The business of shifting your base can be chaotic and messy. It gets more convoluted when you have a series of specialty items or valuable objects to transfer. In a state of such a commotion, moving your belongings can suffer unbearable damage. However, with a few safety measures you can keep your luxurious as well as daily use items safe and sound. All you need to do is follow these expert tips:
Right choice of boxes
Check whether you have got the proper boxes of the right size to fit your valuables. You do not need to bother if a specific moving services is handling the relocation. It is a smart choice to hire a professional movers in case you are a lousy packer. However, if you have shown courage enough to undertake the packing all on your own, you shall need to give some thought to have the appropriate boxes.
Size comes first. Get boxes of different sizes as per your items’ shapes and sizes. One common mistake is to load small items like crockeries into large boxes. Never do that. It can cause cracks on your items. Get a well-built box for packing and protecting crockeries. Try loading critical and heavy items such as the TV into the actual manufacturer’s box. Use perfectly dry boxes.
Padding safeguards your assets
Padding is essential while packing items prone to breaking. Small items in a large box stand a high chance of colliding with one another and breaking. For padding, bubble wrap and foam peanuts are the best. You can use simple tissue paper or plain newspaper to wrap bowls, plates, cups and other crockeries. You can use towels, pillows, blankets, comforters, T-shirts or stuffed animals as well to offer substantial cushion for your packed assets.
Complete the inventory for special items
You need to fill out a “high-value inventory” form generally, in case you have hired a moving company. The professional mover takes the full responsibility of treating these valuables with special care by provide special packing techniques and warehousing, if required. This form is recommended to be filled out also in case of coin collections whose value might be more than $100.
It acts as a proof that the company knows the list of items that demand special handling and further set of specialized paraphernalia. Carrier liability coverage generally gets reduced if you do not complete the inventory of these items.
Take advanced steps to supplement the inventory form
It is always a good practice to take a photo of each item, especially the special ones and write down their respective descriptions. Nowadays, there are apps for every utility. If you are tech-savvy, you can easily avail these tech-rich tools. User-friendly apps like Sortly allows you to click photos of your belongings and organize them into categories.
Follow the league of the Strong and Sturdy
The sturdiest type is the corrugated cardboard box. These smart boxes protect your valuables from being threatened in any way. Keep your boxes far from any sort of damage or destruction. One must-take precaution is to avoid moving boxes with thin walls. While enclosing stemware, place each piece in a distinct corrugated cylinder to safeguard your items.
Insurance policy
Never take chances when it comes to your valuables. A substantial insurance can safeguard your valuables. It is always better to get full replacement value coverage from your relocation services company. Gaining extra protection indicates that any lost or damaged items are subject to repair and remodeling. The coverage of the items’ current market value can also be done via cash.
Sense of Packing
Use all your senses while packing. Put heavier objects in first and lighter items at the top. Smaller and brittle items should be necessarily packed in smaller boxes. These smaller boxes can again be placed into larger boxes to prevent the small boxes from getting misplaced.
Labelling makes it easy
You can then give the finishing touch by marking each box with labels to remind you or your moving services to be extra cautious while loading and moving these items.
Make sure you’re covered
Your possessions might be protected during a move if you have a homeowner’s or a renter’s policy. Yet again, it does not guarantee that all your items shall be handled with care. So, you need to take every step from your part to confirm the safety of these items. You can probe more into this specific profile by consulting with the insurer.
However, you might lack this insurance and your current policy might not make up for providing protection services for your property while in the moving phase.
Federal law states that a genuine moving company must provide two types of liability coverage:
- released value protection
“Released value” coverage includes the reimbursement of 60 cents a pound. It
involves no additional cost in the moving of your package.
- full value protection
“full value” coverage includes additional cost of about 1 percent of the total value of the belongings that are being moved. It guarantees better level of protection to your goods.
There are other third-party insurers who provide other types of coverage to the relocation of your goods that might demand high costs.
Before the loading process is carried out into the trucks, be sure you exactly know which items are cut.
The state-to-state movers are regulated by The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). It advises that you should never put your signature on a delivery receipt for your household items in case you notice some statement talking about “releasing the company or its partners from any liability”.
Valuables should be in close proximity
Certain valuable items such as jewelry, cash, credit or debit cards, passports, vital documents or receipts and other priceless or vital items should be kept almost in front of your eyes. You should be able to keep a consistent check on these items.
Following these guidelines, your valuables shall remain healthy even after hours of moving process. Also, hire a moving company without fail as it reduces much of your headache!
