Tip of the Week:  Local Moving Tips - For those of you moving locally we offer some packing and preparation tips. Understand that local moving does not require the same degree and amount of packing or preparation as long distance moving or moves into storage. Local moves that load and deliver the same day can often save time and cost by utilizing some of the following tips.

Generally packing means the consolodation of small items into boxes or the packing of fragile items into boxes or wrapped in cardboard or blankets. Most boxes require you tape the bottom and you should use a minimum of 3 strips of packing tape to do so. Some boxes called "self locking folders" do not require tape and are designed to "pop into a box". These types of boxes are usually meant for office moving, but can certainly be used for household moving as well.

As a rule pack the heavier items into smaller boxes and the lighter items into larger boxes. For example heavy weight items such as books, canned goods, tools and parts, etc. go into smaller boxes. Medium weight items such as pots and pans, linens, dry goods, non breakable kitchenware, etc. should go into medium size boxes. Lighter weight items such as blankets, pillows, baskets, or bulky items should go into larger boxes. NEVER put heavy items into large boxes, as it will make the box too heavy to handle or carry, and also increases the chance of the bottom of the box breaking thru.

Most of the time it will be necessary to close or seal the top of the box, however for local moves there can be a few exceptions. Boxes with spillable items from kitchens or bathrooms or garages can often benefit from NOT closing the top. Whoever moves these boxes will see that they contain spillable items and as such will not inadvertanly turn the box on its side or upside down, which can occur with sealed boxes. In addition if you box plants (fake or real) or lampshades, by not sealing the top whoever moves them will know not to put heavy items on top of these boxes, which can occur with sealed boxes.

Certain items which require packing on long distance or storage moves can often be moved without packing for local moves. These items include many pictures, mirrors, table glass, audio and video components, lamps, fake plants, blankets, pillows, etc. Understand, you can't go wrong by packing these items for a local move, however, oftentimes it's just not necessary. Many times these items can be wrapped in furniture pads or put between boxes or cardboard on the truck. On the other hand, if any of these types of items are of high value, pack them. Also understand if you use a moving company and you have them move these fragile types of items, and they are not properly packed, the moving company may not have liability for their damage. What you have to evaluate and weigh out is the risk of damage to these items vs. your additional time and cost to pack them.

Fragile smaller items such as dishes, china, stemware, vases, bric a brac, collectibles, glass or stonewear, etc. require packing both for local or long distance moving. Dont be shy with the packing paper. We caution against using actual newspaper as the ink from newspapers transfers to the items you are packing. In addition, if you pack with lots of newspaper the ink will get on your hands and transfer to everything you touch such as sofas, chairs, linens, and on and on. It begins to get everywhere. Instead, invest in what's called "unprinted news" which is simply newspaper size paper without any print on it. This type of packing paper is the best insurance you can buy to protect your breakables. Make sure when you wrap dishes, glasses, stemwear, small pictures, etc. that you stand them vertically or upright in the boxes. Never lay glass items flat. There is a much greater risk of breakage for glass items layed flat. The type of box you use for breakable items can vary. While for long distance or storage moving you should use boxes made of more heavy duty or double wall cardboard (often called dishpack boxes) for local moving it's perfectly fine to use standard smaller or medium boxes. Make sure to use plenty of packing paper and clearly label the boxes as fragile or breakables. Do not use large cartons for breakables unless the items being packed are so large you have no choice.

For local moving you can usually keep your dressers or chests of drawers filled with clothing. Make sure to remove any spillables, breakables, valuables, tiny items that could fall out, or heavy items such as books or papers. Clothing or blankets or pillows, etc. are usually OK. Ask you specific moving company their policy on moving these items loaded.

In addition for your hanging clothes, oftentimes the moving company will provide free use of wardrobe boxes on moving day. Each wardrobe box holds about 2 feet of hanging clothes. For example if you have 20 feet of hanging clothes that is about 10 wardrobe boxes. Ask your specific moving company about their wardrobe use policy.

For labeling of boxes use an indelible marker, and mark the sides of the box with the room the items will go to. You can often use the following shortcuts - K for kitchen, G or garage, LR for living room, FR for family room, MBR for master bedroom, BR1 for bedroom 1, OUT for outside or patio, BATH for bathroom, etc.

We hope some of these tips have been usefull. Again, for local moving the amount of packing and preparation necessary is not quite as much as for long distance or storage moving. Call your specific moving company for their policies or suggestions.

Recent Office Moving References / Surveys Returned

Company	City From	City To	Phone	Customer Survey Comments
Southern California Collection Service	Tarzana	Tarzana	818-708-9700	Came well equiped!
Celetronix	Simi Valley	Simi Valley	phone withheld
Accelerate Partners	Beverly Hills	Los Angeles	phone withheld	Everything was great!
First Regional Bank	Century City	Century City	818-885-6261	You guys were the easiest part of the move!
Benefitvision	Sherman Oaks	Encino	818-382-6740	Keep up the good work!
Hudson	Encino	Century City	310-734-5123	A job well done!
One Legacy	Agoura Hills	Sherman Oaks	phone withheld	Great group of guys. They worked at warp speed, excellent team work!
Velocity Commercial Capital	Westlake Village	Westlake Village	818-575-9700	Very smooth move!
Wiggett Financial Group	Venice	Los Angeles	310-202-9444	I already recommended your service to others.
PMG	Woodland Hills	Agoura Hills	phone withheld	Very good service.

Recent Household Moving References / Surveys Returned

First Name	City From	City To	Phone	Customer Survey Comments
Nancy	Agoura Hills	Westlake Village	available upon request	They were wonderful! I was at ease and trusted them!
Carole	Chatsworth	Simi Valley	available upon request	Crew was wonderful.
Damian	Woodland Hills	Burbank	available upon request	I choose ABC because of your Better Business Bereau rating.
Tim	Moorpark	Moorpark	available upon request	Great service.
Jason	Simi Valley	Simi Valley	available upon request	All movers involved were great + very careful. Nothing was broken or damaged!
Elyse	Northridge	Simi Valley	available upon request	They were great! I was very happy with service and price!!
Sally	Long Beach	Sherman Oaks	available upon request	These guys worked their tails off! Keep up the good work!
Alice	Woodland Hills	Woodland Hills	available upon request	ABC Moving always does a great job - why change?
Rob	Woodland Hills	Simi Valley	available upon request	We were referred by our Real Estate agent.

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Recent Highlight Move:  During April 2006 we did a 4 day office moving job for Rozsa Law Group from Encino to Tarzana. They specialize in patent law, and in fact are helping ABC Moving patent one if its proprietary pieces of moving equipment. The job called for 3 trucks and 9 men for 4 days. Everything went very smoothly including a rather large files transfer system which greatly benefited Rozsa. Just another one of the many thousands of completely satisfied ABC Moving Systems customers.