No matter what time of year you’re moving during, packing and preparing to take on long-distance moving can be an overwhelming process for anyone, though necessary. Even packing for a local move can be a challenging ordeal for people, especially those who maybe don’t have a ton of experience with moving in general. Long-distance moving requires a lot more planning and attention to detail than local moves since they of course involve a lot more distance and have a lot more moving parts and variables that need to be taken into account when coordinating them.
Whether you’re looking into coordinating and performing this entire move by yourself or are looking into a long-distance moving company that could provide you with the right moving experience for your items, being as prepared as possible is the best thing you can do for your entire process.
Before you begin your moving process (regardless of whether you’re DIY’ing your move or going with professionals), having the right long-distance packing and moving tips on your side will allow you to take on the process the right way and will ensure that your things will be packed correctly and will arrive at your new home safely.
So how do you choose the best long-distance movers, and how do you come up with the right packing and moving strategy for your household and your upcoming journey? We’ll provide you with the best ways to take on a long-distance move and what you should look for in the right moving company.
How to Choose a Long-Distance Moving Company
Before starting the packing process for your interstate or cross-country move, it’s important that you’ve got the right long-distance moving company on your side for your relocation. After all, it can make or break your entire relocation if you don’t have the right movers on your side for a move of any distance, nevermind one that spans multiple states and thousands of miles.
If you’re wondering how to choose professional long-distance movers, there are certain things you’ll need to look for and pay attention to beyond just price. Let’s get into our top tips for choosing movers so you have the tools you need to successfully find the right company.
- Choose Movers with Cross-Country Moving Experience
When taking on a long-distance move, you should always have professionals on your side to ensure that your things arrive safely, and so that you can take some stress off of your shoulders. Cross-country moves are incredibly stressful, and having experienced professionals on your side to coordinate the process is immensely relieving for you and your loved ones.
However, when choosing long-distance movers, you should always look for a company that specializes or has a large amount of previous experience with long-distance moving to ensure that your things are kept safe during their journey and that they’ll arrive promptly to you at your new home. Having movers with this experience will allow you to be confident in your services, and will make sure that your items are treated with the utmost care.
- Look at Your Professional Moving Company’s Reviews
One of the biggest moving mistakes people make when looking for long-distance movers is not doing enough research and not looking into enough third-party reviews of your cross-country moving company.
Even if you think all long-distance movers are more or less the same (though they’re very much not!), looking up reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau, Google Reviews, Yelp, and similar sites can save you from falling victim to a moving scam or just a poorly run company. When looking at reviews, never just go off of the ones on a company’s website either. Though they may be authentic reviews, websites can easily vet or delete unfavorable reviews to make themselves look better than they are. Always research and hear what people have to say about your potential company and their experience with them.
Additionally, if you can’t find any reviews for the company you’re looking into at all – run! This is a huge red flag and can indicate that the moving company is fraudulent.
- Shop Around for Quotes
In addition to looking for the best company that has the most positive online reviews, you should also always shop around for the best moving estimates and free quotes. Getting multiple estimates will save you from spending too much money and will let you also get a good idea of what a good price is, and what might be overpriced. It will also help moving scams to stick out more, as they’ll usually be priced suspiciously lower than the market rate, or than other reputable companies.
Giving yourself the best tools to get the best pricing and best service for your long-distance move will let you get the right services, and best value, and will let you stay on budget (and even under budget!) for the services you’re looking for. If you’re looking for the best long-distance movers, you can also look at Bekin Van Lines to find everything you’ve been looking for!
Long-Distance Packing Tips
After locking down the best long-distance moving company and your moving date, it’s time to start the planning process for your move and to start cultivating the right packing strategy to keep yourself on track. Creating a spaced-out and realistic timeline for your packing process will let you take on the process gradually, and will save you from the anxiety and stress of last-minute packing.
Creating a moving strategy earlier on will also keep you organized and will allow you to hold yourself accountable regarding how much you’ve been able to get done in your process. If you fall behind, it’ll be alright since you’ve already made progress, however, so you won’t have to stress out too much. You can even make a calendar to keep track of your progress, what your goals are, and what you’re working on currently to keep you on track.
When preparing for the packing process, follow the following packing tips:
- Get Packing Supplies
Planning and beginning the packing process early is the key to having the smoothest move possible. This applies to not only packing your items in their correct boxes and keeping fragile items safe but also to getting all of your packing materials well ahead of time.
This lets you know what you need and will save you from either running out of packing supplies or just not being able to find the right high-quality materials at the last minute. You can source high-quality boxes or storage totes for very little cost or free from friends, family, local businesses, or places like Facebook Marketplace.
- Packing Items Responsibly
When we say ‘packing items responsibly’ what we mean is just being mindful of what things you pack with what. Start your packing process off by packing decor and nonessential items, and always pack like with like. From there, move onto things like seasonal items, or things that might already be packed up or stored in places like your attic or basement.
Never pack fragile items in with nonfragile ones, or with thighs that could potentially damage them. Additionally, you should always label your items, no matter what their contents are. This will keep fragile items safe, will keep you organized, and will let your movers pack your truck safely and efficiently.
- Make Organization a Priority
As we mentioned prior, keeping yourself organized is imperative to ensuring that your entire process goes smoothly, and so that your movers can also stay organized while they load and transport your items. Try to pack things up according to room, and do so gradually. Unpacking will also be much, much easier when using this process, as will keeping all of your boxes labeled!
Packing with the utmost level of organization will ensure that your things are kept safe from damage, that your loading process onto the truck goes smoothly, and that unpacking is an easy process. It will also make it easier to declutter your things and to pack essential items that you’ll want to have with you while waiting for your household items to be delivered.
With the right long-distance moving tips and long-distance packing tips under your belt, you’re ready to take on your relocation! Always be mindful and thorough when it comes to choosing the right long-distance moving company for your needs, and don’t forget to check reviews and shop around for quotes. From there, create the right packing timeline and take things a little at a time so you stay organized and can pack up all of your items without getting overwhelmed. Once the moving day comes around, you’ll be good to go! Oh, and if you’re looking for the best professional movers, look no further than Bekin Van Lines. We’ll give you the best pricing and service for your long-distance move, and will be there for you every step of the way during your process.
