House To Home Moving Blog

Preparing for an out-of-state move can be a complex process, but there are a few key things you can do to make the transition as smooth as possible:

1. Plan ahead: Start planning your move as early as possible to ensure that you have enough time to take care of all the necessary tasks.
2. Make a list: Create a detailed list of all the things you need to do before, during, and after the move.
3. Get organized: Start sorting through your belongings and getting rid of anything you no longer need. This will make packing and unpacking easier.
4. Research moving companies: Get quotes from a few different moving companies and compare their services, prices, and reviews.
5. Choose a reputable company: Carefully research any company you are considering hiring, look for any negative reviews or complaints .
6. Confirm the moving company’s insurance: Make sure you understand the company’s insurance policies and coverage, and take out additional insurance if necessary.
7. Pack smart: Pack your belongings carefully and label each box with its contents and the room it belongs in.
8. Change your address: Notify the post office, banks, credit card companies, utility providers, and other important contacts of your new address.
9. Update your ID’s and documents: Make sure your state ID, driver’s license, and other legal documents reflect your new address.
10. Have a plan for your pet: If you’re moving with a pet, make sure to research the best way to transport them, whether by car or by air.
11. Have a plan for your vehicle: If you’re moving with a vehicle, decide whether to drive it to your new location or have it shipped.
12. Explore the new location: Before you move, take some time to research your new area, including schools, housing options, medical facilities, and local services.

13.Make a plan for the first few days: Prepare a list of important things that need to be done on the first few days of your move, like setting up utilities, internet and cable, getting groceries, finding a place to eat and place to park your vehicle.

By following these tips, you can help ensure that your out-of-state move goes as smoothly as possible.

Each employee of House to Home Moving is a full time employee for the company. Each employee starts their day in the morning at our shop in Orangevale to ensure they are prepared for your specific move. Most of our employees have worked for our company over a year. I believe that good people attract other good people. I don’t know if it works that way but so far all our employees are great people, polite and courteous, trained and experienced.

When we arrive, we will greet you, introduce ourselves and have you sign the work order prepared for you. You should already have an estimate at this time that reflects the work order. Our team will walk through your residence with you to determine what’s going, staying, needs to be packed, etc. After the walk through, sit back and watch them work. Careful and efficient, our team will shrink wrap all items with doors and drawers and take apart any furniture that requires it. All items are covered with a thick moving pad and tied down. Clothes hanging in the closet will be packed in Wardrobe Boxes and flat screen TV boxes are available for transportation.

After the load, our team will take a lunch before they head over to your new place of residence. On the unload, our team will first walk through your new place and discuss with you where everything needs to go. At this time it’s a good idea to stay by the entrance so you can tell each member of House To Home Moving where everything needs to be placed. When all your items are off the truck, our team will do a second walk through and remove any trash caused by us and also make sure everything is placed where you want. This is the end of the job and all Wardrobes are empty and clothes are hanging in the new closet. When you determine that everything has been completed, the work order will be signed and payment will be collected.

Above is an example of a typical job.  Not all moves are alike.  To determine the details of your move, please call us for a FREE estimate. (916) 484-1144

Inspect Delivered Boxes
You do have the household inventory you prepared or received during the moving preparations, right? Check each moving box against the detailed list as it is carried inside your new home, and if a box or a household item happens to be missing, notify the moving crew right away and check together if it was left in the moving truck by mistake.

Get Your Utilities Up And Running
You should have arranged the connection of the main house utilities before the move, but if you haven’t done it for one reason or another, do so without delay. Naturally, the first utility companies to call are the power and water providers – things will look much brighter and smoother once you have electricity, gas and running water in your new house.

Unpack Essentials
Proceed by unpacking your essentials boxes and prepare the two most important rooms for normal use – the bedroom and bathroom. Moving days have the tendency to drain out people’s energy so you’ll definitely need a place to lay your weary body at the end of the most stressful day when moving. Assemble your bed (if necessary), unpack the box labeled as “Bedding” and prepare your bed for sweet dreams. Before you call it a day, however, you’ll desperately need to take a refreshing shower, so dig into the “Bathroom” container and take out the shower curtains, the towels, your favorite bathrobe, plus all the toiletries you’ll need to take away the stress and dirt of moving day.

Get Organized
It’s very important that you find the time to prioritize your post-move time. Take out a notebook and start writing down all the immediate tasks that you’ll have to take care of in the next few days, and even weeks. Just like the moving calendar enabled you to have a stress- and trouble-free move, this prioritized to-do list will clearly jump-start the speedy process of settling in your new home and your smooth period of acclimatization to the unknown surroundings.

Inspect Your House Thoroughly
One of the first things to do after moving into a new house is to get to know your place inside out. Locate your favorite magnifying glass and inspect every nook and cranny of your new home as meticulously and passionately as if your birth name were Sherlock Holmes. Inspect each and every room for visible signs of damage, especially from water or fire. Check for plumbing leaks, dripping faucets, and running toilets. One clever trick to make sure there are no water leaks of any kind is to register the readings of your water meter at the start and end of a period of several hours when no water is used anywhere in the house. If the two readings differ, then it’s a sure sign that you have a leaking problem and you’ll need to localize and fix it (or have it fixed).

Locate Fuse Box And Main Water Valve
Make sure you know where your circuit breaker box and main water valve are located in case of emergencies, or just in case you’re about to fix a power or water issue and need to turn off the electricity or cut off the water supply.

Secure Your New Home
Once the utilities have been connected, the house has been inspected for problems and the emergency centers located, it’s time to secure your new home against unauthorized access or harmful acts of nature. Change the locks on all outside doors to ensure that you and your family are the only persons who have access to your new home. Double-check all windows and doors and make sure they close securely. Install smoke detectors in every room. Provide at least one functional fire-extinguisher per floor. Purchase a few first-aid kits. Devise an escape plan out of the house in case of emergencies and make it known to each family member. Consult specialists and consider installing a burglar alarm, especially if your home is situated in a neighborhood with a relatively bad reputation.

Connect Major Appliances
If you have chosen to move your fridge, freezer, washing machine or dishwasher instead of selling them, giving them away to friends, donating them to charity or just throwing them away, now is the time to connect them and thus finish the process of unpacking and setting up the most delicious room in your new house or apartment – the kitchen. Refrigerators are the most fragile appliances from the ones mentioned above and extra care should be taken in their preparation and actual relocation. Just like millions of other people, you’re probably very interested in knowing the answer to the question, “How long do you have to let a fridge sit after moving it?”. You need to leave your fridge upright on its final kitchen spot for at least 3 full hours before you can plug it in and turn it on after moving. This is roughly the time it takes for the oil, which must have escaped the compressor and flown into the cooling lines, to return to the heart of the cooling mechanism – the compressor.

Continue Unpacking
You already unpacked the essentials boxes and furnished and arranged the most frequently used rooms, but what about the rest of your new residence? Step by step, the unpacking process will stretch out and reach the living room, spare guest room, garage, basement, attic and any other storage areas of your home.

Recycle Packing Materials
Unpacking will leave you with plenty of packing materials which you may no longer need. Of course, a number of the moving boxes you used during the relocation will be in such a bad shape that you will have no other option but to throw them away for recycling. Others, however, will be good enough to survive the stress of another move and those you can keep for yourself, give to friends in need or try to sell (however, don’t expect large profitable margins from their sale).

Some of the important documents to take with you when moving will be neatly stacked in your filing cabinets, others will be scattered around your home, and still others will have to be retrieved from different institutions. You are going to need.

Personal ID documents – gather your and your family members’ birth certificates, passports, driver’s licenses, social security cards, marriage certificates or divorce certificates (if any), military documents (if applicable), etc. and put them in a small fireproof lockbox. Have in mind that you may need these documents along the way or before your shipment has been delivered to your new home, so keep them at hand all the time.

Moving documents – when you sign a contract with your chosen movers, they should provide you with a number of important documents, such as a binding estimate, an inventory list, moving-guide pamphlets with lots of useful information and practical tips, etc. You will need to consult these documents (as well as your personal moving calendar and your customized moving checklists) frequently throughout the moving process, so keep them in a secure and easily accessible location (separate from your other documents) until moving day. When the moment comes to leave your old home for good, put all the moving related paperwork in the lockbox with the rest of your documents and take them with you.

Financial documents – keep your credit cards, your bank account statements, saving statements, bank transaction statements, loan papers, income tax papers, tax receipts, and tax deduction bills safe and away from other people’s eyes. It is also a good idea to designate a separate plastic sleeve of your documents’ folder where to put all the receipts for moving-related expenses, as well as any receipts from charity organizations you have donated items to before your move. You will need these receipts for tax deductions at the end of the year.

Property-related documents – selling and buying agreements, lease copies, mortgage documents for both your old home and your new residence, insurance policies for your property, auto insurance cards, registration documents of motor vehicles and other property related documents are also among the important documents to keep when moving house.

Medical records – visit your doctor shortly before your move and obtain all the medical documentation you are going to need in your new city – records of your and your family members’ vaccinations, health problems, specific medical needs, etc. Also, have your prescription medicines transferred and don’t forget about your dentist records either. If you have pets, you’ll have to retrieve copies of their veterinary records and vaccination certificates, as well.

School records – don’t forget to collect your children’s school records, as you will need them to enroll your kids into new educational facilities after the relocation. If your child is applying for a college or university, be sure to request certified copies of his/her school transcripts.

Whether you are moving for work or in pursuit of better employment opportunities, make sure you have your professional licenses, skills qualifications, degree certificates, and letters of reference with you.

Any contracts, warranties, manuals, etc. may also come in handy under certain circumstances, so it is a good idea to bring them along to your new home. Also, prepare a list of important phone numbers (emergency numbers, medical facilities, auto services, your moving company, the hotel you intend to spend the night in on the way to your new home, friends and relatives, etc.) you can easily access at any time. It is essential to have all these phone numbers written on paper as your phone may run out of battery or get damaged.

When moving, everyone needs a little moving help. Relocating comes with lots of decisions, including how to get your belongings from point A to point B. With various types of moving help available, it can be difficult to figure out what option is best for your move. That’s why we’ve broken down the top four choices for you.

Moving containers are a great alternative to traditional local and long-distance moving services. Whether you’re moving cross-country or across town, moving containers simplify the moving experience. If you’re looking to work at your own pace, a moving container may be the right moving service for you.

Loading
Moving container companies will deliver a container right to your house. These containers come in a variety of sizes, allowing you to choose the right size that meets your needs. While most moving containers are made of metal, some companies offer wood containers.

While you can load the container yourself, you can also hire moving labor to help you out. Whether you choose to do it yourself or hire help, moving container companies let you load the container at your leisure. Ample time to load helps reduce moving stress!

Storage
If you’ve loaded your moving container but aren’t quite ready to bring it to your new place, moving container companies can help you out. Some companies offer storage centers where you can securely leave your moving container. Companies with these storage services can come to your home and bring your moving container to a storage facility until you’re ready to move into your new home.

As an added benefit, some companies allow you to make an appointment if you need something from your container while it’s in storage.

Transportation
When you’re ready, moving container companies will pick up your loaded container and deliver it to your new home. Drivers won’t touch the contents of your container, making your move incredibly secure. When looking for a moving container company, check to see whether they service local or long distance moves.

Unloading
Just like loading your container, you can unload it at your own pace. Whether you hire moving help or unload the container yourself, you don’t have to return the container right away. Check with a moving container company to determine the limits on keeping the container at your new place. While some companies let you keep the container for a week, others provide you with a 30-day loading and unloading period.

Insurance
Moving container companies typically offer a few different protection options. Depending on the value of your belongings, your coverage level may vary. Read up on a moving container company’s coverage plans prior to booking their services.

Cost
Moving container companies tend to charge for a 30-day or monthly period of time. Factors that go into pricing include the size of the moving container, the duration that you rent it for, and the distance that it needs to be transported. Some moving container companies may require a deposit, so be sure to ask about this before booking your rental.