Finding the Right Mover for Your Stuff

Finding the right mover for a relocation job can make this task less stressful. Moving can be exciting in many ways. It's a chance to try out a new location, look at unique scenery, try another selection of restaurants and decorate a different home. But in order to get from Point A to Point B, a person must take multiple steps and make a slew of decisions. Here are some things to think about:

- Local or far away: Where is the new address? Is it just a few streets away, on the other side of town or across the country or world. When selecting a relocation company, it's important to find one who specializes in local or long distance moving. It takes a certain set of skills and expertise to do either one or both.

- Relocating to a bigger or smaller place: If the new address is a much larger house, this will affect the decision of what to bring. Everything will likely be packed up and toted along. If the next set of keys will turn a lock on a much tinier place, there will be some downsizing to do. This is a good time to take a look around the house to see what is truly necessary, treasured or never used. For all those rarely used items or duplicates, this would be a great time to hold a garage sale or pass items on to friends, charities or thrift shops. If it's not going to fit in the next place, better to not pack it up and take it along. Get rid of it before heading out.

- Estimates: It's always helpful to get three estimates in order to make a comparison between moving companies. A mover will come to your home, take an inventory of all belongings and give a written estimate of how much it will cost to transport all goods to the new locale. Be sure that everything is written down such as whether boxes and packing materials will be included, whether the company's employees will pack and unpack and what their guarantee of safe transport is. Be sure all three companies notate the same services on their estimate so that apples are being compared to apples rather than oranges.

- References: It's helpful to get some word-of-mouth estimates from friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers regarding movers to get estimates from. Online reviews are also often helpful to peruse, in which you can see past customers post about their experiences.

- Licensed, insured and bonded: Since these pros will be transporting all of a family's worldly goods from one location to another, it's important that the company is licensed, insured and bonded. Having this protection means that should anything be damaged, it will be replaced or reimbursement will be instituted.

Moving day can be the start of a new chapter in one's life. Even though this can be exciting, it can also be nerve wracking. Having the best mover possible will ensure that the experience goes much more smoothly and that the family heirlooms will arrive at the new address safe and sound.