Last-minute relocation guidelines

You might have heard how long distance relocations are the most difficult things that you can go through in a lifetime. However, If you have enough time to prepare, even the farthest move can be done pretty easily. On the other hand, if you are in for a last-minute relocation, you will have a difficult time, regardless of how far you are moving. The trick here, however, is to take some time to plan the process. An hour of planning can have a significant impact on the outcome of your last-minute move. To minimize the time you need to plan your process, Master Moving Guide prepared these guidelines. Follow them and you will have a smooth move no matter the circumstances.

This guide will teach you how to complete all your tasks in a minimum time

In the following lines, we will show you how to organize your move in minimum time while getting all the tasks completed. Of course, you can pack in a few hours and move out. However, that is not the point. We want to help you organize a proper move in minimum time. So that is what you will find in the following article.

There is no time to sleep when a last-minute relocation is taking place

We don’t want you to waste any of your precious time, so we will get right to the point. The first thing that you can do to gain some time is to minimize your sleeping time. Of course, that proper sleep is important. However, in this situation, you will have to compromise. So try to get up before the sunshine. Spend an hour on a bathroom, coffee, and breakfast, and get to work. This should provide you with at least a couple of additional hours that you can spend on your last-minute relocation.

Use this article as a moving plan

Planning is the first step that you need to complete. Now, how your plan will look depends on your situation and many other nuances. However, there are certain steps that everyone who plans to move needs to complete. And you will find those steps in the following lines. So, you can use this article as a sort of ultimate moving guide that you can additionally modify to suit your personal needs and situation. We will teach you how to organize your items for the move, how to prepare a moving budget, how to find a reliable moving company to help you and more. Let’s continue.

Preparing your items for the move

Once you prepared a moving plan, it is time to start preparing your items for the move. And no, it’s not yet time to start packing, you first need to declutter. Every home regardless of how neat and clean it is has some excess items that are not really a necessity. Now you might think that this is a waste of time and that you do not have to do this right now. But if you think about it, you will realize that getting your excess items out of the house before the move will take the same amount of time as packing them and loading them into the moving truck. Moreover, moving these items will cost you. While getting rid of them can actually make you profit.

Of course, when you are preparing for a last-minute move, you do not have time to organize a yard sale or sell your items online. But what you can do is get your items to a local thrift store that might want to buy them from you. This is the quickest way to get rid of your junk and make a profit along the way. Another quick solution is to call a local junk removal service. Or give away those items to friends and family. Or, you can donate. It’s up to you to decide.

Prepare a list of items for the move – this is very important!

After you get rid of the junk you can start preparing a moving inventory list. This can also seem like a waste of time in this situation. However, this is a very important step that you shouldn’t skip no matter what. A complete list of your items will help you determine the number of packing materials you need to prepare for the move, you will also use it to get moving quotes online, and it will serve you to inspect your items after movers deliver them to your new home.

Now, it is always good to make an inventory list with as many details as possible. However, during last-minute relocation, only the names of your items with some crucial notes about them will be enough. While you are preparing your moving inventory list think about how you will handle each and every item on that list. Will you be able to handle them on your own or you will need to hire some specific moving services for that purpose? So get to it. The time is running out.

How do you plan to travel to your destination?

While you are preparing a moving inventory list there is one more important decision that you need to make. A decision about how you plan to travel to your new home. If you have a car, you could drive to your new home. But if you are moving across the country, that is something that we wouldn’t recommend. Especially after this hectic and draining preparation. What you can do instead is hire a moving company that offers car transport services and let them handle your vehicle. Then, you can book yourself a plane ticket and fly yourself to your new home properly. Unfortunately, flying across the country is not cheap.

So maybe might have to drive after all. If that is the case, make sure that you take a few hours to plan your trip thoroughly. This is a very important step that you shouldn’t skip no matter what. Even if you cannot find time to do it before the move, sit in a local restaurant after you complete your move and plan your trip properly.

Making a moving budget and making some important decisions along the way

When you get rid of excess items and prepare a moving inventory list you will have the necessary information that will help you prepare your moving cost checklist – better known as a moving budget. After selling your items you will know exactly how much money you have for the move. And after making your moving inventory list, you will know what types of moving services you will need to hire and how much your last-minute relocation will cost you. Unfortunately, hiring full moving services is not cheap. Especially when you need them immediately. So be prepared to either work hard to prepare for the move or to pay a significant amount for professional movers. Here are the average moving cost depending on the size of your home and the distance you plan to cross:

• Relocating a 1 bedroom home 250 miles – $850 – $2,300
• Moving a 1 bedroom home 1000+ miles – $1,400 – $3,000
• Moving a 1 bedroom home -2500+ miles $1,900 – $3,800
• Relocating a 2-3 bedroom home 250 miles – $1,300 – $4,000
• Moving 2-3 bedroom home 1000+ miles – $2,100 – $7,800
• Moving a 2-3 bedroom home 2500+ miles – $3,200 – $9,700
• Relocating a 4-5 bedroom home 250 miles – $2,100 – $5,700
• Moving a 4-5 bedroom home 1000+ miles – $4,900 – $8,100
• Moving a 4-5 bedroom home 2500+ miles – $9,400+

Who’s gonna pack?

DIY packing

Now it’s time to decide whether you want to pack on your own or hire packing services. Packing on your own is cheaper but it will take you much more time to complete. On average you will need:

• 1-2 days to pack a studio or a one-bedroom apartment
• 2-3 days to pack a two-bedroom home
• 4-6 days to pack a four-bedroom home

Professional packing services

As you can see, packing your home for a move takes a lot of time. Maybe you have enough time to do it properly maybe you don’t. If you don’t, you will have to hire a packing service. Here is how much hiring packing services costs on average:

• 400 – 1,000 sq ft home – $280 – $650
• 700 – 1,250 sq ft home – $530 – $1,000
• 1,250+ sq ft home – $1,030 – $2,200

This is the moment to make a decision about packing. Will you invest time or money? It is up to you. In the following lines, we will go through both options.

Preparing packing materials in case of DIY packing

If you think you have enough time to pack, here is how to do it. Go online, and find some packing hacks for moving. This will take away no more than 30 minutes to complete but will help you learn how to pack much more quickly than usual. Then, look at your moving inventory list and based on that, calculate the number of required moving boxes. Bear in mind that it is very important to do this from the first get-go because of you have fewer boxes than you actually need, you need to waste additional time to get more. Or if you get more than you need, you will waste money. So use some online moving box calculator or simply ask some movers for advice. To properly pack your home, you will need to prepare:

• Moving boxes of all types and sizes
• Packing paper
• Plastic wraps
• Bubble wraps
• Packing tape
• Plastic bags
• Labels
• Markers
• Utility knife

If you have time, don’t forget that you can find free moving boxes in your local grocery store. There are many places online that offer free boxes but that is not a good option during a last-minute relocation.

DIY packing guidelines

Now that you have all that you need, you can start packing. If you have read some online packing hacks, you probably know what you need to do. Anyhow, here are some general tips that will help you avoid problems:

• Make sure that you do not overweigh your boxes – use smaller boxes for heavy items like books
• Add an additional layer of packing tape from the bottom of the boxes to strengthen them
• Fill out the voids in boxes so your items cannot move during transport
• Protect your boxes from rain by wrapping them in plastic wrap
• Every box should be labeled properly – label at least boxes with fragile items

Types of moving estimates that you might run into while searching for movers

Finally, it is time to start searching for movers. But before you start searching, you should learn what is a binding estimate and what is a non-binding estimate so you can distinguish what moving companies to avoid. Some moving companies also offer binding not-to-exceed, which is the best option. But you will hardly find some of those these days. Once you learn about your options you can start searching for movers.

How to find the cheapest and most reliable movers quickly

When you are searching for a moving company for last-minute relocation, you will have to rely solely on the internet. This means that you will not call movers for in-home estimations, which take too much time. But you will look for moving quotes online. Find a few reliable moving companies that offer the moving services that you need and ask for their estimates. Then, compare and pick the best one.

Las-minute relocation will be easy if you follow this guide

That is all you need to know about organizing a last-minute relocation. Hopefully, these guidelines will help you to come out of this process in one piece. Good luck!