We're moving!
I'll be honest here, the process of moving is a lot. Especially when you're a bit of a maximalist, are a bit of a large family and have acquired quite a few things over the last several years at your place. 3 kids, two cats and a husband who loves to hang onto things as much as you do is plenty.
After we signed the lease on our new place my brain went straight to dread trying to process how we were going to pack up our entire life and get it over to our new home. Panic had already set in before I remembered how my friends enlisted Roadway Moving in the past and how they raved about the service and about how they made moving a breeze. I figured it was time for me to join the ranks and get some help from the best moving company in New York City (they're all over the country and do long-distance moves too!).
At first I was like "could it be too good to be true?" After all, a lot of my friends only have one kid and aren't really big collectors of items (ie: not maximalists). Well, there was only one way to find out, so I reached out to partner and after going over an extended list of all the things we needed to move, I started to feel a bit better and more prepared. We opted to pack ourselves and have them come pick up everything, do a bit of carpentry (disassembling and assembling furniture) and get us all settled in at our new place. They dropped off the boxes a few days before our scheduled move with tape! It was about 110 boxes ranging in different sizes and shapes. Some for hanging clothes (I love the wardrobe boxes, so clever), some for china - like dishes and kitchen stuff, book boxes, linen boxes and large boxes. We were ready to get started. Now what?
Because we were simultaneously "un-decorating" our colorfully decorated home and returning it to it's original neutral state we decided to start packing the rooms we had finished.
First up: the bedrooms. It took us about an hour to pack up our clothing and personal items. We were on a roll! The wardrobe boxes helped us take everything hanging in the closets to hanging in the closets at our new place. I slung handfuls of dresses on hangers from my wardrobes to the bar in the box with ease, then closed the opening of the box and secured with tape. I felt like an instant packing pro.
After we wrapped and secured the boxes in the primary bedroom we headed to the kids room where things got a bit more complicated. There were lots of clothes (x3), toys, legos and an abundance of books. We broke out the linen boxes for the clothes, book boxes and extra linen boxes for toys, legos and books. We used a couple of large boxes for bulkier items like shelves and bigger toys. It took us a couple of hours but we finally secured the tape on the last box before heading into the bathroom with a large box. Our quickest, likely easiest boxing of rooms yet.
We got to work on the living room, office and entryway closet, which left the kitchen for last the night before, since it had the most "little pieces" and well, tons of breakables. As I got started on the kitchen I realized I didn't have any packing paper so I immediately sent an email to our move coordinator (everyone gets one) asking if it was possible to bring paper to help pack up the dishes, mugs and glasses. No problem.
The foreman, Lucio and his team showed up bright and early the next morning and immediately jumped in. It was like an assembly line of men moving boxes. It was amazing. After they moved the majority of the initial boxes they dove into the kitchen and packed it for me! I was amazed at how quickly they finished packing the kitchen - it took me ages to even make a dent in it the previous night.
As the morning went on, the apartment got emptier and emptier. They got straight to work on taking apart the massive triple bunk bed and our queen Ikea brimnes bed before packing it and all of our other furnishings snuggly in cellophane and padded blankets. They also took the time to take apart items that wouldn't easily fit through the doors such as our living room sectional, outdoor sectional and hanging egg chair stand.
They were quick on their feet and came up with clever options in the moment- especially when we got to our new place and discovered the doors and openings were MUCH smaller that the previous place, especially when going to the backyard. They pivoted like pros.
They cleared every room with care including packing up all of our frames, mirrors and patio (filled with a pretty hefty plant collection). Everything was boxed safely and transported to their new home.
After they finished packing the trucks, yes, we had two trucks, we met them at our new place and watched them flawlessly unload the furniture, reassemble the beds and put all of the big pieces where they belonged. Finally the boxes came out and our time together was coming to an end.
I was so impressed with how professional, kind and helpful they were over the course of the day. They made what was definitely once thought as one of the most stressful tasks you have to do into a "WOW! That really wasn't that bad." Lucio and his men went above and beyond and really made it the easiest move I've ever experienced. If you're moving and you have a Roadway in your area, hire them! I can't recommend them enough.
Tips For Moving with Roadway
- Opt for the full service packing and move if you can.
- Wear comfortable clothes / layers.
- Have lots of snacks and water on hand for you and the movers.
- Make sure you have a clear path for movers. Path of egress is key!
- Try to stay out of the way but also be available for any questions the movers might have such as "where does this box / piece of furniture live"
- Permanent markers to describe what's in your boxes on the top AND sides of the box.
- No matter how much you offer to help they're going to say no so you might as well sit back and relax while you can because the unboxing is all on you. It's exhausting, so rest up.
- If you're packing yourself, ask for packing paper!
- Make a task list of all the things that need to be packed and check it off as you go. It's way easier and satisfying to see the progress.
- Have an extra landing zone for box overflow. Our living room quickly filled up and we designated the entryway hallway and garage for overflow areas for boxes that didn't fit in a certain room.
- Have a change of clothes, pajamas and toiletries on hand in a bag or suitcase so you don't have to wade through boxes on moving night.
- Have a plan for kids and pets! We took our cats over to the new place the morning of and set them up with food, water and litter in the bathroom.
- Tip your movers! We were suggested to tip 10-20% of the quoted move price, we ended up opting for 22% because they went above and beyond.
disclaimer: I collaborated with Roadway Moving to be able to offer my readers a reliable mover they can trust, in return they were generous to offer a free move and all opinions are 100% my own.
Good luck with your move. I hate moving as well.
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