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Cross Country Moving – How to Move Cross Country

How to Move Cross Country

Moving Cross Country is time-consuming, full of surprises, and overall a pain in the butt.  Here’s a quick video outlining the steps for moving cross country:
 As you can see hiring a reputable moving company is numero uno on the list of importance when moving cross country.  Here are some things to look for and a little bit about the best cross country movers we know!
About the Best Cross Country Movers we know – Monster Movers:
Monster Movers is a long distance moving company that consists of a team of professional movers who are experts in storage, relocation, packing, and specialty shipping. Since 1999, we have been in the business of offering exceptionally prompt and painless moving services around 48 states.T his makes us stand out as the best moving company in the US. We are aware that customers will be glad if they can experience this kind of service, hence, we moved to bring their desires to fulfillment. Since we have made Customer Satisfaction our foremost priority, we always ensure to put smiles on the faces of our clients and customers by providing superior customer service support. We have upheld this principle since inception.

OUR CORE VALUES INCLUDE:

INTEGRITY
To deliver all orders as promised; conducting ourselves with equality and honesty.
GOODWILL
To be open-armed to everyone from various backgrounds in the community and workplace.
COMPASSION
To be full of empathy for clients, co-staff, and community.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
To offer loyal services to all our customers while also responding to all complaints and enquires with attention and accuracy.
Our mission at Monster Movers is to continually surpass customers’ expectations in the standard of satisfaction and value on investment. We maintain guaranteed prices on all orders placed on our out-of-state moving services. Cross country moving costs are affordable because we focus on client progress. Our long distance moving services include packing of all furniture items, kitchenware, mirrors, lamps, pictures, electronics, etc. You can be sure that your belongings are safe with us!

Our professional long distance movers are also skilled at utilizing moving boxes for packaging your valuables; making sure that all items are prepared for out of state move. On pick-up day, a bar-coded inventory list of all items is made, and we will provide you with a copy. We are professional movers and are simply amazing at what we do. We provide all types of long distance moves from and to anywhere within the United States.Going new places can’t come any easier with our astute expertise in storage, moving, relocation, packing, and logistics services. Our long distance moving company is dedicated to unparalleled problem-solving.

Look no further and give us a call today!
Competetive
Cross Country Moving Company offers competitive rates for every long distance move. Many moving companies offer “low rates” laden with hidden fees and charges. We do not play that game. We provide a guaranteed rate for every long distance move. We also provide free, no-obligation consultations, so you will know exactly how much your move will cost before you even hire Cross Country Moving Company.
Efficient
At Cross Country Moving Company, we hold our services to the highest of standards and we strive to provide the customer with the safest and most efficient moving solution in the country. We take the safety of your valuables very seriously and that’s why we utilize only the finest moving equipment available. Our fleet of modern moving trucks undergoes regular diagnostic checks to ensure that no harm will come to your possessions during transportation. A fleet of modern trucks means that we can also move more often at reduced costs to our customers.
Professional
We also only hire the best movers. Everyone that works for Cross Country Moving Company is a trained, dedicated professional with years of moving industry experience. Our movers go through one of the most rigorous training programs in the long distance moving industry. We also carefully select and train our drivers and packing staff to ensure that our customer gets only the very best service. Cross Country Moving Company stands for professionalism. Each and every one of our employees is expected to uphold our ethic of superior customer service. We believe that you should be able to trust Cross Country Moving Company to treat your belongings with the same level of respect and care as we would our own. In our opinion, there is nothing more important than providing the customer with absolute best service.
Trusted
Our customers trust us to safely transport their most valuable possessions because of our reputation for unbeatable service and outstanding professionalism. When it comes right down to it our job is about making your moving day as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Hundreds of extremely satisfied customers have discovered how easy moving can be when you have Cross Country Moving Company on your side. We have remained the most trusted name in long-distance moves and our customers continue to provide us with overwhelmingly positive reviews. When you are in need of a moving service you can trust look no further than Cross Country Moving Company.
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List of Moving Services – Prices, Inclusions and Decoding Your Moving Estimate

Moving Services – Prices, What’s Included and Decoding Your Moving Estimate

So, you have a bunch of moving estimates – all with different moving services, prices for each service  – but do you really understand it?  All moving services are not created equal by any means so we are going to break it all down for you starting with some moving slang vocabulary words, moving on to help with what moving services are availble, and of course what you should be paying for any moving service.

Moving Help
Moving Services – Moving Help

 

Moving Services – Terms

When planning a move it’s often difficult to navigate through all moving services and fees for moving services.  Here are some terms you will need to be aware of when hiring movers and getting a moving estimate:

full service mover– a mover who provides the broadest range of moving services including local moving, long distance moving, packing, crating, overnight storage, short or long term storage, etc

binding estimate– means that the price quoted in the estimate is the amount you pay for moving services regardless of your shipment weighing more or less than than estimated.  The binding estimate for moving services must accurately describe the shipment and all the services the company will provide which means you have to be completely honest with your movers. If you asked the moving company to provide additional services, such as long carry charges, shuttle servies, etc.

binding, not-to exceed estimate – the same as a binding estimate so you will pay for moving services in relation to the weight without a minimum.  If the actual weight of your shipment is more than the written estimate, you still pay the amount quoted. However, if the actual weight is less than the written estimate, you pay the lesser amount.

Moving Services
Moving Services

List of Moving Services

Full services moving companies should offer a variety of moving services.  Because things can change quickly when moving and waiting for closings it is best to hire movers who offer packing and storage services as well just in case you get caught in a bind.

  • Local Moving
  • Long Distance Moving
  • Commercial Moving
  • Overnight Storage
  • Military Moving
  • Packing
  • Custom Crating
  • Packing Material Delivery
  • Corporate Relocation
  • Piano Moving
  • Hoisting

Packing Options

  • Full Service Packing – Your moving company should have the ability to pack your entire home in detail. Movers are trained to pack your home with the utmost professionalism and respect for your belongings.
  • Piece By Piece Packing – For items that are delicate, breakable or irreplaceable in value, we encourage you to let us know so that we can pack them with the utmost care. Your moving company should offer full service or pay by piece packing services
  • Material Delivery – If you are planning on packing your own boxes, your movers should offer free material delivery.  Don’t get your boxes from home depot, walmart or the like – as expected they are usually cheap and not the best.  Your movers will have high quality moving supplies

Basic Household Moving Services

  • Loading – Loading your moving truck.  Your movers should provide moving blankets shrink wrap etc. Your personal contents are systematically loaded onto our moving trucks where they will be transported to their new location.
  • Transportation – The transport of items to the new residence
  • Unloading – Part of a basic moving service means movers will carefully place all of your boxes and furniture into each room.

Additional Household Moving Services Available That Usually Have an Additional Fee

Private local and long distance movers don’t usually charge for the services below but van lines usually do – here are the approximate fees for these moving services:

  • Unpacking – Unpacking of boxes. COST $120/hour
  • Crating – Customized crates designed to provide optimum protection for your electronic equipment, as well as large, expensive items that cannot fit into standard moving boxes and packaging.   COST $100-250/crate
  • Cars/Boats – COST $1,200-$2,000
  • Assembly/Disassembly – Most moving companies incude this in their basic services but van lines will not and usually charge for this.  COST $400-$600+
  • Third Party Services – For additional assembly and disassembly services, as well as disconnection, reconnection and cleaning services, we provide third party resources who specialize in the household moving process. Again most private moving companies will do most of these things for you including disconnecting washer/dryer etc. but a van line will charge. COST $300-$1000+
  • Shuttle Services – Private moving companies do not charge for this as they usually don’t use 53foot tractor trailers for your move but a van line charges.  COST $700-$2000+
  • Storage – Varies depending on number of days/weeks/months but expect a charge.  COST $150+/month

What You Should Expect from Your Movers

  • Transparent pricing
  • Licensed/Bonded
  • Insurance coverage
  • Strong references
  • Full service options
  • Quality customer service

Moving can be a stressful task, full of its fair share of unwelcomed surprises, but what should not come as a surprise to you is the total amount you see on your moving invoice once your move is completed.  Ask your movers for a binding and binding not to exceed estimate.

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How to Properly Pack Your Kitchen

Video

How to Properly Pack Your Kitchen

Packing your kitchen is the most time-consuming room of the house to pack.  If there is any room to leave for the movers it’s the kitchen but if you are looking to save some money moving or you are simply moving yourself you will find a little sanity in this easy guide on the proper way to pack your kitchen including cups, wine glasses, plates, tea pots, pots and pans.

Before even starting to do the actual pack, here are the first things you need to complete:

Throw Out Stuff You Don’t Use

Your kids are up and grown – why do you still have a hundred of those annoying plastic popsicle makers that are sixteen for a dollar. These are not even worth the price of the box you will need to pack them

Prepare an Essentials Box

My essentials box would look a lot like this

How to pack your kitchen
Packing a Kitchen

But if you are a better person than me, you may want to pack items that you will need soon after your movers arrive with your stuff.  This should include dishsoap, papertowels, some generic pots and pans.

Before getting started with the nitty gritty of packing your kitchen, here is a quick little video that has more info about packing in it’s 1 and a quarter minute glory than any other long, drawn out packing video you will ever watch.

First Things First

Gather your materials, here’s a quick starter list for an average kitchen

5 Large Boxes : For lightweight and hard to pack items such as plastic kitchenware, dish racks, small appliances, baking tins.

10 Medium Boxes : For heavier items such as small appliances, pots and pans, silverware, contents of drawers, cookbooks.

5 Heavy Duty Boxes ): These have thick, double-walls, perfect for packing fragile items, such as plates, glasses, stemware, wine and canisters.

Paper: You should need a 15-20 lb bundle

Tape: Get heavy duty moving tape

Sharpies

5 Glass Dividers: Dividers are extremely useful for packing glasses and wine

packing wine glasses
Packing wine glasses

Pack up Kitchen Items You Don’t Use Frequently

Start by packing those items in your cupboards and drawers that you don’t use on a daily basis. It could include:

  • Food storage containers
  • Mixing bowls
  • Cookie sheets, pie pans
  • Small appliances, such as mixers, blenders, etc.
  • Cookbooks
  • Extra dish towels, dish cloths, and oven mitts
  • Special utensils, such as barbecue tongs, meat mallets, ladles, and spatulas.

Pack up the Booze

Wine and alcohol can be packed early on in the process. Select the bottles you plan on opening between now and the move, Other items you may want to pack now are food items that are in glass bottles, but are still sealed, such as cooking oils, and liquor.

 

Pack up Dishes, Cups and Glasses

Remember to pack vertically.

moving and packing
Moving and Packing

Pack the Pantry

The pantry should’ve been sorted by now, keeping only those items you want to move. Start with the spices then work your way to the larger items. Canned goods aren’t worth moving unless you’re moving yourself. Movers will not transport perishable items so those you will have to toss.

Prepare Appliances

Defrost and clean at least 24 hours in advance. Improper preparation can lead to gas leaks, broken parts, and appliances that won’t work. Moving companies will not transport deep freezers that aren’t defrosted so you will need a week to prep your freezer.

Got the original boxes and packing materials for all your appliances? Perfect, these are your safest bet and will keep all your kitchen gadgets safe. If you do not have them, you will need to make use of medium sized boxes that are made of thick cardboard, so they support the weight of your electronic items.

Before you put anything into the boxes, clean and dry every kitchen appliance. Disassemble them and pack each component separately, particularly the fragile ones. Separate these and wrap them with bubble wrap. If you do not have cushioning packing material, you can wrap them up with newspapers.

Packing and Moving
Packing For Moving

Start by placing heavier items in the box first and place the smaller items on top. As you pack up the box, fill up the remaining space between each component with wadded up newspaper. Now find the owner’s manual of each appliance, and tape this on the box. This will make reassembling everything simplier later on.