If you’re contemplating asking your friends or family to help you move, there are a few things you should consider first; for those of you who have made that decision in the past, you’ll probably relate to some of the points touched upon in this article. We speak to clients every day who decide to go this route, and the result is usually a lot of added stress. While there is something noble in your friends’ willingness to help out during a time of need, their skills and experience are often just not up to the task. The seemingly simple process of getting your belongings from point A to point B can quickly reveal itself to be more complicated than you ever imagined. The contrast between this approach and hiring professional who move for a living to organize your moving day is like night and day.
We come across a number of clients daily who have had bad experiences moving with friends. Their expectation is a successful move on a small budget, but the reality can turn out to be quite a different story.
The success of a move is usually defined as getting all of your belongings from your previous residence into your new home in a one day timeframe, without damage to your belongings or either property. When you consider that the typical 3 bedroom, 2,000 sq. foot home takes a professional moving crew two trips in a moving truck and 10-12 hours to move, you can quickly understand how wide the margin for error is. Knowing how to pack a moving truck efficiently, how to quickly estimate load and unload times for planning, and being able to organize a workforce in the most efficient way possible takes years of training and is not nearly as easy as it seems. Not knowing the proper techniques and the correct angles to use when lifting furniture through tight spaces – such as stairways and doorframes – usually results in a lot of wasted time with trial and error as well. Clients are often surprised that a piece they moved into their home which took them ½ an hour to manoeuvre into a space with 4 people, can often be moved in under 5 minutes by two expert movers.
If damaging your furniture or your home is a concern, you should never, I repeat NEVER, move yourself – especially if your furniture is of a high-value or delicate nature. Damage is the most common and expected result when organizing your own move, and if you are not comfortable with your items or your home being damaged, this is not the route to take. Professional movers are trained experts in techniques specific to every piece of furniture they encounter (and every environment), and that level of expertise comes only after several years in the industry. Not only does hiring professionals avoid potential disaster, but it brings the option of insuring your items against damage as well. We constantly hear stories of friends and family members damaging an expensive item, which not only incurs financial cost but can damage relationships as well.
As far as budget is a concerned, remember that moving yourself is far from cost-prohibitive. Your major expense will be renting a moving truck and any equipment necessary to aid in the move. When done properly, completing a move requires not only a truck but several moving dollies, 80-100 professional-grade moving blankets, tie down straps, shrink-wrap, mattress covers, wardrobe boxes, and tools, all of which will need to be purchased or rented.
While having your friends and family there to help is a great idea, they are also far from a “free” labour force. Aside from the implied obligation to provide food and refreshments during the process, most people will also feel compelled to entertain the people who helped out during the process and provide dinner (and possibly drinks) afterward. While spending time, energy, and money getting together with your loved ones is never a bad investment, consider how exhausted you will feel at the end of a long day and how eager you will be for some rest and relaxation of your own. The other reality is that most people feel indebted to those who helped out with their move, and will feel the need to repay the favour in the future. Combine all of these factors with the financial cost related to repairing damages, and your labour force is not as cheap as you previously imagined.
The bottom line is that the last thing you want on a day that is already full of stress is an additional headache to deal with. Your time, money, and energy are all very valuable, and hiring professional movers often saves you all three. Many of our clients tell us it is the best money they’ve ever spent!
About the Author
Rocky Fuda is a professional mover with several years of moving experience which has carried him throughout the city of Toronto, the GTA, Southern Ontario, and to every major city in Canada. His lengthy career in our industry has provided him a wealth of knowledge and experience not only in local moving, but also long-distance moving, international moving, industrial moving, commercial moving, and packing as well. While he is extremely well-versed in all aspects of residential and commercial moving, he specializes in moving high-value items such as pianos, heavy safes, statues, and more. His passion and commitment towards helping clients create a stress-free moving experience is unrivalled, and it has inspired him to author these articles in order to foster a greater level of education among consumers. It is his hope that this will help people to make better-informed decisions about hiring a professional mover, and create more positive moving experiences for customers everywhere.
About the Company
Viktoria Professional Movers is a professional moving company operating out of Toronto and Halifax providing high-quality local moving services throughout Southern Ontario and Nova Scotia. Thanks to our country-wide network we are also able to service our clients’ long-distance moving needs throughout Canada. By helping to educate our clients on topics that can help them plan and execute a successful move, we are fulfilling our directive of taking the stigma out of hiring professional movers, and helping to make the moving process a stress-free experience overall. To hear first-hand about our high-quality moving services, please visit our Homestars Profile where you can read reviews on our company submitted by hundreds of our satisfied customers.
Call Viktoria Professional Movers (902) 332-3535 or Toll Free: 1 ( 877) 399-1315 for a FREE Consultation in regards to your Residential or Office Moving needs to or from the GTA or Metro Halifax area.
