Nearly 6 million people call Miami home, and each year, many of them decide to make a local move around the Miami area. They may be moving from one side of town to the other, or they may be moving just around the block. Whether moving into an apartment or house, moving can be stressful if you haven’t taken measures to make it go smoothly. If you are unsure how to prepare for moving to Miami, read on.
Tips on preparing for a local move in the area
Searching for a moving company
- Avoid common mistakes. People make a lot of mistakes that you can easily avoid, such as procrastinating until the last minute and not having a plan in place. Set a timeline to get things done and be sure to follow it so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
- Secure a moving company. The first thing you will need to do is find a good moving company so that your job becomes a lot easier. Hiring the right moving company to work with can make moving a breeze. Be sure to avoid choosing the lowest bid, because you may not be getting quality service and there may be hidden fees in the fine print. Opt for a local mover that has a good reputation, fair price, and no hidden fees.
Packing
- Get your boxes and packing materials. Running around at the last minute to find boxes can be an exhausting task. Either obtain boxes and packing materials from your mover or contact some grocery stores well in advance to see if they can set aside some boxes for you.
- Pack everything up. When packing, be sure to keep out a bag of items you will need along the way. Also, label all of your boxes so you know what rooms they will go in. You can even number your boxes and write down what is in each numbered box. Having this handy numbered sheet will be useful when you are trying to locate something before all the unpacking has been completed. Some companies offer packing services and can come pack everything for you before the move.
- Be ready for the movers. When the movers arrive, everything should be ready to be packed by them or be immediately carried out (depending on the arrangements you have made). This will save time and keep everything moving smoothly. Also, be sure to put in your change of address at least a week before your move takes place. If you are a renter, take a moment to take pictures of the place you are leaving and moving to, so you have a record of how you left it and how it was when you arrived.
Avoid common mistakes – Prepare a plan for moving around the Miami area
Moving in Miami area without appropriate preparation is the biggest mistake you can make. And you would be surprised how many people move without proper planning. There are so many different things to do before and during a move. Therefore, if you do not plan it well, you could end up in big problems. So, how to plan and prepare a move around the Miami area? When you are preparing for a local moving around the Miami area, everyone will immediately think about hiring Miami moving companies. However, there are things to do before scheduling movers.
Set your budget
Firstly, you need to set your moving budget. That will be of much help in determining all other things concerning your relocation. Like, when to move, which moving company to hire, whether to use additional moving services and so on. So, first be clear with the amount of money you are handling with, and then you can go on.
Think about excess items
After you set your moving budget, you will need to think about your stuff. Certainly, there are items in your home that you do not ever use. Or some older pieces of furniture, that you would like to replace. Those things will needlessly increase the final price of your move. Moreover, it is important to identify all the unnecessary items before you schedule your move. However, you do not need to get rid of them immediately. You just need to be clear with the items that you are not planning to move. That is important, because, to get a moving estimate from a Miami moving company, you will need to prepare a moving inventory list.
Make a moving inventory list when you want to prepare for a local move around the Miami area
Prepare your moving inventory list right from the start. It will help you to get accurate moving estimates from moving companies. Also, you will exactly know how much packing materials to prepare for later packing. If you identified all the items in your home that you would like to get rid of, then it is just a matter of going through every room and making a list.
Avoid moving in peak season
When you want to prepare for a local move around the Miami area, think about your moving date. If you are moving on short notice, then you cannot be too picky. However, if you can choose when you want to move, then you should schedule your move outside of the moving season. Peak moving season in Florida lasts from April until September. And if you can avoid it, you should definitely do it. It is harder to schedule good and reliable movers, the moving prices are higher, and you know how crazy is in Miami during that time of the year. With all the tourists and traffic jams. So, better try to schedule your move outside of the peak moving season if possible.
Secure a moving company
When you are moving to Miami area it is strongly advised to be very careful when hiring a moving company. More than 600,000 people move to Florida each year. And over 400,000 moves out of the state. That makes Florida a fertile ground for fraudulent moving companies. Even though the government is somewhat trying to stop the spread, but the scammers always seem to be one step ahead. So, you need to be very cautious when hiring a moving company in the Miami area. One group of scammers were caught with posting fake online reviews for fraudulent companies. So, do not trust every comment that you read, either.
Accept only binding estimates
Also, be cautious with the moving estimates. Scammers operate in a way where they will come to you with a very attractive offer. Moreover, that offer will probably be the lowest one of all. But when they pick up your items, your once friendly movers, practically ask for a ransom to deliver your items. There were cases where people were waiting for months for their stuff. So make sure that before they pick up your items they give you a binding estimate.
Find moving boxes when you want to prepare for a local move around the Miami area
When your scheduled moving date starts to approach, you can slowly start thinking about packing. The moving inventory list that you have prepared earlier will come in handy once more. Read it to find out how much moving boxes and other important packing material to prepare. If you don’t know how many boxes to prepare, ask your movers. They are waiting for you to call them about packing services anyway. So they will certainly be able to tell you exactly what to prepare for your packing day. Nevertheless, think about boxes, plastic wraps, plastic bags, packing tapes, and so on.
Pack and prepare for a local move around the Miami area
During your packing preparations, you will become aware of how complicated packing is. And there will certainly be a moment where you would wish that somebody else could do the packing for you. Moving companies know about that issue, that is why they are offering professional packing services to their clients. If you are a person who is not very fond of packing, then these are the services for you. Not only that they will save you from packing and unpacking, but it also means that you do not need to go packing material hunting as well.
If you decided to pack on your own, make sure that you begin with packing in time. You need to finish packing and to prepare everything before your movers arrive. If the move is delayed because of you, you will have to pay for it. That is why it is advisable to leave the final week before the move for packing. That you way you can do it a more relaxed manner, and you will have enough time to finish everything.
Moving doesn’t have to be stressful
Making a local move doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming. When you work with the right moving company you will feel the difference that it makes. At Orange Movers, we have helped many people make local moves throughout the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas. We help people have a stress free move, offer competitive pricing, and well-experienced movers. We can help make your local move headache-free, too! To get a free, instant quote for your upcoming move please use our moving calculator. It is the best way to get reliable moving quote.