How to Pack Pictures & Glass!

 

Most homes these days have at least a dozen or so (sometimes more), hanging pictures or mirrors that need to be packed properly to move them safely, and most importantly, keep them in one piece!


Local San Diego Movers will utilize boxes called 'Mirror Packs', or sometimes spelled 'Mirror Pak', which can either assemble with two or four pieces to completely cover a large picture, mirror, or other glass piece.  By wrapping the picture or mirror in a protective paper pad, and then placing the item inside our 'Mirror Pak', Local Movers in San Diego are able to ensure your pictures will not be scratched or broken on the way to your new location.

Check out these great videos on how to pack pictures and mirrors and as always, Happy & Safe Moving from Crosstown Movers of San Diego!

 

 

 Local Movers in San Diego

Moving is Stressful for Pets Too!

We here at Crosstown Movers of San Diego are huge fans of pets and we take pride in treating them as members of your family.  Often times, pets are overlooked and can sometimes create a bit of a hassle on moving day.  We have gathered some great information from both moving companies and animal rights groups alike to help better understand the best and least stressful way to move with your beloved pets.

Moving to a new home may be one of the most stressful life events you’ll ever have to tackle. But in the chaos of cardboard boxes, packing tape and moving trucks, you might not realize how stressed your pets feel, too. We chatted with ASPCA Director of Anti-Cruelty Behavior Research Dr. Katherine Miller about ways to make the transition as safe and easy as possible for your furry friends.

 

Choosing a new neighborhood, house or apartment

Before you pick out your dream home, make sure your pet will love it just as much as you do. It’s a good idea to walk around the neighborhood to determine whether the area seems safe for your pets. Be on the lookout for neighborhood dogs that seem aggressive or are left unattended.

 

When it comes to square footage needs, cats and dogs differ. For your feline friends, ensure your potential new space allows for plenty of room to build vertically—it’s easy to create a lot of virtual space with shelving, such as kitty blocks on top of furniture. Consider your dog’s needs on a case-by-case basis. Older dogs, puppies and dogs with house training issues will need to go outside often, which might be difficult in an apartment building with lots of stairs or a house without a yard.

 

 

Packing up your home

Cats aren’t big fans of change. You can help your cats (and skittish dogs) adjust to the moving process by bringing in moving boxes early, and by keeping your furry friends in a familiar room you plan to pack up last. On moving day, keep your pets in a quiet room with the door shut, or at a friend’s house. This will ensure that your cat or dog won’t get scared and try to make a quick getaway while the movers load up the truck.

 

 

 

Planning your road trip

Many pets haven’t spent much time in crates or cars. In the weeks or months leading up to the big trip, you can prepare your pets by gradually acclimating them to their crates. First, place their food inside an open crate, and eventually have them eat their meals in the crate with the door shut. Try carrying your pets around the house in the crate or taking a short drive. You can help your pets develop a positive association with the crate by providing treats and playtime at the conclusion of crate time. Taking these steps will make moving day a lot more comfortable for you and your furry friends.

 

 

 

Settling in to your new place

When you arrive at your new home at the end of your long journey, it will be tempting to set your dog or cat loose in the house to explore. However, a new and unfamiliar space can be overwhelming to your pets. Start by allowing them to adjust to one room—their “home base”—which should include their favorite toys, treats, water and food bowls, and litter box for cats. When they seem comfortable, gradually introduce them to other rooms in the house, while keeping some doors shut. You can slowly move your cat’s litter box to a different room, too.

 

(Original Story on ASPCA)


We have also included this great video from the good folks at Atlas Van Lines, which takes a step by step approach to moving with your pets over long distances.

 

As Always, Happy & Safe Moving from Crosstown Movers San Diego!

 

 

Fun Facts About Moving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Often Do Southern Californians Move?

According to studies held by the California Moving & Storage Association, Californians move on average once every three years.  Under normal circumstances, students, military personnel, and singles between 24-35 are the groups who move the most frequently, often once or more per year on average. 

While at the other end of the spectrum, persons with salaries exceeding $100,000 per year find themselves moving just once every five years on average.

Is Everyone Moving Out of California?

Although California was amongst the hardest hit by the effects of the Recession, the economy is slowly recovering and people are moving out of state less and less each year.  Net population loss peaked in 2005, and more people have moved out of the state than into the state in each year since 2000, however birthrates have kept the overall population in California on the rise.

Those who have moved out of state have mostly moved to Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon, likely because of better job markets and lower costs of living.  Those on their way inbound have also mostly come from the states of Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.

California's population currently hovers around 36 million, which translates into one of the largest markets for moving services on the planet.  San Diego Movers are especially lucky because we serve a 'World Destination', and a hot spot for students, military, and tourism, which ensures a nearly year round need for moving services.

For Quality San Diego Moving Services Call Crosstown Movers of San Diego Today!  As Always, Happy & Safe Moving!

Where Can I Find Useful Moving Information?

We all know that in order to find any useful information on a particular subject these days, we are going to have to dig through a little garbage to get there.  This is especially true when searching online for useful information about moving.


While our blog is one of the best out there (you better believe it), there are also a few others like it that are able to provide great information and tips that can really save you both time and money.  We have taken the liberty of linking those sites here and have spent some quality time getting to know the content of each site for you. Enjoy!


Movers.com - Movers.com is a well known, trusted moving website established 16 years ago!  They have a long standing reputation for helping customers locate quality, licensed movers, and their site also features some very informational moving guides and best of all everything is free to use.


Movers.org - Much like the site above, Movers.org is a well trusted moving site, but they are relatively newer.  They offer all the same great features as Movers.com, but don't quite have as many moving guides to offer to their visitors.  They do have some very useful information about packing materials and their costs.  Overall, our staff was very impressed with Movers.Org.


Unpakt.com - Unpakt is a little more strait forward than the other sites listed here, and really doesn't offer much information when it comes to moving guides.  They do however have an excellent locator service for visitors searching for both local, or long distance moving companies, and their site has an easy to use, sleek interface.


TheMovingBlog.com - This site has it all.  A great user interface to help visitors find great moving companies, as well as tons of articles and moving guides that are well written, and fun to read.  Overall this is just a wonderful site that is well designed and is packed with loads of information that is guaranteed to save you some time, money, and stress.


Of coarse, there are tons and tons of moving sites available on the web and there is no way to list all the good ones in one place.  If you know of another great moving site that we missed, feel free to send us a link and we will add it to our growing list.

For all your San Diego Moving needs be sure to visit Crosstown Movers San Diego.  Happy & Safe Moving!

How to Pack Your Clothes for Moving Day

Packing clothing items for moving is often the very last thing most people tend to do on their big moving day, and it's mostly because the overwhelming majority of us need our clothes pretty much down to the very last second! (I'm no swimsuit model, but I'm sure they must have clothes to pack too, so let's move on...)



The best way to handle the racks of hanging clothes in your closets is to utilize what movers call a 'Wardrobe Box'.  Wardrobe boxes are usually about 4 feet tall, 20 inches by 20 inches wide, and come with a metal bar that goes across the top for you to hang your clothes on.  You can purchase smaller, cheaper versions called 'Shorty Wardrobes' (that's not an official term), at places like Home Depot or U-Haul, but it's far better to use the free ones that your moving company will most likely provide you on moving day.

Most local movers, and almost all local movers in San Diego, will provide you with 3-4 or more wardrobe boxes to use for free during your move, provided you return them at the end of your move of coarse.  Be sure to ask during the booking process if your moving company provides free use of wardrobe boxes and how many, and be sure to request additional boxes if necessary (especially if you have a spouse with a walk in closet).  Most moving companies will gladly supply you with the extra boxes at no additonal cost.

One Final Tip:  If you are particularly worried about your clothing items getting dirty during the move, like expensive suits or dresses, be sure to use some large clean trash bags to protect them.  You can slip the bags right over the hangers and simply make a small hole for the top of the hanger to poke through.  Now your clothing items can be put into wardrobe boxes without any fear of them getting dirty or stained during the move!

For all your San Diego Moving needs, visit Crosstown Movers and as always,

Happy & Safe Moving!

How to Properly Pad Wrap a Couch!

When it comes to padding up a couch for moving, there may be a few different ways to get the job done, but here at Crosstown Movers of San Diego County, there is truly only one way to properly pad wrap a couch, and we use that process on every single move.  So here's a little insight into how the professionals protect your couches.

First and foremost, you will need 4 pads, some tape, and some plastic stretch wrap to complete this task. 

Start by laying out two pads on the floor next to each other with the longer (wider) sides touching.  Next, place your couch in the middle of these two pads, and then cover the top of the couch with the two remaining pads we have, making sure to cover the entire couch.


Use the tape to secure the loose ends of the bottom pads to the top pads, and tape up and fold the ends as well.  After taping up all loose ends, use the plastic stretch wrap to secure the pads onto the couch more firmly.  Be sure to get all sides of the couch, including the bottom, with the stretch wrap to ensure the pads will not fall off while moving.

 

Extra care is needed when moving leather couches, be sure not to completely encase the couch in plastic wrap, as leather can sweat or 'bleed' if not properly ventilated.  Keep this in mind and leave a few air holes for leather couches to breathe.  Also, never wrap leather couches too tightly in stretch wrap, as this can wrinkle the leather and leave it permanently looking like a big raisin, especially if they are being stored for a long period of time!

Below is a quick video from the experts over at Pete's Ultimate Movers showing you how to properly pad wrap a couch.  For all your San Diego Moving needs visit Crosstown Movers and as always, happy & safe moving!

The Busy Moving Season is Upon San Diego!

Here in sunny San Diego, there is no real 'winter' season like most places have, which means that for us San Diego Movers, there is no real 'slow' moving season either.  Yes, things do tend to slow down quite a bit in November, December, and January, but aside from that the rest of the year is either steady, or as we movers prefer things, busy!



People are always asking us when the 'busy' season for moving is, and usually want us to explain the reasons why.  For us here where the weather is pretty much perfect year round, it's fairly obvious why people don't mind moving almost anytime during the year, since they don't have to plan around weather conditions like rain or snow.

But what really FUELS the 'busy' season?  Although the weather can definetly play a big part in most places, here in San Diego it really comes down to two things, tax returns and Summer.

The 'busy' season in Southern California starts in the beginning of March, as residents and businesses begin receiving their tax returns, they often allocate their new funds toward relocating to a new place.  This keeps movers pretty busy throughout March and April, and meanwhile summer has been steadily approaching, which as you will read, tends to send the local moving industry into overdrive.

Summer is by far the most busy time of the year for movers mainly because of the longer days and warmer temperatures.  Lots of families tend to move during the summer months of June, July, and August, because their children are out of school and summer schedules are usually a bit more flexible.  The longer days provide more daylight hours and lets face it, everyone just loves to be out in the sun, even if they are moving!

 

 

So what does this mean for local Customers?  Only that it is a good idea to book your move at least one week in advance during the busier months of March, April, June, July, and August.  Trying to book last minute moves during these times can often be difficult and may leave you stuck with a sub-par moving choice.

 

As Always, Happy & Safe Moving!

 

For all your San Diego Moving needs, visit Crosstown Movers today!

 

How to Pack Your Kitchen Like a Pro

When it comes to moving, people dread packing their kitchen because they are often filled from floor to ceiling with glass and other fragile items. But fear not, CrossTown Movers is here to help you tackle this tedious chore without any unfortunate accidents along the way.  So here goes:

Pots and Pans:
As with all boxes, the first thing you want to add to your dish-pack is plenty of paper. Then, starting with your larger heavier items, wrap your pots and pans in packing paper and pack them in the box with the rims facing down. One key thing to remember is not to mix your pots and pans with glassware!

Heavy Glass Items:
For large glass bowls, serving and casserole dishes, and other heavy glass cookware, be sure to use plenty of packing paper, and keep these items at the bottom of your boxes, as opposed to stacking them on top of fragile pieces like stemware. All large bowls should be packed either on their side or rim down, while longer, more shallow pieces like serving and casserole dishes should be packed upright on their end.

Bowls, Plates, and Saucers: 
These will be the easiest of your kitchen items to pack, because the rules are very simple. For bowls, wrap them in packing paper and always place them in your boxes on their sides. Secondly, for plates, always wrap them in at least two pieces of packing paper and place them in your box standing up on their side. Never pack plates or bowls lying flat like you would normally store them in your cupboard, as the bounce of the moving truck along the road will almost certainly cause entire stacks of these breakables to shatter during transport!

Glasses and Stemware:
Glasses should simply be wrapped individually and placed rim down near the top portion of your box.  Avoid packing heavier items on top of your glasses and stemware as this obviously can lead to breakage.  Stemware should be first wrapped around the stem, and then again to cover the entire glass.  Always place your stemware upside down on it's rim in your boxes to ensure they have the most amount of protection.


Armed with this knowledge you should be able to pack your kitchen like a pro in no time, and with no broken glass to show for it when you unpack. We have also included this short video from the good folks over at United Van Lines for some pointers on packing techniques. For all your San Diego Moving needs call CrossTown Movers at (619) 884-1788.  Happy packing!

 

Do Movers Offer Cheaper Mid-Month Rates?

     Generally, the answer to this question is yes, most movers (especially San Diego Movers), do in fact offer better rates during mid-month, as opposed to the normal rates charged during the beginning and end of each month which are busier for moving companies.

    

     For the most part, moving companies consider the ten days before the end of each month, and the ten days after the end of each month (so that's a twenty day span), to be busy enough to charge their normal rates.  But during those ten days that fall in the middle of the month, most moving companies charge a slightly lower rate since people tend not to move mid-month and business is slower.

 

 

So How Much Can You Really Save?

 

     Movers will usually offer a discounted mid-month rate that is anywhere from $5-$10/hr lower than their normal rate, which can save the average customer anywhere from $20-$60,

depending on the size of the move.

     Of coarse, moving in the middle of the month is not a luxury that everyone has as most rental contracts tend to expire near the beginning or end of the month.  If you do decide to book your upcoming move during that mid-month window, be sure to ask your movers if they offer a discounted rate.



Need San Diego Movers?  Call CrossTown Movers today at 619-884-1788 for a free estimate!

3 Easy Money Saving Tips Before The Move...

Let's face it, moving is a stressful process that few people enjoy.  Several times a week we get asked here at CrossTown Movers how on earth we do this everyday for a living, to which we usually reply, "Aw, come on, it's not that bad!"

But just how smoothly the moving process happens depends largely on how well you the customer are prepared before the movers even show up, and taking the right steps before the move can save you anywhere from $100-$300!!

Here's a few easy time and money saving moving tips:

1. Make sure your stuff is all packed up! - San Diego Movers charge by the hour, so fewer trips to the truck means less time and therefor less money out of your pocket.  Be sure to have all of your belongings packed away in boxes so the movers can load your items efficiently.  Having an excess of loose items not only means more trips back and forth to the truck, but also more time to load those loose items securely.

2. Disassemble your Beds! - Beds usually take a bit of time to disassemble and this slows the flow of your move down when movers have to both disassemble and reassemble your beds at your new home.  In some cases, shippers who choose to take apart their own beds can trim up to an hour off their final bill, just make sure you can reassemble them safely, if not, have the movers do it!

3. Have a Plan at the Unload! - Unloading is usually much faster than the loading process and many shippers get overwhelmed in a hurry!  Having a solid plan about where to put large furniture and boxes can save you from having to move items multiple times and avoids cluttering up walkways, both of which will save time and money!


For a free moving quote and the best service in San Diego County, call CrossTown Movers at
619-884-1788

Or Visit Us @ www.crosstownmoverssandiego.com

CrossTown Movers Opens for Business in San Diego!

CrossTown Movers is pleased to announce the official opening of their full service moving company in San Diego, just in time for the new year!

Serving all of San Diego County, CrossTown Movers is a locally owned and operated moving company specializing in local, full service, and office moves.  With a well trained staff backed by more than 10 years of excellence in the moving industry, CrossTown Movers of San Diego truly defines fast, friendly, and professional service!

With rates starting at just $79/Hour!

For a free quote call 619-884-1788 or visit www.crosstownmoverssandiego.com



"Moving San Diego Crosstown in a Breeze"