6 Terrible Moving Mistakes and How-to Avoid Them

Unless you’ve bounced around from place to place often, moving day probably feels like uncharted territory. Since moving is something most people only do every few years at most, it’s easy to make mistakes or forget important steps.

Certain mistakes can either drive up the cost of your move or make you much more stressed when moving day arrives. Here are six of the worst moving mistakes and how you can avoid them.

1. Failing to Get Your Estimate in Writing

So, you’ve booked your mover at that low rate you saw advertised online, and you feel like you’re getting a great deal. The only problem is that when they show up, they tell you that the deal doesn’t apply to homes of this size, and your move will cost twice as much.

Until you get your moving estimate in writing, there’s no guarantee that’s what you’ll pay. When you’ve got a deal you want to secure, ask the moving company to provide you with a written estimate.

2. Wasting Money on Boxes

Depending on the size of your home, you could end up needing dozens of boxers or even over 100. It doesn’t make sense to spend money on boxes when there are so many free ways to get them.

You can often find people with boxes they’re willing to give away through one online search. Try asking your contacts on social media, as well. Going to stores is also a good way to get free boxes from their recent shipments. Liquor stores, grocery stores and major retailers will all usually have boxes available to give away if you visit at the right time.

3. Getting a Truck That’s Too Small

It’s tough to know how big of a truck you’ll need for your move, and considering the price differences from truck to truck, it’s natural to want to save money. But you’ll spend much more time and money on your move if the truck isn’t big enough to transport everything in one go.

If you aren’t sure what size truck to get, measure everything you’re transporting and compare that to the space each truck has. When in doubt, just play it safe by choosing the bigger truck.

4. Not Labeling Your Boxes

There are few things more frustrating than getting to your new home only to realize that you have no idea what’s in each box. You won’t know which boxes you need to unpack right away and which you can leave for later, and you can’t put boxes in the room where their contents will go.

It takes seconds to label your boxes with the contents and what room they’ll go. You can use a label maker for this or simply write on each box with a marker.

5. Waiting Until the Last Minute

The longer you wait to prepare for your move, the more stressful it’s going to be. You’ll end up scrambling to get everything ready, and you may need to pay more for movers if you don’t book them until the last minute.

It’s best to write a moving checklist several months in advance. On your checklist, you can organize every task by when you need to handle it. This allows you to get your entire move setup and all your belongings packed with time to spare.

6. Not Updating Your Address

If you forget to update your address when you move, you may miss important letters that get sent to your old address. This also puts you at a greater risk of identity theft.

Before you update your address, make a list of every organization that has your address on file. This way, you won’t lose track of where you’ve updated your address. You can just go down the list and update with every organization in one sitting. Make sure you let your friends and family know, too.

There’s a lot to do to ensure a successful move. When you plan everything well in advance and take care to avoid the biggest potential problems, you’ll be well on your way to a mistake-free move.