The process of moving to a new home can be challenging, to say the least. However, there are things you can do to make sure the experience goes smoothly.
Communicate with your removals company
The purpose of hiring a removal team is to make your house move easier. They handle the lifting of heavy boxes, the awkward manoeuvring of bulky furniture into the moving van, and all of the other annoyances that are involved in transporting your belongings to a new property.
However, your removals team will only be able to make this experience easier if you provide them with all of the information that they need to do their job correctly. For instance, if you fail to tell them about accessibility issues they are likely to encounter at your current property (such as a lack of nearby parking spaces or a broken lift that will force them to carry your possessions down several flights of stairs), you will probably find that the moving process ends up being far more stressful, complex and time-consuming than you had initially anticipated.
Likewise, if you don't inform your removals company about certain personal circumstances that are likely to interfere with the team's ability to carry out their work, this too could have a negative impact on the efficiency with which they move your items. For example, if you have a dog or cat who will be present on the day of the move, it would be sensible to make sure that your removals team is aware of this fact. Doing so will ensure that they can make a conscious effort to avoid tripping over your pet whilst they're carrying items out of the property. It will also make them more aware of the importance of closing the front door each time they enter and leave the house (so that your pet doesn't escape and get lost).
Take extra care with fragile furniture
Accidentally destroying an expensive or even irreplaceable piece of furniture will almost certainly make your house move a lot more stressful. As such, if you own valuable, fragile furniture, it's crucial to do everything you can to protect it during the moving process.
Even if you're lucky enough to have hired an exceptionally conscientious and careful team of furniture removal specialists, the reality is that your items will still be at risk of damage if they are not properly prepared for the transportation process. They could be scraped against a wall whilst being carried out of your current home or sustain a battering in the moving van as a result of the driver's frequent acceleration and braking.
The secret to avoiding this type of damage is to wrap your furniture items in multiple protective layers. The first layer should be either plain paper or thin plastic sheeting. This will prevent superficial scratches and, if you opt for plastic, will also provide some protection against moisture. The second layer should consist of either thick domestic blankets or specialist moving blankets; whilst the former will usually suffice in most cases, they won't offer quite as much cushioning and shock absorption as the latter.
Before your removals team begins carrying your carefully-wrapped furniture out of the house, take a couple of minutes to examine the pathway they will be taking to get to the moving van. Remove any obstacles (such as stray moving boxes or unpacked items) on the floor of your home which could potentially cause the movers to trip and drop your furniture. Additionally, check the exterior walkway for things like patches of ice or oil spills from nearby cars; if you spot these hazards, tell your removals team where they are located so that they can avoid slipping on them on their way to the van.
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