Archive for July, 2020

House To Home Moving Blog

Thank You For The Review Diane!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eric, the driver, and Andrew, the mover, arrived on time and worked non stop until the move was completed.   They both were very courteous and did a great job.   Would definitely recommend this team and company.

Check out more recent testimonials here.

Plan for Your Successful Garage Sale

Check for permits

You can’t hold a successful garage sale if there are laws that prevent you from doing so in the first place. In many cities, it’s illegal to hold a garage sale without a permit. Check with your city clerk or town hall to avoid getting fined or shut down. Most cities have this information available online, so be sure to do your research before you set up shop!

Pick a date

Once you get the green light from your locality, it’s time to block off your calendar for the big day. Just as there are better times to plan your move, there are better times to plan your garage sale. The key to picking a date for your garage sale is to ensure it doesn’t interfere with customers’ schedules. For this reason, the weekend is the optimal time to hold your garage sale. It’s also a good idea to plan for a multi-day sale. The more options buyers have, the more likely they are to come around.

It’s also critical that you take weather into consideration when picking your hours of operation. In other words, if your garage sale is in the middle of August, you shouldn’t be opening and closing between the hours of noon and five o’clock when the sun is at its peak. Knowing how to hold a successful garage sale means knowing your customers’ needs.

Pack, sell or donate

Now it’s time to organize your inventory. As you pack up each room, be sure you’re separating the items you want to sell or donate from the rest. Label boxes and group together items based on their purposes. For example, your old china and toaster will go into “kitchen” and your old speaker and headphones will go into “tech.” It will save you from any confusion down the line and will keep displays organized when setting up for your garage sale.

Gather supplies

Knowing how to hold a successful garage sale means knowing the value of preparation. Just as you would create a moving checklist, create a garage sale checklist! Start gathering the supplies you’ll need in advance so you’re not scrambling the night before. It’s easy to do this without breaking the bank as you probably already have a lot of the things you’ll need. Folding tables, chairs, shelves, or even crates and a piece of plywood will suffice as displays. Grab some tablecloths for nice presentation, and open up an umbrella to cool down in the outdoor heat. Bright posters, price tags, permanent markers, bubble wrap, and a cash box (or a manila envelope) are just a few supplies you’ll need.

Five Stars From Jon

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The crew that came to our house to move us was amazing!   They took such care with everything in our home.  They had so much energy and worked so quickly and efficiently.  They finished in under the amount of time estimated and saved us some money to.  Thanks to for sending an awesome crew to our house!

-Jon C. (7/22/2020)

Check out more recent testimonials here.

Post Move Home Essentials

Don’t wait to stock up on essential items post-move. Add these items to your home essentials checklist in advance so you can get to cleaning your new place right away.

Cleaning

While everyone has their preferred cleaning products, most homes will benefit from a glass cleaner, multi-surface cleaner, and disinfectant for the kitchen and bathroom. You’ll likely want to include paper towels on your list of home necessities as well.

A vacuum is definitely an important home necessity to purchase prior to move-in. From robotic to handheld cleaners, there are various types of vacuum cleaners out there. Think about the size of your new place, your flooring surfaces, and budget before investing in a new vacuum cleaner. Some vacuums are around $50, while others cost upwards of $500.

Vacuums are great for major cleanups, but sometimes you just need to do a quick sweep. Think about what features are most important to you when shopping for a broom. For instance, do you want a small handheld broom or a large angle broom? Is a mini dustpan sufficient or would you prefer a larger dustpan on a stick? The size of your new place should help you come to a decision on this home essential.

Regular mopping is good for your floors, keeping your home clean and looking its best. Purchase a mop before your move-in date and you’ll be able to keep your new place polished from day one. From sponge mops to string mops, you have several options to choose from.

Lighting

Incandescent lighting is the most common type of lighting used in homes. While the bulbs are inexpensive and produce a warm, glowing light, they are the least energy efficient.

Compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFLs, use about 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. Since the bulbs last for long periods of time, they are great for hard-to-reach areas. While CFLs tend to emit a cooler tone, you can find them in various temperatures and levels of brightness.

LEDs also use at least 75% less energy than incandescent lighting and last 25 times longer. The bulbs emit very little heat and offer the same look as incandescent bulbs. As LED products expand, they’re becoming increasingly affordable.

Halogen lights are great for task lighting since they let off a bright, white light. Though they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs, they still produce a great deal of heat.

Window Treatments

A popular choice for any room in the house, curtains come in a variety of fabrics, lengths, colors, and patterns. Curtains are a great option for bedrooms since they tend to only partially filter out light. This means that you will still get some natural light in the room, even if the curtains are drawn. If this sounds like a good choice for you, add curtains to your home essentials checklist — and don’t forget about the hardware needed to hang them.

When you think of blinds, you may picture those flimsy plastic blinds that seem to always be sporting a layer of dust. What you may not know, however, is that blinds actually come in a variety of materials. From wood to aluminum slats, they are a fairly versatile window treatment option. Since blinds are easy to clean and don’t retain much moisture, they are a good choice for the bathroom. Should this window treatment suit your needs, go ahead and include it in your list of new home essentials.

Heavier than curtains, drapes are fabric panels that extend from the top of the window to the floor. These window treatments are lined, making them thick enough to block out all outside light. If you’re looking for a more formal window treatment for your living room, drapes are a good choice for this space.

Sized to fit within the window frame, shades can be lifted up and down. As the shade lifts, the fabric either bunches up or rolls around a rod. Since shades are quite versatile, they are a great fit for any room within your home or apartment. Add shades to your list of new home essentials if this window treatment style appeals to you.

Storage Solutions

Before you go out and buy the first set of plastic hangers you lay eyes on, consider using this opportunity to enhance your closet organization. Depending on what you need to hang, there are different hangers for different items of clothing. From felted to wooden hangers, each serves a specific purpose.

There are a variety of storage bins to organize your home, ranging from collapsible fabric baskets to stackable plastic tubs. When looking for the right bins to add to your home essentials checklist, think about where you want to store them in your new place. Will they be going under your bed or will they be out in plain sight? Having an organizational plan for your new home will simplify your shopping experience.

Locks

When you rekey a lock, you keep the same lock but the old key no longer operates it. To do so, you take the lock apart and replace some of the parts inside. The working key is then adapted to fit the new configuration of the lock. Though this process sounds complicated, it’s fairly quick. Still, it’s probably easiest to call a locksmith for this procedure.

Changing your locks is simpler than rekeying them since you simply swap out an old lock with a new one. If you’re feeling up to the challenge, you can change your locks yourself. However, you can always leave this task up to professionals and call a locksmith.

What to Pack First When Moving

If you find yourself procrastinating, it’s probably because you can’t decide what to pack first when moving. With this list in hand, you won’t even have to think about what to pack first. So follow along and get started today!

Items in storage

Items in storage should be one of the first things you pack when moving. Whether packed in a storage unit, your garage, or deep in your walk-in closet, these items are easy to pack first when moving since they’re most likely already in boxes. Just make sure to take things out, get rid of what you don’t want, and try to consolidate boxes as much as possible. The fewer boxes on move-out day, the better!

Out-of-season clothes

Out-of-season clothes are easy to pack first when moving because like items in storage, out-of-season clothes may already be in boxes. Plus, these clothes may not need to be accessed for several months. On day one of packing, you can go ahead and get them out of the way, giving you enough packing momentum to tackle more difficult parts of your home!

China and other rarely used dishes

There’s a strong chance you won’t be hosting fancy dinner parties during your move. This makes fine china the perfect item to pack first when moving. Just make sure to pack these dishes very carefully and clearly label the boxes as fragile. While you’re at it, you might want to go ahead and pack other dishes and cookware that you rarely use. You can always spend the last few weeks in your home using paper plates!

Artwork, wall hangings, and picture frames

Though wall hangings can be tricky to pack, they’re a great place to begin. Most likely, the only practical use for your artwork and picture frames are as decorations, and you don’t need decorations up while you pack. Not to mention, it’s easy to forget to take them down when the chaos of move-in day rolls around. Avoid forgetting about wall hangings by prioritizing these items when deciding what to pack first when moving.

Any and all knick-knacks

No matter how special they are to you, you’ve got to pack your knick-knacks first when moving. If you procrastinate on packing knick-knacks, it’s easy to get overwhelmed at the last minute by these small pieces scattered throughout your home. Whether it’s an old souvenir or a trendy jewelry dish, make these items a priority when you start packing.

Extra towels and linens

Extra towels and linens are the perfect belongings to pack first when moving. A big move is not the ideal time to change your sheets or keep a large pile of dirty towels around. Instead, plan on washing the same few dish and bath towels so that you can keep your laundry basket empty and ready for move-out day.  

Books

Choose a few books you want to keep easily accessible and pack the rest of your books first when moving. Just make sure you return borrowed books to their respective owners, whether it be your friends or the library. You don’t want to be liable for those books if they get lost during your move!

Deciding what to pack first when moving can seem intimidating, but with a little help, you’ll find that it’s not too difficult once you know where to begin.

House to Home Moving



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