How To Streamline Your California Relocation
From days on the beach to countless opportunities for career growth, there’s plenty of reasons why California sees a wave of new residents move in every year. Once the initial excitement of landing your new house or apartment wears off, however, you face the reality of packing up your entire life to move to a new state.
If your California relocation feels overwhelming, give yourself peace of mind with moving tips from Trojan Storage! We’re here to help you tackle the moving process one step at a time with helpful prep tips and packing strategies for moving to California.
Set up a Moving Budget
Your first step when moving should always be creating a budget. When you’ve just bought a house or signed an apartment lease, every penny counts as you navigate around closing costs, deposits, and other fees. Your budget will also impact how much time and effort you put into your move.
A do-it-yourself relocation to California may save you money on a moving service, but does that mean you’re signing yourself up for a cross-country road trip in a moving truck or van? Consider time, effort, and money as you review these aspects of building a budget for your move:
- Cost of movers or renting a truck
- Moving and packing supplies
- Insurance for your belongings
- Storage costs
- Setups for your new home
Packing Strategies for Moving to California
The next step to an efficient move is having a thorough plan for packing your belongings. Allow us to share with you a few packing strategies for your California relocation.
Create a Packing Process
Sorting through your belongings becomes a breeze when you implement an efficient packing process. First, declutter any items you don’t need or can realistically replace after your move. After removing clutter from your moving equation, we recommend packing your remaining belongings by importance. Here’s an example of a packing process when you prioritize your belongings from least essential to most:
- Least essential items. Pack seasonal clothing, decorations, and books or media first.
- Furniture. Once you’ve packed up your least essential items, move on to packing and grouping furniture.
- Fragile items. Take down and pack up artwork, vases, mirrors, and other fragile items. Keep these packed belongings in a quiet spot with minimal foot traffic to minimize the risk of someone knocking them over.
- Linens and bathroom items. Gather up towels, comforters, and bathroom items like shower curtains and carpets and place them in boxes.
- Important documents and personal electronic devices. Keep important documents and personal electronic devices in an overnight bag along with a change of clothes and toiletries for your move.
Wrap Fragile Items Up
The last thing you want to deal with during a move is broken fragile belongings. Give yourself peace of mind by purchasing packing supplies like paper and Bubble Wrap. Whether you have fine china, collectibles, or electronics such as a flat-screen TV, packing materials fill up empty spaces in your boxes and absorb any impact that would damage your belongings.
Use Clear, Labeled Storage Containers
Grouping items in clear storage containers is a great way to stay organized, as you can see what’s inside each box without actually opening it. Organize your boxes even further by labeling each container based on its contents or the room it should be placed in at your new home.
Don’t Overpack Each Box
When considering which items you want to put together, don’t overload your boxes with heavy items like books, dumbbells, or documents. The heavier your boxes are, the harder they’ll be to carry. You also run the risk of the weight causing the boxes to tear or split. We recommend using medium-sized boxes for all your belongings to prevent overpacking. Your packed boxes should weigh a manageable 30 pounds or so.
Tips for Relocating to California
As your move-in day quickly approaches, make sure you have all your ducks in a row to prevent last-minute scrambling. Let us offer you some essential items and moving tips to consider to make your California relocation as smooth as possible.
Update Your Address and Important Documents
Update your mailing address to avoid missing important letters, deliveries, or bills! You’ll need to update your information for subscriptions, voter registration, utilities, financial and legal documents, and identification cards like your driver’s license.
Another important item to take care of ahead of time is to register your vehicle. Vehicle registration updates will require your recent registration card, proof of residence, and vehicle identification number (VIN).
Conduct a Final Walkthrough of Your Old Home
Once you’ve packed the last box and updated your forwarding address, take a beat and conduct a final walkthrough around your old home. In addition to checking for tucked-away items you may have missed, a walkthrough is a chance to reminisce about the time you’ve spent in your house or apartment. We recommend you make a move-out checklist to make your final pass-through as easy as possible.
Get an Early Start on Your Moving Day
Especially in the summer, the California heat can be overwhelming while you’re carrying boxes or furniture into your new home. To avoid the worst of the heat, we recommend getting an early start before the sun gets too high in the sky. The less time you spend out in the heat, the better you can avoid issues like heat stroke and dehydration.
Rent a Storage Unit
Relocating to California is an exciting but often intense process. When you need more time to organize and pack your belongings but need to clear out your old home, give yourself more time and space with self storage. A storage unit helps you create more room at an affordable rate during your move.
When you’re looking for extra space, remember that the best self storage includes security features to give you peace of mind during your moving process.
Make Your California Relocation Smooth With Trojan Storage
Are you looking for the best storage units in California? Count on Trojan Storage for all your self storage needs.
From our northern California locations to our facilities closer to southern California, our storage units help make your transition into the Golden State as smooth as possible. Contact our team online to get started today!