Moving tip number four: Play it safe and leave the fireworks behind

My three-year-old daughter caught site of the leftover Fourth of July bottle rockets sitting in the corner of the garage the other day. “Daddy, ‘member when you shot the house across the street?” she asked innocently. “Sweetie, didn’t we agree not to talk about that?” I asked in my best fatherly tone. 

Indeed, it was an innocent enough question, but it made me think about a few important summer issues related to moving, relocation and storage that everyone should know.

Number one – never shoot off bottle rockets anywhere near another house – unless you have really good insurance and understanding neighbors, or unless you feel comfortable blaming someone else…But I digress.

There are certain items, like leftover bottle rockets, that simply cannot be moved on a moving van. That means you’ll have to move those items yourself or get rid of them – in an environmentally appropriate manner – before the moving crew shows up at your home to pack and load the moving van. Here’s a list of items that you just can’t move: 

• Any aerosol cans
• Nail polish/remover
• Fire extinguishers
• Any type of gas in bottles or tanks, including propane or oxygen
• Paints, varnishes, solvents, thinners and oils
• Ammonia, bleach and other household cleaning agents
• Chlorine
• Muriatic (hydrochloric) acid
• Auto batteries
• Charcoal/lighter fluid
• Matches and lighters
• Ammunition
• Firearms

This is not an issue you want to push with your moving company – moving any of these items can result in serious property damage and/or injuries. Many of these items are simply illegal to ship. Play it safe and leave your left over Fourth of July stash to the new occupants of your home.  Find out more at Wheaton World Wide Moving

The devil’s in the details

The mover may be hired and your belongings organized for your move, but don’t forget all of the services you’re leaving behind.

Here’s a partial list of companies you should contact before moving:

• Notify telephone, electric, gas and water companies. Use Wheaton’s helpful Utility Connection Center to disconnect and reconnect many of your utilities. Visit www.wheatonworldwide.com.
• Discontinue service with your cable company and local newspapers.
• Change your magazine subscriptions.
• Cancel the security company, lawn service or any other type of regular service.
• Advise your post office of your new address in advance of moving.
• Contact your dentist and doctor to have medical records transferred to your new location.
• Gym memberships and other organizations may reimburse or pro-rate your account for pre-paid services.

Save time, money and headaches by accounting for the small details.

Moving tip number three: Be prepared for the hidden costs of do-it-yourself moving

When I moved into my home nearly 10 years ago, I did the same thing I’d done five times before:  I rented a truck and then bought pizza and beer assuming my friends would smell it and offer to help me move. It worked, but it was the last time. We were moving from our first home which we believed wasn’t much larger than an apartment. Amazingly, our 1,600 square-foot house held enough junk to fill a 5,000 square-foot home. Unfortunately, we don’t have a 5,000 square-foot home.

So, we moved nearly all of it into storage while we waited for our new home to be built. In the meantime, we moved into an apartment. Then, when the house was ready, we did it all over again. I can’t tell you what the bill for the truck, the storage, the pizza or the beer was. I just know we spent a lot – particularly on pizza and beer.

And then there was the incident with the truck. Seems that a 26-footer doesn’t corner like a small Volkswagen. Before coming to that realization, I rounded a corner at the end of a row of storage buildings – literally rounded – and dented and scraped the side of the truck. That certainly added to my bill.

Clearly, my wife and I have grown out of the do-it-yourself moving business. Don’t get me wrong – there’s a place for rental trucks, storage facilities and portable storage and moving containers….and, of course, pizza and beer. At Wheaton World Wide Moving we believe strongly in meeting customer demand in ways that satisfy the customer’s needs. Certain customers need the type of hands-on flexibility that those services afford.

But our studies show that many customers of rental trucks or portable storage and moving containers, for example, end up using those services because they believe that full service moving is simply too expensive. In most cases, that’s simply not true. In fact, it’s often just the opposite, particularly when you consider the whole concept of do-it-yourself.

Within only a few hundred dollars difference, many customers can hire a full service moving company, like Wheaton and its agents across the country, to perform a top quality move. That includes moving all the furniture and cartons out of a home or apartment at origin, onto the moving van, and then off the moving van and into the new home. So…your friends will thank you, profusely. And, your pizza and beer bill will go way down.

In addition, there’s some recourse if things don’t go exactly as planned. If you break your own vase, you are, as they say, SOL. If a full service moving company breaks your vase, you always have a minimum level of protection that offers you some value for your items. If you elect to increase your Replacement Value Protection (RVP) to full coverage, you’ll pay a little more up-front but you’re protected even further.

But that’s not all. Depending on your budget and the value of your time – and your spine – your full service movers can also help you pack your items for relocation before the moving van ever arrives. Again, packing isn’t free. But when you consider the time and effort that it takes to ensure your prized possessions are packed properly so they won’t break in-transit, it may be worth exploring. Even if you decide to pack yourself, Wheaton has some great information on how to pack items for transport – especially delicate items like China and crystal.

Bottom line? Before you decide that the do-it-yourself route is the way to go, at least talk to a full service mover and get an in-home estimate. Wheaton and its agents around the country offer in-home estimates at no charge and with no obligation. We’ll be happy to do it and leave behind packing information and tips for saving money even if you decide to do it on your own. Please keep in mind; we’re not authorized to provide lessons on how to drive the rental truck.

Komen Tissue Bank allows Wheaton to move lives in different way

There are few organizations more recognizable than Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to eradicating breast cancer, one of the most deadly and prolific diseases around. There are few of us who have the good fortune to say their lives have not been affected in some way by breast cancer. Whether it’s a relative, a friend, a business associate, or a casual acquaintance, everyone knows someone who has had an experience with the disease. In my case, my mother is a breast cancer survivor and several of my wife’s parents have fought the breast cancer battle. I’m happy to report that most have won.

Ironically, the same dangerous disease that causes so much anxiety and pain, has also created one of the most incredible “networks” of people all connected by a common thread. But, no matter how dubious that connection might be, those involved in the network clearly don’t look at it that way. As evidence, attend any Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure event across the country. It’s an incredible experience. While there is certainly sadness built into the core purpose of being there, it’s also a celebration of life and relationships.

In the past year, I’ve had the good fortune to become involved with Komen and experience some of the camaraderie, good deeds, fun and hard work involved with Komen events. In October 2008, Wheaton World Wide Moving made arrangements to move blood and tissue sample equipment for Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center, headquartered here in Indianapolis, to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Dallas, Texas. I had the privilege of traveling to Dallas, along with two of our system’s best drivers and a fantastic corporate crew that included our partners at Crown Relocations. We packed, loaded and unloaded centrifuges and other specialized equipment and supplies necessary to the job of collecting, storing and transporting blood samples back to the tissue bank for breast cancer research.

Watching the folks from the Komen tissue bank was an amazing experience. And knowing that we played some small part in making their work possible was gratifying. Since the first event, we’ve continued our relationship with the dedicated folks at the tissue bank and moved their equipment for several more blood and tissue collection events. In fact, Wheaton is performing that work this weekend in Indianapolis – Saturday, June 13, 2009, IU Simon Cancer Center, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. You can visit the tissue bank’s Web site to find out if you’re eligible to give a sample: Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center

At Wheaton, our policy is to become as involved in the communities in which we work as much as we can because it’s the right thing to do. But it’s also a fantastic way to get to know the community and the people you’re serving.

I’d encourage you to get involved – donate to Komen’s cause and consider giving samples for research to the Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center if it shows up in your town. But don’t just do it for the obvious reasons. While breast cancer research is certainly at the top of the list of incredibly important medical research, I think you’ll find that a relationship with Komen is an entry into a very special social network that’s growing larger every day.

Moving tip number two: If you don’t get help here, get help somewhere legit

A few years ago a local hospital specializing in mental illness ran a series of advertisements suggesting that even if people didn’t use its services, depression was a serious enough condition that they should “get help somewhere.”

I’ve always felt like that same message could be adopted by the legitimate members of the moving and storage industry – especially the major household goods carriers. Too often we hear horror stories of families who find themselves mixed up with “rogue” movers who strong arm them into paying more than they bargained for, or who simply abscond with their belongings, never to be seen again.

Avoiding the bad guys is really as simple as a cliché that’s been around forever:  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But I’d like to take it one-step further – hiring a reliable and reputable interstate moving company, is as simple as sticking to the major household goods carriers. There are about 10 or 15 major interstate carriers that – combined – have thousands of interstate moving agents across the country. Wheaton World Wide Moving is the sixth largest household goods carrier according the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA).

You heard it here first:  If I ever see a potential customer getting estimates from a fly-by-night moving company, I will gladly refer them to one of my legitimate competitor’s if it meant they wouldn’t hire the bad guy. It’s as simple and serious as that.

In January 2009, the AMSA launched a new program called ProMover. It’s designed to help consumers make informed, safe decisions about which moving company to hire for their relocation. As part of the program, AMSA officials have screened thousands of its members, conducted background checks and measured quality to ensure they can be certified as ProMovers. In the coming months, you’ll find more of the moving companies that qualify begin using the ProMover logo on their collateral material, Web sites and business cards. It’s an important distinction of quality that helps to set us apart from the criminal movers who give our industry a bad name.

ALL agents for Wheaton World Wide Moving are certified ProMovers. You can find a listing of Wheaton agents in your area by visiting our Web site and using our zip code tool. You can even get a ballpark quote or free estimate with a few mouse clicks. Soon, you will also find a listing of all ProMovers on the AMSA’s Web site. Check back here and I’ll let you know when all of Wheaton’s agents are listed on the site. Even if it’s not clear, you can always contact AMSA to verify.

At Wheaton World Wide Moving we take great pride in ensuring our customers have a positive relocation experience. After all, it’s not just an address change – relocation is a life change. Don’t risk a bad experience by hiring a rogue company that overpromises and then rips you off.

If you don’t choose Wheaton as your relocation provider, by all means, get help from another major van line.

Moving tip number one: Leave the jungle gym in the jungle

Here’s your tip:  Moving costs are based on weight and distance, so shed as many pounds as you can to save money on your move. And when it comes to moving a swing set in your backyard? Think twice my friends.

I often stare out the window as my two girls – ages three and six – play on their new swing set in our backyard. The smile that crosses my face has only part to do with how much I love to see them having fun. The other part is a smug little grin that happens when I think of how I escaped having to put the darn thing together myself. It was a close call.

My wife is a penny pincher to the max degree and we argued for hours about the money we’d save by borrowing a pickup truck, picking up the unassembled pieces and bringing the monstrosity home ourselves. And, of course, how “fun” it would be to assemble it once we got it there. Really? Not my idea of fun.

What happened next is something I will never forget. In what seemed like dramatic, action movie slow motion, our sales person turned to us and said:

“We can deliver it and assemble it for $99. Is that something you’d like us to do?”

I remember passing out and waking up in the back of our mini van, my girls dabbing my forehead with wet fast food napkins they found on the floor. I think the moisture may have been a spilled soft drink rather than water, but I was too happy to care.

It was almost too good to be true. $99 was about $150 cheaper than I thought it would be, not to mention the aggravation of bringing the dang thing home. And the cursed assembly – you know what I’m talking about – bolts missing, connecting holes that don’t line up, the danger of missing Sports Center….you get the picture.

Apparently before I fainted, I told the sales person to wrap it up and we soon had our new swing set.

Here’s the thing: You won’t get that lucky when you’re relocating and it’s time to disassemble and pack up the jungle gym. Moving costs are based mainly on weight and distance. So, the heavier your items are, the more a move will cost you. And trust me, a jungle gym is heavy. Plus, it’ll cost you to have it disassembled and reassembled. By the time you move it, you’d be better off buying a new one when you get to your new home.

The moral of this story? At Wheaton World Wide Moving, in most cases, we tell our customers to leave the swing set for the next family and start over again at your new destination. Sure, you may end up paying the delivery and assembly charge, but it’s worth it. And only you will know the secret to that little grin you get every time you watch your kids playing in the backyard.

Welcome to We Move Your Life!

The We Move Your Life blog is dedicated to helping make everyone’s life easier when it comes to moving. We will provide moving tips and advice as well as general news about moving and storage.