The Best and Safest Way to Relocate [Complete Guide]

What period of the year should you pick to be your relocation timing?

This or that period of the year has its own advantages and downsides. 

Let’s see which one you should select, considering your needs.

Move out in the summer

Movers call it THE season, this is the busiest season of the year, because of families with kids.

There are many reasons for it, school start, cool weather, and the opportunity to pack up your things within the bunch of free time that you have at this time.

Because, of course, it requires quite a bit of time to pack it up - and unpack too - for a whole family.

But these commodities have drawbacks: relocation companies are pretty busy, so they tend to higher their prices between June and September. 

You might want to consider asking for several quotations and look for the cheapest.

Relocating to the lean seasons

Spring and fall are probably the best periods to plan a relocation, either by yourself or with a company.

As the weather is generally forgiving, and your friends are available, it is great timing to do it by yourself.

Also, those are pretty lean seasons for companies, so you might get lower prices, as their hard-rush time has passed, and their working volume is going down.

Move-in winter

Winter is a lean season for the property domain, so it has consequences on the relocation domain for sure.

This brings 2 massive advantages:

• Possibility to use competition to have the lowest prices of the year (ask several companies for quotes)
• Get a larger panel of dates to plan your relocation.

Though, if you’re planning to do it by yourself, rain and ice might make this even harder than it initially was, you’re warned!

Move on the week/month ends 

• Saturdays are often taken, even though many companies might allow you to get a relocation leave
• The end of the months also isn’t going to be too much available, as tenants don’t want to pay another month’s rental for nothing.
• Sundays and national holidays shouldn’t be considered too much as the price would major.

What are your plans concerning budget according to your relocation?

When relocating, you generally want to save as much money as possible, but, why should you be vigilant?

Moving out by yourself: Cheap but exhausting

You might think that to save more money, there’s no such thing as doing it by yourself, even more, when you see those supplies selling companies (duct tape, cardboard, bubble wrap…). 

Though, it’s not inconveniences-free :

 You have to look for a truck, and before you also have to estimate your packs’ volume not to take too big of a truck. (or you'll have to pay more)

Also, you might want to ask for parking authorization, for the 2 places (where you lived/where you’re going to live).

You have got to be ready to handle the assembling/disassembling of your furniture, and all the strain that comes with it.

And this is in the best scenario, there's a lot of chance that something breaks, your friend(s) might not be there, elevator break, rain, etc.

This is why, beyond 10m3, you probably should ask a company and hire them.

One sure thing, the more volume, the harder it gets to do it by yourself.

Low-cost relocation

These past years, new brands spawned on the relocating market, taking advantage of the low-cost trend, they offer prices that are overly competitive.

Though, that’s what it looks like in the distance.

But in fact, they most likely propose minimalist services, allowing them to offer low-price quotes.

Unfortunately, many of these new companies subcontract and/or tend to hire movers that aren’t qualified, bringing very low quality protection and shipping for your furniture.

Even worse: some movers aren’t actually contracted, which basically means that if they injure themselves, there isn’t any workplace accident policy.

To be clear, you might be responsible for this, as the ordering person.

At the end of the day, by trying to make a few savings, you may end up with broken stuff, lost packs, or have an “only company knows” date of delivery. 

Also, you could have to pay a penalty for undeclared work.

And what about their insurance warranty?

This is why when you’re hiring a company for that kind of work, it is necessary, or well, more to-be-liked, to read the quotation with attention. 

You should look for information, concerning the reliability of the company, too!

Hire professional movers: the best quality-price ratio

Real moving companies quickly understood that if they wanted to fight this unfair competition, they would have to make efforts to keep their clientele.

Nowadays, besides the turnkey, standard, or budget solution, they offer custom-made formulas.

It doesn’t mean that they’re selling off, though, they’re just trying to adapt even more to their clientele needs!

Of course, it has to be possible, as they won’t work if there aren’t any profits to make.

That’s a reason why those tours they make are a must, it allows the client to explain what he wants, and the professional can advise him to guide him toward this or that moving quote, that would fit his needs the most.

That’s how you make savings during your relocation with professionals, with all the existing warranties, and without having to break open the piggy bank. 

Now, how to load a truck properly?

When you’re either hiring a professional company or moving by yourself, loading your truck properly is pretty important.

Otherwise, you’re either going to break something while it’s conveyed to your new house, or you’ll have to pay for a bigger truck than you would need, which costs more money.

If you need some more information concerning how to safely move heavy furniture, you can check our article here

Organize your truck to avoid break

You are getting to your new house soon, boxes are ready, and you’re just out waiting for the truck to arrive.

Nevertheless, loading a truck is a piece of art.

The know-how and skills to load it, without breaking any piece of your furniture and personal stuff, is a really necessary thing.

Cartons preparation

We always think about how the cartons are going to arrive, expecting breaks, due to movement while it's transported.

But it is also essential to wrap meticulously your stuff, mostly the fragile pieces, to protect it from the shocks that may occur while it’s on the truck.

Safe truck loadout

The truck size has to be at the right volume, depending on how much volume your stuff represents.

Your things condition at the arrival of the truck at your new home mostly depends on the precautions taken before.

Here’s what you need to organize properly :

• Load the heavier stuff at the bottom of the carrier
• Protect the furniture with a cover
• Load the more fragile stuff at the end
• Fill the spaces between boxes with a coiled duvet to keep it stable, doesn’t matter the movements.
• Once every piece of stuff is in place, tie up tightly everything to avoid moving from one corner to the other

Conclusion

To put it in a nutshell, take your time to plan your relocation so that you can make savings, not rush every phase, to make it smoother.

Eventually, you'll get to your favorite choice, make sure every condition you asked for is respected so that you don't get surprised once something is broken, etc.

If you have any questions left, don't hesitate on contacting us! Oh, and also...

This article helped you ? Share it with your friends and co-workers!

Thanks once again for counting on DocShipper to give you the best tips and tricks to make your relocation smoother and easier!

That said, check us up if you ever need help with your relocation, we'll be there to satisfy your needs.