Moving Short Distance: Tips & Tricks

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Whether you’re moving 10 minutes or 10 hours away from your current residence, you’re still rearranging your life in a major way. You have to pack everything up and load trucks in both cases, although you may have more leeway if you’re living nearby and can take some time with your move.

Whatever your plans are, you’re sure to run into some hitches and navigate unexpected obstacles. However, these local moving tips from David McCarthy Moving can help you move as seamlessly as possible.

1. Get Prepared With a To-Do List

Short-distance moving involves more than packing everything into boxes and hitting the road. Aside from the physical moving, you have to remember things like:

Canceling and re-registering your utilities.
Legally changing your address.
Updating your driver’s license, insurance, credit cards and other IDs.

Stress can cause even the most organized individuals to forget things that seem obvious. And given that moving is often a challenging situation, a to-do list ensures you can handle moving stress and finish necessary tasks. Then, when you arrive at your new house, you can focus on unpacking and setting things up without feeling as though you’ve missed something.

2. Get Moving Boxes

Obtaining boxes is an often unexpected and underestimated cost of moving. But with a bit of forethought, you can negate this cost by finding free moving boxes from various places. Some ways you may be able to score free or low-cost storage containers include:

Asking family, friends and neighbors to donate boxes, especially if they’ve moved recently.
Posting on social media about your need.
Going to local stores and restaurants to see if they’re willing to part with their stock boxes.
Checking your office to see if they’ve gotten any recent deliveries.
Asking David McCarthy Moving about our packaging options.

3. Downsize the Things You Don’t Need

The best time to downsize is during your short-distance move. You already have to go through everything you own while packing it up, so you may as well take the opportunity to remove belongings you don’t use. When you come across something you’re unsure if you want to keep, consider questions like:

When was the last time you used it?
How often do you need it?
Do you have a specific use for it in the future?
Do you enjoy having it on hand?

These questions can help you understand whether you need something or if you should donate, sell or throw it away. If your possessions are in good condition, you may even be able to make money by selling them through an online marketplace. Plus, the less stuff you have when you move, the less work it will be!

4. Measure Your New Home

As you decide what to bring with you and what you should leave behind or donate, consider the dimensions of your new space. Before making any hard and fast decisions, get accurate measurements of the rooms in your new home and ensure you have enough space to store everything you want. Looking at the big picture this way also helps you know whether you have enough furniture and decor for every room in your next residence.

5. Start the Packing Process Early

As soon as you know you’re moving, start small. Find the rooms you use least often and pack up all but the essentials. Arrange your bedrooms so that you can move everything out as quickly as possible when the time comes. Pack all the canned goods and other imperishable items you won’t use for a while.

Even when you’re only moving short distances, getting a jump start on packing can give you the time you need to adjust to this new stage in your life. Then, on the big day, you will be rested and ready to go, as you won’t stay up late the night before packing.

6. Leave Your Clothes on the Hangers

When packing your belongings before the big move, you want to make things as easy as possible to prepare for when you arrive at your destination. For example, if you’re moving your clothing from closet to closet, there’s no need to fold everything up only to rehang it a few days later.

You can use garment bags and even trash bags to transport most of your clothes. If you’re using trash bags, gather five to 10 hangers together, use the bag to cover the clothing and wrap the handles over the top of the hangers. You can also invest in a couple of wardrobe boxes, which are essentially portable closets.

7. Make Sure to Label Correctly

As you pack up box after box, it doesn’t take long before they all look the same and you can barely tell your mug collection from a box of dog toys. After you seal each container, take a moment to label it with a permanent marker on at least two sides to indicate what’s inside.

Be as detailed as possible so that you can remember exactly where you put everything — even if you think you’ll remember it. Your moved-in self will thank you for your thoroughness. As you start organizing your new place, you’ll be able to take things straight to the room they belong in and get unpacked faster because of this system.

8. Pack an Essential To-Go Bag

Once you move everything into your new home, you’ll inevitably have a few days where you have difficulty locating items while you unpack and reorganize, even with the marked boxes. So, as you pack up the last of your stuff, put your everyday toiletries and a few outfits aside in an essentials bag. Make one for each person you’re moving with so that everyone can access their most important possessions as you work through the rest of your boxes.

9. Ask for Help From Family or Friends

Your family, friends and loved ones want to see you succeed. They’re excited for you to take this next step in your life, and they likely want to do everything they can to help you see it through. Asking them to assist you with moving will speed up the process, and since you’re only moving a short distance, they don’t have to factor in much travel time or costs.

When those close to you help you move some of the large and awkward furniture and boxes, moving can suddenly become more of an adventure full of sweat, smiles and satisfaction.

10. Hire a Moving Company

What’s the worst part of moving? If you’re like most people, you might say lifting bulky, heavy furniture or carrying boxes of books and pots. It’s sweaty, time-consuming work, and you’d much rather already have it inside and ready to unpack.

When you need help transporting your belongings, a professional moving company like David McCarthy Moving will take care of it for you. We’ve been in business for more than 30 years and have helped people all over the United States with long- and short-distance moving situations. We treat every project with the care and professionalism necessary to deliver possessions to your new property safely.

Contact David McCarthy Moving to Help With Your Next Move

When moving short distances, you may need some assistance with transporting your belongings. At David McCarthy Moving, we can help. Our team of professional movers will take your property across the street or across the country — no questions asked. For more local moving tips or to schedule our services for your upcoming relocation, contact us at 1-941-704-4278 or reach out online.