Top Family Tips for Stress-Free Moving in Michigan

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Moving to a new place is pretty much only ever simple if you are doing it alone and you don’t have much luggage and belongings to bring with you. The moment you have to move together with your whole family and a whole house’s worth of personal belongings, however, things immediately start getting much more complicated and stressful.

This is even more true if you have to move over long distances, such as out of state. Say you are moving into Michigan from another state, for example. Or even just from New Buffalo to Detroit or vice versa. What are the preparations and planning you need to do to make the whole experience as smooth as possible? Here are our top family tips for stress-free moving in Michigan.

Top 5 tips for a stress-free move in Michigan

There is a lot of planning that goes into moving to a new place with your family. When are you going to do it, how are you going to approach it, what is your budget, are you going to rely on help from friends or hire professional help, and so on.

Many of those considerations vary on a case-by-case basis, and we are not going to pretend there aren’t occasions when doing everything yourself isn’t the better option. If you have enough free time and you won’t need to take time off work, if you have the right vehicle, if you don’t have too many belongings that need moving, and if you have enough friends who can come help, doing everything yourself is a viable option. 

Those are pretty big “Ifs,” however, and even when they are the case, moving can still be very stressful. So, here are our 5 main recommendations:

1. Hire professional movers

Hiring professional movers to help you with the loading and carrying of your belongings is just too big a hassle to do yourself in the majority of cases. Renting a van to load, drive, and unload yourself is a manageable option, but it’s hardly stress-free, especially if you have lots of things to carry.

Plus, when there is too much to pack and unpack, as well as too many furniture pieces to disassemble and reassemble, a professional moving company can help with that, too.

Professional Michigan Movers are also insured, as well as licensed, which keeps you (and your budget) safe from any unforeseen accidents.

Do make sure to find the right people for the job, however, as hiring the wrong movers can bring you more problems and stress than if you do things on your own.

For starters, whoever you hire should indeed be properly licensed. This includes having Department of Transportation (DOT) numbers and licenses from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Also, make sure to check the individual drivers, too, as some firms are technically licensed and insured, but hire unlicensed drivers.

To make sure that you find the right people, it’s best to rely on personal referrals over anonymous online reviews. After that, make sure that you do deep research into the firm to make sure everything seems in order.

Lastly, even if you have found movers you like, it is recommended to look for quotes from at least a couple of other places to make sure you get the best possible offer in terms of not just the price, but the quality of service.

2. Pick the right time to move

One of the main things people fail to consider is that moving is a very seasonal industry. This is especially the case in northern states like Michigan, where most people choose to move in the summer. 

This is understandable, but it also means that moving companies are very busy in that period and have significantly higher prices. This means both that you will have a harder time booking the best firm for the job and that you’ll be asked to pay extra.

The same goes for weekdays and weekends, as first are extra busy on weekends but more accessible on weekdays.

So, if you can plan your move in the late autumn or winter, you will have a much easier time booking a good moving company, and you will get a better price quote. In fact, many companies offer steep discounts for the off-season months and weekdays in an attempt to attract customers. 

So, you can save yourself a lot of money by moving on an off-season weekday, especially if we are talking about a long-distance move.

3. Start planning your move as early as possible

Moving is a complicated adventure, especially with a large family and lots of furniture and belongings. While it can appear simple in principle, there are lots of things that can go wrong, as well as lots of additional things to think about, such as registering at your new local municipality, setting up your utilities, cleaning your new place, doing unexpected repairs, and so on.

Because of that, the sooner you start planning your move and the various auxiliary tasks around it, the smoother and more stress-free things are going to go.

4. Declutter before you move

From one point of view, it makes sense to first move all your belongings, and then decide which fits where in your new place and which should be thrown out, sold, and/or replaced.

At the same time, however, it makes no sense whatsoever to move furniture and belongings across Michigan (or even across state lines) for hundreds or thousands of miles, only to then throw some of it away. 

Instead, the much more stress-free approach is to do a floor plan of your new palace ahead of time, figure out which goes where before you move, and then declutter everything you won’t need before the moving day comes.

This way, you will pay much less for the move, and you’ll have much less packing, loading, unloading, and unpacking to do.

5. Mind the weather

This is always important when it comes to long-distance and large-scale moves, but it is especially crucial for northern states like Michigan. And it becomes even more important if you are moving during the off-season.

Obviously, weather forecasts become less and less reliable over longer time frames, but that makes it even more important to be careful when planning your move.

Furthermore, it is also strongly advisable to make sure that you work with movers who have proper gear for even the harshest weather conditions. Working with local movers is also typically advisable, as they are expected to be ready for the local climate.

*This article is based on personal suggestions and/or experiences and is for informational purposes only. This should not be used as professional advice. Please consult a professional where applicable.