Category: Blog

Moving is hard, but moving a business is even harder. Learn how getting professional help with your office relocation can make a difference.

Do you have office relocation on your mind? When moving offices, things can get difficult and stressful…FAST. This is often the result of the added responsibility of running a business during the move. And if business operations stop for the duration of the move, there’s the added stress of making the move go as quickly as possible to return to business as usual. Many business owners are better off hiring a professional moving company for office relocation. Here are a few reasons why:

#1: Avoiding Breakage

Professional movers get paid to move. This sounds obvious and it is, but it emphasizes the point that professional movers know what they’re doing. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible for something to break during a move, but the chances are smaller when a professional packs and moves it themselves. There’s also the advantage that if you purchase extra insurance, should something break during the move, you may be able to have it repaired or replaced under the moving insurance.

#2: Allow You to Focus on Your Business

The biggest reason why an office move should use professional movers is to allow employees and owners focus on their business and not the move. A business owner or employee can help with the move, but that will usually result in money lost. This is because a professional mover can handle a moving task at a lower cost than a non-moving professional, such as a construction worker, accountant or doctor. And even on the off chance that a non-moving professional is good at moving, the time they divert to handling a move usually means lost income for the business that exceeds any cost savings.

#3: Anticipate Potential Problems

You don’t know what you don’t know. One of the biggest advantages of hiring a professional moving company is that they understand the potential problems that may arise during the move. They can plan for it and either avoid it altogether or take steps to reduce its impact on the move.

If you need a professional moving company to handle your office relocation, don’t hesitate to reach out to our expert team at Nilson Van and Storage.

If you want a residential move to go smoothly, consider the following planning tips.

A residential move can be quite a stressful experience. At the very least, it’s a lot of hard work. To make your next residential move go as smoothly as possible, you‘ll need to plan. The following is a list of two important tips when going through the planning stage of a residential move.

Tip #1: Calculate Your Budget

Calculating your budget refers to not just money, but also time. During a move, time and money are almost the same for many people. Maybe you can save $400 by packing boxes yourself instead of hiring a packer. But if that means missing two days from work and you earn $200 per day, you didn’t save any money.

So, one way or another, you’ll need to calculate how much time and money you have for the move. If you have plenty of money and not much time, you should consider hiring a company that can handle as much of the move as possible. If you have plenty of time and little money, you’ll want to take care of as much of the move as you can yourself. If you have plenty of time and money, consider yourself extremely lucky. If you don’t have time or money, you’ll have to figure out how a move will even be possible. You might have to consider selling or donating many of your belongings instead of moving them.

Tip #2: Pack Boxes and Gather Supplies Early

If you know well in advance that you’ll be moving, you may be able to save some money by collecting moving supplies before the move. You can save a few boxes and packing materials here and there from online orders and friends. You can also collect newspapers and magazines to use as packing materials.

Finally, you might want to start packing boxes little by little when you no longer need certain items. For instance, let’s say you’re going to move in the winter. When the summer season ends, you can pack your summer wardrobe into boxes instead of hanging them back up in your closet. Then when it’s time to move, you have several boxes ready for loading onto a transport vehicle.

Most people don’t have the luxury of having plenty of time or money for a residential move. However, moving companies like Nilson Van and Storage can assist with the move to make it go as smoothly as possible. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help.

A residential move across the country can go more smoothly by following professional advice.

If you’re about to start a residential move across the country, you might have some anxiety or worry about the move going well. Here are a few tips you can follow to reduce some of that worry and ensure a smooth move:

Tip #1: Plan Early

A big move over a great distance takes planning. You need to make arrangements for your new home to have the utilities up and running by the time you arrive, take care of any financial concerns like finding a new bank and figure out the process for getting new government documents, such as a driver’s license or ID card. Then there’s setting a date for the movers to arrive and having everything packed up for them. It sounds simple, but it will take planning. The earlier you set all this up and figure it out, the easier the move will be.

Tip #2: Get Rid of Items You Don’t Want or Need

To reduce the amount of stuff you need to pack, get rid of things before the move. Every item you sell or give away before the move means that many fewer boxes you have to pack, more available space in the moving truck and fewer boxes you’ll need to unpack after you arrive at your new home.

Tip #3: Label the Boxes

This should be a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget to write on a box what’s inside or where the box should go after unloading from the truck. Taking a moment to label the box can prevent the wasted time and hassle of opening it, then closing it and carrying it to another part of the house.

To get more tips on how to conduct a cross-country residential move as efficiently as possible, get in touch with our team of moving professionals at Nilson Van and Storage. We can help you plan the details of your move, making it go as smoothly as possible.

Keeping fragile items safe during an international move requires taking additional precautions.

Planning an international move? If you’re moving to another country, your personal belongings may be subject to additional handling by movers, shippers and government officials. To make sure everything gets to its intended destination in one piece, take the following extra steps:

1.Use a Box within a Box

Most items get put into a box with basic padding around the item, such as old clothing, foam packing peanuts or bubble wrap. But this won’t always be enough to protect the items. To add an extra layer of protection, put especially fragile items in a small box and pack it as if you will mail it. Then, pack up this smaller box and put it into a larger box that contains items that are not fragile.

2.Include Accurate and Detailed Customs Declarations

Customs is one reason that damage to fragile items can occur. Even with perfect packing, if a customs officer has to open the package, there’s a good chance he or she will not repack the box very well. So the best thing to do is avoid a customs officer from having to open the box in the first place. You can do this by providing complete and accurate information about what’s in the box. Also, make sure you’re not trying to move something that your new home country prohibits.

3.Mail the Item to Your New Home

Another option is to avoid dealing with freight shippers and movers. You can do this by mailing the item. The item will still need to go through customs, so make sure you only send something the new country allows and provide complete and accurate customs declarations. But at the very least, you can avoid movers from handling the item and possibly breaking it or not packing it properly.

If you have a lot of fragile items to move internationally or simply want help with the process, contact Nilson Van and Storage today. Our expert team is ready to help you with your international move.

When the residential move is almost over, dealing with damages is the last thing on your mind.

Even the most careful residential move might result in some damage to the occasional item. Depending on the price of the damaged items, you may want to seek reimbursement from your moving or insurance company. The following is a brief overview of what you should do when it comes to damaged belongings during a move:

Step 1: Review the Moving Contract

Unless you have extra moving insurance or file a claim under your homeowner’s or renter’s policy, you will only get about 60 cents per pound for your damaged items. You’ll want to confirm if this is the case with your moving company by examining your moving contract. This contract will also outline what you should do if you suffer damage and if there are exceptions from coverage.

Step 2: Do Not Sign Anything Until You Find All Damage

Before signing anything that confirms all items are at their new destination as well as the condition of the items, be sure you have identified any and all damages for which you intend to seek reimbursement. If you identify damages later, it will be harder to claim those damages took place during the move or are otherwise the responsibility of the moving company.

Step 3: File the Claim

After you find all the damage, go ahead and file a claim, whether it’s with your moving company or insurance company. The sooner you file the claim, the better. If filing a claim under your home or renter’s insurance, keep in mind that a deductible may apply and drastically lower whatever recovery you can obtain from your insurance company. In some cases, you might be better off only getting 60 cents per pound from the moving company.

If your most recent move didn’t go well and resulted in a lot of damage, think about using a different moving company next time. If your residential move is about to begin, contact our expert team at Nilson Van and Storage to handle your moving needs.

Professional packers provide a convenient way to move that will help you sleep at night.

There’s a reason professional packers get paid for packing and moving items – it’s because they’re good at it and know what they’re doing. But like many other individuals who are very good at something, they won’t do it for free. In fact, it may seem like it’s not worth the money for hiring a moving company to help you on your next move. But nothing could be further from the truth! Here are a few reasons why.

Reason #1: Movers Help Save Time

Packing a box or moving personal belongings from an office or home is relatively straightforward. But can the average person do it as quickly and efficiently as a professional packer? Probably not. A good parallel is professional cooks and chefs. Many individuals who cook as a hobby can probably prepare a meal that is comparable in quality, presentation and taste as an executive chef at an exclusive restaurant. But how long would take it take the person who cooks for a hobby to prepare a top-notch dish? Probably an entire day (or more) filled with practice, trial and error. And how long does the professional chef take to make the same dish? Under 30 minutes of actual work.

Reason #2: Packers Make Breakage Less Likely

Not only are they fast, but they know how to pack to create the smallest risk of breakage. Professional movers and packers understand how to stack and place boxes in a moving truck. They know which packing materials or items don’t stand up well to shock and crushing forces. They know when extra packing material and protection is necessary and when it’s not.

Reason #3: They Provide Peace of Mind

Even if you could pack as safely and quickly as a professional, there’s a good chance you will still have a lot of worry about whether you packed everything correctly. Even if you did, if something were to break or go wrong, the buck stops with you. There’s no one else to blame or compensate you for the loss. With a professional moving company, they have basic insurance to protect against loss or breakage and can help you find additional insurance toy compensate you if something breaks during the move. This is peace of mind that only professionals can provide.

If you are on the fence about handling a move yourself or hiring professional packers, contact our team at Nilson Van and Storage to discuss some other advantages you receive when you hire a skilled and experienced moving company.