Moving Boxes - Packing Tips

2010-04-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Packing items into boxes

These Packing Tips are provided by My Moving Boxes

1. Choose the right size of moving box for items being packed
2. Tape bottom of boxes secure ( tape the same way as the boxes that came with your electronics)
3. Make bumpers, take two pieces of the newsprint and loosely crumple them up, then take another piece of paper and wrap up the two crumpled pieces until you get something that looks like a submarine.
4. Pad the bottom of your moving boxes with bumpers.
5. Place items, like dishes and picture frames, vertically and in the opposite direction of the bumpers. This will prevent items from slipping into the cracks between your bumpers and being broken.
6. Wrap each plate individually in tissue paper and newsprint; next take 4 wrapped plates and wrap them together. Take the bundle and stand on its edge in box. Use padding between bundles. NEVER lay them flat
7. Individually wrap each glass, pad the bottom of the box with bubble wrap or poly-foam, pack glass rim down and pack empty spaces in box with cushioning materials, like foam chips. For best results use fragile kit for your glassware.
8. Do the same for Bowls as you did for the plates. You can place bowls on end or flat.
9. Fine silver should be wrapped in cloth.
10. Fill each Moving box to capacity if needed use bumpers to fill empty spaces.
11. Pack one lamp shade per box. Put fragile stickers.
12. Delicate Items need to be wrapped individually with bubble wrap.
13. Mirrors, pictures, paintings and glass tops should be packed in mirror cartons or be crated. Put two strips of masking tape over the glass in an X shape, the tape will keep it from shattering and scratching the underlying picture. If the item isn't covered in glass, you should first cover the painting in unprinted newsprint then cover it with bubble wrap and put into mirror carton.

Choosing The Best Toronto Movers

2010-02-24T11:44:00.000-08:00

The basis of this article is not to individualize one particular Toronto moving company but to educate readers of what is occurring in the moving industry in Toronto. It’s overwhelming of how many negative articles there is on moving companies.

I have over 20 years of experience in the transportation and moving industry. I have experienced these industries going down hill because of massive competition and deregulation. When you have 20 Toronto moving companies competing for one moving job this will force prices down to a point that makes it impossible to provide quality-moving service. Some will argue that competition is a healthy environment for the moving consumer. I will not disagree with a healthy level of competition, if the consumer is well informed on how to choose the best Toronto mover.

The Problem with Hiring on Price Alone

The problem I believe is the moving consumer allows the price to be the major factor in their decision. The decision to hire a cheap mover in my opinion will always be a bad decision. The moving consumer should not hire a mover just because the mover offers a cheap hourly rate; instead the consumer should be well informed of the moving companies’ profile. The consumer needs to remember that on moving day they are going to entrust all their belongings to their mover. I will attempt to convey more suggestions on how to choose the best moving company in a future article.

A Moving Truck is Not What Makes a Good Mover

The reason I believe why there is high number of Toronto moving companies and individual movers that are not operating in good consumer practices is because individuals are under the impression that all you need to become a Toronto mover is to purchase a truck. In other words, they are buying a job. The problem is that most individuals might be good truck drivers and I emphasize “Good” truck drivers, but not good business men/women. These so called movers might be able too drive a truck but cannot balance the books.

Individuals decide to become movers thinking of making $100 plus per hour or $1000 per day providing the service of three men and truck, but they forgot to deduct all the expenses that come with operating a moving company. Expenses they should have consider such as; wages, truck maintenance, fuel, insurance, office/yard space, advertising, truck payments etc. The most damaging to this equation is the down time for these movers.

There is a saying in the moving and transportation industry, “If the wheels are not turning the dollars are not coming!” What does a Toronto mover do in this situation? Like any other businessperson they need to reduce prices to compete and hopefully reduce the down time. This always means that any moving job inquired will be done for less than the original $100 plus per hour. The $100/hour is no longer the fact for these movers; the reality is that they have to reduce prices to about $70-$90/hour in order to book a moving job. This price income reduction will mean these moving companies will have to reduce expenses.

Low Prices Leading to Low Quality Movers

The majority of these reductions can only be made to maintenance and wages. This of course reduces the level of quality moving service that movers are able to provide. There are many negative impacts when a company reduces the maintenance level and wages. Maintenance is a very important factor that moving companies need to keep on top of their priority list. Maintenance is one of the biggest expenses that moving companies incur. Maintaining and repairing moving trucks and moving equipment are not a cheap thing to do. In order for a moving company to truly succeed they not only have to have outstanding customer service, excellent employees but their vehicles must be presentable. Wages is another big expense for a moving company. In order for moving companies to provide lower prices to the moving customer they need to reduce the wages they pay their employees. This action does not offer a positive outcome for the moving customer because you are going to receive poor workmanship from a low paid employee.

Mover Scams a Big Problem

Unfortunately in the Toronto Moving industry there are a high number of bad practice movers “Toronto Movers Scams”. These bad practices consist of misleading the moving customer of the actual price they will be charged. For example, the moving customer hires the services of a moving company believing that the cost of the services will be $65.00 per hour for three men and truck. Of course this price is much cheaper than a good practice mover. The moving company leads the customer in believing that they are getting a good deal, what they fail to explain to the customer is the extra costs on moving day such as; stairs, long walk, heavy items, etc. Many readers will understand what I mean when I say, “extra moving charges”. Some of you have expressed your displeasure with your Toronto Movers on blogs, reviews or newspapers. These charges can be acceptable when the customer did not advise the moving company of their moving conditions. Though this is not the case with these so called; Toronto Movers Scams, they apply these charges at will; meaning majority of the time. In future articles I would like to offer more detail on this topic.

I would like to leave you the reader with a couple of good practice Toronto movers. AMJCampbell is a well establish mover in Toronto that offers a reliable and dependable moving service. Another Toronto mover that I will suggest is Dino’s Movers. This company is a smaller moving company that is reliable and offers fair moving prices. I like to advise the reader to please educate your self on these two moving companies that I have suggested before hiring their services.