What You Can and Cannot Move

What You Can and Cannot Move

What You Can and Cannot Move

There’s stuff everywhere and you’re just wishing you knew where to start. Ain’t moving fun? With the right removalist on your team and a detailed moving items checklist in your hands, you’re well on your way to making an exciting new start.

Why do you need to sort items when moving house?

You may think it will be more efficient to sort and declutter your household items when you’re at the unpacking stage, however, that day might not ever come. How many times have you heard your friends or family tell you that they still have unopened boxes from their move months ago?

Ideally, have all your items sorted and organised well before your moving date. This not only saves you money as removalists typically quote on the size of the moving truck required but on moving day, the removalist team can more effectively pack the truck and manoeuvre in and around your items as they will be able to see exactly what is included.

What items can removalists include when you move?

Whether you are moving items interstate or looking for a moving company in St Albans, your chosen mover can help relocate almost everything with ease. Clothing, indoor and outdoor furniture, electricals, prints and all of your favourite knick-knacks.

What items cannot be moved by removalists? 

Whilst the list of items a removalist can assist with is extensive, it is important you are aware of what a moving company will not touch. Typically this includes hazardous materials including but not limited to:

  •  Flammable items
  •  Explosives
  •  Corrosive chemicals
  •  Hazardous materials
  •  Perishable items
  •  Live animals/pets

What can you leave behind when you move house?

The only personal items you should consider leaving behind when you move house are items you’ve discarded in a well-overdue declutter. Other than that, handy items including leftover house paint, owner’s manuals, curtains and fixtures and fittings which form part of your contract of sale must remain in your home.

Do movers require everything in boxes?

It is common to use moving boxes to pack our prized possessions. There are plenty of alternate options including using suitcases with wheels and plastic storage hampers. Remember, not everything needs to be in a box. Removalists will always have plenty of protective blankets to use for large, heavy or bulkier items including your washing machine and dryer, fridge, cabinets and other furniture. Leave these up to the removalist experts.

What to look out for when using a moving company

If you are looking for an affordable mover in St Albans, that will not only safely transport your items affordably but also assist with packing and unpacking plus provide temporary and long-term storage should that be required, contact All Purpose Removals and Storage.

Relieve yourself of one extra concern on moving day and leverage off a team that can provide the necessary boxes and packing materials and guide you on the big day. Armed with a checklist and a reliable moving company, the transition to your new home will be as seamless as possible.

/0 Comments/by

Moving Tips For Organized Move

Moving Tips For Organized Move

Moving Tips For An Organised Move

From experience, and speaking with our customers over the years, here are some of the most common points which should be organised and started when deciding to move home

1. CHANGE OF YOUR ADDRESS

Bank. Notify your bank/banks of the change of your address as soon as you know your new address.

Council. Notify the council in your current area and the area you are moving to about your Move – they will be able to arrange a new council tax rate for you. For more info, go to www.voa.gov.uk

Inform the local council about your move – don’t lose your right to vote in future elections. www.aboutmyvote.co.uk

Inland Revenue. Notify your local tax office about your new address.

Utility Services. Change your utility services: Electricity, Gas, Water – give them at least 48 hours’ notice.

Insurance. Don’t forget to change the address on your Life, House, Motor or Medical Insurance.

Internet/mobile phones. Contact your provider to advise of the change of address. Give them at least 1 month’s notice if you would like to cancel the services.

Doctor, Dentist & Opticians. If you are moving far away from your current address, you will have to find a new doctor, dentist or optician. De-register with the old ones and find the new ones at www.nhs.uk. This website will help you to find the nearest medical services in the new area.

Redirect your mail– you can arrange this service with the Post Office. They require seven days’ notice.

2. PACKING

Start packing as soon as possible (at least 2 weeks before your move) and finish at least one day before your move. The sooner you start, the quicker you realise how many things you have – especially those you hardly ever use, all hidden at the back of cupboards and wardrobes. Packing time can be a good opportunity to clear out your premises and get rid of things you no longer need. Pack up and sort your winter/summer clothes – everything you don’t use anymore, donate to your local charity shops. Collect the boxes from your local shops or order them from the removal company, which will be moving you later on. Mark all of them with the name of the place you would like them to be moved to at the new address – that will speed the whole move.

3. PARKING

If there are any parking restrictions at your current or new address, you will have to contact your local council to arrange for any necessary parking suspensions for the removal vans. They usually require 10 working days’ notice.

4. KITCHEN

Don’t forget to empty and defrost your Fridges/Freezers. Put your food into a plastic bag.

5. BATHROOM

Disconnect your Washer. You can either do it by yourself, arrange it with a plumber or with your removal company.

6. FURNITURE

Dismantle any furniture which is too big to be moved in one piece. Our guys can do it for you on the day of service, but we would have to be advised about it in advance.

7. KEYS

Make sure you have the keys to your new premises available upon arrival of the removal team; otherwise, additional charges might apply.

8. VALUABLES AND DOCUMENTS

Keep your valuables and documents in one safe place. You wouldn’t like to search for them on the removal day.

/0 Comments/by

Removal Company Vs Man And Van

Removal Company Vs Man And Van

Removal Company Vs Man And Van

Today walls and phone booths, newsagents and small shops are littered with stickers, fliers and ads for “man and van”. We decided to do a little comparison of services between a removal company and a man and van. The question really are; what are the capabilities, trust issues, security of possessions and other factors.

Man & Van Cost

A man and van will usually appeal because of the cost. generally they are anywhere from £10-£30 an hour cheaper than a removal company, but with this lowered cost we are now entering into the age-old problem of service quality and ethics. Mark, the owner of Removal Experts stated, “The parting of a few pounds more can save you from a slew of potential mishaps, damage and loss of property. The cost of a man and van is appealing, but you are usually dealing with one man, without a business address, references etc.”

This is not to say that all man and van “companies” are the same or low ethic operations, however it does raise the likeliness of potential pitfalls.

Removal Company Costs

Mark also said, “The use of a professional, recommended removal company with ensure security of all items and guarantee efficient service”. Another factor to consider is speed of service. Most companies can offer a “package price”, set without variables. But this can also be misleading as a removal company can have “extras” included in the pricing terms. You may not think it, but your glass kitchen table, delicate collection of porcelain dish ware and other items can suddenly raise costs without you knowing.

See our pay as you go Removal costs quote page.

The solution

The simplest option here is not to look for one or the other (removal company vs man and van), but rather find a company like Removal Experts who can provide both services, large or small removals, at a set rate and all in a professional manner.

If you have a large move and valuable possessions then you should always use a professional remover. St Albans Removals provides a cost effective removal service for small or large home removals, office removals and man and van-like service.

Expert Removal Company London

The search for a professional removal company St Albans ends with us. Not only can we offer professional St Albans removals, but as a removal company we have gone the extra mile to provide you with everything you need from packing to the colour-coded labeling of your boxes.

Choose us as your removal company and you will not be disappointed.

/0 Comments/by

Office Move & Removals Checklist

Office Move & Removals Checklist

Office Move & Removals Checklist

Managing your office move is a daunting task. There are so many factors to take into account, so many people involved and time to make things work is limited. There are several reasons why a business decides to move: maybe more success brings the need for more space. In order to make things easier, here is a list of key points, a sort of checklist (not comprehensive) to help you manage the removals process. It will work whether your office removal is in London or not.

Planning phase

  • Appoint an internal member of the company as office move coordinator
  • Set an office removal schedule
  • Get information on local office removal companies
  • Hire one and organise a visit of the old and the new office
  • Let employees know about the schedule and specific duties

Before the move

  • Evaluate office equipment – any replacement/upgrade required?
  • Close old utilities accounts and set up new ones
  • What kind of IT equipment does the new office need?
  • Arrange data back-up
  • Label items correctly
  • Brief the removal company on schedule, power outlets location and all move plan details.

Move Day

  • Appoint an old office removal supervisor
  • Appoint a new office removal supervisor
  • Be in touch with the removal company team
  • Be ready to contact any other team member throughout the move
  • Make sure that every employee has a map of the new office
  • Supervise final cleaning
  • Arrange a landlord inspection

After the move

  • Create a “we have moved” sign with all new location details
  • Make sure the answerphone is updated
  • Make sure the website displays correct information
  • Make sure all your clients know about the move
  • Hold a “new office party” to celebrate!
/0 Comments/by

Moving Home After Divorce

Moving Home After Divorce

Moving Home After Divorce

After divorce and bereavement, moving house is the number one cause of stress, but in many ways it does us some good – it forces us to reassess our lives and make a new start. To avoid too many boxes, we ruthlessly sift through the clutter in our house and make trips to local charity shops with our unwanted furniture.

With more people renting property than ever before, it seems likely that many of us will have to go through the process of moving home, time and time again. Make sure that your hair doesn’t turn grey with this guide on how to move house, the smooth way.

Tell Everyone You’re Moving

You may have already notified family and friends of your move, but your service providers must be notified too. This process is fairly boring, but necessary, and you can find checklists online for all the companies you should contact. The biggies are: your banks, employers, insurance companies, council tax, doctor, energy providers, and schools.

Get your internet, phone line, and utilities switched off. Once you’ve achieved that, arrange for them all to be set up at your new property. After the big move, you’ll want to take a nice, hot shower – so make sure you can!

Removals

First, begin with asking your family and friends for help. If one of your relatives has a van, bribe them with pizza and beer. It’ll be a lot more pleasant to move with the support of your loved ones.

However, if this is out of the question, start asking around for removal company recommendations. Request quotes from three removal businesses and check that this price covers VAT and insurance.

Declutter and Clean

One of the most frustrating, but satisfying, parts of moving house is going through your home, room by room, and getting rid of all the accumulating rubbish. This is also a money-making opportunity: any unwanted furniture can be sold on, as you’ll want to redecorate your new property. If you’ve got a conservatory to look forward to, start looking through online websites like 2furnish, for seating arrangements.

Work through one room at a time, as tackling the whole house at once is a complete nightmare (unless you have an army of helpers). Get good quality boxes in advance, as you don’t want your possessions spilling out on to the driveway.

If you have plenty of money, you really will benefit from hiring a professional cleaning service to go through your new house and give it the once-over it needs. Getting the carpets skilfully scrubbed is a must.

Do The New Inhabitants A Favour

Fact files are priceless, and you’ll wish the previous owner of your new home had left you one too (they probably won’t). Compile a booklet for the new inhabitants of your house, detailing how everything works (like when the rubbish goes out and how to turn off the burglar alarm). This’ll save you any confused phone calls from the new tenants and it’ll give the new guys some peace of mind.

/0 Comments/by

Tips For Moving Internationally

Tips For Moving Internationally

Tips For Moving Internationally

As the world’s population is growing and travel becomes cheaper, people are increasingly moving abroad. Many find themselves moving for a job as their company might be setting up offices elsewhere, others feel a fresh start in a new culture might be just what they need to motivate themselves.

Plan

The first thing to do is plan. Start planning your move as soon as you can, and plan backwards. This means that once you have picked your moving date you look at what needs to be done on that day, the day before, then a week before and so on until you come to today’s date. Plot these tasks into a calendar so that it is easy to be reminded of what you will need to do every day. This means that you will not be caught out by the moving day arriving too quickly. Many find it useful to print these plans out and hang them up somewhere in the house as a reminder of what needs to be done. This will also allow you to book tickets for travel or arrange visas if necessary, as these things can take a while to arrive.

The new accommodation

If you know what accommodation you are moving into, you might want to take a look at whether it is smaller or larger than your current space. If smaller, you will want to only take furniture that will fit in your new home. Another consideration is prices of furniture and other household items in the country you are moving to. If it is cheaper to replace a piece of furniture or item, and it has no sentimental value to you, you might be better off selling it or donating the item to a charity shop than taking it with you. There are many charity shops that even offer to come and pick up your unwanted furniture and take it with them to their shops.

Packing

There will always be things that you do not know whether to keep or not. If you find it hard to let things go but you are not sure if it will fit in the moving van or your suitcase, create a ‘maybe’ pile. It is always more difficult to get rid of things in the beginning of your packing than towards the end. Be realistic about how much space you have when moving and pack accordingly. It can be difficult when moving internationally and many feel they cannot bring anything at all due to space restrictions. The ‘maybe’ pile of items will be much easier to send off to a charity shop or sell when your moving date is looming and you are excited about a fresh start.

What about documents?

My final tip would be to have all documents easily available that you will need on moving day. Create a folder containing passports, visas, tickets for airplanes/trains/buses/ferries, house keys, new house keys, receipts for any expensive items that you are bringing with you etc. You do not want to spend hours at boarder control because you packed your papers in a suitcase that you have already checked in. To ensure a smooth moving day have it all at hand and you will be in your new home country in no time.

/0 Comments/by

Moving Out of Home

Moving Out of Home

Moving Out of Home

Moving out of home for the first time is exciting. The freedom of living independently in your own place or with friends can be exhilarating, and it marks a new stage in your adult life.

But it’s important to be aware of the costs that are involved when renting and moving out for the first time, particularly if you are still studying at university and don’t have a steady income.

A few of the costs to consider when moving home.

Best Moves: Energy bills

Running a house or an apartment costs money, so it’s important to understand that the energy needed to heat your hot water or turn on your lights will translate into a charge on your energy bill. When you move into a new place, it’s important to choose the right energy retailer for your energy needs.

In United Kingdom, there are a number of energy retailers that service different areas. It’s best to do your research and find out the best rates available in your area – particularly if you are on a budget.

Packers & Movers Food Packaging Tips

If you didn’t pay for food when living at your parents’ house, you’ll need to factor the cost of grocery shopping or eating out into your daily, weekly and monthly budget. When you move out of home for the first time, you’ll also have to invest in all the basics, such as sauces, salt and pepper and an array of cleaning products. If you are living with housemates, splitting the costs of groceries can be an effective way to keep these costs down.

House Moving Essentials: Internet

If you want internet access in your new home, you’ll also have to consider the costs of setting this up and the monthly charge. Make sure you do your research and pick a provider and plan that suits your internet needs and usage. For example, if you don’t need unlimited downloads then go for a downgraded version so that you only pay for what you use.

Moving out of home is an exciting time in life. Making sure you’re prepared for the costs of living independently means there will be no nasty surprises, and will make it much more enjoyable.

/0 Comments/by

Tips For Moving Home

Tips For Moving Home

Tips For Moving Home

Moving anywhere can be a hassle, especially when you are moving the entire contents of your home.

Moving Assistance: Top Tips for Moving Home

No one likes to move and no one wants to move but sometimes we need to for whatever reason, but your move does not have to be a frustrating one.

There are some simple and easy to remember tips you can follow in order to alleviate any stress of moving your home.

  • The first thing to do is find out where you are moving to.

    You are going to have a moving destination in mind in order to set up a flawless move. The second thing you need is vehicles and help. Now some people only require one large van in order to move but perhaps you have accumulated a lot of possessions or you have a rather large family. Then you will want more than one vehicle. Also you will more than likely need extra hands to help you. In most cases you can have friends and family help you move and most likely that will be enough but sometimes you want more reassurance that your items are handled with precise care.

  • In this case you can hire a moving company.

    A moving company can do all the leg work for you, supply boxes, help you pack, and even load and in some cases depending on how far you are moving help you unload. Some moving companies will even drive the moving van for you.

  • If you are boxing your items up on your own be sure to pack your boxes correctly.

    This means don’t over pack a box with too many items and make it either too heavy or unbalanced. A rushed job such as this will most often lead to the box falling apart on you. Also have your boxes marked where they are suppose to be placed when you arrive at your new location. This makes moving a bit easier when you unload the van, knowing where everything is suppose to go.

  • The final thing to remember when moving is to take your time.

    If you plan things out in advance then you will have all the proper time and space. Have your furniture clean and ready to move on the day of packing up the van. Sometimes when you move you also have to clean up after yourself so be sure to have a broom and dustpan handy. Moving is not a hectic as it sounds if you plan ahead.

/0 Comments/by

Planning To Move House

Planning To Move House

Planning To Move House

What to do when you are planning to move house?

If you want to move house soon, take a piece of advice from us, and…

Get rid of as many things as possible!

Moving house is a good time to do some house clearing. You would be surprised how much you can throw out and not even miss it. Here’s a good tip on clearing your wardrobe.

Make a habit of hanging the clothes you recently wore with the hanger facing out. Check every six months how many things are facing the other way, and either give them away or throw them out. That, of course, does not include seasonal clothing, because you might not have a chance to wear it for months.

You also have to realise that if you are moving with a removal company, you are paying for each thing to be moved. Some take more time than others, and time in this instance is money. For example, if you have a large wardrobe that needs to be first disassembled, or moved carefully, but it is old and falling apart, and you might get about twenty pounds for it, then there is no point in moving it anywhere.

The same thing applies to paperwork, if you have any. It often adds up to the point when it is difficult to move it around, it fills boxes up, and it just takes up space in the van. Either get rid of anything you don’t need, or upload your files to a PC earlier on if possible. Some mission-critical data is better off on paper, though. Keep it safe.

If you’d like to know more about how to prepare to move house, keep an eye on our blog for new articles or get in touch. 

/0 Comments/by

Moving Kitchen Items

Moving Kitchen Items

Moving Kitchen Items

Home shifting can be an exciting, but stressful process;

The excitement of a new beginning, but the stress of having to set up everything in the new house. A major part of this stress comes from having to pack and move kitchen items from your old place to the new one. The questions of what has to be taken and what has to be left behind. How to pack it all and transport it to its new home are all stressful questions to think about.

One of the most difficult parts of the process is packing and moving kitchen things.  You have to make sure that all the pieces of china are transported without them breaking.

Protect all the gadgets and electrical equipment for them to reach their destination safely. Be extra careful, so none of the little pieces of cutlery and other utensils are lost on the way and also that whatever food items are being taken reach safely without spoiling. These are the really tough things to deal with while moving to a new place. Here are a few things to keep in mind while moving your kitchen.

Home Shifting – Moving house and Taking Inventory

First of all, the most important thing is to make sure that you take everything you have to take. This requires that you do an extensive search of every part of the kitchen to make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything. It’s the worst feeling in the world to have moved to a new house in a new place to find that an important component of your kitchen has been left behind at your old place.

So it’s important to be thorough in your search. At the same time, while you should take everything you need, you really shouldn’t take every single thing you have just for the sake of it. Packing and moving is a difficult and expensive process so you don’t want to take things that are not essential and things that are easily and cheaply available everywhere.

Packers and Movers main moves

Packing is probably the most important part of the process of moving. When it comes to packing, cardboard boxes are your best friends, but the kind of box you use and its size should depend on what it is that you packing in it. You can use big cardboard boxes to carry lightweight items in bulk. However, heavier items should be carried in smaller sturdier boxes. Glasses and china must be carefully packed in lots of bubble-wrap before being put into cardboard boxes. If you have a chest freezer, then that would be the best thing to transport your food in. A chest freezer, even when unplugged, can keep things frozen for many hours and even days.

House Shifting Services – Special Care For Appliances

Preparing the electrical appliances in the kitchen for moving is a very important process. If the appliances are not properly prepared, they could be damaged, destroyed or even damage other items near them. If you’re not sure how to prepare any appliance correctly, then it is highly recommended that you get professional help for that. The important thing to remember is that when you’re packing up things from your kitchen, take a lot of time with it and do everything thoroughly. It’s certainly worth the effort, if you don’t get anything wrong.

/0 Comments/by