When it comes to shipping your moving boxes and belongings, you should look for the best you can afford. The last thing you want is to pay for a company to box and ship your things and then discover they broke half of the contents during the move. When choosing movers, keep in mind:

1. Bad reviews are more important than good ones. The good ones could be fake, but the ones are likely to be from dissatisfied customers. Do a Google search for the name of the company you’re considering. See what’s being said about it and how realistic the complaints are. Somebody complaining that the delivery was three hours late is not the same as somebody complaining of two boxes disappearing.
2. Get referrals if you can. Ask friends, family members and coworkers for a recommendation. If somebody else used the company with success, you’re already in a better place than if you were hiring a faceless company off the Internet.
3. Don’t hire somebody who’s too cheap. If you get similar quotes from most shipping companies and a single very low one, ask yourself why. Will the services covered be less? What’s missing? Does the price include insurance? Make sure you find out why you’re getting such a bargain.

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The wisest thing when moving is to leave your garden behind. This is mainly because moving plants is complicated and expensive, and there’s no guarantee that the plants will make it to their destination without getting damaged along the way. Sometimes, however, you might have your own reasons for wanting to bring your greens along: maybe you have a priced herb garden or an expensive orchid or other special flower. While moving with your plants is not easy, it’s certainly not impossible if you follow a few simple tips.

1. Check in advance to see if there restrictions regarding moving living things to the area where you’re going. Certain states don’t allow you to drive in with plants.

2. Don’t give the plants to your moving company but instead move them yourself in your car. Some moving companies will not allow plants at all in their trucks, but even those that do will not be able to guarantee their safe arrival.

3. Take a few cardboard boxes and pack the potted plants inside. Make sure the box is completely filled so there’s no shifting of the pots when driving. Don’t close the lid of the boxes, so the plants can breathe properly.

4. Fill any empty spaces in between pots with bubble wrap. This will steady up the containers and make the boxes more firm and secure.

5. Place the cardboard boxes in the back seat of your car. Fill the space in front of them, where your feet would go and against the back of the front seat, with luggage or other containers, so the boxes can’t shift forward.

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Moving can be dangerous to your possessions. Unless you plan carefully and pack your moving boxes well, you risk things breaking or becoming damaging in the process. To make the moving easier and protect your valuables at the same time, keep these three things in mind:

1. Don’t pack anything that it’s on the banned list. Most moving companies have a list of things that are not covered by insurance and that they won’t put any special care on. These include personal papers, DVDs and CDs, photo albums, laptops, antiques, collectibles and jewelry. Anything that is not protected by the warranty should be taken with you instead of packed into cardboard boxes.

2. Wrap and cushion anything that can be chipped, scratched or dented with moving supplies. Make sure all mirrors and glass objects are properly packed and surrounded by pellets and bubble wrap, so they don’t break due to movement. Also, protect valuable furniture (especially upholstered pieces) by wrapping them with moving blankets or plastic wrap. This will prevent cuts and dents, as well as stains.

3. Buy extra insurance for special items such as pool tables and pianos, or contract a separate company that specializes in moving this type of objects.

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Whether starting to pack for your move or storing the moving supplies for a while, keeping your moving boxes in perfect condition will ensure that your valuables will make to their destination in one piece.

• Don’t put your moving boxes together until you’re ready to fill them up. Until then, store them flat and against a wall or other structure. This will prevent the moving boxes from bending or breaking.
• Always fill up moving boxes all the way to the top. Empty spaces can cause the moving boxes to crush, not only risking the items inside but also ruining the box itself. If you can’t fill out the cardboard boxes with items, fill the remaining space with moving supplies such as crumbled up packing paper, bubble wrap or house hold items such as towels or sheets, which will act as extra padding.
• When stacking up moving boxes, put the heaviest at the bottom to prevent crushing lighter cardboard boxes.
• Store your packing boxes in a dry environment. Humidity can not only ruin the items inside the box, but it can weaken the cardboard boxes and cause it to break open.
• Distribute weight evenly inside the moving boxes. This will make them easier to pick up and less likely to give out because of the weight.

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1. Place heavy items at the bottom of the moving boxes and lighter items on top, even if they’re made of resistant material. This will ensure that they’re not crushed or broken by the weight.
2. Tape the bottom of the moving boxes to ensure that they don’t open or break during transport, risking the contents. Tape the top to prevent moving boxes from opening and the contents spilling.
3. Use lots of bubble wrap or foam pellets around fragile items. The more, the better. Larger items can also be wrapped with a moving blanket to prevent scratches or chips.
4. Make sure cardboard boxes are not underfilled, as this can cause them to crush when piled. If there’s empty space at the top, use it to pack blankets, towels or other cushioning items that can play double duty and provide additional protection.
5. Clearly label the moving boxes as Fragile. Use waterproof markers or better yet, buy red stickers with the word Fragile on them, which are easier to spot even at a distance.

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If you’re packing and moving your fridge, there are some steps you need to follow in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.

• Turn off the refrigerator and empty it at least 48 hours before it has to be packed. This will melt any ice residues left inside, as well as dissipate any lingering odors (keep the door open to accelerate the process).
• For persistent odors, place an open box of baking soda inside the fridge. Clean with warm water and dish soap.
• Remove any lose parts such as drawers and shelves. Wrap those pieces with bubble wrap and pack them securely into a cardboard box.
• Secure the door with moving supplies such as stretch wrap, packing tape or tie a cord around the fridge to prevent the door from moving and banging. Electrical cords should be taped against the back of the fridge.
• Wrap the refrigerator with moving blankets to prevent scratches and chips.
• Use a heavy-duty dolly to move the fridge or leave it to professional movers. It will not only save you from back pain, but will also ensure that the fridge remains in top shape.
• Because fridges should be transported vertically (to prevent compressor oil from damaging the coils), it’s important that the item is secured inside the truck using ropes or being placed in between other heavy-duty items. Shifting can cause damage not only to the refrigerator but also to the moving boxes and furniture around it.

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When packing and moving, one of the major considerations is making sure things make it to their destination in the best possible condition. If you’re hiring a full-service moving company, packers will ensure that everything is packed securely, as the insurance the company provides partially depends on this. However, if you’re packing the items yourself, you need to follow a few simple rules if you want to ensure that your grandmother’s china will make it across the country in one piece.

When in doubt, wrap it again. Add additional paper, use moving supplies such as bubble wrap or moving blankets to protect delicate items. You can also cover the inside of a box with any of the three items before you place any objects inside to ensure nothing will break even if the boxes bump into each other.

Make it tight. Don’t leave extra space for items inside a cardboard box to ship or slide. This will cause things to crash against one another and increase the chances that items will chip or scratch. If there’s empty space in the corners or at the top, use bubble wrap or paper to fill it out.

Stick to smaller packing boxes. Large moving boxes are heavier, more likely to break or sag and less likely to be filled to the brim with stuff. As a note always fill empty space in your boxes with crumbled packing paper or newspaper.

Label the packing boxes. Buy Fragile stickers to indicate which cardboard boxes need to be handled with extra care.

Don’t pack anything that has sentimental value. Insurance from the moving company will not cover items with sentimental value, such as photo albums, documents or even DVDs. If you bear the idea of losing something, take it along rather than putting it away with the rest of the items to be shipped.

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Packing and moving will always be stressful, no matter how well you prepare for it. There are ways, however, that you can make the most of the your situation and reduce the tension for everybody involved.

STEP 1: PURGE

Get rid of anything you don’t love, don’t need or can be replaced for less money than it would take to move it. Buy enough cardboard boxes to pack everything you own but look at things twice before you put them into a box. Things you haven’t worn, read or used for longer than a year are unlikely to be useful again. Donate them, give them to a friend or put them out for recycling. Less stuff means less time spent packing and unpacking and less money spent on moving boxes of stuff you don’t really need.

STEP 2: TAKE YOUR TIME

Start packing as soon as you know moving time is coming. Put away things you don’t need on your everyday life, like off-season clothing and sport equipment, and holiday items. If you have a large collection of books, CDs or ceramic items, take time to find the appropriate moving boxes to support their weight and protect against falls and crashes. For a full house or apartment, you should start packing boxes at least five weeks before the scheduled moving time.

STEP 3: BUY HIGH-QUALITY SUPPLIES
Cheap cardboard boxes may seem like a good idea –Until their bottom gives out because of the weight of your book collection. The last thing you need when packing boxes for your move is to have to worry about thin boxes that won’t protect its contents or won’t allow for more than a couple of pounds of content. The same goes for packing tape (you want to make sure it stays strong even if it gets wet), and other moving supplies such as bubble wrap and wardrobe boxes.

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Items of sentimental value should not be packed and shipped in cardboard boxes. This is especially important as a personal protection, as shipping companies cannot insure items that have no real value. Also, there are no guarantees that the items will arrive in optimal condition. To avoid potential problems, some companies prohibit the packing and shipping of personal items.

Items considered as having only sentimental or personal value include:

• Prescription Medicine
• Computer Discs
• DVDs and Tapes
• Address Books
• Cell Phones, PDAs and Personal Organizers
• Jewelry
• Wedding Dress
• Financial Documents
• Photo Albums
• School Records
• Medical & Dental Records
• Keys (to car, safe, home)

If you need to ship any of these items, you have two options: either pack them inside furniture or their own containers before placing them into the cardboard boxes, or consider taking them along with you when you move. Since these items cannot be ensured, you will not be able to claim a lost if they’re damaged in transit.

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After hours of stressful packing, moving and shipping, there are few things worse than discovering your collection of wine was destroyed en route. For one thing, there will be nothing to celebrate with that first night over pizza while sitting on boxes. And broken wine bottles can be a mess.

Moving boxes and packing supplies for wine take a little extra consideration, but with a few extras there is no reason you cannot enjoy that Oregon pinot noir without any drama.

• For wine bottles, packing boxes are best chosen in the case size. A case of wine contains twelve bottles at 750 milliliters. Any wine store receives their wine in cases. However, most of these boxes are of the thin variety and are not made for lengthy transport.
• Bottles are separated from each other in these boxes with interlinking cardboard in the shape of a grid. This type of box will generally be fine.
• Other considerations include not stowing wine in the back of a vehicle where they are most likely to get bounced around. Also, wine is effected by temperature. 55 degrees is the ideal for transport.
• To further protect a case, layer the bottom of the box with one layer of bubble wrap and then a towel on top of that. This will give some extra protection from a rough ride.

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