The Start-to-Finish Guide for Moving to a New Place:

Moving sucks. There's really no way around that, but it can be a lot more tolerable and a lot less stressful. Here's a look at our best recommendations for an easier and more efficient move.

A lot of moving generally takes place over the next few months, and while everyone's experience and needs vary a little, a lot of the work involved in moving is the same no matter who you are. There's a lot to go over, so feel free to skip around:

• Preparation
• Packing
• Labeling and Managing Your Inventory
• Moving In

Preparation

There is so much to do in preparation for your move: set up mail forwarding, change over your utilities, acquire packing supplies, and so on. The move, itself, is really the easy part as you'll spend most of your time packing and unpacking. If you want everything else to go as smoothly as possible, you'll need to prepare well. It's a time-consuming and detailed process, but it'll ultimately make your move significantly more simple and less stressful.

Transferring Your InformationBefore you move, be sure you know all the utilities you're responsible for and make the transfers. The further in advance you can make the call the better, as sometimes certain utility companies will not be able to come out the next day to make the switch. Another switch you can make in advance is filling out a change of address form, which you can do online. If you change your address online, be sure you have a credit card that uses your current address as the billing address, since that's how the postal service verifies the request.

Finding Packing Supplies On the CheapThere are a lot of places to buy packing supplies, but boxes and tape can add up to quite a bit of money. You can avoid this additional cost by hitting up one of quite a few places handing out free boxes. Most retailers receive a lot of shipments, but your best bet is to contact furniture stores. While your average retailer may be able to provide you with some used boxes, you'll be able to find a greater range of sizes from furniture stores. Be sure to call them up at least a week in advance of when you want to start packing, however, as box disposal isn't necessarily a daily task. If your friends are moving before you, another way to get used boxes is to ask them to give them to you when they're finished. You may also be able to find boxes in the office you work in, or ask a friend to bring home any boxes they can find at the office. For more ideas, check out these tips on scoring free moving boxes.

Eco-Friendly Moving Services:

There are many movers in the Bay Area that take being Eco-friendly very seriously. They try to make sure that they offer a range of eco-friendly services to their customers who tend to be environmentally conscious. This only makes it better for the environment and serves those who also share the same mind frame.

A lot of the movers you decide to look into more than likely offer reusable packing materials or materials that can be recycled after use. You could also look into e-crate rentals. E-crate rentals are plastic bins that you can use to pack all of your belongings in. They are stronger than cardboard boxes and help protect the environment even further. When you are done with the e-crates, they simply get returned to the moving company. Most moving companies will drop off and pick up the e-crate rentals.

Recycling services are also offered through most movers. These services include retrieving anything you have that might need to be recycled and taking it to the nearest recycling facility for you. Those with large items or many items usually get this service, as it prevents them from having to bring these no longer used items with them or throwing them away improperly. Some of the items often recycled through these services are e-waste items such as electronics. It isn’t always that easy to find a place that excepts e-waste. Nevertheless, the movers have facilities that they work with in order to help you rid of these and other types of household appliances and recyclables.

Spring Cleaning Tips – Make Your Move Easy:

It’s spring, and that means it’s time to do some spring cleaning.

March 20th marked the official first day of spring – though some of us in New England are a little hesitant to say winter is officially over.

Just because we aren’t sure about the weather doesn’t mean we can’t start our Spring cleaning! 

At Olympia we think that feeling organized is one of the best feelings, just come by and look at our weekly checklists. What some people underestimate is how helpful pre- and post-move cleaning / organizing can actually be, so we thought it would be a great idea to go over some quick tips to start your spring off fresh.

PRE-MOVE CLEANING:

Before you begin packing you’ll want to evaluate if you can downsize. Moving can be pricey, so why pay to move something you don’t need anymore? You’ll also want to take your new space into account. If your new place is smaller, you may be forced to part with some furniture.

Doing a deep clean before you list will be sure to make your listing photos shine and appeal to more buyers. If that seems like a lot of work you can even bring in the professionals to do the cleaning for you.

POST-MOVE CLEANING:

Unfortunately not everyone is a good neighbor when they move, so there’s a good chance that there will be some unwanted items in your new home.

Give yourself a fresh start!

Rather than push past residents’ memorabilia to the depths of the basement, why not get rid of them so you never have to worry about it again? A lot of cleaning companies offer deals for pre or post move cleaning and you may be able to find a deal by doing a quick search in your area. 

WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THIS EXTRA STUFF?

There are so many options when it comes to getting rid of unwanted items. Instead of throwing your things in the trash, consider donating your unwanted items to local organizations. There are a number of organizations looking for different types of goods but make sure you check their website for restrictions on what can and cannot be accepted so

OK, BUT HOW DO I KEEP MY HOME THIS TIDY?

One of my favorite wind-down activities is going through my belongings once a month and making a decision about how necessary they are. You don’t have to be moving to tidy your home and feel more organized – We love this list of 50 items to remove from your home today from our friends at Ditch The Clutter!

If you think you’ll have a harder time staying on top of things you may want to consider professional help from a company like Flying Prince. Flying Prince is a full service, green, cleaning company that aims to provide top of the line service at an affordable rate while looking out for the environment. What better way to start off your spring than with a company that provides cleaning, organizing services, and recycling/compost programs?

Checklists to Help You Move

Checklists come in very handy in a move. With all the things going on inside and outside your head, who can remember everything? To make sure you stay organized and on track, we've created moving checklists of things to do to help you move. Use them online or print them out - either way you'll have a complete list of moving tasks.

1.  Packing Supply Shopping List

Starting off on the right foot helps in a move. We'll set you on the right path by arming you with all you need so you won't have to keep making time-wasting trips out to get supplies. To determine what supplies you need for your move, check out the article on Packing Supplies, then fill out the quantity of each item before you start to shop. More »

2.  Change of Address Checklist

Here is an area where it's very easy to forget something. When moving, it's important to remember all the ways you rely on the postal service to get the information you need, whether it's bills or a favorite magazine. And to help you keep up-to-date and in contact with everybody, use this change of address checklist to ensure the people you need to stay-in-touch with are notified of your upcoming move.More »

3.  Checklist of Questions to Ask the Movers

This checklist will help you when you are looking for the right movers for the job. This is an important decision, so don't just go with the first name in the yellow pages! Print several copies of this question list and use it each time you call a moving company to inquire about your move. More »

4.  Checklist of Things to Pack in the Essentials Box

It's hard to get a new house organized and "user-friendly" in the first day after moving. It usually takes some time before you settle into your new place. But life goes on, and you still need to eat, drink, sleep, wash up, etc. before you are fully settled in. Use this list to collect all general household supplies you'll need for the first couple of days in your new home. If you'll be moving to another city or state, and the movers won't be arriving for a week or more, then you should consider packing more than what's suggested below. Think about everything you use on a daily basis and pack accordingly.

Also check out a related article on how to prepare an essentials box. More »

5.  Things You Need to Do to Move Overseas

International moving is difficult. There are so many extra tasks you need to do to prepare to move that it's often difficult to keep track. In addition to everything else a regular move entails, there are many other things that are not day-today concerns. Moving to another country requires additional planning ahead. Immigration documentation, health papers, taxes - you get the idea. It's a long list. If you're moving overseas, use this checklist as a guide to help you through a complicated move. More »

6.  School Records Checklist

One of the things most often forgotten is the school documentation of the children. You will want to effect the transition of your child with as little disruption as possible. Children are excited in a move and will not remember to do the essentials. It will fall to you to make sure you have their records ready to go. Your child will no doubt be more focused on setting up his or her room, and exploring the new home and neighborhood! Use this checklist to make sure all educational bases are covered. More »

The Top 15 Places To Live In The United States:

As Americans, we are lucky. As every third grader knows, our nation includes every landscape, every culture and so, so many choices.

Most moves are pretty much pre-determined. People move to specific places for jobs or for family, but what happens when you don’t know where to go? With rapidly rising Bay Area real estate prices, people are either being driven out of their homes or they are deciding to cash in and move where the cost of living is cheaper.

Every year, Livability.com rates cities as the best (and worst) places to live. They ranked cities that were between 20,000 and 350,000, so no tiny towns and no huge cities. The cities were ranked based on amenities, demographics, economy, education, health care, housing, social issues, transportation and infrastructure.

Here are the cities:

Fargo, North Dakota. They have a low unemployment rate and a cheap cost of living. The median home price is just $157,900.

Overland Park, Kansas. They have a low crime rate and a great economy.

Ft. Collins, Colorado. If you love the outdoors, legal pot and a casual culture, Ft. Collins could be the place for you.

San Mateo, California. Okay, this one is right in our backyard. In fact, it literally is our backyard, but as you know, the economy is strong, there’s a lot to do and there are tons of jobs. There is a reason the cost of living is so high. People love it.

Walnut Creek, California. Clean, great schools, great outdoor activities. Again, in our backyard.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Lots to do and cheap housing.

Iowa City, Iowa. It’s a college town with great primary schools and a surprising cultural life.

Ann Arbor, Michigan. Another college town that’s very culturally rich.

Bismarck, North Dakota. Cheap housing, great healthcare, lots of outdoor activities. The winters can be tough, though.

Palo Alto, California. We know.

Boulder, Colorado. A great college town, but best for liberals. Boulderites enjoy the outdoors like no one else. There’s skiing, rock climbing, miles and miles of serious hiking, and don’t forget, you can relax with a microbrew and, if you so desire, a legal joint.

Santa Barbara, California. The only city in the southern part of our state. What’s not to love about Santa Barbara? Beautiful people, beautiful beaches and beautiful architecture.

Madison, Wisconsin. The capital of Wisconsin is an oasis for liberals in a conservative state. As a college town, Madison is cultured and educated.

Bellevue, Washington. Best known for outdoor activities, although the cost of living is high.

Rochester, Minnesota. Rochester was ranked the best city for 2015. it’s a city on the rise. It’s home to the Mayo Clinic and the general quality of life is very high. Again, though, the weather.

5 Tricks for Moving Furniture:

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That's me. And that's my credenza. which probably weighs in somewhere around 300 pounds, maybe more. I'm not kidding — it's a monster. And I weigh about 105 wet. But I was able to move it from one end of the room to the other without breaking much of a sweat and without ending up in the hospital or with residual back pain. How'd I do it? I have a few tricks up my skinny arms.

• Slide don't lift: Unless it's a small piece of furniture, slide it across the room. Most of us don't know how to lift things properly and though we may end up with a beautiful room, we also end up with a bad back. If you do have to lift something, use your legs not your arms and shoulders and keep your back relatively straight.
• Use towels and cardboard: Try slipping something underneath your furniture's legs. Instead of lifting the piece to do this, rock your piece forward or backwards slightly to slide the material underneath the legs. The furniture will move easily across the room. On carpet, try smooth cardboard; on bare floors, towels or dishrags are a good bet.
• Magic Sliders are my favorite go to product. I converted to these a few years ago at the suggestion of my friends at Koontz Hardware. Now I put them on all of my furniture as soon as I get it (instead of using felt pads). Though they're significantly more expensive than the felt pads, they have them beat by a mile for many reasons: they're durable and they make even the heaviest pieces of furniture slip across the room like the Three Stooges on a banana peel.
• Push or Pull: While it seems natural to push a heavy piece, I've actually found pulling to be more effective than pushing on certain pieces of furniture. Place an arm on either side of a piece of furniture and, with your feet a few inches away and using your arms as a brace, lower your body as if you were going to sit, then scooch backwards.
• Empty everything out of it first: Most of us forget to do this and try to move everything when it's all loaded up. Take the time to empty your furniture out. Not only will it make it lighter, it'll prevent something from falling out accidentally and creating a big mess.