Self moving is an option favored by people essentially for two reasons. The first of such reasons is cost considerations. Self moving ultimately works out cheaper. The second reason why some people opt for this type of moving is because they do not like anyone else to move around their personal stuff. Such people get tremendous satisfaction and feel a great sense of pride when they find a job well done, which they started to do from scratch.

If you are a do it yourself enthusiast, you would perhaps look forward to relocation to another new city. But if you are a first time self mover, you need to get several things planned and organized beforehand, if you want a stress free relocation. You need to do some meticulous planning and some of the more important aspects of your planning ought to include:
1. A truck on rent. Decide how big it needs to be, depending on the volume of your goods.
2. An assortment of moving boxes of different sizes
3. Packing supplies like packing paper, bubble wraps, shrink wrap plastic sheets
4. Smaller accessories like tape gun, packing tapes, markers, labels, etc.

The important point to remember to make self moving hassle-free is the whole exercise gets better with planning. You should plan for every small detail, however minute and irrelevant it may seem. In short, nothing is to be taken for granted. For instance, packing is a tough job. As insignificant as it may sound, mattress covers, sofa and chair bags, packing peanuts and accessories like these can ease the load of packing to a great extent. The other issue which is literally burdensome in self moving is the loading of the truck. To make it easier, hire some furniture pads. This item eases the task of loading and unloading on your arms and hands.

If you thought loading a moving truck only involves picking up the boxes and putting them in stacks inside the truck, think again. Believe it or not, there is a particular pattern in which trucks need to be loaded and this activity cannot be done in a haphazard manner. There are good reasons why professional loaders follow a system of loading. The largest things like furniture and appliances are loaded first; heavier boxes are kept at the bottom and the lightest on top. The items are stacked according to weight and the interior of the truck should be evenly loaded, one section at a time. To prevent loads from shifting during transit, boxes are loaded from floor to ceiling filling the spaces in between with smaller packages and boxes.

Once you have loaded the truck according to rules, you now have to get ready to drive the rented truck to the desired destination. But before starting the engine, remember there are a host of check points you need to go through. The hired truck is a new vehicle for you so firstly check the fluid levels before and during the journey. Drive slowly during inclement weather and for extra precaution, keep a second driver with you equipped with proper truck driving license. Never tailgate during the journey and know as much as possible about the route you are going to take. The safest option is not to drive more than 8 hours a day with few breaks in between. Know the basics of highway driving before you attempt to drive across to the next town.

Of course there is more to be learned regarding self-moving but the above are some of the fundamental aspects. Following these tips you can expect the first self-moving to be a pleasant and memorable experience. There is no better teacher than experience, so you could be a better self-mover in your second self-moving!

Drew Mers is an advertising maven to City Closet Self Storage and Moving, which is a large New York moving company.

[tags]moving, home[/tags]