Who To Inform Of Your Upcoming Move...

Hi Fellow Moving Friends,

We are just under four weeks away from our move! This week, I will be busy notifying people and agencies of our move. It seems like there are so many people to contact! Luckily, Mayflower makes this task easy by providing a checklist of who to contact before moving. I will be happy to share it with you, as it has made my life so much easier! 

Utilities

-Electric

-Gas

-Water

-Telephone

-Sewer District

-Trash

-Cable/ Satellite

-Fuel (Oil/ Propane)

Personal Accounts

-Pharmacy

-Dry Cleaner

-Lawn Service

-Bank/ Finance Companies

-Credit Card Companies

-Laundry Service

-Auto Finance Company

-Health Club

Professional Services

-Doctor

-Dentist

-Accountant

-Lawyer

-Broker

-Insurance Agency

Publications

-Newspapers

-Magazines

-Newsletters

-Professional Journals

Government Agencies

-Post Office

-Department of Motor Vehicles

-Social Security Administration

-State/ Federal Tax Bureaus

-City/ County Tax Assessor

-Veterans Administration

Although it seems like a lot of people to contact, it is so nice to have an organized list. I hope that it helps you as much as it has helped me! 

Good luck!

Elizabeth

 

 

Initiating the Moving Process

Hi All-

It’s hard to believe that we are only five weeks away from our move date! The idea of moving all of our belongings across the country feels like a monumental task. There is so much that needs to be done before we are ready to go that I don’t even know where to start! Luckily, Mayflower has provided us with a moving checklist that I have found very helpful. It breaks down tasks that need to be accomplished based on our moving timeline. According to the checklist, here is what is on our plate for this week-

1.      Call Sorensen Mayflower and set a date for them to send a representative out to our home to visually survey it and prepare a moving estimate. This service is free of charge, and enables Sorensen to look at the goods that we will be moving to determine the estimated cost of our move.

 

2.      Because my husband is in the military, the Air Force will be paying for our move. Therefore, we need to contact them to determine which services Sorensen will be authorized to perform.

3.      We need to decide whether or not we want to do the packing ourselves, or have Sorensen perform this job for us. Because my hands are full with a 5 month old baby and my husband is working long hours, I am all for hiring packers!

4.      I will need to review the “Your Rights and Responsibilities Manual” provided by Sorensen to make sure that I fully understand the extent of Sorensen’s liability. As I read through this, I will write down any questions that may come up, so that I can make sure to ask about them. It’s always best to be informed!

Well, all of this should keep me pretty busy for this week! Next week, it will be time to start notifying various agencies that we will be moving. If you are curious as to who should be notified of your upcoming move, come back next week and I will fill you in!

Until then, be blessed!

Elizabeth

Moving With Kids

Kids don't even like to change their socks, so imagine how difficult it is for them to change addresses, schools and friends. Because the home is a special source of security and comfort for children, many families may experience concerns about leaving their familiar surroundings. Although parents understand why moving may be necessary, the reasons might not be clear to your children. Mayflower Transit has some simple steps that can help to ease your children's fears and make the whole moving process as easy as counting to three.

Discuss the move in an open family forum.
Break the news about the move to everyone in the family together, and focus on the “when,” “where,” “how” and “why” of the moving process. Be sure your child understands that the move is a positive event for the whole family.

Make new friends but keep the old.
Before the move, give your children an opportunity to spend time with their friends to say goodbye. Mayflower has a special moving kit for children that includes fun cards that kids can use to exchange address information with friends. Contact Sorensen Mayflower for a copy of "My Move."

Involve the kids in the moving process.
Ask your children to help you plan the route your family will take to your new home. When the van operator arrives, introduce him or her to the children. For safety reasons, make sure your children understand the importance of staying clear of the driver's path when he or she is moving boxes and furniture into the van. Other ideas include making a game of navigating the best route to travel in an atlas or on a road map or letting your children decorate and label their own boxes and pack their “special belongings.”

Alleviate fears.
If possible, take the children to see their new home and neighborhood in advance. This will help to take the “mystery” out of the move. Introducing your children to their new neighbors will reassure them that they will make new friends after the move. If it is not possible to go to your new neighborhood, try to compile as much information about the neighborhood as you can. The Internet can offer a wealth of resources. Also, try to get a couple of photographs of your new home and surroundings (ask your real estate agent to help), and share all of the information with your children.

Pursue new activities.
Help your kids to make new friends by getting them involved in extracurricular activities in their new neighborhood. Sports leagues, community kids' clubs and classes specific to your child's interests will keep them busy and make them feel more at home in their new surroundings.

Celebrate!
Once you have arrived at the new address, let your children pick their favorite restaurant, type of food or activity to “celebrate” their help in making the move successful and the beginning of a new adventure.

  

Packing Breakables

Hi again!

For my final discussion on packing tips, I am including a few pointers on how to pack breakable items. I don’t know about you, but for me, it is anxiety-provoking to think about my most precious items (china, silver, pictures, etc.) loaded into a box and onto a truck to be shipped across town, or in our case, across the country. For this reason, many customers (myself included) leave it to the moving professionals to pack their breakables. However, if you are feeling ambitious and opt to pack the breakables yourself, here are a few tips for you:

CHINA AND STEMWARE:

-Wrap all pieces of china and glassware individually in clean paper. Using several sheets of paper, start from the corner and wrap diagonally, continuously tucking in overlapping edges. A double layer of newspaper serves well as an outer wrapping.

-Place wrapped china vertically in a Dishpack box (which you can obtain from Sorensen Mayflower.) Use the insert included in the box to secure the china.

-Larger china, glass plates, and other flat pieces are excellent as the lowest layer in the Dishpack box. Be sure to place them on the edge, with the eating side facing the outside of the box. This procedure absorbs shock better than when dishes are placed flat.

-Place a partitioned separator over the packed dishes for wrapped stemware and cups. The last tier on top should be cushioned with a generous amount of paper. Label box, “FRAGILE-THIS SIDE UP.”

SILVER

Nest silver together and wrap in clean paper. Cushion the nested packs in the silver chest. Wrap the chest in unprinted newsprint.

STATUARY & FIGURINES

Cushion statuary and figurines with bubble wrap or clean paper. When using paper, roll or wrap the item, and then reverse wrap until the article is adequately cushioned.

MIRRORS & GLASS

Wrap the picture or mirror in a generous cushion of unprinted newsprint, and place in a flattened packing or telescoping box. Carefully tape or seal the box, and label the box “FRAGILE.” Always stand glass, pictures, and mirrors on their edge. Don’t lay flat. 

I hope that you all enjoyed reading these tips for packing. I got all of my information from Mayflower’s packing guide, which you can obtain from a Sorensen representative upon setting up your move.

Until next time,

Elizabeth

 

Additional Packing Tips

Below are a few more packing tips to follow up on my previous post. I didn’t want to overload you last week with all that I discovered, so thought I would save a few of the tips I found for this week. They are as follows:

1.      Pack goods that you don’t use very often, such as out of season items, first. Next, pack the things that you don’t use on a regular basis. Wait to pack the items that you use daily until the day of your move. Note the importance of these items (cooking utensils, toiletries, etc.) by marking “open first” on these boxes and making sure that they are loaded last.

2.      Pack all boxes tightly. If a box rattles or makes noise, the contents could be damaged in transit. Limit boxes to a weight of 50 pounds or less to make handling easier.

3.      Use generous amounts of paper at the bottom and top of each box to provide a good cushion for items packed. Use clean, unprinted paper to wrap each item. You could also consider using linens, cushions, or other soft items on not quite-full boxes to fill the space and provide extra cushioning.

4.      Pack boxes in layers, with the heaviest items on the bottom, medium weight goods in the middle, and lightest items on top. As each layer is completed, fill in empty spaces firmly with crushed paper. Add more paper to make a level base for the next layer, or use cardboard cut from boxes as dividers.

5.      Use professional packing tape. Masking tape isn’t strong enough to support fully-packed boxes. Also make sure that the boxes that you use are sturdy, and close all the way.

6.      When packing furniture with drawers or cabinets, make sure to empty it of anything that could break or spill. You may keep blankets, sweaters, bath towels, and similar soft, lightweight items in the drawers.

I hope that you are finding these tips helpful! Next week, I will discuss how to best pack breakable items such as mirrors, glass, china, and other valuables. Until then, have a great week!

Best Regards,

Elizabeth

DIY Tips for Successful Packing

My name is Elizabeth, and I am the daughter of Scott Sorensen, the owner of Sorensen Moving and Storage. My husband is a pilot in the US Air Force, which means that we move around quite a bit. In fact, our next move, which will occur this March, is quickly approaching. To prepare for our move, I am beginning to research some ways to make our moving experience as easy as possible. I have found some great information, which I thought I would share it with you. As the move date approaches, I will continue to provide insights that I discover. I truly hope that my experience can help you and your family prepare for your next move.

The thought of packing up the entire house is quite daunting! For this reason, many people opt to leave this job to the moving company. However, if you decide to do most of the packing yourself, here are some helpful tips:

-Pack one room at a time. Try to keep from combining things from different rooms in the same box. It will make unpacking much more difficult and time consuming.

-Pack clothes and linens in suitcases. This will allow you to get use out of the suitcases you are moving, and will save you from having to use more boxes.

-Wrap small items that can be easily misplaced in brightly colored tissue paper before packing them in boxes.

-Use small boxes for weighty goods, large boxes for light items, and medium sized boxes for everything in between. A Mayflower representative can give you an entire list of packing materials and their suggested usage.

-Clearly label each box with your name, the contents that it contains, and the room to which it belongs. Also label which side is up.

-Have area rugs cleaned by a professional before you move. They should return them to you rolled and wrapped, which makes moving them much easier.

-When taking furniture apart, gather all hardware and place it in a plastic bag. Attach the bag to the furniture to which it belongs. This makes reassembling it much easier!

-Do not pack anything that is flammable.

-Allow the professionals to pack your fragile items. Most moving companies will be responsible only for the items that they pack themselves.

I hope that you find these tips helpful! Good luck packing!

 

 

 

 

The World's Largest Food Packing Event

Did you know that 17% of children in our nation rely on a free and reduced-price lunch
program in order to eat each day? Unfortunately, this is not only a problem on the national level,
but also right here in our community. In fact, 50% of children in Brevard County participate in
the school lunch program to keep from going hungry, which is well above the national average.
Although this lunch program is a great start, it doesn’t completely eliminate child hunger in our
area. For instance, what are children who rely on this program to do over the weekend when they
do not attend school? Fortunately, there is a program here in Brevard County called The
Children’s Hunger Project, which provides hungry youths in the Space Coast with weekend food
backpacks so that they do not have to experience hunger and malnutrition on days that they are
not in school.

On Saturday, February 8, 2014, the Children’s Hunger Project will conduct the World’s
Largest Food Packing Event at the Clemente Center on the campus of FIT. Sorensen Moving and
Storage is honored to sponsor the event. In addition to our sponsorship, we will have members of
our team there to help sort through the collected food. Once the food has been collected, we will
also help to transport the food from the Clemente Center to the Children’s Hunger Project
storage facility. We are very excited to participate in this event, and hope that you will join us in
supporting this cause. For more information, please visit the Children’s Hunger Project website
at www.thechildrenshungerproject.org.