Month: April 2015

Moving to New York City can be quite an adventure, but it doesn’t have to be stressful or unpredictable. With some planning and organization ahead of time, you can keep your costs down and your schedule reasonable. From our many years as one of the most trusted moving companies NYC has to offer, we’ve put together these 5 tips for a cost effective short distance move to New York City.

1. Work Out Your Schedule in Advance

With a short-distance move, you might feel comfortable about procrastinating your moving plans, but this can cause major headaches as you get closer and closer to your moving date. For instance, if you forget to reserve a truck, you could find yourself without one when the day comes to move all of your furniture. Avoid problems like this by thinking ahead. Here are some items to add to your calendar when moving to New York City:

• 6 weeks: Schedule moving and storage in Brooklyn
• 6 weeks: Order packing and moving materials (boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, etc.)
• 6 weeks: Arrange special travel arrangements
• 4 weeks: Schedule utilities disconnections and connections
• 4 weeks: Change addresses with banks, credit cards, magazines
• 4 weeks: Reserve elevators for move
• 3 weeks: Arrange for child care for moving day, if necessary
• 2 weeks: Begin packing
• 1 week:  Confirm date and time with moving company

2. Pack Early

Most people are surprised at how much stuff they own that doesn’t get used on a daily basis. Do yourself a favor and begin packing these little-used items early. Such items include tools, off-season clothing, coat closets, storage items, books, decorative items, files, and linens. Moving day itself will be exhausting, so don’t save all of your packing for the last minute.

3. Make an Unpacking Plan

With short-distance moves, it’s tempting to adopt a haphazard attitude and just get everything moved from one place to another, but your life will return to normal quicker if you have an unpacking plan. If you hire movers to help you with moving to New York City, make sure you can tell them where you want all of your items unloaded so you don’t have to go searching through your bedroom for the pots and pans when you’re hungry the day after your move. If you recruit friends to help you move, consider sketching out a plan of where you want all of your furniture to be located in your new home so they can help you unload more efficiently.

4. Use a Dolly or Two

Let’s say you have 30 heavy boxes to transport. You can walk from the truck to your new apartment 30 times, taking one heavy box at a time, or you can walk from the truck to your destination just 6 times, stacking 5 boxes on a dolly and letting wheels do the heavy lifting. Using a dolly can make a real difference in time and in your energy level on moving day. If you’re going to be loading and unloading the truck yourself, consider renting a few dollies to keep everyone working efficiently.

5. Move Midweek if you can

Most people try to take care of short distance moves on the weekend so they don’t have to miss any work, but if you can manage it with your schedule, try to move during the middle of the week. Trucks, dollies, and other moving equipment are often available during the middle of the week and are in higher demand on the weekends. You may be able to acquire this equipment for less mid-week, and chances are better you’ll be able to extend your truck rental if needed when you’re not counting on having them over the weekend.

When moving to New York City, planning makes all the difference. Even once you’ve done all your planning, make sure you get a good night’s sleep the day before the move. Moving is physically and emotionally demanding, and you’ll need all the energy reserves you can muster. wether you are renting to your first apartment in New York City, buying your dream mansion on the upper east side or moving to the subarbs, It is always beneficial for you to talk to a trusted NYC moving company. The expeience that a professional moving company brings to the table can save you a lot of money and hussle on the day of the move. A trusted moving and sorage company will provide you with a moving budget checklist, a list of packing materials appropriate for your move size and help you get al of the permits and insuranccertificates you might need.

One of the best things you can do to make your move smooth and stress-free is to call us at U.Santini Moving and Storage. We’re the original cost effective Park Slope professional moving company, and we’ve been helping people move since 1930. Our family-owned business takes pride in being the best BBB movers in Brooklyn. To learn more about what we can do to help you with your move, contact us at 718-768-6778.

Moving requires you to make lots of decisions. What kind of apartment do I need? What furniture should I sell? What time of week should I plan to make the move? But there’s one decision you can make that will lighten your load and smooth your transition: hiring a professional, Brooklyn moving company. Brooklyn movers such as U.Santini Moving and storage are cnsidered a trusted nyc moving company and will provide you with excellent service at affordable prices.

You can save money by taking care of your move by yourself, but you’ll probably still need to rent a truck and round up some people to help with the heavy lifting. You’ll also need to weigh a few other factors into your decision: Can you keep your rented moving truck in a prime parking location while you do your loading and unloading? Do you have insurance to cover any mishaps that occur during your move?

We’ve put together a list of considerations to help you with your decision of whether to manage your move yourself or to hire a professional, Brooklyn moving company.
1. Experience

How much experience do you and your helpers have with moving? Experience can really make a difference, especially if you have any tricky items such as a piano or a large armoire. At U.Santini, we have more than 80 years of moving experience in New York City.

2. Training

Unfortunately, many moving days are marred by accidents and injuries because most people aren’t trained in how to lift and move heavy items without hurting themselves. Our employees have received personal moving and handling training from expert staff. This kind of experience can be incredibly helpful, especially when difficulties arise.

3. Insurance

Do you currently have insurance that will cover any accidents or mishaps during your move? We carry full replacement insurance with a $5,000,000 general liability policy. This insurance gives our clients peace of mind, knowing they will be covered if anything goes wrong.

4. Time

Do you really have time to manage this move all by yourself? Moves require lots of attention to detail, and they almost always take more time than you think they’ll take. When you turn your move over to professionals, your move won’t feel like it’s taking over your life.

5. Price

While it definitely costs more to hire a professional, Brooklyn moving company than it costs to do your move yourself, you might be surprised by how competitive the prices are. This is especially true when you take into account the fees that add up as you rent a truck and the materials necessary to transport your belongings from one place to another. Sometimes, estimating the move price can be tricky, use our moving budget checklist blog post to figure out how much your move is going to cost.

6. Options

If problems arise during your move, you can be thrown into crisis mode. For example, let’s say your apartment is all packed up and you’re ready to turn the keys over to your landlord when you find out that the closing on your new house has been delayed. If you’re working with a moving company that has its own storage facilities, this situation is much easier to deal with. A trusted moving and storage company is invaluable when things don’t go as planned.

Likewise, when you work with a moving company that has many different trucks of different sizes, you can avoid the situation of having reserved a truck that doesn’t fit your needs and facing the prospect of making multiple trips. Details like these can be handled well by moving companies with years of experience and many resources.
Making the Decision

One of the best ways to make the decision about whether or not to hire a professional, Brooklyn moving company is to get a free in-home visual estimate. When you have the details in front of you (how much the move will cost and what kinds of services you can count on), it’s much easier to decide. You can calculate how much time you could save by delegating this work to someone else and base your decision on this information.

If you’d like to speak with a U.Santini representative, contact us. You can also use our free online moving estimator to get more information on which to base your decision. Feel free to contact us with questions and concerns. Our customer service is legendary, and we look forward to helping you. Call us at 718-768-6778, if you want more moving and storage information, or if you intend to hire a moving company.

Some rooms are trickier to pack than others, and the bathroom is one of those tricky rooms for packing. Whether your are hiring a professional packing company or you’re doing the packing yourself, the bathroom requires special consideration.

One of the things that makes bathroom packing tricky is that you need some of your bathroom items up until moving day. Also, many items kept in bathrooms contain liquids or are fragile. Because of these factors, we’ve put together a helpful list of packing tips to help our valued customers. We’ve learned these tips about how to pack bathroom for moving over many years as Brooklyn’s trusted moving and storage company.
How to Pack Bathroom For Moving

1. Throw Out Items That Aren’t Worth Moving

Every bathroom has a few of these unwanted items, and it doesn’t make sense to move them to your new home. Go through your bathroom and throw out old toilet brushes, half-used bars of soap, empty shampoo bottles, anything else that’s not worth precious space in your moving truck. It can be liberating to throw out items that are just cluttering your life.

2. Set Aside Your Bathroom Essentials

On the other end of the spectrum are the items that you absolutely must have every day, including the day of your move. To avoid confusion while you’re packing, put these items in a plastic box or sturdy zippered bag. Your essentials might include your toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, dental floss, make-up, and hair styling products. Additionally, we’ve found it’s wise to set aside a small first aid kit and basic medicine like Tylenol and allergy medicine, just in case you need it between now and unpacking day.

3. Collect Cleaning Supplies

In addition to your bathroom essentials, you’ll want to set aside your bathroom cleaning supplies for the day of the move when you’ll need them. Put them in a “cleaning box” along with rags, brooms, and anything else you’ll need after you’ve removed all of your belongings from your house or apartment.

4. Pack Your Linens

If you’re running short on boxes, you can pack bath towels and linens in a sturdy plastic bag. You can also use these linens as padding for fragile items such as glass apothecary jars or porcelain soap dishes. Additionally, you can place a towel or shower curtain in the empty space on top in other boxes that contain heavier items.

5. Be Careful With Leaky Items

Liquid and gel items could leak during your move, especially if you’re moving to a different elevation. That’s why it’s wise to put these kinds of items in small plastic bags before you pack them. Another precaution you can take is to tape the caps or lids on potentially leaky items. This is especially important for expensive items you’d hate to waste. A little foresight while you’re packing can help you to avoid big messes on the other end of your move.

As with all packing, make sure you clearly label your boxes. When you’re tired at the other end of your move, it’s nice to easily be able to find your towels so you can take a nice, hot shower. Also, consider your back. If you pack too many heavy things in one box, you’ll create hassles for yourself down the line. Use small boxes for heavy items, and larger boxes for light items if at all possible.

That’s how to pack bathroom for moving in a nutshell. With these tips, you’ll get your items from your old place to your new place without trouble and without a mess. If you want to learn more about how to pack bathroom for moving, or for any other moving question, contact us at U.Santini Moving and storage.

About U. Santini moving and storage:

When you choose a moving company with local experience, stellar customer service, and a long history of reliability, you make your move easy. On the other hand, when you choose a moving company with haphazard business practices that doesn’t understand the local NYC boroughs, you’re in for an “adventure.” I think that moving is enough of an adventure when everything is orderly, organized, and handled by professionals–there’s no need to add to the excitement with problems from your moving company.

Once you’ve decided to move, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is what kind of mover is right for you. When you choose a moving company that meets your needs and provides great customer service, your move will be a smooth and positive experience.

Let’s take a look at the attributes to look for when you’re deciding on a mover.

Experience

A couple of guys with a truck can throw together a moving company and start advertising in your neighborhood, but they may not have the experience to make sure your move goes smoothly. Experience counts for a lot, especially in a place like New York City. New York is unlike any other place in the country when it comes to moving. The sheer density of people and traffic makes moving trickier, and a moving company with experience in local neighborhoods and with landlords and city officials can ease your move significantly.

Here at U. Santini, we have more than 80 years of moving experience in the family. These years of experience make for great experiences for our customers who know they can depend on us to take care of every facet of their move.

A Variety of Services

Even after all these years, I have yet to run across two moves that are exactly alike. People are all different, and so is their stuff. That’s why we think it’s important to offer a variety of services so each customer can have a customized move that suits their needs perfectly. To meet our customers’ needs, we offer the following services, which they can pick and choose from:

• Full-Service Packing. Some people prefer to have their belongings professionally packed, and this can be a great option if you have lots of breakables or if you simply don’t have the time to do it yourself. Our professional packing crew is efficient, professional, and very, very good. They can pack anything, and they make it look like a breeze.
• Packing Supplies. If you’d rather do the packing yourself, we can provide you with all the supplies you need. In fact, we can deliver our top quality packing boxes right to your door.
• Storage Solutions. You may need temporary or long-term storage for your move, and when you choose a moving company that offers these services, you’ll be in a better position.
• Local Movers. Even if you’re just moving down the street, working with a local mover can make your move so much easier. From scheduling and organizing to the actual heavy lifting, local movers lead the way and make your day smooth and simple.
• Long-Distance and International Movers. Whether you’re moving to a new state or to a new country, a moving company that can handle complicated planning, packing and crating, car and boat shipments, and even customs clearance can simplify your life and help you to get from here to there without the headaches of coordinating so many details yourself.
• Commercial/Office Movers. Just like households, businesses sometimes move, too, and leaning on a moving company (instead of your employees) can help you get back to work much more quickly. This is especially true when you’re concerned about packing electronics for moving.

With all of these services at your disposal, you can be sure that your move can be arranged to suit your preferences and your lifestyle.

Unbeatable Customer Service

Finally, you’ll want to choose a moving company based on their customer service. After all, you’re looking for a moving company to make your life easier. One of the best ways I know of to learn about customer service is to ask your neighbors. To this end, we’ve posted customer testimonials on our website. In addition to reading testimonials, you can just pick up the phone and give us a call. Here at U. Santini, the best BBB movers in Brooklyn, we believe excellent customer service starts with the first phone call, even if one of the kids picks up the office phone.

So do your homework and choose a moving company that’s right for your. Choose one that offers a slew of services, just in case something comes up that requires changes in your plans. And by all means, choose a moving company with excellent customer service. Call us at 718-768-6778