Making a long-awaited home move isn't a process known for ease, comfort, or quickness. Rare is the relocation that goes swimmingly, everything according to plan. If you’ve never moved home, the enormity of the task might be dawning on you. If you’ve moved home before, you know exactly what’s involved. But Tampa moving experts know what’s involved, too - and even better, they’re breaking down the time involved so you can make accurate plans right down to the minute.
Make Your Move
Every move comes with its own unique challenges, whether it’s a:
- Local move down the street
- Interstate move across the country
- Apartment to three-story house
- Apartment to… another apartment
Yet, there’s one thing that these moves share in common: they take planning to pull off.
Mapping out your move ahead of time will go a long way toward streamlining your preparations from the outset. In other words, when you have a timeline written down, you’ll stand a much better chance of sticking to it. If you don’t, you might just discover that winging it isn’t such a viable strategy.
That’s exactly why experts recommend you take everything into account when estimating how long your preparation - and the move itself - might take. What’s more, they say that your move durations will hinge on far more than the number of boxes and belongings involved.
Crack the (Stair)Case
Stairs complicate moving. In fact, staircases are one of the common obstacles that put DIY moves in peril. Stairs take extra effort to overcome, particularly when one is carrying heavy furniture.
One slip could mean broken belongings, and even worse, broken limbs. Professional movers are equipped to handle these challenges safely - but sometimes, slow and steady wins the race.
So, remember to factor in the number of stairs involved with your move, whether at the point of origin or the destination. Every trip to and fro from the house to the truck takes time - especially when there are stairs to climb and descend each time.
Avengers Assemble
Sadly, most furniture doesn’t come ready to move. By and large, it’ll have to be folded, taken apart, and stacked in pieces if you want it to get out of your home and into the next… ironically, in one piece.
And disassembling it ahead of time just won't do, especially if it’s a sofa, bed, or item that gets a lot of use. That means it’ll need to be taken apart on the moving day itself, and that takes extra time that you need to account for.
The Tampa experts at True Friends Moving Company have some other reminders.
“It’s also important to take into account the amount of furniture you have that requires disassembly and reassembly - as well as the number of rooms to be set up in your new home.”
Go the Distance
The distance on the road is the obvious part. If you’re moving to another state, you’ve likely already thought about how long the journey will take. But here’s another underrated element of distance: the length of your hallways.
These are stretches that movers will have to walk across many, many times during the loading stage. Over time, it all adds up. Then you have to think about the specific access or entry points to your home, and how easy they are to navigate.
In an apartment setting, it’s unlikely that movers will be able to journey back and forth with ease. Which means you have to stay conservative in estimating the duration of the loading (and unloading) stage.
Professional Help Comes Just In Time
Most professional movers will be ready to walk you through these considerations early in the process. Usually, they’ll even be able to offer full or partial packing and temporary, off-site storage to reduce what you know is one of the biggest expenditures in residential moves: time.
Some moving teams use online estimate request features to clarify such details beforehand. The good news? Making a little extra planning effort early can pave the way to accurate, upfront service quotes - and these represent a major load off your mind.