It is no secret that relocation is a hectic undertaking. As the moving day grows closer, chores seem to pile up. Before you know it, you are packing your plates in a box with sheets and wondering if its Sunday or Thursday. Do you know what would help? A moving inventory list. It will make your life during this period much more manageable and simpler. And we will demonstrate how in the following few lines.
A moving inventory list will show exactly where you stand
Proper preparation for the move, be it local, or a long distance one, is simply unfeasible without a moving inventory list. ‘How so?’, one might ask. Well, a list containing all the items of your household you plan on moving will show you exactly where you stand. This will, further, allow you to get the full grasp of the space you need. Just imagine the horror of last minute packing, and then realizing you need more boxes. When you have a list prepared, there will be no such inconveniences.
Making an inventory list early on will ensure that you can plan everything on time and with care. In addition, it will help with getting rid of the items you don’t need. You will solely end up with the items you need, and prepare accordingly.
A reliable predictor of your moving costs
Besides allowing you to plan for the number of boxes and other packing material you need to acquire, creating a moving inventory list will also be a reliable shower of the money you ought to allocate for your movers. Even more so if you are having a long distance move. The moving companies base their price on the number and the weight of the items you have. So, say that you are hiring Ancaster movers to help with your forthcoming relocation. Of course, as every other professional company, they will send an agent to your home, so that he can scope out the place and will give an exact estimate. However, instead of waiting for his arrival, you can do the estimate yourself. Knowing the approximate cost can save you from spending more money than necessary.
An indispensable aid for packing
This is the part where your moving inventory list will truly show its full potential. That is if you’ve really put some effort into making it. The more detailed it is, the easier the whole process of packing is. Let us elaborate. With all the items you intend on relocating neatly listed, you will have no problem making separate categories. After you’ve successfully done so, packing your whole household will take no longer than one afternoon. When you know where everything needs to go, you will have no problem simply laying items in their designated boxes. If the scenario was different, and you were going in without a plan, packing would pose a much more arduous and difficult challenge. However, it needn’t be. Sitting down and making a list might take some time, but it will shorten the whole process of packing tremendously. All it takes is a little bit of organization.
Keeping track of everything throughout the moving period
Naturally, after the packing, you would also want to keep track of your possessions. Luckily, making a moving inventory list will prove to be of great help in this situation as well. After all, moving is a rather complicated process for you as well as the moving company. So, in order to help you both, create the list and you will be able to:
- Checking everything throughout the relocation. Say that you have your Oakville movers coming in to load the moving truck. While they take care of their job, you can make sure that everything is indeed packed. It takes little to no effort. Simply cross the items off your list as the boxes are being loaded.
- Avoid missing items. This is especially important if your movers of choice are handling another shipment at the same time. With boxes belonging to different people, it’s fairly easy to see how movers can lose track of a certain package, or deliver it to the wrong location. However, keep in mind that losses tend to happen even if you do everything right.
- Be on top of the unpacking. For starters, you will be able to check that every box that has arrived is truly yours right on the spot. And, if it so occurs that some of them aren’t, or that you are missing a certain package, you will be able to act swiftly and in due time. After you have all your boxes where you can see them, you can proceed to separate them according to the rooms where they belong. This will make the whole unpacking time much shorter. You will avoid all those pesky situations where the box with books found its place in the bathroom. Instead, you can address each room calmly knowing that each item is in the right place. In addition, you will be able to take care of those packages that are more urgent to unpack, such as perishables and your essentials box.
How should a moving inventory list look like?
Now that you know a moving inventory list is of the utmost importance to a successful relocation, it’s only natural to wonder what it needs to contain. These are the essential rules of making one:
- Make sure it is well organized. This is best done when you have all the items in one place. Excel lists are great for this occasion. Create a spreadsheet, with a column for the item, description, value, condition, and corresponding room or box. Or go for a way you find easier to follow. A piece of paper will work just as fine.
- Create your inventory by going room to room. Ideally, you can use a separate Excel table or piece of paper for each room. Just make sure to keep them all in one place.
- Pay attention to your valuables. Meaning that you should list every piece of jewelry, electronics, and other prized possession. Consequently, you can skip listing all your t-shirts and pans.