Having analyzed the pros and cons of Move Yourself vs. Hiring Movers, you have made the smart decision to hire professional packers and movers to take care of your house move for you. After all, it’s the choice that makes a lot of sense when you’re moving long distance, when you can’t persuade your friends to help you out, or when you just don’t wish to go through all the stressful hassle of moving on your own.
And with Moving day almost knocking on your front door, you may start to wonder what to do when movers arrive. What to do during your full-service move is definitely an important question to answer now that professionals are taking over your residential move:
- Should you have done something before movers arrive?
- Should you offer to help your movers? And if yes, how?
- Should you just stand aside and let movers do what they do best?
It’s normal to be unsure what to do while movers are moving your stuff, especially if you’re using a moving company for the first time. So, read on to learn your own leading role on Moving day.
Be prepared for your packers and movers
Before you can worry about what to do while movers are packing up your things, you need to make sure you are ready for the arrival of the pros. Here are the major things you have to do to prepare for movers and packers:
- Have only items worth packing. Inventory your home before your packers come and leave only the things that you must take with you at all costs. Yes, get rid of unwanted stuff to cut your moving expenses and save time, money and space in the long run. How to get rid of unwanted stuff?
- Defrost and clean up your fridge. You can’t do this task on Moving day itself because, even if you choose to clean your fridge after the move, the defrosting process alone can take approximately 8 hours. Click here to learn how to prepare your refrigerator for moving.
- Pack up essentials boxes. It’s a good idea to start preparing your boxes of absolute essentials a few days prior to Moving day. Important items such as documents, valuables, prescription medicine, and a number of other life-savers should never leave your side anyway. What to pack in an open-first box?
Learn more: How to prepare for Moving day
Help packers be more productive in their work
Your packers and movers are already here – what should you do NOW?
Just before they start work – packing up your home and loading them into the moving van, there are a few significant things you should do to guarantee a quick and effective packing job.
- Welcome your packers and movers. Walk the hired movers around your home and show them what needs to be packed up and loaded. They will have a pretty good idea what to expect from the in-home visual inspection they did right before they issued you with price quotes. Still, it’s your duty to provide them with full and complete information without withholding any critical details.
- Be mindful of your movers’ needs. Your packers and movers are not pre-programmed robots – they are just humans like you. What to do for movers is to provide them with easy access to the bathroom, have liquid soap and disposable paper towels ready. Also, offer refreshments to your hired workers – bottles of water or other non-alcoholic drinks, including coffee and tea, to keep them hydrated. Finally, provide some snacks, sandwiches or order them lunch (pizza usually works ok) to keep their energy levels elevated throughout the move.
See also: Moving day essentials you must have
Help your movers to cut your move time
Your packers have already started work. As a rule of thumb, your movers won’t need you to supervise their work (they know what to do!) but they may still need you to answer some questions or provide specific instructions. Also, they will probably need you to review and sign certain papers during the home packing process.
Here’s a list of the things you should do when movers are packing up your stuff in order to cut the move time and thus save money. Keep in mind that reducing the overall move time with even one hour can save you around one hundred dollars, or sometimes even more.
- If you’re really serious about reducing the move time and saving some cash in the process, then you should definitely consider packing by yourself the easiest things to pack in a home – clothes, shoes, and books.
- Take down photos, pictures, portraits or any other frames pieces of art from the walls. Also, remove any wall clocks, mirrors, or other decorative elements that may be hanging from the walls of your home. Again, it’s the little things that will add up and save precious time in the end.
- Fold up your bedding and bare your mattress to be ready for packing. Place blankets, pillows, and sheets inside a moving box to save time.
- Disconnect and unplug all electronic devices, lamps and electric appliances. Take photos of the way your electronics are wired up to save precious time when you get down to organizing those cords after the move.
- Set aside the things you don’t want your packers and movers to pack and move – these are the very items you will take with you. We don’t only mean the contents of your essentials boxes.
Read also: How to make Moving day less stressful
Ensure moving day safety
If you want to know how to help movers in the best possible way, then do consider providing a good level of safety during the most unpredictable day when moving between two homes.
- Small children. Small children should be kept away from the packing and moving action as things can get rather dangerous. Create a safe room for small kids to be looked after, and even think about hiring a babysitter for the day so that you can concentrate on your tasks. Should you hire a babysitter on Moving day?
- Pets. Pets don’t have any business running around on Moving day either. Keep your animal friend in a room away from the relocation madness or leave him or her with a trusted neighbor until the packers and movers have completed their job.
Very important: How to prevent accidents and injuries when moving home
Do nothing special
What to do when movers are there in your home? Well, you’re paying for a full-service move so you may just do nothing while packers are packing and movers are moving your household items. How to ensure Moving day help?
Of course, you can go out and run some errands while your hired workers labor away – you can even try to enjoy your free time and meet up with friends and family members before you move away. In the meantime, it’s important that you appoint a trusted person to stay in your home in case questions, doubts, or problems arise. Whatever you choose to do, just be there when the packers and movers finish their job so that you can tackle all the details and paperwork.
Oh, and don’t forget to prepare some cash for tips.
Must-read: Serious moving day mistakes to avoid
My family and I are moving to a new area pretty far away, and we aren’t totally sure how to prepare. I like that this article is full of useful tips to prepare for moving day. I never thought about defrosting the fridge, but it makes a lot of sense, to do this before moving it so that it doesn’t melt and make a mess.
It is hard for me to just watch someone else working in my house while I am not helping. Making them a lunch is a great idea of what I could do so that I still feel that I am useful while moving. I’ll be sure to follow your tip while using a full-service moving company next time.
Thanks for your tip about keeping small children away from the packing and moving action. It makes sense that things can get dangerous and you wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt. I think that hiring a moving service for my move next month would be beneficial because I am so busy!
I’ll actually be moving in two months time so I’ll for sure have to get help doing it. I also have a lot of things and I’ll have to have someone help me pack them. I’ll for sure have to hire someone to help me move and as you said, I’ll do all that I can to help them make the job go by as smooth as possible. As you said, it would be a good idea to ask them what they need me to do to help them out the best as I don’t want to just not have anything prepared.
I like what you said about how people should prepare towels, refreshments, and other things that your movers may appreciate. My son is looking to haul all of his photography gear to a new state. I think this tip will surely help the movers work a lot better in his studio.
You’ve got great tips for moving and packing here. I like how you said that we need to be prepared for the packers and movers to come. We’re storing some of our stuff before our move, so preparing for all that will be good.
Thanks for the advice to get rid of everything not worth keeping before you hire movers. I know I only wear about half of my clothes and should really get rid of the rest. I will have to make sure I’m done with that before hiring help with packing and moving.
I liked that you pointed out that you should pack up your essentials into boxes. After all, knowing where some of those things are is very important. It might be smart to keep them in a separate area during the move.
I thought it was smart that you recommended packing boxes that contain absolute essentials a few days before your moving day. My brother accepted a promotion for his job that is going to require him to move in a relatively short amount of time. It would be good for him to hire a moving company so that he can focus on his new job and not on moving.
Knowing that there are so many ways to make sure that moving day is safe and easy is nice. The idea to get a babysitter was a wonderful tip that my sister might like knowing. She is looking into getting a residential moving service and not watching the kids might make it easier.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Hope this will help the shifting families while searching for reliable shifting companies.
Thanks for mentioning to defrost and clean out your refrigerator prior to moving it out of the house. I will be moving to a new home soon with my wife and want to make sure that we are able to quickly transfer what we need. We will likely need to rent a moving truck, so I will make sure to find one that gives us enough time to move.
Thanks for the suggestion to remember the movers are humans and need access to things like soap, paper towels, water, and food. My husband and I are moving next month, so we’ve been trying to figure out the rules of etiquette in terms of working with a moving company. I’m glad you mentioned this aspect particularly; I’ll have to start planning a great lunch for the workers! Hopefully we can find a great company in our area to work with!
I found your suggestions on what to do before the movers come helpful. I like how you said to get rid of stuff that you don’t need to move as this will cut down on time and money spent on moving. My husband and I will be moving soon. We will have to keep this in mind.
I really like how you said to defrost and clean up your fridge. Moving a fridge that has food in it still is really bothersome. I’ll make sure that mine is moving-ready for when they come over.
I like your suggestion to provide drinks and snacks to the movers to keep their energy levels up. My husband and I are getting ready to move, so I’ve been looking for tips online to help everything go smoothly. I hadn’t thought to provide snacks for the workers, so thanks for sharing that tip.
This was an interesting article about moving. My parents will be moving later this year. I’ll help them look for movers to hire.