How To Prevent Burglary While Moving

Outline:

Intro

• Theft is extremely common for homeowners who are in the middle of moving.
• You’re often in and out more, you may leave your house unlocked, or even leaves boxes out.
• The process of moving makes you a target for burglars.
• Some burglars even find a way to waltz into your house on moving day!
  • There’s lots of people going in and your of your house on Moving day - families, landlords, realtors, professional movers, neighbors, cable men, you name it. It’s easier for someone to slip in.
• Protect your home/belongings and stay safe with these tips

Keep Up On Yard Work

• Robbers identify homes with overgrown lawns or wilting plants, bc they think you’re on vacation.
• May sound like a drag, but a robber can spot an unkempt lawn. Mow your law, pull your weeds, water your plants. If you’re garden is alive they will know someone is home.

Record A Dog Barking

• Whether you have a dog and his bark is unreliable or you don’t have a dog, the sound of a dog scares off burglars, set it to a motion center by the front door

Invest in Security Camera

• Keep an eye on your home when you’re at work
• You can take them with you when you move

Padlock Your Doors

• A single key lock isn’t a safeguard for robbers, get a serious padlock.

Close Up Windows

• Close the blinds, lock the windows, and use padlocks if you can.
• If you have windows without blinds (like a skylight) keep any keys and other valuables out of sight.

Lock Away Your Valuables

• On moving say, assign one spot (like a room) where you can lock your most valuable items. That way you can keep full attention on them when it’s time to load them up.

Disguise Items

• Burglars expect to see prescription drugs in a toiletry tote or something. They expect to see a laptop in a laptop bag. Deter them and put them in hard to identify packaging.

Be safe while moving, keep an eye out, and avoid issues by hiring a credible pro moving company who is on your side. Call for free quote.

DRAFT:

Hollywood’s version of a burglar is someone dressed in black, sneaking into a mansion late at night, repelling down from the ceiling, performing acrobatic feats to get through a complex matrix of lasers to arrive at a glass case with a rare gem in it. They quickly snatch it up, spring back up to the ceiling and escape. In real life, you’re most likely to get burglarized in the middle of the day when you aren’t home in plain sight.

Burglars are opportunists. They look for easy targets where they are least likely to get caught. When you’re moving, you’re distracted, stressed, trying to get the job done as quickly as possible. You’re moving boxes and furniture in and out all day so you’re more likely to leave the front door open. You have all sorts of people-family, realtors, cable men, professional movers, neighbors- entering and exiting the house throughout the day. You’re likely to leave boxes with valuables outside waiting to be loaded in the moving truck. To a burglar, your moving day looks like the perfect opportunity to rob you.

Don’t make it so easy! Read on for tips on how to avoid getting robbed when moving.

Keep Up On Yard Work

An overgrown, weed-infested yard with forgotten toys that haven’t been put away for months gives your home an abandoned look. A thief may take one look at your neglected yard and assume that you’re on vacation. Protect your house from robbers by mowing and taking care of your lawn. You may think mowing your lawn is on the bottom of the priority list when you’re moving, but it’s a simple way to demonstrate that you’re home which will deter burglars from making you their next target.

Record A Dog Barking

To make it easier to move without being targeted for burglary, you may want to consider putting up a “Beware of Dog” sign on your fence, even if you don’t have a dog. Take it a step further with a motion sensor that activates a recording of a dog barking. If burglars think they have to contend with a dog that could harm them or alert neighbors, they are more likely to stay away.

Invest in a Security Camera

These days it is super easy to shop for a security camera system. If you can afford it, it may be a good investment not only for moving day, but to install in your new home as well. Most home camera systems these days connect to an app on your phone so you can monitor your home from afar. Your phone can alert you of any suspicious activity while you’re making a trip to your local donation center and you can call the police right then and there.

Padlock Your Doors

Should you lock your house when packing? The answer is definitely yes. And when you leave your home in the midst of a move, it’s a good idea to go a step further. Padlocking your doors may seem extreme, but it’s a fail-safe way of making sure expert lock pickers can’t get into your home when you’re not there.

Close Up Windows

If a thief can see inside the lay out of your home and what sorts of valuables you have, they are likely to deem it an easier heist. Less intel means an increased likelihood of surprises that they are always looking to minimize. Make it harder for them. Lock your windows (use padlocks if you can) and close all of your blinds. If you do have a window without blinds (say, a skylight), be sure to keep valuables out of sight.

Lock Away Your Valuables

To avoid lost or stolen items when moving, consider keeping your most valuable items all in one room on moving day. That way you can keep a hyper focus on those items as they are loaded from your home into the moving truck.

Disguise Items

Where do you keep your jewelry? In a jewelry box. Where do you keep your computer? In its case. Where do you keep your prescription drugs? In your medicine cabinet. Again, it’s all about making a robbery more difficult to a thief. Instead of keeping all of your valuables in their usual spots on moving day, consider keeping your jewelry in an opaque water bottle, your computer wrapped in a t-shirt kept in a dresser drawer and your meds in a gym bag.

Conclusion

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and distracted with packing, hauling, cleaning and making calls on moving day. Avoid theft during your move, protect your valuables and be safe by calling a credible moving company who is on your side. For a FREE quote, call the professional San Francisco Movers at Moving Forward .

How to Repair Walls, Carpets and Floors Before Your Move

Outline:

Intro

• Our walls take a beating just from living within them: paintings posters, leaning objects against them, dents, marking your child’s height no the wall, scratches from pets and dogs.
• Same goes with carpets and floors - pets, kids, and parties can do a number on them.
• Whether you’re renting, this is your rental space, or you’re taking care of some final cleaning touches before putting your home on the market, use these tips to take care of the tiny details and clean up your floors and walls.

Repairing Damaged Walls

Every home will have some general wear and tear that you may have gotten used to bc you’re living in it … but it’s an eyesore to new tenants and homeowners.

• Fill holes - [Flesh out]
• Remove scuffs - [Flesh out]
• Give it a fresh coat of paint - [Flesh out]
• Clean the baseboards, crown molding, wainscoting - [Flesh out]

Repairing Damaged or Dirty Floors

Floors really take a beating, from food stains to stubborn dirt that’s ground in from years of walking on the carpet, floors should get a proper cleaning before you move.

• Shampoo carpets - [Flesh out]
• Wax hardwood floors - [Flesh out]
• Replace Tiles if scuffed or cracked - [Flesh out]
• Patch Damaged or Worn Carpet Areas - [Flesh out]

Prep House Before Moving Day

• Pro movers will be hauling everything out of your house, so if you just cleaned your walls and floors, make sure there is protective covering on floors etc. so scuffs don’t come back and all work is for nothing.

Document Your Work

• If you’re looking to get your deposit back, take photos of the cleaning and repairing you did
• keep all receipts for anything your purchased for repair and cleaning.

Takeaway

DRAFT:

So you’re getting ready to move. You’ve got a plan for packing, have registered the kids at their new school and are having a garage sale on Saturday. Hmmm. What are you forgetting? Ah yes, the dreaded cleaning. If you’re asking yourself the following questions:

• Do I need to clean my walls before I move?
• What about cleaning carpets before moving?
• Is it possible to clean my floors naturally?
• How do I clean carpets myself?

You’re in luck! You’ve come to the right blog!

If your walls, floors and carpets could talk, what would they say about the time they have spent with you, your children and your pets? Perhaps they would say…..

Wall: Hey Carpet, remember that time that little Johnny was chasing after Pepper when she was a puppy and slammed into me? I still have a dent to prove it!

Carpet: I do remember that, but what you may not have noticed was when the puppy decided to do her business right in the middle of the living room! Man, did that stink! Literally!
 

Floor: Oh that’s nothing, carpet. Remember that prom pre-party the teenagers decided to have last year? I suffered so many scrapes, scuffs and scratches that night from all those high heels, I lost all my shine! It was a sad day.

If you think your walls, carpets and floors are having this conversation in your rental or home you are about to put on the market, read on for tips on how to get them back into shape before your move date.

No More Wailing Walls

If your walls are crying for damage control due to holes, scuffs or chipping paint, follow these tips on  

how to prepare walls for inspection:

• To fill tiny holes from nails or tacks, use a putty knife to spread spackling or wall joint compound over the hole. Once dry, sand lightly. For medium holes, you will need a more rigid material such as a metal patch. After you have placed the patch over the hole, cover it with several layers of wall joint compound. For bigger holes, you may want to call your local hardware store or hire someone to do the repair.
• Need to fix the walls in your rental or home? Simply wet a clean rag and rub gently over the blemish until it disappears. For more stubborn marks, you may need to use an all-purpose house cleaning solution.
• If your walls are either severely scuffed up or the paint is chipping, it’s time to get out the paint brush and paint can to give it a fresh coat.
• Don’t forget the baseboards, crown molding and wainscoting. If your home has any of these features, get out that clean, wet rag and give these areas a wipe down, or again, if need be, a fresh coat of paint.

No More Frowning Floors/Carpets in Crisis

Are your floors feeling downtrodden and depressed? Have your carpets become a little crusty? Freshen up those floors and carpets with these cleaning and maintenance tips:

• If you have carpet, it’s important to give them a thorough shampooing before you move out. If you decide to go with a carpet cleaning company, make sure to call around to get the best price/service in the area. Keep in mind that they usually charge by how many rooms. If you want to save a little and don’t mind doing a little labor yourself, call your local grocery or hardware store to rent a carpet cleaning machine.
• If you have hardwood floors and they are pretty scuffed up, similar to the carpet cleaning, you can either hire someone to wax them for you, or rent a floor polisher to do it yourself!
• If you have an area in your carpet that is ripped or has a stubborn stain that is impermeable to all stain removers, you may need to patch it. First, measure the area that you need to replace with new carpet. Next, cut it out with a box cutter. Take the same measurements and cut a piece of extra carpet (hopefully, you still have some extra, but if not, see if you can get some scraps from your local carpet supplier). Finally, place an adhesive disc under the replacement piece of carpet and press firmly.

Scuff-proof Your House Before Moving Day

There’s nothing worse than creating more work for yourself on moving day when things are already chaotic as it is. After you have finished cleaning, de-scuffing, patching and spackling, be sure to protect your walls and floors from foot traffic, bulky furniture and tracked in dirt. Lay down plastic on the areas where movers will be hauling your stuff to the moving truck. For large furniture, tape foam or bubble wrap on sharp corners in order to protect your newly painted walls from scrapes and scratches

.

Become a Photojournalist

If you’re wondering, “how do I get my deposit back on my rental”? It’s a good idea to document everything you’ve done to clean and repair the walls, floors and carpet. Once you have finished, scrubbing, spackling and painting, take photos of what you have done. This is particularly important if you are hoping to get your rental deposit back from your landlord which could help pay for your move. Be sure to keep all receipts of things like paint, equipment rentals and other cleaning and repair supplies.

Takeaway

Let’s face it, homes are for living in. Living means spilling wine on the carpet, measuring the height of your children on the wall as they grow and tracking in mud on a rainy day. That’s why it’s so important to prepare your home for the next potential buyer or renter. Once you have a plan for packing, repair and cleaning, be sure to give Moving Forward San Francisco Movers a call for a FREE quote!

A Complete Guide to Creating a Meal Plan on Moving Week

Intro:

• Moving week is messy and chaotic.
  • Taking care of last-minute details
  • Saying goodbye to people
  • Everything is (hopefully) packed up … if it isn’t then you have another big task on your list.
  • You may be reviewing your moving budget and wondering where you got off track.
• A great way to keep the peace and save a little money during moving week is to create a meal plan.
• Use this guide to do just that.

Plan Meals Before You Shop

• It’s tempting to just figure out what you’ll cook while you’re in the aisle at the grocery store. Don’t do that.
  • Unless you’re a chef or a champion at meal prepping already, you’ll wind up:
    • buying random ingredients
    • Shopping on autopilot
    • Buying too much
    • Getting overwhelmed
• Instead, plan your meals:
  • Who is eating? (family of 4? 2 kids?)
  • What can everyone agree to eat?
  • What can you whip together in 15-30 minutes?

Choose One Day to Meal Prep

• After you’ve done the shopping, choose a day to meal prep and clear out a good 5-6 hours, depending on what you’re cooking.
• Bribe some friends with pizza to help you do the meal prepping, or get the kids involved (if they’re too young, it might be good to hire a babysitters you can knock this out without distraction).
• You won’t have to cook everything, you may just prep vegetables restaurant-style for easy assembling.
• Don’t forget to make it fun! Throw on some music or a podcast, cook with a friend, enjoy the experience!

Keep It Simple …

• This probably isn’t the time to experiment with a bunch of new recipes
  • You might piss off the family
  • It could be more difficult than you planned
  • Go with what you know!

… But Switch it Up

• Sandwiches every night may be fine for a bachelor, but for a family, it could get old and cause some complaining and more stress.
• Choose 3 meals so you can have leftovers two of the nights and still enjoy a variety of meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For Breakfast

• Breakfast Burritos
• Protein Muffins
• Oatmeal
• Fruit and yogurt
• Smoothies
• Eggs and Toast

For Lunch and Dinner

• Soups /Stews
• Casseroles
• Pasta
• Burritos / Tacos
• Sandwiches
• Salads

Takeaway

DRAFT:

A Complete Guide to Creating a Meal Plan on Moving Week

Picture yourself one week before moving day. Do you have everything packed? Don’t forget you’re having a garage sale on Saturday! Have you transferred all the utilities and bills to your new address? Don’t forget the credit cards too! Have you registered your kids in their new school? Don’t forget to ask about uniforms! Said a proper good-bye to all your friends and neighbors? Don’t forget you to get hot dog buns for the good-bye BBQ tomorrow! Cleaned every nook and cranny of the house? Don’t forget the floorboards! Breathed? Definitely don’t forget to breathe. At this point, the last thing you want to worry about is what to eat the week of the move. Without proper meal planning, next thing you know, you’re eating junk food, spending ridiculous amounts at the supermarket for pre-made meals and watching your moving budget skyrocket. You have enough stress to deal with so the best way to handle meals during moving week is to have a moving day meal plan! Where to start, you ask? Read this blog!

Plan Meals Before You Shop

While it’s tempting to let the supermarket be your spiritual chef, guiding you to figure out what you’ll cook for the week, you’ll soon find out it’s more like a gluttonous demon that sits on your shoulder giving into every sugar craving and carb obsession. Next thing you know, your meal plan will consist of Twinkies for breakfast, grilled cheese for lunch and frozen pizza for dinner every single day of the week. How to eat healthy when moving and defeat the satanic supermarket spell you ask? By planning your meals beforehand keeping the following in mind:

• How many will be eating? You and the kids? You, the kids, grandma, and the dog? You, the kids, grandma, the dog and the hamster?
• What can everyone agree to eat? (This is a tricky one when dealing with picky eaters. Resist the urge to get frozen meals for the whole week as they are more expensive and less nutritious)
• What can you whip together in 15-30 minutes? (In other words, don’t go planning a five course meal)
• What meals lend themselves to leftovers? (for example, lasagne? Great for leftovers! Chicken salad? Sad, sorry, soggy mess. Not great for leftovers.)

Choose One Day to Meal Prep

Once you have successfully conquered the supermarket, choose a day where you can clear out 5-6 hours to prep the meals for moving week. Here are some tips on how to prepare your meals in a timely and easy fashion:

• Short on time? Involve neighbors, friends, the kids to help out.
• If your kids are younger, it may be a good idea to hire a babysitter for that day so you have minimal distractions and can focus on chopping, grating and bagging.
• Consider preparing meals that require minimal cooking. Things like burritos, salads and sammies are easy to assemble with minimal cooking necessary.
• Make it fun! Throw on some dance music, an engaging podcast or an audio book and enjoy yourself!

Keep It Simple…..

Keep in mind, this is probably not the time to apply what you learned in your master chef class. There is no room for demi glazes, truffle foams or vegetables carved into the shape of your favorite zoo animals. Nor is it time to try out new recipes (even if they are easy). Keep it simple, cook what you know and use what you have in your kitchen.

…..But Switch It Up

Moving week will be stressful so it’s important to reserve breakfast, lunch and dinner to sit down, relax and take a break. If you’re having peanut butter sandwiches every day, meal times are more likely to add to your stress than to ease it. So be sure to plan to have some variety in your meals so you can truly give yourself and your family the breaks they will need. Plan to make three different dinners and have two of the nights be leftovers from those meals. You can also have leftovers for lunch one day and that peanut butter and jelly sandwich another.

What’s For Breakfast?

The following are a list of breakfast ideas that are easy to prepare, delicious and nutritious:

• Breakfast Burrito: scramble up some eggs, then assemble in a flour tortilla: the eggs, pre-grated cheese, pre-chopped onion, bell pepper and olives. Add hot sauce for spice!
• Peanut Butter Banana Protein Muffins These are great for boosting your immune system(especially important during stressful times). Plus, the beauty of muffins is that you can make one big batch for multiple meals during the week!
• Oatmeal: It really can’t get any easier than pouring oatmeal in a bowl, adding hot water and waiting a minute or two.
• Fruit and Yogurt: Another easy-to-assemble, nutritious breakfast! Be sure to use the pre-chopped fruit you prepared at the beginning of the week!
• Smoothies: Just throw together some spinach, a cup of your favorite frozen fruit, protein powder and let the blending begin! Smoothies are particularly good for mornings when you’re on the run. Probably a good one for what to eat on moving day when you’ll be running around like a crazy person. Just throw it into a tumbler and skip your way over to the moving truck!
• Eggs and Toast: No real explanation needed here, but just in case: scramble eggs, put bread in toaster, push down to toast, butter, jam, shazam! Easy breakfast!

What’s for Lunch and Dinner?

The following are easy to prepare/assemble meals for lunch and dinner. Keep in mind, you might want to save the easiest meals for your food on moving day:

• Soups and Stews: These are examples of meals where you can simply throw a bunch of ingredients together in a crock pot and get on with your life. Come back in a few hours, and like magic it’s what’s for dinner! Make large batches so you can have leftovers!
• Casseroles: Not so unlike soups and stews, you can layer different ingredients in a casserole dish, throw some cheese on top, shove it in the oven and 20-30 minutes later you’re eating a delicious dinner. Casseroles are great for leftovers too!
• Pasta: One of the easiest meals on the planet. Skip making your own sauce for moving week and just buy the stuff in a jar. Boil pasta, heat sauce, combine, sprinkle some parm cheese on top and that’s it!
• Burritos/tacos: Just like the breakfast burrito mentioned earlier, these are super easy-to-assemble meals. You will want to chop all veggies on meal prep day for maximum time saving.
• Sandwiches: Again, sandwiches are super easy to assemble. Consider making them a little gourmet by whipping up an over easy egg to put on top, adding cream cheese as a spread or use waffles instead of regular bread.
• Salads: If you chop all of your ingredients at the beginning of the week, salads will be the easiest and healthiest option for lunch or dinner! You can even pre-cook some chicken breast to put on top to make it a full meal! Just keep in mind that salads are not great for leftovers.

Takeaway

The week before your move inevitably is going to be stressful so anything you can do to make it less so is worth it. If you want to save money on moving as well as time, meal prep is essential. Let us help make your move easier and stress free! When you’re ready to move, give the professional San Francisco movers at Moving Forward a call for a FREE quote! Bon appetite!