It's the movers' job to take apart (and re-assemble) your bed. Also, you should be able to rent the wardrobe boxes from the movers. The movers will probably charge you for rolls of tape, so you could have some on hand to save money.

My other piece of advice? Pack at least one box a day so the task isn't so daunting.

my boyfriend is a mover and his website has a fun little audio slideshow about helpful hints for preparing for a move

www.spinemoving.com/tips.php

My tip would be Furniture First, Boxes Second. No boxes in the new place until all the furniture is in place. That way, you just stack the boxes in front of the appropriate furniture piece and unpack right there.

Also, not only mark the box "Living Room", but "Living Room - blue book shelf". Hopefully the movers will get the message and put 2 and 2 together.

One box of essentials to unpack first: TP, soap, a lamp, light bulbs, flashlight, tools, clothes, phone, silverware, cleaning supplies, the telephone number of a restaurant that delivers in your new neighborbood, etc.

Frankly, I'd have the movers deal with the fragile things, especially the flat screen: They have the experience, plus the insurance. Photograph your precious antiques from all sides with the day's newspaper in the image, so you can verify the condition pre- and post-move.

Be kind to your movers. Have a few refreshments for them. A little hospitality can make up quite a bit for AR-ness.

I labeled every box with a colored sticker, and then every room in the new house had the corresponding colored sticker on the doorway. Master bedroom = green, kitchen = blue, etc. So the movers could tell at a glance where boxes went, even when I wasn't standing at the door to direct them. I even slapped the stickers on furniture. It was a good system and everything ended up where it needed to be.

Make sure every last little ridiculous thing that you never use but that's coming with you is packed up and ready to go.
Don't let your significant other guilt or otherwise coerce you out of movers if you live away from friends and family. If your movers are your friends and family, be sure to offer a good meal or gifts when the work is done.

Does anyone have a suggestion for finding a good moving company?

I agree on letting the movers take things apart and reassemble. That is their job and worth it.

Always always have extra boxes on hand the day the movers come. You will find a cabinet you forgot to empty, a cabinet that still has stuff in it. You don't want to be scrambling to find some or having to buy them from the movers. Also a lot of big plastic garbage bags are handy as well.

Have a First Night bag. Put a roll of paper towels (assuage your guilt by using recycled ones), a roll of toilet paper, soap, enough pet food for a few days, can opener, pot, mugs, bowls, screwdriver, checkbook, extra cash, something to eat (after your third meal of pizza, that can of soup you packed is going to look very inviting), a Swiss army knife, a bath towel, your drink of choice (I'm thinking tea or coffee, but interpret this as need be), and anything else you can't do without for a day or two. Next to this, pack a suitcase with the essentials, including clean undies and socks.

The place may be a wreck on your first night, but you can wash up, wear clean clothes, and have a hot meal and cup of coffee, so all is right with the world.

The movers I've hired the last three times have done a much better job protecting my electronics than I could moving them myself. They wrap everything in packing blankets, then again in plastic wrap to keep the blankets attached and protected from the rain.
Also, the guys that we've hired have always been able to move our normal two bedroom/1000sqft places in less time than the two hour minimum, so doing extra packing and moving on your own might not really save you any money and just make for more work.

I have moved with movers, and without movers.

What I found best is to pack and label my own boxes, and then cut a deal with the movers for transport and furniture lugging only. It was much cheaper than having them do everything, and nothing was broken. They were around for less than three hours and that was it. I had a color coding system for the boxes - each room in the new place had a colored piece of paper hanging over the door; a corresponding colored piece of paper went on every box and furniture piece that went into said room. They thanked me.

Also, have cold water or hot drinks (depending on the weather) and offer to feed them. No, it's not part of the contract, but it engenders their good will.

Overnight bag = excellent idea.

I always make sure to make the bed first when unpacking - that way when you're exhausted you have somewhere to go. The movers I have used usually have wardrobe boxes you can use if you request in advance.

Wow, every time we've moved with movers they've packed and disassembled everything. We have never had to "prep" for anything? We do always buy them breakfast and drinks!

If they're good tip generously!

love the idea of a 1st night bag and good call on having food/drinks on hand for movers--had not thought of that!

I moved 2 months ago and one thing I learned is it is useless to have friends and family come over to help. The movers have their own system and don't want help. Your 'helpers' will just be in the way and will be bored with nothing to do.

Save the help for packing or unpacking of boxes, painting, wallpaper scraping, etc!

when taking apart furniture - put rivets and screws in a ziploc and duct tape to that piece of furniture. I also duct tape the remotes to electronics.

The worst is looking for all the screws to put something back together.

I agree with allisonharris about not "helping" the movers. I just moved, and the guys told me to stay in the new apartment to direct the placement of boxes and furniture, rather than help carry anything off the truck. They obviously didn't want me in the way.

birdablaze - I found my moving company, A Better Way To Move, through yelp.com. They had quite good reviews and were friendly and affordable ($79 per hour for two guys plus truck). I gave my two movers really good tips. :-)

I've used a moving company once, and frankly, I did a better job of packing myself, and then hiring a bunch of guys at the U-Haul place. But if you don't speak any Spanish, this might be a problem. Often, there's a group that work as a team, with a head guy. I've hired at both the Hollywood Blvd. location and Pasadena, and both times had really hard-working, reliable, courteous guys.

Trader Joe's wine boxes are the best for records (if anyone still has those) and books. Get to the store when they open, and they'll give you all the boxes you want.

You can move your clothes pretty easily, and I usually do that first, esp. if you have access to a big SUV or station wagon.

China and glasses in bubble wrap--sometimes you can find it on Freecycle.

Um, anything you might keep in the nightstand should have its batteries removed before packing.
Just a tip from me to you.

haha loislane

agree on the overnight bag---though I'd extend it to several days to a week. One, your stuff may move slower than you if it's going a long distance. Two, it takes a while to locate everything and put it all away. It's far easier to have the essentials with you rather than ransaking through all your boxes.

i totally agree with folk who have noted it's probably best not to pack and transport your electronics yourselves - especially the flat screen tv. we made this mistake during our last move - and we have a dead pixel now. why did we think we'd do a better job than the movers in protecting our precious stuff? *sigh*

Have a "open me first" box for every room: essentials for kitchen (pot, knife, towel, cutting board); essentials for bathroom (towels); essentials for bedroom (bedding).

In my car, I pack: my fireproof box containing my important documents (birth certificate, marriage license, car titles, bank account stuff, etc.), one or two lamps, sleeping bags, a suitcase with 2 weeks of clothes (my stuff once took 6 weeks to arrive!), plants, my camping kitchen set up (picnic plates and camp utensils- you'd be amazed at what we can do with a small knife, a swiss army knife corkscrew, and a salt and pepper grinder), and one bike (which one depends on season). Oh, and two kitties. My car is a VW Beetle, so that tells you about how I pack it.

Either in the car or in the moving van is one Overall First Box. this contains: A footstool, a small toolbox or at least a utility knife, a lamp, and papertowels/basic cleaning supply like 401.

Best tip: purge like anything before packing, ESP your file cabinet. If you are the sort who packs your empty shampoo bottles, you deserve the misery you will get.

Favorite tip a friend taught me: Set up one room completely (I chose the kitchen last time, but I have also done the bedroom). Set up the bed, put on blankets, put up lamps, and then BANISH boxes. Boxes only come in one at a time to that special place to be immediately unpacked and put away. Even if your house ends up as box city for a few weeks, you'll have one space that is totally normal.

we just moved and wrapped all our glasses & plates etc in our towels and sheets. it saves on boxes which makes for a quicker move and you don't get dirty newsprint hands when you're packing and unpacking. and nothing broke.