Category: Blog

Ask the right questions to ensure an easy move abroad.

International moves amplify the already abundant concerns homeowners have when they relocate. As you prepare for your move abroad, be sure to ask these essential questions:

1. How do you determine the cost of the move?

Your mover’s quote may not be entirely accurate, as there remain certain unknowns that you won’t find out until the day of the move. However, the quote should give you a pretty good idea of expected costs. Ask your moving company about the various factors considered when determining the initial quote, and what additional factors go into the final price.

2. What items am I not allowed to bring into my new country?

While your clothes, books, furniture and other belongings will easily make it through customs, certain possessions may not cross customs into various countries. This is especially true for firearms or other assorted weapons. Customs may also bar you from bringing certain plants, animals, or natural resources that could pose a threat to your new habitat.

3. What are my options for insuring my belongings?

An international move is a rigorous ordeal for your possessions. Despite the best of care, certain items might not make it to the intended destination. Safeguard your belongings by evaluating all your moving insurance options beforehand and selecting the coverage that is right for you. The peace of mind of knowing your valuables have adequate protection will be well worth the price.

4. Do you have any options for storage?

It may not be realistic to move all your items into your new living space as soon as you arrive in your new country. Large items sometimes need special arrangements. Be sure to ask about storage options in your new country. You need to have a game plan in case your new abode isn’t as spacious as you initially thought.

Curious as to the role Nilson Van & Storage experts will play in your international move? Contact us today to learn more about our international moving services.

A simple three-step process for clearing customs when moving abroad would be a great resource for those moving out of the country – but each country is completely different when it comes to clearing customs. For that reason, it is impossible to give a comprehensive multi-step process that covers every situation. However, we can provide you with guidelines that will expedite the process.

Knowledge Is Power

Before your move, take the time to familiarize yourself with the guidelines for clearing customs in the country to which you are moving. Because each country is different, it is important to do your research. It is also critical to know what items cannot enter that country or which have restrictions on them. This will save you tremendous grief later.

Organization Is Key

Getting organized before your move to a new country is the key to quickly and easily clearing customs. You must label, number and inventory every single box, so that customs can pull it and know exactly what should be in it.

Be Prompt in Contacting Customs

As soon as you arrive at your new country, contacting customs needs to be at the top of your to-do list. Claiming your belongings and getting them cleared will prevent them from possibly winding up in storage, where they will accumulate additional storage/demurrage fees.

The most effective way to handle clearing customs when moving abroad is to have your professional movers guide you. They have the experience and know-how to pave the way. Contact our expert team at Nilson Van now to get more details on the process for clearing customs when moving abroad.

Uncover pro tips to nail your next residential move from those who do it every day.

Whether you are moving for the first or twenty-first time, we have pro tips to help you nail your next residential move. Moving is a pain, but those who repeatedly do it get better at it because they learn something new from challenging experiences. Those who work as professional movers deal with moves every day and can help you get it right.

What to Do One Month or More before Your Next Move

• Schedule your movers/packers as far in advance as possible to ensure the dates you want.
• Invest time in organizing and decluttering. Many of the things in your home go unused from year to year and can be re-homed rather than moved.

Packing Pro Tips

• Make sure drawers that will stay filled during a move have no breakable, spillable, valuable, or sentimental items in them.
• If doing DIY packing, start with the basement, attic or garage and then pack one room at a time.
• If you have professional packers handling your move, be sure to group boxes properly to help things go more efficiently.
• Clearly mark all boxes, and add a special marking to indicate those that should take priority when opening.
• Create a first-night box to carry with you or load last onto the truck. It should include toilet paper, hand soap, towels, some cleaning products, shower curtain, basic hygiene products, disposable plates and cutlery, and snacks.

Bonus Moving Tips

• Know the basics of your new city or town before you get there. Online resources make it easy to discover the favorite pizza place, local grocery stores and more.
• Move the following items yourself: prescription drugs, collections, family photos, important papers, cash, moving documents, and jewelry.

Take the stress out of your next residential move by handing it over to the professionals. Contact our team at Nilson Van today to get a free quote on your move.

Whether your move is across town or the country, the benefits of a full-service mover are tremendous. Just the reduction in stress alone is a major reason to choose full-service movers. But there are other perks to that you will love:

1.The Speed of the Move

When homeowners choose to do a move on their own, it often takes months to completely pack up the house and days to get things in the right place upon arrival at the new house. However, with full-service movers houses get packed up in a day. Everything is carefully labeled and set up at the new home just as fast.

2.Delivery Where You Want It

You can get items delivered to two different locations. If some of your belongings are going to storage or a different location, your movers will use different color tags when packing and deliver the right items to the right places.

3.Unpacking and Set Up

Another of the benefits of full-service movers is that they unpack and set up your home upon arrival at your new address. For busy households it is ideal, saving tremendous amounts of time. You can be up and functional in no time.

4.Safety of Your Belongings

Full-service movers are professionals who can safeguard your belongings as you move from one location to another. A rented moving truck is a huge target for thieves who see them as an opportunity to take advantage of exhausted individuals who may not have taken the proper precautions to secure the vehicle. With full-service movers, you have the bonus of all your goods insured against loss.

5.Save Yourself

Moving is physically hard. Even for those who are in shape, moving can be physically taxing and can lead to injury. By hiring full-service movers, you save wear and tear on your body and your belongings as your move is in the hands of professionals who do such moves on a daily basis.

A move is easily one of the most stressful situations for you. Minimize the stress of moving and enjoy the many other benefits a full-service mover can deliver. Contact our team of expert movers at Nilson Van & Storage now to get a price quote on your upcoming move.

An office relocation requires a lot of preparation and organization. There are many important things to consider, and if you neglect any of them, you may cut your customers off from your business, albeit temporarily. To avoid any interruption in business, we have several tips to help you simplify your office relocation:

1. Designate a few key staff members who will handle the organization of your move. This ensures everyone else can focus on business as usual. With careful organization, no tasks or customers will fall through the cracks.
2. Plan your move during downtime if possible. Pick the slowest time of the week, month or year to minimize disruptions.
3. Communicate with your staff. Ensure they are aware of moving timelines and any new guidelines that apply at the new location.
4. Plan for things to go wrong. What is the backup plan if there are IT issues? Is there a work from home option for at least some of your staff?
5. Pay attention to security. During a move, security of sensitive information can become compromised. Delegate someone to take care of security.
6. Plan for document management and moving of important documents to happen before the actual move date.
7. If your office has an open floor plan, assign a number to each workspace and pre-assign employees to a space. Provide labels for your employees so they can tag all office equipment and boxes with their new workspace number and their last name. Label the workspaces to ensure the movers can deposit and set things up in the correct spots.

These office relocation tips will streamline your efforts as you change spaces. The other way to simplify your office move is to trust it to experienced movers like our team at Nilson Van & Storage. Contact us today to get an estimate on your next office move.

When packing for a move, the number of potential packing mistakes is almost endless. Over the years we’ve discovered the most common ones and how to avoid them. By packing properly, you avoid breakage and save time upon arrival at your new home. Know about these seven common packing mistakes and avoid the pitfalls of them:

1.Broken Items Incorrectly Wrapped

When you are packaging breakables, it is necessary to wrap each item individually and use additional packing materials around the edge of the boxes to avoid broken items and chipped edges. Use household linens to line boxes, and invest in large amounts of packing paper to protect your household goods.

2.Items Soiled in the Move

The reality is that you are likely moving some things that are less clean than others. To avoid dirt and grease from bikes and tools transferring to sofas and mattresses, cover all upholstered items completely. Your professional movers should be able to provide the proper materials to cover them

When packing dishes and other items, resist the urge to use newspaper to wrap them. Ink from newsprint transfers to dishes and will result in you needing to spend extra time cleaning them on arrival at your new home.

3.Not Properly Protecting Your Items

Invest in a variety of sizes of boxes to adequately protect large and bulky items. If you choose to use a full-service mover, they will provide all the necessary boxes.

4.Melting Items

If you are a candle lover moving during warm weather, there is a big possibility your candles will melt during the move. Pack them individually, away from linens, wood, books and anything else that could suffer damage from melted wax.

5.Leaking Items

Don’t pack electronic items or anything sensitive to liquid with items that could leak. For kitchen packing, most people will pay attention to such things, but remember that there are also things in the bathroom and garage that leak. Decorative items like snowglobes can also break and leak during moving and destroy items packed with them.

6.Random Boxes

Organize what will get packed to avoid frustration when unpacking. Before movers come, ensure good organization with everything at least in the room it belongs in. This will make things easier to find when you arrive at your new home.

7.Disorganization

You can save money and time by purging before you pack. How much you have to move determines your moving rates. Getting rid of unused items and decluttering will help tremendously in the amount of effort the move takes and how much it will cost.

Avoid packing mistakes completely by opting to use a full-service mover. Contact our team of professionals at Nilson Van & Storage today and get all the details of what we can do to make your move as smooth as possible.

Your moving company can take the stress out of your move and help you manage an overwhelming experience. However, no two moving companies are alike. So what should a customer do to get the most out of their moving company? We’ve found six foolproof tactics to maximize the process:

1. 1. Treat your movers with kindness. Welcome them into your home and have a variety of snacks and drinks available for them.
   2. Communicate with them about your expectations for the move and then let them do their jobs.
   3. Get organized before they arrive. Everything should be in the correct room. Any downsizing and decluttering should be complete. This will expedite the efforts to get your home packed.
   4. Label items that will go to an alternate destination, like storage. Movers can deliver to more than one final destination, but these very clear labels make sure items get to the proper place.
   5. Disassemble furniture to save time. Your movers can spend their time taking apart your furniture, or they can focus on more important things, such as packing boxes.
   6. Be ready for the moving company to start when they arrive on the scheduled day. This means being out of bed and dressed. Breakfast should be over. Children and pets should be elsewhere to make things easier for everyone.

Get the most out of your moving company by using these foolproof tactics. To get moving services you can trust, you need a company that has experience on its side. Contact our expert team at Nilson Van & Storage now to get a quote on your next move.