure the same guy is packing, driving, and unpacking. You won't get to meet your driver ahead of time because he's on the road right until he arrives at your house, but make sure you're dealing with a moving company that understands its drivers and treats them well. And make sure you don't get switched around. Sometimes it may be unavoidable to change drivers -- as when your load has to be offloaded in a hub city and moved to another truck. If you fill more than two thirds of a semi trailer, you'll stay in that truck from beginning to end. You should be able to get location and status updates daily during the move and with some movers be able to get GPS fixes on the truck on your computer (great for kids as well as your own peace of mind).

Moving can be a lot of fun and if there are kids, you can teach them a lot and make a great time out of it. As someone pointed out, purging is amazingly traumatic for many women, and doing it with kids can mean her stress isn't just focused on you. If kids learn to move, it bears them well throughout their lives.

[Bertleman]

1) buy lots of tape as they will tape the ···· out of everything and charge you per roll...
2) have one company come out to estimate and then shop moving companies based on the weight...they ALWAYS under estimate the weight
3) remember it's based on weight...do you really need to keep the last 5 years of Dwell?
4) Sell any Ikea furniture as it will crumble from the move (wooden stuff)
5) contact a moving company from where you are moving to, to get a quote. That way if something goes terribly wrong you are close to them and can go to their office if not receiving satisfactory treatment. All the moving companies use other trucks and your stuff might get loaded onto several different trucks during it's journey...so pack valuable stuff like it's going to be loaded and unloaded several times.