McGregor Moving's Insider's Guide on Moving

Parking While Moving

Bob McGregor — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:14:23 +0000

If the moving truck has to park on a major street in a downtown area, you better check the parking signs and laws.

In the picture below, in Atlanta, on Juniper Street outside of the Tuscany Condo complex, the parking sign says there is no parking Mon to Fri from 6:30a to 9:30a and from 3:30p to 6:30p. That gives you a 6 hour window between 9:30a and 3:30p. Since most professional movers prefer to start between 8 & 9:00am, they are not going to be able to park then at this convenient place on the curb. If it is an afternoon job, then they might start at 1:00pm and be looking to unload around 4pm. Also “Not a Go” if the unloading will be done at this curb.

And I don’t recommend “Risking It.” Cities are hard-up for cash, and they are looking hard for opportunities to fine you $250 — the going rate for a parking ticket at this location in Atlanta.

There are only a few ways around this problem:

1) Park somewhere else. At this “Tuscany” complex a moving truck can actually go inside the security gate to park. Often it is not as convenient access, but it is not bad.

2) Plan it so the truck is only parked within that six hour window. If loading there, you will have to start after 9:30. If unloading, the movers will have to be finished before 3:30p, or they may have to come back the next day.

3) Do the move Saturday or Sunday.

Pack Hummels in Dish-Pack Boxes

Bob McGregor — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:56:19 +0000

Pack fragile items like Hummels and other expensive figurines in Dish-Pack boxes–see picture below. If you
have the original figurine boxes, use those, and then place multiple figurine boxes within a Dish-Pack box. The Dish-Pack is always your preferred box for fragile items since it has double-thickness cardboard walls, and it’s size and shape prevents stacking them too high.

If you don’t have the original figurine boxes, you can use pieces of cardboard, packing paper, and bubble wrap to fashion a box. You can then nest that box within a 1.5 box, and even a 3.0 box before placing the nested boxes within a Dish-Pack box.

DON’T PACK HUMMELS IN THIN OFFICE FILE BOXES as this customer did below–see their labeled box.

CAUTION: If you have professional movers move you, their insurance will not cover you UNLESS THEY DO THE BOX-PACKING. Because of this, many of our customers box-pack many of their loose items, but let us pack their china, figurines, and other especially expensive items.

Moving in the Snow

Bob McGregor — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:28:34 +0000

In Atlanta we don’t usually have to do moves in the snow. But last month was an exception. On a day when all the schools were closed, and most of the city was shutdown, we were able to get this house loaded even with snow and ice on the ground.

The customer sprinkled salt on the front porch, and we had a strip of plywood to lay over the snow–see below. As long as we loaded most of the items through the side-door, and not through the rear door where we had to use the ramp, then we were okay.

But though the load was successful, we weren’t able to unload at Storage–see picture. The ice made the storage roadway impassable. We had to leave the items on the truck for a few days, and wait for the “big melt.”

Common Mistakes in Downsizing: Acting as if the downsizing is very temporary.

Bob McGregor — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 16:23:52 +0000

Not Recommended Way of Stacking Your Boxes in Storage Bin

Healthy optimism may dictate you or your client see the downsizing as very temporary. But this becomes very costly if this means putting a lot in storage for when you return to living in a big house or office. You or your client may have a financial recovery, but it is rarely worth it to pay monthly storage until that happens. A 10×20 storage unit is around $170 per month. That is $2040 per year. The average storage bin customer has their stuff in storage for 22 months. At $170 per month that means the average storage customer is paying $3740. That is why mini storage is quite profitable.
Most of the time, the items stored are not worth $3740. And guess what? If they are, then that means you could sell them and pocket hundreds or thousands instead of paying thousands.
It is better for your downsizing client to sell or give away the excess items when downsizing, and use the proceeds and storage savings to buy appropriate furniture and items when she does recover financially.

Mice and Rats in Non Climate-Controlled Storage

Bob McGregor — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:56:07 +0000

For a customer, this weekend we loaded from their non-climate controlled storage unit to their rental truck. Their household goods had been in the storage unit FOR SIX YEARS !!!

Even though there was no sign of water in the storage unit, and no food—there were many RAT OR MICE DROPPINGS ON THE FLOOR THROUGOUT THE UNIT! Furthermore, a leather sofa—which for some reason another Moving Mompany had left in the storage unit unpadded—HAD BEEN CHEWED BY THE RATS OR MICE! There were only very small holes in the walls. It would seem like mice could not fit through those holes, but they obviously did.

This seems to “give the lie” to my previous argument that non-climate controlled storage is plenty safe, but it’s definitely a matter of how long the items are left in storage!

“Ranking of Items Based on Increasingly Vulnerability to Non-Climate Controlled Storage”

1) Metal Desks, File Cabinets, File Cabinets: Would probably fare pretty well in a nuclear attack as long as simply hit by the radiation and not the fireball or shock wave. Rats will not eat them, and air moisture will not be absorbed into them.

2) Wood Furniture: Expands and Contracts with changing temperature, and a certain amount of moisture flows through without damage. Should not be shrink-wrapped while in storage, because when water does get on the furniture, the shrink-wrap will hold it there!

3) Upholstery: The “Archilles Tendon” of non-climate controlled stored furniture. It is sensitive to moisture, and rats and mice like to chew on them. Should not be shrink-wrapped while in storage. Should be Quilt-Padded!

Should Your Clients Move Themselves?

Bob McGregor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:41:18 +0000

>> CLICK TO GO TO SLIDE-SHOW<<

Moving A Customer Into Decatur, Georgia’s “Ice House Lofts”

Bob McGregor — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:08:07 +0000

CLICK TO GO TO SLIDE SHOW

Pack “Too Small” Boxes Within Larger Boxes

Bob McGregor — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:33:19 +0000

These Boxes Should Be Packed Inside a Larger Box

"Same Here"

These small, light boxes should have been placed inside a larger box–like a “3.0 cube” box. The movers can much easier and faster handle one “3.0 cube” box than three or four tiny boxes. But list on the larger box the labels of the smaller boxes contained within.

A Customer’s Chaotic Storage Bins

Bob McGregor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:22:40 +0000

These are pictures of a customer’s storage bins. The customer will remain nameless, but I can say they are a major medical practice! They directed our Moving Company to simply deposit these boxes and miscellaneous equipment in their bins. Some questions come to mind:

1) Are these boxes full of archived records that might need to be located at some time?
2) How do they expect to find anything?
3) Might there be a better way to organize these Storage Bins?

Moving a Washer Named “Herbert”

Bob McGregor — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:28:38 +0000

This is a picture of employee, Detrick Scott, rolling a monster front-loading washer down the hall from the customer's unit in the mid-rise complex, “The Savoy” in Chamblee, GA. The customer actually named the washer "Herbert" and its matching dryer, "Eunice"–don't ask! But women love these things, and they say they get clothers cleaner than do the standard top-loading washers.

They're much more sensitive to moving than top-loading washers. With front-loading, you're supposed to be install special stabilizing brackets in the back of the machines. The machines are supposed to come with them when they're new, but guess what–they often don't. We haven't had a damage claim yet on these front-loaders, but it's a "knock-on-wood" situation.