Moving goods or relocation can be quite overwhelming or draining experience for people involved. Whether it is shifting current home or office or shifting machinery into new premises across cities, states or even internationally, requires great energy levels, oversight, thought and care.
At VALUESHIPR, jointly with our partners, we get involved in the process of planning out the entire activity to ensure that the activity is handled with care and at reasonable costs. Even for an expats coming into India or going out of the country the whole process needs specialised skills and the experience quiet daunting.
Suggested below are some steps, preparation that you need to follow for smooth and stress-free transition:
Plan Ahead-
Planning ahead of your move is absolutely essential. Needless to say, the most savvy mover does so months before the arranged date. Atleast 2 months before the planned date, start with informing Banks, Post offices, Chartered Accountants, Club Memberships, Credit Card companies, schools, tutions etc.
One month before the move, arrange for a pre-move survey. You may be moving into a larger property,but you will save a lot of time and effort if you scale down your material goods before you have to pack them up. Inspection will reveal a lot of redundant items. Any items you can’t bear to lose but aren’t currently being used, can be boxed up early.
Get packing materials (quality packing materials!) early on. Pack gradually to reduce stress. Label your boxes by room, colour code to make it easier, and of course, mark fragile items as such, with a “This side up” label.
Further, back up your personal computer, collect school records, collect international driver’s licence ( if needed), Purchase additional items that you wish to send in the shipment, sell car ( if needed), sell plants, furniture appliances or give it away. Visit doctor / dentist and obtain medical / dental records. Cancel magazine or newspaper subscriptions. Check If any dry Cleaning of clothes needed, Inform the telephone company and electricity / gas/ water authorities. Reduce/dispose of all frozen/perishable foods. Write a plan of action down and make sure everyone moving with you is aware and onboard.
Packing up the kitchen and unpacking the bedroom first
Packing kitchens is a tough act when trying to move home. There is heavy stuff, breakable things and lots of sharp items amongst other things. Pack before any other room, but leave out the kettle, toaster and anything that you will need on the day. Tea / coffee breaks are essential. Your fridge should have been emptied and switched off at least 24 hours before and throughly cleaned before moving.
Original packaging would be the best, if not, pack and protect all appliances as best you can. Bubble wrap all breakables, making sure glasses and cups are filled (newspaper will do). Always stack plates with a layer of protection between each, again enough newspaper to allow cushioning is fine.
Essentially bubble wrap the fine china. No sharp ends left unsheathed, no boxes packed improperly. Also mark heavy boxes as heavy.
Bedrooms are one of the most important rooms to unpack first because you will be using this before any other room is ready. Make sure the bed is where it should be, thereafter the kitchen, dining room, drawing room and bathroom can be sorted.
Some tips on Unpacking
Group pots and pans handles together. Use new boxes, especially for valuable and heavy items.
Pack in order of necessity eg; Vases before appliances, bookcases before beds. Have a bag of ‘on the day’ necessities ready. Teabags, Tissues, spare clothes; whatever you need while in transit. Make sure you label electronic appliances connections where it was unplugged from.
“FRAGILE”, “HEAVY”, “THIS SIDE UP”. At least one of these on every COLOUR CODED box (Red = Kitchen, Green = Bedroom, etc.). “ESSENTIAL” on the boxes that will assist in the moving in process. Cleaning items, detergents , towels etc. Things you need, you take for granted.
Plan your move for the middle for the week. In general, it costs more to move at weekends and it’s when most choose to do so, making a move date competitive. However, more planning is needed as help is harder to find during typical working hours. Rush hour can cause delays, therefore entry and exit in a city needs to be carefully thought through. But for low cost moving, Monday through Thursday is often best
Happy Moving
Email: sales@valueshipr.com
