Moving soon? Great! Your move will go infinitely more smoothly if you get all your ducks in a row. As moving experts in Markham, ON, our team at ABS Movers & Storage wants to help you out! Here is a list of areas of focus for you, prior to enlisting moving services.

Purge
There is no reason to pay to move items you don’t want in your new home. Rules of thumb:

• If you haven’t worn something in a year or longer—donate, sell, or throw it away.
• If it’s perishable—work on consuming it before Moving Day.
• If it’s broken—fix it or get rid of it.

Know where you’re moving
This seems obvious. But, seriously—know the zip codes you are moving from and to. Mileage determines a significant portion of your final payment to your professional movers.

Be prepared for questions
Do you go to the doctor without being prepared to answer questions? No. Do you bring your car to the mechanic without first calling to set an appointment and being able to answer “what’s wrong?” No. So, when you make your phone calls to compare various moving companies—be ready to answer specific questions about your move:

• Where are you moving?
• How many bedrooms do you currently have in your home?
• How many square feet of space do you currently live in?
• How many pieces of big furniture do you plan to take with you?
• Will you want to use packing services and/or equipment, or pack yourself?
• Do you have additional structures with belongings in them—attics, sheds, crawl spaces, etc.?

Be specific. The more information you provide, the more accurate your quote will be and the more smoothly your move will go (i.e.: no surprises!).

Inventory
What are in the boxes you intend to ship? Movers will want to know ahead of time approximately how many boxes you intend to move and what’s in them. Knowledge is key. If they are informed of what’s inside, this will help them to determine the approximate weight and value. Of course, if you plan to enlist the movers’ packing services—be sure to confirm that they label/inventory each box.

Value of your belongings
You must do this. Annotating the value of certain furniture pieces and other various items will help you decide the level of insurance to select/add. Accidents happen—both you and your movers will want to be prepared for that unlikely event, just in case.

Be on time/stick to a timeline
On Moving Day, be ready. Be dressed, awake, and ready to go. Markham, ON movers will likely have some questions throughout the day and they will expect your items are prepared to load quickly. Remember, you don’t want to be caught with added fees because you are unprepared for the movers’ arrival!

Have questions about moving in the Markham area? Give our kind and professional team a call here at ABS Movers & Storage! You deserve a stress-free move!

ABS Movers & Storage | 17 Dora Ave Toronto, ON M6H 1J5 | (416) 588-1499

You have made all the right decisions; you have researched the right Woodridge, ON moving company and compared a few quotes. Your move is set with ABS Movers & Storage: in three months you will transition from your little apartment in Woodridge, ON, to a 3-bedroom home in the outskirts of Toronto!

For your benefit (and ours), we thought we would support you with a moving checklist to keep you on-track and organized. Check out this guide from our professional movers:

1. Sort & Purge
   Not everything has to go with you. Ask yourself:

• Do I like this?
• Have I worn this in the past year?
• Is this still a functional piece of furniture?
• Will I ever fix/repurpose this item in order to use it in my new space?
• Have I gotten my money’s worth from these items?
• Will this work in my new space and layout?

These types of questions will help guide you in your packing process. Or, if you have selected to use our packing services in conjunction with your move, sorting and purging will help you to save money on unnecessary [paid] hours to the movers.

2. Consider creating a “moving binder”
   Keeping track of your belongings, estimates, payments, timeline, and agreements just makes good sense. Print emails and write down dates and times in a manner which makes sense to you. A “moving binder” helps keep all your information in one spot. Further, you can add tabs to keep yourself on top of the process leading up to your moving day:

• Tab: to donate
• Tab: expensive items going on truck (take pictures to catalog condition pre-move)
• Tab: estimates and contracts
• Tab: payments
• Tab: important dates (moving company arrival date, delivery date, storage dates, deposit and payment dates, final lease/new lease or mortgage payment dates, address change dates, etc.)
• Tab: receipts

3. Use it up!
   Use up whatever you can that you can not or will not be bringing with you. Example: perishable food. Think of this period of time before your move as a short season of culinary creativity… There is no sense in wasting food—attack your freezer and refrigerator with an open mind!
4. Gather measurements
   This will come in handy for your moving company. You see, our movers need to know if there are tight spaces or oversized furniture. Further, consider your destination; will all your furniture fit? Measure the rooms if at all possible. You do not want to arrive at your new home to discover an item will not fit through the door or into the room you planned.
5. Labels matter
   If you’re packing yourself, label. If not, be sure labeling is part of the packing process. Unpacking in your new home will go much, much more smoothly.

For more tips like these, give our team at ABS Movers & Storage a call! We look forward to guiding you through this exciting time!

ABS Movers & Storage | 17 Dora Ave Toronto, ON M6H 1J5 | (416) 588-1499

How many times have you moved from one residence to another? For some, this life event is a yearly thing. The workload can span from loading the bed of a pickup truck and making 103 trips back and forth, to hiring professional movers to handle everything from packing and hauling and unloading. Obviously, we would all prefer the latter.

Here at ABS Movers & Storage, we want to help the residents of Woodbridge, ON, dodge moving mistakes and experience the smoothest transition possible during a big move. Check out what we deem to be the Top 6 Moving Mistakes to avoid!

1. “Winging it”
   This mistake holds the top spot for what not to do. Even a simple move across town can quickly become a nightmare; moving takes advance planning. Simply put: there are too many potential consequences. Here are a few:

• Unnecessary wear and tear on your body
• Damage to your household goods without insurance protection
• Unexpected fuel costs
• Mis-estimated time
• Lack of/unanticipated cancellations of manpower support from friends and family

The truth is, a DIY move is not as cheap as you may expect—costs and damages (to you, your home, or your belongings) can add up fast.

2. Failing to get a proper estimate
   If you do decide to hire Woodbridge, ON movers, be sure you do your part to get a proper estimate. This means taking a thorough inventory of your belongings: dimensions, box count, value, mileage from the old to the new address, storage fees, access to properties, etc. A moving company relies on you to help them provide a preemptive quote.
3. Forgoing insurance
   Oops—your mover clipped the wall with a box and left a dent that your soon-to-be previous landlord will want to have fixed! Insurance helps cover accidental damages. This is a must when using a moving company, or it will come out of your own pocket.
4. Forgetting about the “non-movable items”
   Review your moving contract and be sure to ask about items which can not be handled by your professional mover. Often, items such as jewelry, important documents (marriage licenses, birth certificates), coin collections, firearms, grills, alcohol, and extra-fragile items can not—or should not—be handled by anyone else but
5. Neglecting to clean
   Let’s be honest, there are probably countless items in your home you haven’t used—or even thought about—in years. Clean it up! You will be paying to pack and move everything in your home, so be sure you aren’t clinging to items that will cost you and add clutter to your new space.
6. Ignoring the need for a survival kit
   This is especially important for long-distance moves. What will you need during travel time and immediately upon arrival at your new place? Toiletries, tools, your address book, scissors, pillows, pajamas, dog food, a can opener, toilet paper, and necessary medications should all be set aside for easy access during your move.

We hope this helps! And, should you be facing a move in the near future, we hope you’ll consider the team here at ABS Movers & Storage!

ABS Movers & Storage | 17 Dora Ave Toronto, ON M6H 1J5 | (416) 588-1499