Month: January 2024

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DIY Moving Projects How To

How to Hire the Right Movers for Your NJ Move

How to Hire The Right Movers for Your NJ Move

Doing a DIY move when you’re young isn’t so bad. You’re still in decent shape and you likely have some nearby friends and family who are available to help out. However, as you get older moving everything yourself can put a serious toll on your mind and body. Not to mention most of your friends and family are probably too busy with their own life to help out (and maybe they also just don’t want to get hurt helping you move).

Whatever the case, you now need to hire right movers. Even if you’ve gone through the process in the past, it can still be a daunting task. After all, there are so many companies to choose from and not all of them will fit your needs. In order to find the right one moving company for you, you’ll need to do some planning. Luckily, the following guide will help walk you through the process.

Need to Calculate Your Moving Cost

Before hiring NJ professional movers onboard, you first need to figure out if you even have enough money. In order to do that, you need to figure out how much they cost. While there aren’t any universal rates, most movers tend to offer similar prices. If you don’t want to guess how much movers will cost, you can simply reach out to a few that offer the service you need and get a quote. So long as you provide accurate information and include any additional services you might want to include, the quote should be fairly accurate.

Your best bet is to reach out to a minimum of three NJ moving companies, ideally more. You should be suspicious if an estimate is significantly lower than the others as it might be a sign of a scam. And while it used to be a red flag if movers don’t do an in-home visit, thanks to COVID-19, many can provide estimates if you send them pictures and/or video.

Check All the Important Documents

Whether you’re making a local move or long distance move it’s important that you make sure the company you hire is licensed and insured. The US Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) requires all professional moving companies to have a U.S. DOT number. In order to receive this number, the movers must enroll in an 18-month education program to learn about carrier safety and hazardous material regulations. During this time, the company must maintain safe operations and pass a safety audit. To maintain their number, movers must comply with all Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) safety regulations.

Some states, like New Jersey, also require registration with the state’s Department of Transportation for additional security. Moving companies are required to post both their state and federal DOT numbers in an easy to find location on their website. You can then check the moving company’s numbers on the FMCSA website to ensure their numbers are still valid.

In addition to having the appropriate registration with the state and federal DOT, you also want to make sure the moving company is properly insured. You can ask for a certificate of insurance (COI), which is a form that shows all of the necessary insurance the movers have including umbrella, general liability, automotive, worker’s compensation, and more. When you look over the document, pay close attention to the expiration dates for the insurance as well as the name and address listed for the business. You want to make sure the insurance is still valid up to the date of your move and that the name and address matches what is listed on the company website.

Read Reviews Online

Thanks to the beauty of the internet, you can now easily find reviews on almost everything, including NJ moving companies. Don’t let this resource go to waste! Simply search the name of the company and you’ll be able to pull up reviews from multiple sources including Yelp and Google. You can always arrange reviews by the most recent and even drill down to see specific ratings like one-star reviews. From there, you can determine whether the negative and/or positive reviews are a good representative sample.

In addition to customer reviews, you should also check out the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the company has a report. You can check out the letter grade the BBB has assigned to the mover and read any complaints, reviews, and government actions. Besides the BBB, you can also review the company’s complaint history on the DOT website.

You shouldn’t always trust online reviews though as some companies will pay people to post positive reviews. If you know people who have used a moving company you are considering, ask them questions on the cost, professionalism, etc. See if they have any complaints and see if it matches up with the online reviews.

Ask Questions About What You Want to Know

Once you’ve narrowed down your NJ moving company search, you should take some time to ask them questions. You don’t want to go in there without any preparation, so make a list of questions beforehand. Below are some questions you should ask:

  • Can you provide a certificate of insurance? You want to make sure the movers the insurance is up-to-date and that they have enough coverage. Usually, insurance should go be at least $2-5 million
  • Are you a broker or carrier? Brokers outsource their services to other companies while carriers handle all moving services in house
  • What coverage option do you offer? All moving companies must offer partial liability coverage for free. This only insures your items for $0.60 per pound per item. Professional moving companies are required to have full value protection, but you will need to pay extra for this
  • What services do you offer? Not all movers are created equal. If you need additional services like packing and unpacking or storage, make sure you ask if they offer these options.
  • How do you calculate prices? Most companies charge customers on several factors including weight, distance, season, and hourly rates. If you’re moving locally, most movers stick with a flat hourly rate, but that’s not always the case so it’s important to ask.
  • What about cancellation fees? There are plenty of reasons why you might need to cancel or reschedule your move. Some companies will let you cancel free of charge so long as you do it far enough in advance. Others might charge you a fee on top of your deposit so make sure you ask!

Hire Right Movers NJ

Once you’ve done your research and found the right movers for you, make sure you book them! Ideally, you’ll want to reserve your movers at least a month beforehand, but you might be able to get in a last-minute move if you’re lucky. Still, the more lead time you have, the better as you’ll be able to start the moving process in advance.

Looking for some movers in NJ, then reach out to NJ Great Movers for a quote!

Categories
Packing Hacks and Guides

How to Pack Your Clothes for Moving

6 Hacks to Pack Your Clothes for Moving

Packing is not easy. In fact, it’s the task that most people dread because it takes up so much time and energy. It’s all too easy to forget something since you’re spending time disassembling your furniture, organizing your belongings, and prepping your fragile items so they don’t break during the move. Who has time to think about how to pack clothes?

While it might be tempting to just throw your clothes into a bag or box, this haphazard approach can lead to wasted space and time when unpacking. Plus, it leaves all your clothes wrinkled or, in the worst case scenario, damaged. If you want to make sure your clothes arrive in good condition, the following tips can make that possible.

Declutter Your Old and Unnecessary Clothes

This step might be one of the longest, but there’s no better time to start purging your closet and wardrobe than when you move. While this step might take some time, it’s a lot better to reduce how much you bring with you as you will have less to pack and unpack.

In order to properly declutter  your closet and wardrobe, empty everything so you can see what you have. From there, sort your clothes into three categories: clothes you wear often and want to keep, items you don’t wear but are in good condition, and damaged clothes. Take the time to look carefully at each piece including dressy and seasonal outfits. With dressy items, unless you are constantly going to fancy parties, you can probably get away with one three-piece suit or black dress.

You can choose to donate or sell the lightly worn items you have. If these items are from a brand name, you can probably fetch a good price for them online. Whatever you earn, you can put towards your moving budget. For anything that didn’t sell, donate to a goodwill store.

Wash Dirty Laundry Before Moving to Your New Home

It might be tempting to leave your dirty laundry in a bag and forget about it until you’re in your new house, but the last thing you’ll want to do is a load of laundry while unpacking. More importantly, stained or soiled clothes will only get worse as time goes by and, if some of your clothes are particularly stinky, the smell can spread to the rest of the dirty laundry and suitcase.

It might seem like a waste of time, but do all of your laundry the day before you move. It will make unpacking a lot easier. Plus, you’ll need to wash the clothes you donate anyway, so might as well do another few loads while you’re at it!

Sort Your Clothes

Once you’ve figured out what you’re keeping, the next thing you should do is start sorting your things by season. That way, you can start packing away the clothes you don’t need as early as a month before your move. So if it’s summer, pack away your winter clothes and vice versa.

While you’re at it, sort pieces by type to help you organize your closet better after the move. Put all your pants together, shirts, together, dresses, etc. Just make sure to keep all of these items separate for each person in the house. Then label and identify the various boxes and bags with the name of the person and type of clothes for easier unpacking.

Find the Appropriate Packing Method

Sure, you can throw your clothes into a box, and that might not be the worst idea for more casual items like jeans and t-shirts. However, for items like button-down shirts, dresses, dress pants, etc. you might need to take a different approach. Some options include:

  • Standard cardboard boxes – these are great for folded clothes like your sweaters, t-shirts, etc.
  • Wardrobe boxes – perfect for clothes on hangers! You don’t even need to take the items off the hangers, just put them in these boxes. Many professional moving companies in NJ provide one or two wardrobe boxes for free
  • Suitcases and bags – if you don’t have enough cardboard boxes, these are great alternatives
  • Vacuum bags – perfect if you need to save space and condense clothes like bulky sweaters and jackets. It’s also a great way to store seasonal clothes so it doesn’t take up too much space in your closet once you’re settled into your new home.

Organize Folded Attire for the Move

If you’re someone who has trouble folding the laundry when it comes out of the dryer, you might balk at folding your clothes during your move. There’s no getting around it, folding clothes is a labor-intensive process. You can make it easier on yourself, though. Unless your dresser is in very bad condition, you can leave all your foldable items in the drawers and tape them up tightly. You’ll save money on cardboard boxes and time spent packing. Plus, professional NJ movers know how to carry and maneuver large pieces of furniture.

However, if you’re not keeping any of your furniture, you will have to pack it. There are two methods of folding your clothes that are easy and efficient:

  • Flat fold – these are perfect for your sweaters and jeans and pair well with cardboard boxes and vacuum bags and the most traditional way to fold your clothes. Lay the shirt flat, fold the bottom up a few inches then flip it around. Fold both sleeves toward the center then fold the bottom half of the shirt.
  • KonMari Fold – popularized by Mari Kondo, this method is similar to flat fold, but it allows you to see any designs on the shirts so long as you pack it properly. It’s a fairly straightforward process where you fold one side of a shirt towards the center and repeat on the other side. Then fold the shirt in half lengthwise and then finally fold the shirt in half or this. You will want your shirt to stand upright to maximize space.
  • Military roll – use this method for delicate items like shirts and dresses or if you’re using suitcases or duffle bags. Follow the flat fold method, but instead of folding the bottom half of the shirt, roll from top to the bottom.

Protect and Pack Footwear Like a Pro

Don’t throw all your shoes into a duffle bag! Shoes quickly lose shape and can get damaged during the move. Plus, if you have worn all of your shoes before, you’ll be getting whatever dirt, etc. on all of your shoes.

It’s in your best interest to pack your shoes properly, especially your dressier shoes. Stuff the shoes with some packing paper or socks so they keep their shape and wrap them in paper to prevent scuffing. If you have the original shoebox, place them in there and put everything into a small or medium box. It’s okay if you don’t have the original shoebox, you can place the shoes gently in a cardboard box without it.

And don’t ever pack your shoes with your clothes!

Accessories

Don’t toss these in with your clothes! It’s all too easy to lose small accessories like rings, necklaces, neck ties, etc. Instead, back these separately in a small bag or box. If these items are very valuable, you will want to keep these possessions on your person.

Pack Bag or Suitcase for the Moving Day

Don’t pack away all your clothes in boxes. Unless you are super motivated to unpack immediately when you move into your new place, chances are you’ll take a few days to go through all your boxes and bags. In the meantime, the last thing you want to do is root around your boxes to find your pajamas and a change of clothes. This is doubly true if you moved on the weekend and have to go into work on Monday.

So before you tape up all of your boxes, separate all of your essential items to a suitcase or box. When planning what to pack, consider what you would bring to a 2-3 day hotel stay. Items like socks, underwear, shirts, pants, pajamas, tooth brush, toiletries etc. are all necessary, but you might have to pack other things like bedding, pillows, toilet paper, towels, silver ware, one or two cups, etc. Don’t overload yourself, of course! Remember this should be enough for two to three days not a full month! The hope is that you will be finished unpacking the essentials within that time frame.

Get Ready to Move!

The tips above should help make packing your clothes a lot easier. If all else fails, you could always contact NJ Great Movers and request a partial packing option for your closet and dresser. We’ll handle all the hard work so you don’t have to!