Jordan Speisman | Gainesville Movers and Moving Companies in Gainesville

Moving Hack: Create A Packing Schedule

Moving is stressful. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by everything that you have to do and put off packing until the last minute. Unfortunately, as professional movers know, packing only gets more difficult and stressful with procrastination. The key to simple and stress-free packing is to start early and create (and stick to) a detailed packing schedule.

Before You Pack

The moment you know you’re moving, create a moving checklist of everything you have to do, complete with specific deadlines for each task. This checklist will keep track of tasks such as changing utilities from the old place to the new, picking up boxes, and hiring a Gainesville moving service. A detailed checklist will keep you on top of everything that you need to do.

Moving is also the perfect opportunity to downsize your belongings. The less you have, the easier it will be to pack. Take some time before your move to sort through possessions and get rid of clothes, books, or other objects for which you no longer have use. You might consider hosting a garage sale a month or so before your big move.

Where To Start

The hardest part of any big project is figuring out how to get started, and this is no less true for packing. Because packing can take a long time, and you’ll still need to live in your home while you’re packing, it’s best to start in the least frequently used rooms of your house, such as an attic, garage, or guest bedroom. Clearing these rooms early on will provide you with a convenient “dumping ground” for packed boxes to keep them out of your way throughout the packing process. Having all of your packed items in one area will be a blessing come moving day.

Packing Schedule By Room

Depending on how much time you’ve allowed yourself to pack, you may choose to dedicate a day to packing each individual room. If you’ve really planned ahead, you may even be able to spend a week on each room. Gainesville movers recommend the following packing order:

Storage areas such as basements, attics, or garages.
Little-used rooms such as guest bedrooms or home offices.
Children’s rooms, if any.
Finally, the most essential rooms: kitchens, master bedrooms, and bathrooms.

As you’re packing, keep in mind what you’ll need your first night in your new home and pack those items together in a box or suitcase. This way, you won’t spend your first night digging through multiple boxes just trying to get ready for bed.

Packing Schedule By Item

Another tactic for packing is to tackle objects by function. As with packing by room, it’s best to start with nonessentials. This includes seasonal items such as holiday decorations and out-of-season clothes, artwork and decorations, and collectibles such as photo albums or scrapbooks. Anything that you won’t have use for before your move should be packed first. Next should come books, DVDs, games, and other hobby activities. You likely won’t have time to enjoy these in the hectic days and weeks leading up to your move. Remember that books are heavy, so it’s best to pack these in small, sturdy boxes to keep them safe.

As moving day gets closer, move on to nonessential items that you use a little more frequently, like linens, office supplies, and jewelry. When packing linens, remember that old blankets, towels, and sheets make excellent padding for breakable items like china or lamps. In the final days before your move, tackle the objects you use every day. This includes electronics, kitchen items, and clothes. You may have to live on paper plates and plastic utensils for a few days.

Packing is a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Gainesville movers will tell you that the best way to keep moving low-stress is to create a packing schedule that works best for your life. Remember that these tips are just suggestions, and you can tweak them to suit your needs. To get started on creating your packing schedule, contact us today to schedule your move.

Pack A Priority Box For Easy Moving

The process of moving is widely regarded as being stressful, whether you’re moving across the country or to the next town. Our moving company in Gainesville, FL, works with clients daily to provide expert moving services. With attention to your residential moving or commercial moving needs and a goal to reduce the stress associated with your move, our moving guys are here to discuss priority boxes. By packing your must-have items into a priority box, you’ll have your essentials ready and waiting at your new home — even if the rest of your belongings are yet to arrive or waiting to be unpacked.

What To Pack In Your Priority Boxes

What items provide you with the comforts of home? Determine those necessary belongings and fill your priority box(es). Rest assured that while UF Mover Guys handle your other moving services — packing, loading, transporting, unloading and unpacking — that your essentials will be ready for you at your new home or business.

Depending on whether you are moving to a new home or moving a business to a new location, the items you may wish to send via priority box will differ. For example, if you’re moving to your new home you may select bedding and pillows but if you’re moving business locations then you may pack painting tools and the paint you selected for your storefront.

Business Essentials

What needs to be accomplished first at the new location? Simple repairs, cleaning, organizing — whatever is first on your to-do list, make sure you have the items necessary to tackle the task. Items that may be useful in your priority box are:

Business décor or signs
Paint and painting supplies
Tools
Cleaning products and supplies
Necessary paperwork (receipts, inventory, orders, etc.)

Home Essentials

It doesn’t matter if you are moving near or far away, it’s still likely you’ll need and want your personal necessities! Not to mention, if you have children or pets, simple items of comfort can make this process easier on everyone! Think of the following items when you’re ready to fill your priority box:

Baby necessities (such as pacifiers, bedding, sound machine)
Child necessities (such as night lights, favorite toys, bedding)
Pet supplies
Personal care items
Bedding
Bath necessities and linens
Medications
Snacks
Entertainment (such as books, tablets, board games)

Once you have selected your must-have items, visit your local post office to obtain the ideal priority size box(es) and prepare your priority shipment! Let our movers in Gainesville, FL, handle the rest! Spend the first few days at your new location with your essentials while we finish moving your remaining items. Our moving company offers many moving solutions, each catered to the needs of your move. From cool storage services to student moving services, UF Mover Guys will handle your move with ease! Contact us for a moving quote!

8 Moving Tips For Lazy People

If moving and being lazy seem contradictory, that’s only because these concepts are still largely thought about in traditional terms: moving is work, laziness isn’t, therefore, the two can never jive — except they can. Though some believe laziness is inexcusable behavior, others view inactivity as an art form. It’s to these inactive artists of the world, the people who don’t really care about planning and details but just want to get through moving with minimal effort, that these eight tips are dedicated.

1. Start Packing Weeks In Advance

Even though procrastination is a trademark of laziness, delaying your packing until the last minute could actually create more work, because then you’ll have to work harder, faster, and under stress to finish. Instead, conserve your energy by packing a couple of boxes every day starting several weeks in advance. Focus on your most important belongings first. That way, if you run out of steam later, you can just sell or donate remaining items.

2. Use Small Boxes

To a lazy person, using small boxes probably seems illogical. After all, large boxes make packing go faster because they hold more stuff. However, the time saved by packing large boxes comes at the cost of you exerting extra energy later when carrying those behemoths. Since small boxes are lighter and easier to handle, they make loading and unloading a less demanding job. To reduce the number of boxes you need, use proper packing techniques: start with large, heavy items, then fill in space with small items — similar to fitting all the pieces in a game of Tetris. Also, keep in mind that moving boxes have different widths of padding. Use thin boxes for towels and soft items and thick ones for electronics and fragile decorations.

3. Label The Boxes

Again, though it seems contradictory, the trick to effective laziness isn’t always to avoid work. This is the case with labels. Listing the contents on the outsides of boxes takes effort, but it also saves you more work later. By knowing what’s inside, you can put boxes in their right rooms, so you don’t have reshuffle them later. And, just in case you don’t unpack everything right away, labels help you find the items you need without searching every box.

4. Make Slides With Extra Boxes

Flattened cardboard boxes laid end-to-end on the ground create a sliding surface to push or pull other boxes. Start by deconstructing extra boxes then laying them out in a path from the front door to the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. A slide also works wonders on stairs, where carrying heavy items is a precarious chore. For safety, tie a string around the box at the top of the stairs, leave yourself plenty of slack, and allow the box to slowly slide down the stairs. Try not to destroy the boxes on the ground so that you can reuse them, and recycle any damaged ones.

5. Hire Cleaners Before Moving Out

Our moving company in Gainesville serves a lot of tenants and students in rental housing. Rather than clean their apartments, some tenants prefer to move out and let their security deposits cover the cleaning costs. This is superb laziness but terrible economics. The average deposit equals one or two months’ rent, which is more money than it would cost to hire house cleaners for an afternoon. If you’re a renter who’s too busy (being lazy) to clean, don’t leave the apartment in shambles — call the professionals.

6. Sell The Furniture, Then Buy It Again

When you’re feeling lazy, it feels like everything weighs more than normal, including furniture. Usually, there are two ways to move out furniture: 1) find several people to lift it, or 2) dismantle the furniture and carry it out piecemeal. Here’s a third option: put it up for sale. Many people are sentimental and want to take their furniture with them, but if you’re someone who thinks a couch is just a couch, then there’s no harm in selling yours on Craigslist or LetGo and then buying a new one with the money raised from your entrepreneurialism. If you choose to go this route, just make sure the furniture store delivers, otherwise, you’ll end up doing the heavy lifting anyway.

7. Prop Open The Doors

There’s no mystery to this advice. Loading or unloading a moving truck involves traveling through your front door multiple times. Not only does opening and closing the door take effort — when you’re lazy, every ounce of energy counts — but turning a handle can be difficult while holding onto boxes. Wedging the door open with a doorstop saves you from opening and closing it manually. But if you’re worried about intruders (human or insect), wrap a crisscrossed rubber band around the knobs and across the latch mechanism. This will allow you to pull open the door without using the handle.

8. Hire Movers To Do The Work For You

We saved the best advice for last. Rather than putting your laziness to the test with a large workload, pawn off the responsibility on our movers in Gainesville. UF Mover Guys is a full-service moving company for students, families, and businesses. Whether you’re moving across town, across Florida, or to another part of the country, we can handle everything for you, including packing, loading and unloading, and transportation. And if you’re only half lazy and want to do some of the work yourself, we also sell moving supplies and rent trucks and climate-controlled storage units to make your life easier. Being lazy has never been less exhausting than with our movers on your side. Contact us today to schedule moving services!

Make A Packing Plan Before A Move In 5 Easy Steps

Without a doubt, packing is the most time-consuming aspect of moving. It’s a big feat to sort through a household’s contents, separate the cream of the crop, and move them to another location. For that reason, you may feel overwhelmed when you start packing.

One way to mitigate your moving-related stress is to team up with professional movers in Gainesville. Moving companies like UF Mover Guys offer a host of pack-up services to alleviate some of the burdens. If you wish to pack everything yourself, just keep in mind that nothing makes this process go more smoothly than having a packing plan.

As long as you create a thought-out, step-by-step plan before moving, the preparations will be as easy as a walk in Depot Park. But just in case you’re unsure about how to proceed, we’ve compiled a helpful guide that shows you how to make a perfect packing plan in five simple steps.

1. Mark The Date On A Calendar

Keep your moving date marked on a calendar to remind yourself of the deadline. On a paper calendar, circle the final date and X-out preceding days as they pass. This lets you better visualize the timeframe in which packing and cleaning need to be completed. For digital calendars and reminder apps, whether on your computer or smartphone, schedule weekly or daily reminders that count down the days until the move as well as remind you when to pack.

You’ll probably have to set aside several hours each week for packing. These can be during evenings and weekends, or whenever you’re free from work, school, and family obligations. But as your moving day draws closer, you should reevaluate how much time you’ll need to finish preparations.

2. Ask For Assistance

If people didn’t need help with moving, there wouldn’t be such a widespread need for moving companies in Gainesville. Yet, the fact that UF Mover Guys is busier than ever after many years in the business is proof that moving is absolutely a multi-person job.

A large family has plenty of helpers on standby — have the kids pack their rooms, especially their toys and games. Involving them in the moving process fosters a sense of ownership that can help them overcome anxieties they feel changing homes or switching schools. Adults in the family can pack the furniture, electronics, cutlery, and other items that need special care or require heavy lifting. In single-person households, friends and neighbors can fill in as auxiliary movers. You can also throw a good-buy cookout that doubles as a thank you and goodbye.

When family or friends are scarce, you can hire outside movers. Be leery of low-quality posts online that advertise cheap, discount, or budget moving services. Sometimes, these are from college kids trying to make a few bucks; other times, they are from scammers seeking access to your worldly possessions. To be safe, trust only a reputable moving company with a proven track record and verified reviews.

3. Donate Unnecessary Goods

Notice we said “unnecessary” — as opposed to “unneeded” — goods. This is because, if given a chance, most people will hold onto their belongings for eternity, much like the pharaohs of ancient Egypt.

While devotion to one’s possessions is understandable for perennially useful items, when it comes to worn-out sneakers or holiday pillows that haven’t seen sunlight since the last presidency, having attachments to these items is less justifiable. Unnecessary items can quickly become a burden when you consider the time it takes to pack them; the effort to load, transport and unload them; as well as the money you spend to movers to handle the items. Better alternatives are either to discard or donate such items.

As you pack each room, separate items worth keeping from those that aren’t. Once you’ve inventoried the whole house, further divide the pile of unnecessary items based on whether they are high quality enough for somebody else to use them. Next, take these donatable clothes, furnishings, utensils, and more to your favorite consignment or thrift store. Some of the stores in Gainesville suggested by our movers include:

4. Organize Moving Boxes For Tomorrow, Not Today

Ask just about any mover, and they’ll tell you the most efficient way to organize your boxes is to keep items from the same rooms together. It’s much faster to unpack a bathroom when the contents are consolidated into two boxes as opposed to divided among twenty. But not all movers remember to provide the second half of that piece of advice: organize the boxes to fit the layout of the new house, not the old one.

Planning ahead by packing boxes in order to furnish the new floor plan will hasten the unpacking process tremendously. This does take some forethought but is a fairly simple process.

5. Download A Moving Planner App

Students in Gainesville love their phones. And they’re not the only ones. Lots of people rely on mobile devices every day to communicate, find directions, and order lunch. Whether you’re a tech junkie or just looking for a digital solution to staying organized, a moving planner app may be the answer to your moving woes.

Here are the latest apps recommended by our moving team:

Sortly

No more writing out lists the old-fashioned way with paper, pencils, and polaroids. Sortly lets you take snapshots or scan barcodes of your items from your phone, creating visual, manageable packing lists. After you’ve built an inventory, add categories and virtual labels for even more layers of organization. The app also provides multi-user access, so your whole household, from novices to experienced movers, can keep track of belongings with ease.

Wunderlist

To move efficiently as a couple, a family, or a group of roommates takes special cooperation. Each person has a role to play: for example, one could buy boxes and tape, another could drop off the donations at the thrift store, and still, someone else can research moving companies. In the midst of a big move, however, communication can go haywire, and organization can break down. One way to keep everyone on track with their designated responsibilities is Wunderlist. Though not an app exclusive to moving purposes, this list-creation software allows multiple people to share a to-do list, check off completed tasks, and keep everyone else updated on new developments. It’s moving-day communications for the modern age.

Magicplan

Anyone who’s ever attempted to pre-organize a room using only their memory of its layout for reference knows that sometimes the mind’s eye and reality don’t always align. Magicplan takes the guesswork out of room design. When you enter your new home or apartment, even before officially moving in, open the app and scan the floor plan for a 3-dimensional model. Now, you can refer to this true-to-spec rendering while making packing decisions.

When it comes to residential and commercial moving services, UF Mover Guys has seen and done it all. For more tips or advice, or to hire us for your next move in Gainesville, contact us today.

Moving? Leave These Items Behind

When it’s time to move, you may become overwhelmed by the number of things you own. But as you browse your inventory of items, you’ll probably find several items worth leaving behind, either because they’ve outlived their usefulness, or because they’re not worth the time, hassle, or expense of transporting them. But we get it — it can be difficult to know whether to toss something for fear it may be useful in the future. To help you discern keepers from non-keepers when it comes to your belongings, UF Mover Guys offers this handy list of things you shouldn’t be afraid to ditch when moving.

Hazardous Chemicals

Many of the cleaning and household products that people use on a regular basis qualify as hazardous chemicals. These include obviously toxic substances such as bleach, drain cleaners, and pesticides, as well as seemingly innocuous products such as air fresheners, dishwasher detergents, and carpet shampoos. In your everyday life, these products pose health risks only when they are ingested (either by small children or pets) or exposed to bare skin. When you’re moving, though, the danger posed from hazardous chemicals is that during transit they could spill in the moving truck and ruin other items.

If you’ve hired a moving company, you can ask the movers to pack any chemicals they find in plastic bags or containers that will contain a spill. However, it’s probably worth having the movers focused on heavier and more valuable items since you’re footing moving the bill.

Where To Go For Hazardous Waste Collection

To be environmentally responsible, dispose of hazardous waste only at designated waste collection sites. In Alachua County, you can drop household chemicals at the main waste collection center, located at 5125 NE 63rd Ave., in Gainesville, or at any of the county’s five rural collection centers.

Over- Or Undersized Furniture

Before you move, get an estimate of the size of your new home or apartment. The layout and square footage of the new floor plan can help you determine which furniture to bring with you. If a couch, dining table, bed frame, or any other piece of furniture isn’t the right size for your new home, don’t be afraid to move on from it.

How To Donate Furniture

Unless your furniture is completely trashed, you can probably sell it online to somebody locally — most pre-owned furniture buyers only pursue items near their homes. If the items are moderately stained, dented, or scratched, though, consider donating them to a worthy cause instead. The Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Alachua County specializes in selling used furniture to fund charitable initiatives; the organization will pick up donations in greater northeast Florida, and it also has a drop-off open during regular business hours at its Gainesville location. Furniture that’s too dirty or damaged to even donate, though, should be brought to a waste management facility, such as North Central Solid Waste Collection Center. If you need a vehicle to transport furniture, appliances, or other large items, UF Mover Guys has some of the most affordable truck rentals of any moving company in Gainesville.

Unfashionable Threads

Nobody’s saying you have to be a fashion icon. But we are saying those torn, stained, and funky-smelling T-shirts have got to go. Any clothing that you haven’t unpacked from your last move, or that has not been worn in a year or more, aren’t worth folding, packing, and shipping to your new place. Instead, ditch your less useful threads prior to moving.

How To Participate In A Clothes Drive

Sometimes, worn out shirts and pants are no better than disposable dish rags. Other times, such articles of clothing can be worth a fortune to vintage collectors. It all depends, but one place to find answers is Plato’s Closet. This store buys and sells clothing of all styles and sizes. If your wardrobe is worth a pretty penny (or just a penny), they’ll be the ones to let you know. And if you can’t sell your old clothes for a small fortune, don’t fret. You can earn some good karma by taking the clothes to local nonprofits, such as Goodwill thrift stores.

Once you’ve decided which things not to keep, UF Mover Guys can help you pack up the rest and safely transport your property to your new address, whether it’s in Gainesville or across state lines. Receive a free, no-obligation moving quote today!

Your Guide To Summer Moving

All across America, summer is peak moving season. Just how busy is it? Of all moves that happen annually in the United States, roughly 80 percent occur between April and September. Of course, the motivations for relocating at this time vary. In much of the country, summer months have ideal weather for being outdoors and driving long distances (not quite the case in North Central Florida if you want to stay cool).

Gainesville still subscribes to the summer moving craze, though, but mainly because of its student population. When the spring semester ends, many students either graduate or move home temporarily, and return in August for fall semester along with first-year and transfer students who arrive for UF move-in day and orientation.

What are the effects of consolidating this many moves in a season? There are actually two: one good and one bad. On the upside, moving is usually viewed as a stressful activity, but it is less intimidating if you know there are other people doing it. If you have friends who are moving, for example, you could help each other pack. On the downside, lots of people moving around the same time means they’re all vying for the same resources. And what happens when stores run out of boxes, or you’re on a waitlist for movers in Gainesville?

Here, UF Mover Guys offers ways to avoid the pitfalls of peak-season moves while also taking advantage of its opportunities. Use this guide with a standard moving checklist for the easiest move this summer.

Hire Movers First, Not Last

Waiting until you’re packed to hire movers could leave you scraping at the bottom of the barrel of moving companies in Gainesville. Instead, choose your moving company first. By doing so, you can find experienced movers who have positive reviews and competitive prices and will be available when you need them. Most professional movers allow customers to schedule services up to three months early. So if you’re planning to move in June, start searching online for movers in March.

Transfer Utilities As Soon As Possible

Sometimes, new residents pick up keys to their homes or apartments a few days before they move in. If this option is available to you, take advantage by transferring over your utilities immediately upon gaining access to your new abode. It’ll be hot outside, so you’ll want to have the electricity turned on and the A/C unit working. Also, cellular data can be patchy in Gainesville. Have the Internet hooked up early in case you need to search for moving company contact info, find helpers for unloading boxes on the fly, or most critically, order lunch.

Get Inventive With Packing Supplies

During peak moving season, cardboard boxes, tape, and even packing peanuts are often in short supply locally. If you have spare cash and storage space, you can buy these packing materials early and horde them. Alternatively, you can make do with the items you own already. Using suitcases, backpacks, and even plastic bags as storage vessels not only saves you the ruthless competition for supplies. It also reduces your moving expenses. Sweatshirts, pillows, and socks make great buffers for fragile items in boxes, and blankets, sheets, and towels can be used to wrap furniture to avoid scratches.

Be Safe, Stay Hydrated

The average daily highs in Gainesville during June, July, and August are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. With the high humidity levels, caused by the fact that one-third of those days experience rainfall, you could be dealing with a swelter on moving day. For the sake of your health, keep a cooler of electrolyte-enriched beverages in the back of the moving truck to stay hydrated. You can’t go wrong with Gatorade, which was invented in Gainesville in the 1960s by a doctor at UF’s College of Medicine (much to the benefit of the Florida Gators football team of that era). Or, if you’re not a fan of sweet drinks, try bottled water with electrolytes. Stay away from beverages with high amounts of sugar or alcohol, which can leave you feeling thirsty and dehydrated.

In addition to your standard moving checklist, these tips for moving in the summer will help you make the most of your relocation. And for local and long-distance residential moving services for families, businesses, and students; packing supplies or climate-controlled storage for rent; or help with packing or loading and unloading; turn to UF Mover Guys. Contact us today to schedule moving services!

May Is National Moving Month: Here’s What To Know

Summer is the busiest moving season of the year, but May, which is the last month of spring and when many people start preparing to relocate, is National Moving Month. Here’s everything you need to know about this month-long holiday along with tips for how you can make the most of it for your upcoming move.

What Is National Moving Month All About?

As the busiest time of the year for home sales, summer is also when the most moves occur for houses, apartments, and dorms alike. Altogether, out of the 11 percent of Americans who move every year, more than one half — nearly 6 percent of the population — do so between June and September.

Summer moves have become so prevalent, in fact, that the federal government was prompted to designate May as a national holiday. But this month isn’t so much of an occasion to move (although you certainly can, if you want to) as much as it is a month-long, summer moving kickoff. Throughout May, students, renters, homeowners, and others who will soon be moving can find loads of tips, advice, and resources to help them set everything into motion.

So, if you’re thinking about changing your address this summer, whether by moving within Florida or across multiple states’ lines, use National Moving Month as a time to plan and prepare. To help get you started, our movers in Gainesville have put together the following moving tips. Apply these to your situation, or call us today to schedule moving services!

Summer Moving Tips For Gainesville Residents

What drives summer moving in Gainesville? It’s a mixture of necessity and choice. Since most college dorms close in the summer, and many off campus housing rental contracts end around then, students who are involved in summer athletics, camps, or courses or planning to work a summer job usually have to move. Meanwhile, many homeowners choose the summer to move because the real estate and job markets are hot, while parents also need time to enroll their children in school before the fall.

Whether you’re relocating to Gainesville or starting a new life outside of the area, use these tips from our professional movers to have a successful move this summer.

Call The Movers In May

If you’re moving in the summer, May isn’t too early to call your local moving company in Gainesville. Demand for moving services spikes in June and July as students vacate dorms and apartments near the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College. (This trend contrasts with what would be typically a steady demand for moving services in a non-student town.) Therefore, if you want to make sure and secure the movers you want, schedule them in May.

Sell Your Unwanted Items In May, Or Wait Till August

To cut down on moving costs, lighten your load by selling the items you no longer need, such as clothes, furniture, or electronics. Downsizing reduces both the size of your moving job and the costs of packing and delivery. If you’re trying to make a few extra bucks, a good time to sell is in May (before students leave the campus) or August (after they return). Students are among the largest consumers of secondhand products, which they buy to save money or accentuate their image with vintage flair. During the summer, however, the buyer-market shrinks considerably.

If You’re Moving Bulky Items By Car, Try For July

When most of Gainesville’s student population is gone in July, local traffic is lighter, which creates a window for moving bulky items. Sure, driving on Archer Road with a mattress on the roof of your Camry is like tempting fate when the roads are congested during the school year, but this maneuver becomes easier to pull off during the summer slowdown. That said, renting a moving truck or hiring professionals to move bulky items is always a safer choice, both for pedestrians and your belongings.

Whether it’s May, January, or October, UF Mover Guys is available to help you out with residential moving in Gainesville. We handle local moves as well as long-distance moves, and we offer both single moving services and full-service packages. Call us today for a free, no-obligation price quote!

Tips For Moving A Short Distance

Not every move crosses state lines or time zones. Many are short-distance relocations, where people ZIP codes change but the city doesn’t. These types of moves could include college students who are upgrading from stuffy dorms to spacious apartments, or young couples or families who are pursuing their American dreams by becoming homeowners. Whatever the motivations behind your local move, check out these short haul moving tips from UF Mover Guys to achieve a low-cost, drama-free, yet fun moving experience.

Take Your Time

Even though moving can be stressful, this is only a possibility and not a foregone conclusion. One of the chief inducements to stress is time pressure: what happens if you don’t have those boxes packed, loaded, and shipped on time? Is your move ruined? While tardiness might disrupt a long distance move — for example, by causing you to have to reschedule the movers or rearrange your travel plans — the penalties aren’t as stiff during local moves.

Since you’re moving locally, you have something most people only dream about having: ready access to your next home or apartment. Whereas cross-country moves have to be completed in one fell swoop, your relocation can be accomplished in multiple stages across several days.

Once you have the new keys, head over to the place to measure the rooms. If you’ll have less space, plan on downsizing before changing addresses. You should also start bringing over items as soon as can. Your personal transportation should work for carrying smaller items. Although, when it comes to the big stuff, you’ll probably need a truck.

Many of the moving companies in Gainesville rent only medium- and large-size trucks, which cost the same amount of money no matter if you’re moving one piece of furniture or a household’s worth. But UF Mover Guys rents all sizes of trucks, including small ones, for DIY moves, or we’ll load up and transport everything for you. Smaller vehicles aren’t just cheaper on fuel (especially if you’re making several trips in town), but they’re also better on the environment.

Borrow, Don’t Buy

It’s hard to move without moving supplies. Penny-pinchers aim to save money on moves by using materials they own, such as plastic bins instead of boxes, or towels in place of packing peanuts. But the issue many run into is not having enough of these materials to finish the job. The fact that you’re sticking around town means you can borrow supplies — including bins, bags, and even large equipment like dollies — from people you know, and return them after your move. And if those friends move, you can reciprocate by lending them supplies.

Move Non-Essentials First

If you’re moving over several days, you’d be wise to hold off packing your most essential items — bed, TV, microwave, shower curtain — until you’re ready to move into the new home. This way, your current place is still livable as you transition out of it. Alternatively, if you plan to extend the move long enough to spend significant amounts of time at both locations, then you’ll want to divide essentials between both addresses as best you can.

Remember to have the utilities turned on at the new address and cancel them at your current location. To save money, you should wait to do this until you’re ready to move in, but schedule the installations ahead of time, so you know the technicians will be available when you need them. Many service providers of Internet, cable, and electricity offer either complimentary moving services or charge a modest relocation fee.

Downsize Gradually

Moving is an opportune time to downsize by getting rid of any unnecessary property, like old clothes, outdated electronics, and extra toys, games, and more. What’s nice about moving locally is that, if you have items for sale, you don’t have to relist them after you move. Even if they don’t sell, you can merely leave the ads online and wait for offers. If space is a concern, you can either donate the goods to charity or store them in a climate-controlled unit.

Manage Your Expectations

It’s true that short distance moves are easier, in many respects, than long distance moves. But when you get down to it, both involve the same amount of work — minus travel time.

If you don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to pull off a moving job, even locally, don’t sweat it — just look to UF Mover Guys. Our short haul movers use the right tools and vehicles to relocate your items efficiently and for the lowest available cost — did we mention we charge no travel or fuel fees for local moves in Gainesville? Request a free moving quote today!

Settle In With This Post-Move Checklist

Moving day ends when you unload the truck at your new house or apartment. However, the moving process continues for several days as boxes need unpacking, furniture needs arranging, etc. In order to help you settle in faster, our movers in Gainesville made this easy-to-follow, post-move checklist divided by timeframes — feel free to add or subtract tasks per your situation!

Moving Day Preparations

1. Set Up Utilities

Before moving into your new home, be sure to set up the utilities, so you don’t have to spend the first night with no electricity or (gasp) Internet.

If you’re moving to Gainesville, here are links to local utility companies.

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) provides electric, natural gas, water, and other services. Check with your landlord or realtor to confirm which services are your responsibility.

Cox Communications offers cable, Internet, and phone services. It takes a few days to process a new account or transfer your services (and longer if you’re not doing self-installation), so call in advance!

If you’re changing your cellular plan to get a local number, AT&T and Verizon purportedly have the best cell phone coverage in Florida according to WhistleOut. As for the cheapest cell phone plans, NerdWallet reports that Sprint ranks high for non-prepaid plans while T-Mobile ranks high for pay-as-you-go plans. And when you need to buy, sell, trade, or repair a phone in Gainesville, a popular location is Re-Tech in Butler Plaza.

Lastly, before you move, don’t forget to cancel the utility accounts for your previous address. You don’t want the new residents filling their backyard swimming pool while your name remains on the water bill.

2. Inspect Your Furniture & Other Belongings

Once your belongings arrive at your new home, inspect individual pieces of furniture and fragile items. We’re not saying it’s necessary to use a magnifying glass to find hairline scratches, but you should take a quick look over each item as it comes off the truck to ensure the item is in the same condition in which it was loaded.

Professional movers accept liability for damaged items. They also take care not to damage items when moving them. But if you spot any scuffed or broken items, let the movers know.

3. Unpack The Essentials

You’ll have time in the coming days or weeks to finish unpacking, so get to the essentials first. If you planned ahead, you may have set aside boxes with special items to get you through the next couple of days. These might include toiletries, shower items, clothing, and food.

If you didn’t pack a first-day box, hopefully, you at least labeled the boxes. Check which ones contain your toiletries, especially towels, clothes, and kitchen items for cooking.

Steps For The First Week

Now that you’ve gotten through moving day, your attention should turn to tasks that should be completed during the first week.

4. Finish Unpacking

There’s not much to it but to do it. Grab a box, pull out the contents, and put them in their correct places. Finish unpacking one box before moving to another, and always throw away or recycle packing materials to avoid a mess and save the planet.

Not everyone has the stamina to unpack a full house. If that’s the case for you, check with your moving company for packing services. They also can help with assembling furniture, transporting items to storage containers, or carrying bulky items up stairs.

5. Map Out Your Commute

Many of us have to move for purposes related to work or school. Whether you came to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida or Santa Fe College, or you moved here to start a job, it’s helpful to plan your route before your first day’s commute. The best route might not be the shortest distance. Sometimes, preferred routes have the least traffic or the fewest tolls or potholes.

In addition to giving you the shortest route, Google Maps also has filters you can set to find the fastest route and spot traffic well ahead. iPhone users can take advantage of Apple Maps, which lets the user avoid tolls.

Both apps are free. But if you’re willing to cough up some dough, MotionX GPS Drive is another highly rated paid app that gives directions in multiple voices and even remembers your parking spot.

The First Month

After a week, you should be settling into life in your new home. Before you call the move over and done with, you’ll want to address a few final tasks.

6. Head To The DMV

Most states have laws requiring residents to update their driver’s licenses within 10 or so days after changing addresses. If you’re a Gainesville resident, you’ll want to head to the nearest office of the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV).

To save time and avoid standing in line, you can take care of new licenses, tags, and plates online.

7. Throw A Housewarming Party

A housewarming party is a great way to meet your new neighbors — once your home is fully unpacked and presentable. If you’re in a residential neighborhood, try going door-to-door to meet your neighbors. Just be mindful of the fact that some people are less welcoming of drop-ins.

If you have friends in the area, be sure to invite them, as well. Having a few familiar faces in the crowd can help to cut through any lulls in conversations between new people who are just getting acquainted.

Whether you’re planning a move, in the middle of one, or finishing up the last steps, UF Mover Guys can help. We offer everything from full-service moves to individual services, such as packing, loading and unloading, and even temporary storage. We also handle local moves within Gainesville as well as long-distance relocations. Contact us to schedule your move!

Three Tips For An Easy Move

Whether you’re transferring for a job, preparing for the end of a lease, or you’re planning to live with a romantic partner, the process of relocating personal belongings can quickly create stress. At UF Mover Guys, we know a thing or two about moving. Whether your objective is to vacate a dorm room, an apartment, or a house with great haste, or you want to simplify the moving process, the following tips will help make your upcoming move a breeze.

1. Declutter Before Packing

Even those with the tidiest living spaces have some degree of clutter. Whether it’s one small drawer filled with different kitchen utensils or a smorgasbord of household goods, clutter is no match for the decluttering process created by our movers in Gainesville.

Create Item Categories

Before you’re waist-deep in a collection of your personal belongings, pull out a piece of paper and a pen or open a spreadsheet on your laptop. Next, detail categories which describe the types of items you own. Add items to each category to simplify the decluttering process. Consider the following example or create your own to accommodate your needs.

Clothing

This should include every garment, article, or accessory in the home that you could wear, such as pants; dresses; suits; pajamas; jackets; shoes; handbags; socks; underwear; hats; and athletic clothing, among any other type of clothing, accessory, or footwear.

Books

Even if you’ve embraced the digital age, you’re bound to have a few books laying around the house. Our Gainesville movers are accustomed to packing-up textbooks and other types of books, such as cookbooks; magazines; cookbooks; kids’ books; photo albums; and more!

Documents

Some documents are sentimental, such as old birthday or holiday cards, personal journals, or school assignments. Other papers are essential, such as tax documents, birth certificates, social security cards, and any papers related to work that you may need in the future.

Kitchen

If there’s one area of the home that presents difficulty while moving, it’s the kitchen. Practically every individual has a kitchen in their home, with a range of foods; cookware; spices; herbs; silverware; dishware; and different types of portable kitchen appliances.

Bedroom

Items that don’t fall within the different categories you’ve established, such as clothes or books, might include bedding — such as sheets, pillows, and comforters — artwork on the walls, and electronics, which include TVs, streaming devices, gaming consoles, home audio systems.

Group Items Into Categories

This step consists of going through each room of the home, gathering all personal items, and placing each item into the respective category to which it belongs. To avoid complications while grouping, Gainesville moving professionals recommend keeping items from the same rooms together. This will make unpacking a much simpler, faster, and more organized process.

Get Rid Of Excess Belongings

Even if you hire a moving company to help with the relocation, reducing the number of items you plan to bring with you to the new home can help facilitate a quick moving day process. Once the items are categorized into neat piles, put into a box all of the belongings you no longer need, want, or use. This can include clothes you’ve outgrown, electronics from which you’ve since upgraded, and multiple sets of the same kitchen items.

Throw Away Unusable Items

Items you plan to throw away can be put in the nearest trash can or dumpster, or you can make a round trip to any of Alachua County’s Rural Collection Centers.

Donate Excess Belongings

If the items you no longer want may be of use to others, consider donating them to charitable organizations, such as Goodwill Industries of North Florida, Inc. or Alachua Habitat for Humanity. Contact the organization ahead of time to note the days and times in which donations are accepted.

List Online Items Of Value

As a local moving company started in Gainesville, UF Mover Guys also understand that some people have an entrepreneurial spirit regarding their belongings. If you’d like to try your hand in selling your unwanted items, eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace are all good options.

2. Pack Smarter, Not Harder

As a rule, packing is easier when you have less stuff. After completing an exhaustive decluttering process, what remains is preparing for transport the items you plan on bringing along to the new home. Go room-by-room and pack your belongings into boxes, finishing one area before moving on to the next. You can buy cardboard boxes, heavy-duty tape, packing peanuts, and a wide range of other moving supplies from UF Mover Guys. We can also provide you with tips for cutting moving costs by using the items you already own.

Packing is a step that you can avoid altogether by hiring movers to do it for you. Our team can provide full-packing or partial-packing services, as well as disassemble any large furniture that doesn’t fit through the front door. Among the advantages to hiring professional movers for packing is the ensured safety and security of personal items throughout each step of the moving process, from start to finish, including packing-up, transport, and delivery.

If you decide to pursue a do-it-yourself move, ensure the safety of your personal items by remembering to pack and move from heavy-to-light and from large-to-small. This pertains to the manner in which items are packed into the boxes as well as the order in which the boxes are loaded onto — and unloaded off from — the moving truck.

3. Start Planning Early

This tip may seem somewhat obvious. However, the lead-up to a move can be a busy, preoccupying time, as you focus on the number of things you have to do besides moving, such as dealing with a realtor, finishing up school or preparing for a new job. It’s possible, even understandable, that a few details regarding the relocation may slip your mind. But planning ahead for the move by several months can help you ensure that all details regarding your move are accounted for. Three to four months prior to moving day is the optimal time to schedule services with a moving company and create a to-do list. You can also avoid feeling stressed and overworked by creating an early timetable for decluttering and packing — distribute the moving tasks across multiple weeks and set aside a few hours to perform the tasks on designated days. Following these tips will help you make easier your upcoming moving day. For additional help or to schedule moving services with UF Mover Guys, contact us today!