It has been said that moving is one of the 5 biggest stressors in life, along with the death of a loved one, marriage, divorce, and loss of a job. When you consider moving all the possessions in your home to another home, or to multiple destinations, it is easy to understand why. To keep your stress level as low as possible during the moving process, there are several things you can do.
Adequate preparation for your move is a critical factor. Too often, people do not begin preparing for their move early enough. Household moves in affluent areas such as the Park Cities are a process, not an event, and can take several days to several weeks or longer. The larger the move, the earlier preparation needs to begin. Even in the peak summer moving season, sometimes people do not reach out to movers until days from the time when the move needs to commence. Talk about increasing your stress level! One of the universal laws of moving is-the process is always more involved and takes longer than the homeowner’s expectations. When the homeowner is downsizing, many fail to realize the process of selling, donating or giving items away is harder and more time-consuming than they believe.
Since COVID it has become much harder to donate items to charity. Often, your children have no interest in large, heavy armoires, antique furniture or what you might consider heirlooms. People are also surprised at how little value their used furniture holds. Life can also get in the way of your best intentions. The time to move has now come and you have not disposed of what you intended and have not packed much either. If you have contracted with a mover that provided an estimate based on your representation of the scope of the move, and now the scope is larger and more time consuming, the cost will be significantly higher. This, of course, creates increased stress and worry as you may now be in danger of missing the date you contractually agreed to be out of your sold home.
So, what are your expectations of the mover? Do they have the personnel, required skill set, and time to complete what you need performed? On one occasion we had a client decide that moving was a commodity type undertaking, and they hired the cheapest mover they could find. Two days before they were contracted to be out of the home, the homeowner called us in a panic, as their mover could not perform everything that was required. We were engaged to finish the project and had to construct crates on site in the front yard (highly unorthodox) to safely prepare and transport valuable items and other pieces the “low cost” movers could not properly move. Be leery of the mover that provides an estimate without viewing the job and understanding the scope.
If you engage a professional, white glove mover, they will generally prepare a detailed proposal outlining the schedule and activities the mover is performing by the day, from packing, prepping furniture, loading, transporting, unloading, placement of rugs and furniture pieces, installing beds, unpacking and any other specialty needs such as art hanging and chandelier installation. The professional, white glove mover will also be able to address items going to multiple locations including storage. This all contributes to a much lower stress level for the homeowner.
Whether you are a designer requiring delivery services, a homeowner faced with a challenging relocation, a company moving across the country or to the building across the street, the professionals at Curtis Specialized Moving & Storage are qualified to ensure every detail is addressed. Contact the Curtis professionals at 214-634-0304 or www.curtismoving.com.
