A Few Things to Consider when Moving…

You are excited about your new place, and you just can’t wait to see all of your furniture and décor arranged so you can get on with your life. However, do not overlook the need to be prepared for the move. Even when hiring professional movers you still have some important tasks to take care of. Maybe you have planned for just about everything but forgot about transporting your personal items like jewelry, expensive and rare coins, top of the line cameras, and documents containing your identity, health status, or some other sensitive information. Basically, if there is an item that really worries you and keeps you up at night, you may want to consider carrying that with you. If you are a gun owner, you should make sure all your guns are unloaded at the very least; you should also have them locked up and it may even be a good idea to be responsible for transporting those yourselves.

It is very easy to forget about our pets until it is time to move with them. You can’t just stick them in the back of a moving van! Plan the most pleasant way to move them. It does not take much to stress out a pet, and a long distance move is going to require logistical planning-much like the planning you need to accommodate all of the humans in your family. Food, water, proper ventilation, and safety all have to be accounted for. For a relatively long trip, a kennel or some other kind of pet carrier is needed. Some pets may even need medicine for motion sickness. Oh, and once you arrive at your new home, it is important to get your pet back to its normal routine.

Plants need special consideration, too. If you are crossing state lines, you will need to check with the USDA to make sure it is not prohibited to bring your plants over. States with a lot of agricultural business may be more restricting than others, so you should really check that out well in advance. Before you move, put the plants into some containers that can resist breaking. Be warned, sometimes it is simply impossible to take certain plants with you. In that case, you may want to give them to a friend or in the worst case scenario, make mulch.

Last but certainly not list, do not forget to make a list of your inventory. It is simply too hard for the average person to remember everything that they are taking over with them. The list is important because it will help you get around to finding lost items immediately, when it is far easier to track something down, than to wait a few days when absolutely everything is unpacked and you have no clue where the missing thing is. Having an inventory list also helps you keep track of the things you probably would miss but want to keep anyway. So make that list, and check it twice.