Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Of Course I Know How To Tape A Box Shut!....Or Do I?...

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I've blogged, sorry for the radio silence! It's been busy busy here at Fairprice Movers Inc.!

So, you're no dummy right? You know how to tape a box shut....or do you?

Here are some helpful tips on how to do something that seems really easy, the right way, so that your stuff is safe inside those boxes you worked so hard to pack!

1st: Fold your flat box into a cube shape

2nd:Flip the box upside down and tape the bottom first

3rd:Fold the flaps on the bottom in

4th:Tape 1 long strip of tape down the middle of the box where the 2 flaps meet

5th:Tape 2 long strips of tape down the width of the box on either side of the box, the tape will resemble an "H" shape when done

6th:Carefully wrap and fill your box with your personal belongings

7th:Repeat the same steps 3-5 for the top of the box

Best Wishes,

Nancy and Team

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

How Wardrobe Boxes Work

Hi Everyone! Nancy here! I've been off blogging for a bit, but don't fret I'm back!

So, today's topic is the thrilling world of wardrobe boxes!

What are they, and how do they help you move?

Well, here's a photo of one, they are about 2' wide, 4-5' tall, and they hold about 20-30 pieces of hanging clothes in them depending on how thick the pieces are. i.e. more thin dress shirts will fit vs. puffy jackets, etc...

All movers provide a certain amount of these beauties free of charge to use during the move.

They will set them up in front of your closets the day of the move first thing! That way as they work on disassembly, reassembly of your furniture as needed, wrapping the furniture, and moving the furniture and boxes into the truck, you'll have all of that time to place your clothes from the closet into the boxes with your own clean hands.

The guys will then seal them up, put them on the truck last, so that they are the first thing off the truck at the new house. Then you'll have plenty of time to unload them at the new house while the guys unload the truck, unwrap, and reassemble the furniture for you.

If you need some to keep in a storage unit, or just to keep, they can purchased the day of the move of course.

It sure makes moving hanging clothes easier! Easier than laying them flat in the back seat of your car with all of the hangers tangling together!

Happy moving!

Nancy and Team



Monday, January 6, 2014

You only have 1 item to move...so why is it so expensive to find someone to move it?!?

So...you have a beloved recliner chair in storage, and you only need it moved to your garage at your house 5 miles down the street...you don't have a vehicle large enough to do this, plus the recliner is heavy! You don't want to bother friends to help, and you feel stuck figuring out how to move this beast of an item. So why when you call around to professional moving companies is it so expensive to get help?

Here's why:

1.Minimums: Professional moving companies need to charge hourly minimums to stay in business, most have 2 hour, or 3 hour minimums. Moving the dear old recliner may take about 15 minutes of real labor to load and unload, so you can see why this is already a bad fit for your needs.

2.Double drive time: Yes, professional moving companies do have to add on travel time aside from the labor, whether it be 5 minutes down the street, or 30, and this will add to your costs, and if this is a longer haul, gas surcharges may apply as well! Eeek!

3.Materials: Maybe you're moving a large round piece of table top glass that is 600 lbs or so, if it wasn't already crated (wrapped up properly to withstand the bumps and vibrations experienced by items in a moving truck while being transported), the  movers will need to charge for the materials to do so.

Here's your other options:

1.Bug a friend with a truck, and friends to help lift

2.Rent a UHAUL truck and some helpers who may or may not be professional

3.Leave it in storage and keep paying that huge bill each month to keep it there

There are a few problems with these options, 1.Friends can get worn out when you ask too many favors, plus do you have friends who can lift heavy items?, 2.Renting a UHAUL truck to move something is fine, but it costs money too! A simple pick up truck is $19.95 plus mileage and fuel per day for local moves, and it goes up from there. Plus the truck won't have a professional lift gate to help you with this heavy item. Then you have to pay the helpers you hire, and if they aren't professional, there are issues with legality, insurance, and liability you'll have to face, plus your item could be damaged during moving and you'll have no recourse. 3.Leaving it in storage is fine, but it'll cost ya! With prices of $100 and up per month, it could be an expense you don't need to make.

Here's why hiring a professional moving company like Fairprice Movers Inc. is worth it:

1.We are licensed and insured, so your items will be covered.

2.We are professionals, therefore your items will be moved safely.

3.We can install your item for you properly into your new home.

So what does it cost on average to get 1 item moved? Let's say the item is heavy, so we'll need 3 men, that can range on average per moving company, per season, and date, from $95 per hour and up to around $149 per hour let's say. That's about $300 to about $450 for just the labor, not including travel or gas or materials.

Suggestions to make the move more cost-effective:

1.Move something else! Have us  move the 1 item, and then use us to move things around the house you've needed help with, or purchase a piece of furniture you've been wanting from a store or person on Craigslist, and we'll pick that up and deliver it as well!

2.Share the move! Ask a friend if they have any items they need moved at the same time, we can make multiple stops, and use up more of that 3 hour minimum for you!

3.Be mindful of the day you're asking us to move it. First of all, don't be a last minute nelly! Then, pick a Monday through Thursday, and be really flexible with your time!

Hopefully this helps!

Happy moving!

Nancy and Team




Thursday, January 2, 2014

Staging your home, and how movers can help!

Happy New Year to our family members, friends, and clients! We wish you a healthy, happy, and prosperous new year in 2014!

For some of us, a new year means a new home! But how do you get rid of the old one? Besides just placing your home on the market, you may also want to consider staging your home so that it sells faster, and for a higher price.

Staging is a lot like ringing in the new year, purging the old, or excess, and bringing in the new!

Moving companies like Fairprice Movers Inc. can help you take all of your excess or old items from the home, and place it in your storage unit or pod, so that everything looks orderly in your old home. Purging items also makes your home look larger to potential buyers.

Another way a mover can help with staging your home for sale is bringing in the new! Why not purchase a few new key pieces for your new home that you can first use in your old home for staging purposes? For example, want the home to look more established and high end? Always wanted a piano? Fairprice Movers Inc. can move one from the person or place you purchased it, to your home!

After your old home has sold, and it's time to pack up the rest of your items and move everything to the new home, Fairprice Movers Inc. can also help. We will start with the items at your old home, then stop at the storage unit we placed the purged items in to pick those up, and then deliver and install everything into your new place.

We hope these helpful tips were useful! Check out more staging tips on Nancy's favorite website http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/15-secrets-to-selling-your-home/pictures/index.html?soc=share

Best wishes for this new year to you and yours!

Nancy and Team

Monday, December 16, 2013

What's a Wardrobe Box?

It's 9 days till Christmas! Whew! We here at Fairprice Movers Inc. hope you're all doing well, surviving the Holiday crowds, and getting that last minute shopping done=)

In the meantime I thought I'd share a short but helpful article on wardrobe boxes.

Movers include wardrobe boxes for free use during the move.

They are about 2.5' wide, and about 4' tall, and can hold about 20-30 pieces of clothing inside depending on their bulkiness, hanging up on a bar that crosses the inside of the box.

They save you from having to move hanging clothes by laying them in your car, the hangers tangling, items of clothing escaping from their hangers and slipping off, some even falling onto the floor as you carry them from place to place.

A lot of customers ask me if we drop them off early to your home so you can fill them. The process is this, when the men arrive to your home, while the Foreman in charge completes a home walkthrough and plans out the move with you, and completes paperwork, the men working with him will pop up the wardrobe boxes first in front of each closet that needs them. Then while the men are disassembling furniture, wrapping it up for transport, placing it on the truck, and moving boxes into the truck as well, you can carefully place your clothes into the wardrobe boxes. The boxes will then be placed into the truck last, and taken off the truck first at the new place so you can work on putting the clothes into their new closets while the men work on unloading the rest of the truck.

Hopefully this helps clear up any wardrobe box confusion!

Warm Regards,

Nancy

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

How To Safely Move A TV

Most of us own beautiful, expensive, flat screen TVs.

TVs are not just our most used, and favorite electrical appliance in most of our homes, but because of their price, are somewhat of an investment as well, and something we'd be upset to break, and don't want to afford to replace.

So you ask, how do you move your TV safely?

The first question I ask my clients is if they still have the original box. Maybe 2% of us really did safe that ominously huge box in our garage, and those 2% are the ones who are smart! So, if you are just buying a TV, please save the box! Engineers at the manufacturer spent countless hours creating this box especially for your TV, so what better to protect it than the original box?!

Ok, ok, so you didn't save your box (neither did I), so now what? Here are some options:

1.Movers like Fairprice Movers Inc., can wrap your TV in free padded blankets, place in your vehicle, and take back out free of charge, granted the TV fits in your car...

2.Movers can use a TV box to protect your TV with some padding inside, I'd suggest going out to buy one to specially fit your TV, as movers aren't always going to have that size readily available on their truck

3.Movers can "crate" your TV for you, the process does cost money, let's say $30-50/each, they wrap the TV with padded blankets, a layer of bubble wrap, a layer of cardboard, shrink wrap and tape to hold it all together, "crating" it like an egg crate to protect the TV's delicate screen

I hope this was helpful!

Warmest Regards,

Nancy

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Do I Have To Empty My Dressers?

 
 
 
Hi Everyone! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and Hannukah!
 
Today's blog is a short one, but a good one.
 
One of the top questions I get asked on a daily basis from our great clients here at Fairprice Movers Inc., is "Do we have to empty our dressers?".
 
Generally speaking it's best when moving any piece of furniture with drawers to empty them. The reason? For the safety of the men, their surroundings while carrying a heavy piece of furniture, and to protect the tracks of your drawers from breaking under the pressure of weight from fully loaded drawers.
 
I usually say the rule of thumb to decide if you should or should not empty the dresser drawers is stairs. If you have the dresser going up or down, or both up and down, flights of stairs during your move, empty them. When a full dresser is tilted to be moved up and down stairs, it puts even more pressure on the tracks of your drawers, and makes it wayyy harder for the guys to  move gracefully.
 
If you don't have flights of stairs, or just a few entry steps, perhaps just take out the heavy pjs and sweaters, leaving underware and socks which are light, and we can shrink wrap the drawers to the dresser so that they don't bang around while the dresser is being moved.
 
Hopefully this helps!
 
See you soon for more tips on moving like a pro!
 
Warmest Regards,
Nancy and Team