Hiring Movers When You Have Nice Stuff.

It’s funny how a having a child really does change literally everything. Almost a decade ago, we moved to the area where we live because it suited our ideal lifestyle at the time. We moved here for the incredible arts, food, and architecture scenes, resort culture, and also for the entrepreneurial spirit that allowed us to take risks, build a new business, and follow through on some unique passions. Fast forward to two years ago, and everything has changed. Now with our son in tow, we’ve found ourselves wondering about things we never even considered. Educational systems, safety ratings, and access to youth resources have become our new measures of desirability.

With the birth of our son came another shift - we had to, begrudgingly at times, drop our ‘roll up our sleeves and do it ourselves’ attitude and learn to ask for more help. Whereas we moved to the city we live in one overpacked car-load at a time, moving at this stage in our lives would look a lot different with a 2 year old in tow. Not to mention that at this stage in our lives, we have accumulated a lot more nice things than we had 10 years ago. So what would any type-A parent would do at 4 am when planning their entire lives over 3 espresso shots. We got to researching, of course. Here’s are few tips we’ve learned about how to move house when you have nice stuff and don’t want to do it yourself anymore…

Consider your most valuable items like expensive works of art, family heirlooms like grandfather clocks which may be over a hundred years old, maybe sculptures, garden fountains, crystal chandeliers, etc. how do you move these expensive but fragile items which in some cases are just irreplaceable?

Go to specialist movers

Pick a company that specializes in moving. We mean they can do commercial and residential moving, loading and unloading services, packaging and unpacking, etc. The loading and unloading services are often done for art galleries. So the movers will know how to move expensive works of art. The packaging is done for very fragile things such as crystal sculptures or figures. We recommend calling local movers and asking them about services which cover the above. Opting for a moving service that provides for businesses and local authorities often means a higher skill level.

Do the research

Before you move something extremely costly you want to know exactly how much it's worth. It's not just for moving insurance purposes but because you want to put emphasis on something that you own. Do a little research about the most expensive items that you own and/or it's date of creation, brand, artist etc and see how much it might be worth. You can do this by hiring a specialist in this field i.e. art surveyor or auctioneer. Or you can have the insurance company do the valuation for you. 

Wrap it yourself

If you don’t feel confident that the movers won’t wrap something carefully, then do it yourself. They do have specialist wrapping and packaging skills but if you think that their choice of material won’t be adequate, i.e. their choice of foam, bubble wrap, etc, then just choose it for them. There are plenty of websites you can order different packaging material from and you can take the time to wrap your crystal bowl, lamp, sculpture or artwork however you wish. At least you know that you have protected parts that may be extra fragile, i.e. supporting a crack that the movers might not have spotted.