Moving day doesn’t have to be stressful, but having your movers waste time wondering what to do when they arrive will make the whole experience very tense.
Here’s the thing… Most people assume the hard part is over once they hire movers. That’s when the real work begins.
What you’ll discover:
- Why You Should Prepare Your Home for Professional Movers Arrival
- The Pre-Arrival Checklist That Will Save You Time and Money
- Protecting Your Belongings: The Right Way to Prepare
- Moving Day Setup That Will Make Everything Run Smoother
Why You Should Prepare Your Home for Professional Movers Arrival
Did you know that…
There are nearly 28 million Americans who move every year. And out of all those people who relocate to a different city, guess how many of them actually take the time to prepare their homes for the mover’s arrival?
Very few.
Problem: Most people believe that once you hire professional movers, the crew will show up and take care of everything. They assume the moving crew will magically sort through all their stuff, decide where everything goes, and just know which boxes contain fragile items that should be treated differently.
Wrong.
Professional movers are experts at moving your stuff from point A to point B. They’re not mind readers, they’re not interior decorators, and they certainly aren’t packing professionals. Whether you hire a local crew, a Florida moving company, or even a white glove delivery company for high-value items, they all need proper guidance to do their best work.
Imagine how they feel when they arrive at a house they’ve never been to before, with a full load of moving boxes belonging to people they know nothing about. And the owners of those boxes expect them to do a perfect job packing everything without any instructions or directions.
Fact:… If you don’t prepare properly for their arrival, then you are setting everyone up for failure.
The Pre-Arrival Checklist That Will Save You Time and Money
Before we jump into how you should prepare for your professional movers arrival, let me say this one more time:
There are 40% of people who relocate because of housing-related reasons. And the last thing you want to do is add the stress of moving day chaos to that already stressed out group of people.
Here’s what you should do instead:
- Two Weeks Before Moving Day
- One Week Before Moving Day
- Three Days Before Moving Day
Two Weeks Before Moving Day
The first thing you need to do is walk through each and every room of your house and decide what you actually want to move. This is where you need to be ruthless. The less stuff you have, the faster and cheaper your move will be. If you have items you want to keep but don’t need immediately, consider placing them in storage units Chestermere to free up space and make moving day more efficient.
Make three piles:
- Keep and move
- Donate or sell
- Throw away
Pro tip: If you have any valuable items, take pictures of them from all different angles. That way, if one of those items gets damaged during the move, you’ll have proof of what it looked like beforehand.
One Week Before Moving Day
Call your moving company and confirm everything. And I mean everything:
- Time of arrival
- How many people will be in the crew
- Which services are included (packing, unpacking, etc.)
- Are there any special requirements for larger items
You should also be using up perishable food and emptying your fridge by this point. Professional movers will not transport anything that can spoil.
Three Days Before Moving Day
Pack a “first day” box that includes all the essentials you will need when you first arrive to your new place:
- Toiletries
- Medications
- Phone chargers
- Change of clothes
- Important documents
- Basic cleaning supplies
Why?… Because this box will travel with you, and not on the moving truck. You will have everything you need while you wait for the delivery.
Protecting Your Belongings: The Right Way to Prepare
Let me let you in on a little secret…
Did you know that when it comes to damaged belongings, there’s a MASSIVE difference between items packed by you versus items packed by professional movers?
If a mover packs something and it breaks, they are generally responsible for replacing it. If you pack something and it breaks, you are SOL.
But here’s what you can do to protect everything:
- Remove Personal Valuables
- Prepare Your Home’s Infrastructure
Remove Personal Valuables
Professional movers can’t transport the following items:
- Cash and jewelry
- Important documents
- Family photos
- Prescription medications
- Firearms
Pack those yourself and keep them with you or transport them separately. Trust me, it’s not worth the risk.
Prepare Your Home’s Infrastructure
This is one of the most important steps but it’s also the one most people skip.
You should clear all walkways of any obstacles. Move shoes, bags, and random items away from doorways. The crew needs to be able to get in and out of your home safely.
Pictures and mirrors should be removed from walls. They’re fragile and super easy to forget about.
Protect your floors and walls. Ask your moving company if they provide floor runners and wall padding. Most professional companies include this in their services, but double-check just to be safe.
Label Everything Clearly
This is where most people mess up. They think labeling boxes means writing “Kitchen” on the side of the box.
Not good enough.
Your labels should include the following:
- Which room does the box belong in
- General description of the box’s contents
- If the box is fragile or heavy
- If the box needs to be unpacked first
The more specific you are, the better the job the movers can do.
Moving Day Setup That Will Make Everything Smoother
Moving day will be here before you know it. And when it is, you want everything to run like clockwork.
Do a final walkthrough with the crew leader. Show him/her any items that require special handling, or rooms that the crew should avoid.
Be available, but out of the way. The crew is there to work, and they know what they’re doing. But they may have questions, so don’t disappear and leave them wondering where the owner is.
Something else most people forget: Have snacks and water available for the crew. Moving is hard work, especially in the summer heat. A small gesture like this can make a big difference.
Create a Moving Day Command Center
Set up one area of your home as your “command center”. This is where you should keep the following:
- Important documents
- Contact information for the moving company
- Your moving day checklist
- Cash for tips
- Cleaning supplies for last-minute touch-ups
This way, you have everything organized and you don’t have to run around looking for things.
Do a Final Inventory Check
Before the truck leaves, do one final walkthrough with the crew leader. Check every room, closet, and cabinet.
Once that truck drives away, whatever is left behind becomes your problem.
The Moving Day Reality Check
Here’s something most people don’t want to talk about…
65% of movers underestimate their move’s costs when planning. And lack of preparation leads to delays, missed timelines, and extra charges. Learn more about Suddath Moving Services to avoid unexpected costs and ensure your move is planned down to the last detail.
Professional movers will typically charge by the hour for local moves. Every minute they spend waiting around for you to decide what goes where is money coming out of your pocket.
When you prepare properly for their arrival, everything moves much faster. The crew can focus on what they do best: safely moving your belongings.
It results in lower costs, less stress, and better results for everyone involved.
Wrapping It All Together
Preparing your home for the arrival of professional movers is not just about organization. It’s about taking back control of one of the most stressful days of your life.
The time you take to prepare for your movers’ arrival results in:
- Lower moving costs because everything runs more efficiently
- Better protection for your belongings
- Reduced stress on moving day
- Faster unpacking at your new home
Only 18.3% of Americans choose to hire professional movers when they relocate to a different city. That makes you part of a small but very smart group of people who understand the benefits of getting professional help.
Don’t waste that investment by showing up unprepared.
Take the time to do this right. Your future self will thank you when everything goes smoothly and you’re relaxing in your new home.