Tips

Moving Seniors Can Be Tough — Here’s How to Make it Easier

Moving seniors can be tough, especially if you’re relocating them to a new home, or moving them in with you, or moving them across the country. And, when it comes to organizing, packing, and unpacking, there are many factors that need to be considered in order for the transition to go smoothly. Here we’ll show you five ways you can help to make it easier on them.

Help Them Organize

You can start with helping them plan out their entire move from beginning to end. This should include taking some measurements of the new space and then plotting out the floor plan for them to decide what items will come and what will need to stay. Starting the organizing and planning early can help eliminate a lot of stress for everyone involved.

Let Them Reminisce

Moving is not just physically taxing, but emotionally draining as well. If they’re saying goodbye to the family home, it’s important to give them some time to reminisce over their memories and any keepsakes they will have to let go of. Don’t rush the process, instead give them all the time they need to pack on their own terms.  

Assist With the Packing and Cleaning

Packing is extremely exhausting, especially for seniors. So make sure you assist with all of the lifting, wrapping, packing, and cleaning during the move. If the list seems endless, make sure to enlist some family and friends to help participate — the more hands on deck, the better.

Hire a Junk Removal Service

There’s likely going to be a number of items that will need to be thrown out or recycled. Save yourself the hassle of doing this yourself by calling a junk removal service. They will come and collect the goods and then donate or properly dispose of them for you.

Call the Movers

You can save yourself a lot of work by hiring a full-service moving company. One that can help you pack, load the truck, transport all the belongings safely to the new home, and unpack as well. It may cost a little extra than hiring just a truck and calling family members, but it’s always well worth it in the end.

At Ottawa Moving Logistics, we understand that moving a senior loved one is difficult and challenging. That’s why we take the time to accommodate all your moving needs — we wrap and pad your furniture, place it in the new home just as asked, and unpack it if required. We can even organize storage space on your behalf if items don’t fit so you can arrange to have it delivered at another location in the future. To find out more about our senior moving services, contact us today!

Dealing With Moving Anxiety? Take a Deep Breath!

Feeling a little stressed out about your move? While it’s only natural to feel some anxiety around your move date, some people experience major amounts of stress. And, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, it can prevent you from getting the important stuff done which can add on more stress. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to help stay calm so that you can get organized and motivated. When you’re dealing with moving anxiety, take a deep breath and follow these steps.

Start as Early as Possible

Putting things off to the last minute, like packing, will only intensify your stress levels. You can avoid anxiety altogether by planning and organizing as soon as you know that you’ll be moving. The more time you give yourself to prep, the less stress you will experience as the day grows closer.  

Create a Task List

Do you feel stressed every time you think about all the things you need to do? Are there too many thoughts going through your head all at once? You can get some serious relief by creating a task list. If you lay out everything that you need to do, prioritize items by the most important to least important, and assign due dates, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get going on your tasks.

Get Rid of all the Clutter

Having less to move will make it much easier on you. So start throwing out all the clutter around the home that you won’t be bringing with you. The easiest way to organize is to focus on one room at a time and put all your belongings into separate piles: keep, sell, donate, and toss. As soon as you minimize the things you will be taking with you, the better you will start to feel.

Pick a Moving Company well in Advance

One of the most important things people often leave to the last minute is choosing their moving company. In reality, this is one of the first things you should do because the best moving companies book up fast and early. If you don’t want to be left without a mover or with one that has a bad reputation–you need to start researching moving companies in your area as soon as you have the moving date set. That way you can get them booked before it’s too late.

Ask for Help

If you’re feeling like the move is going to be too much for you to handle, ask for help. Many people try to do a move on their own to save a few dollars, only to realize after the fact that money spent on a moving company would have been well worth it. When you call Ottawa Moving Logistics, you’ll get a team behind you — a move coordinator, supervisor, packing team, and customer support staff. You can even hire us to do all the unpacking and packing for you which can cut down your stress substantially. We also have four packing packages so that you can find the one that suits you best.

Our goal is to make your move an easy and stress-free experience. Contact us today to find out more about our services and prices — our team is waiting by to help!

5 Ways Our Home Delivery Services Make Your Life Easier

Looking for a home delivery service that’ll pick up all your belongings, move them in safely, place them exactly where you need them to go, and remove your old belongings? We can help! At Ottawa Moving Logistics, we offer home delivery services to make your life easier. Learn more below.

Saves Time

Don’t have time to run to the department store? No problem, we can do it for you. When you have a busy schedule that’s preventing you from getting what you need, like a new refrigerator, leave it to us to pick it up for you at the retail outlet and deliver it directly to your home.

Saves Money

Our delivery services can also help you save money. Instead of having to rent a utility van or spend extra money driving back and forth to pick up your furniture or appliances, call us instead. We will pick up all your items in one go.

Prevents Injury

If you have a mobility problem or are sick, having a home delivery service can allow you to get what you need without having to leave your home. And, even if you’re a healthy, fit person, carrying large pieces of equipment and furniture can lead to injury, which is why it’s best to leave it to the pros who are trained in moving heavy objects.

Prevents Damage

The average person doesn’t have all the tools on hand to properly secure appliances and furniture during transit. If you attempt to move something without properly securing it, you’ll likely damage the item before it even reaches your home. Also, when you arrive at home, the next challenge is to get it into your home without damaging the item or your walls and floors. That’s where our experts can help.

Prevents Waste

Taking advantage of our home delivery services will save you time and energy while also helping the environment. Instead of throwing your old furniture or appliances to the curb, we’ll take it with us so that it can be donated or recycled. This keeps more waste out of landfills which helps reduce our footprint on the environment.

Whether it’s new hardwood flooring, appliances, living room furniture, or whatever, call us at Ottawa Moving Logistics, and we’ll pick it up directly from the retail outlet and deliver it to your home. To learn more or arrange your next delivery, contact our office, and one of our support staff will be glad to assist you.

Use These 5 Strategies to Simplify Your Business’ Big Move

Trying to plan out your company’s relocation? It can be extremely stressful, especially if you’re not quite sure exactly what needs to be done to get the job finished on time and under budget. When it comes to large-scale commercial moves, there are a number of factors at play that you need to consider in order for it to go smoothly. And that’s just the beginning — there’s the whole moving part, too! To help you along, here are five strategies to simplify your business’ big move.  

Make a Detailed List

Creating a thorough timeline will allow you to plan all the necessary stages of your move properly. A checklist can help you to keep track of any important deadlines and allow you to easily assigning tasks as they come up. We also recommend getting ahold multiple copies of the floor plan and blueprints so that you can start planning out the new layout in advance and identify any potential issues that you can solve now.

Organize Well in Advance

Preparing for a move takes up way more time than most people expect. If you want everything to go exactly as planned, you need to start organizing well in advance. This includes figuring out which items you will move over to the new space and what items will be sold or thrown out. You should also arrange for your accounting department to transfer the company address information and to notify all your customers, as well as the utility companies, subscriptions, insurance, licenses, and banks. Time should also be carved out for supply planning. To avoid being left in a pickle last minute, purchase the packing supplies and equipment needed for the move well in advance and buy a little more than you need.

Measure Everything

One of the most important things you should do is to measure the new space to ensure that everything will fit inside. We recommend measuring not only the usable space but also the door sizes to figure out what furniture will need to be disassembled beforehand.

Organize a Team

When it comes to planning a commercial move, there are too many parts for one person to tackle on their own. So unless you have arranged for a moving company to take care of the full coordination and packing, you will need to arrange a team to help you. It’s more cost effective to assign a few supervisors from each department to help out but if you don’t have the resources, hiring an outside source can make a big difference.

Arrange a Specialized Moving Company

Whatever you do, don’t leave this to the last minute. Moving companies who specialize in commercial moves are rare. And if you wait too long your preferred moving company could end up being booked solid on the date you need to move. Many movers also offer services that you may find useful such as packing, unpacking, and even coordinating. So make sure you do all the necessary research to find the most reliable movers and get them booked up right away.

We hope this information will prove useful. For more strategies to simplify your business’ big move, contact us at Ottawa Moving Logistics today!

5 Benefits of Moving in Fall

If you’re looking for the best rates and weather conditions when moving, fall is your season! Thanks to favourable temperatures and less competition, this is the time of year that you may find attractive pricing and more flexibility to suit your needs. And that’s not all — check out these five clear benefits of moving in the fall.

Kids are Back at School

Many people believe the best time to move is when the kids are on summer holidays. But, having the kids back in school can also make things easier, especially for you. When they’re not home, you don’t have to worry about them getting in the way or planning for keeping them busy.

Off-Peak Pricing

We all know that summer is the busiest moving season, which is why the demand and prices are much higher at that time of year. Fall, on the other hand, is considered low season compared to the spring and summer. The moving business slows down this time of year, so you can take full advantage of better rates.

Cooler Temperatures

If you’ve ever tried to move in the summer or winter, you know how uncomfortable it can be. When you move in the fall you don’t have to worry about hot sticky weather or ice storms — the cooler temperatures make it much easier to move.

Less Competition

To get a moving date scheduled in the summer you need to book well in advance. Even then you might not get the date or time you had hoped, creating some difficulties in your schedule or requiring you to alter your plans. In the fall, you have more choices and greater flexibility. With less competition, you can usually get the date and time you prefer, which can make your move go much smoother overall.

Safer

You have far less to worry about in the fall than you do in the winter and summer months when it comes to safety. For one, the weather conditions in the winter create an unsafe environment for movers. And in the summer, people are prone to heat exhaustion and accidents. Also, statistically, July and August are peak season for burglaries. Thieves know it’s the most popular time for moving and vacations. When you move in the fall, you have fewer things to worry about when it comes to safety.

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to moving in the fall. With the better pricing, flexibility, weather, and safety this season offers, we always wonder why more people don’t switch their moving date to this time of year. Fortunately for you, now you know all the reasons why fall is a great time to move, so you can enjoy all the benefits that a fall move has to offer when you book with us at Ottawa Moving Logistics. To learn about our services and prices, contact us today!

Ways Professional Movers Make a Big Difference

Are you trying to decide between hiring a professional moving company or an attractively priced alternative? Just remember, it is usually true what they say – you really do get what you pay for. That’s why it’s imperative to thoroughly inspect each company’s track record, safety measures, insurance policies, and available services. Here we’ll show you all the ways professional movers make a big difference and why you should never cheap out on your move.

Pros will Save you Time

When you hire amateurs, you’re often greeted with temporary or seasonal staff who are operating your move. They may be strong enough to get the job done, but they’re not always familiar with how to properly pack a truck and what the best transportation routes are. This can lead to your move dragging on for hours. A professional on the other hand can get your move done much faster and efficiently.

When you use a professional moving company, you are guaranteed to get an expert team who knows exactly what they’re doing.

Keeps things Organized

Only the pros will pack and unpack all your belongings and make sure everything is organized before and after your move. They’ll even arrange your things better than you could have done it yourself. And in most cases, the pros will use a move coordinator who will plan your move from beginning to end and make sure everything goes smoothly. Having a single point of contact and someone looking out for your belongings can really make all the difference during a hectic move.

Reduce your Risk

Professionals adhere to strict industry standards which require each of their employees to be insured. This guarantees that if anything happens during the move – an injury or damage – you are covered. On the other hand, with an amateur, you cannot be too sure whether they’re bonded or provide adequate loss protection. Majority of the insurance policies they use will not cover you for everything which means you can be left to foot the bill if something of value breaks or goes missing during your move.

Make your Life Easier

Professional movers also offer a number of special services like storage options and packing services at an affordable rate. They even have all the tools on hand to safely remove your fragile and heavy items like your piano and antique dresser. Good luck finding an amateur that can move your specialty items and offer you additional service at a reasonable cost.

Professional movers make a big difference when it comes to the reliability and safety of your move. They’ll make sure everything is taken care of from beginning to end, providing you with upfront fees and offering you a number of additional services to help make your move that much easier. When you’re ready to hire a professional, contact us at Ottawa Moving Logistics.

How to Stave off Procrastination and Start Prepping for Moving Day

Moving is something that most people only do when they really have to – certainly not because they want to or enjoy the experience. We understand that the hassle of tackling a relocation can be daunting to even think about. That’s why many homeowners often find themselves procrastinating as much as possible until it’s finally crunch time. The problem is at this point, with so much to do and organize, it can quickly turn into a flurry of chaos and stress which could have been avoided.

Learn below how you can stave off procrastination and start prepping for moving day now so you can experience a smooth, stress-free day when your final date rolls around.

Make a Plan

It’s hard to begin anything without a clear-cut plan of what you need to do. And without an idea, you can easily get overwhelmed and succumb to your couch and Netflix. So to help you avoid this situation, start by formulating a plan. Mark off in your calendar how much time you have and then create a list of all the things that you need to do before that date arrives. From there, prioritize your to-do items and try to create a little schedule to help keep yourself on track.

Chip Away at it Each Day

You’ve probably heard it a million times, but that’s because it’s true – start as early as possible. By giving yourself plenty of time to prepare and pack, you can slowly chip away at all of those tasks bit by bit, so you don’t feel overwhelmed. This is especially important if you already have a hectic schedule to juggle.

Make it More Enjoyable

Packing up your home doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. You can make it more enjoyable, or at least less painful to tackle by throwing on your favourite playlist or even putting on your favourite Netflix show to watch while you sort through your old clothing or pack away your drawers. That way you can be productive why also enjoying a little downtime to yourself.

Reward Yourself

Having a reward in place is always a compelling incentive to stave off procrastination and start prepping for the big moving day. This can be something as simple as indulging in a glass of wine once you’re done packing up your bathroom or watching that movie you’ve been dying to see once you’ve crossed off the to-do tasks for the day.

Moving can be a significant pain to endure, but it’s something that needs to be done whether you like it or not. And by getting yourself to chip away at it as early as you can, you’ll be able to sail through the actual moving date with far less stress and hassle. At Ottawa Moving Logistics, we can handle all of your moving-related needs for you – even packing and unpacking! When you need help with your big move, give us a call!

keep your cool during your big move using these tips

Moving to a new home can feel like a hassle any time of the year. But moving in the summertime can be exhausting and overwhelming when you have to deal with the hot and humid weather on top of all the moving chaos. And, the last thing you want is to end up with any broken or misplaced boxes when you arrive in your new home because you had an overheated tizzy during the packing stage. So before your moving date comes, make sure you keep your cool during your big move using these tips!

Give Your New Home a Pre-Clean

If it’s possible to get access to your new home a few days before your official move-in date, this can be really handy for getting some pre-clean action in before all of your belongings arrive. Plus, after the move, having to turn around and face the mess of cleaning, in addition to unpacking, can be enough to send you running towards the wine store. So why not try and make your life a little easier on the move in day by asking to get access a bit earlier to give your new place a scrub so that all you have to do is focus on unpacking.

Be Detailed When Labelling Boxes

Another important tip that can save you time and effort while allowing you to keep your cool during your big move is labelling your boxes clearly. Be specific with the items that are going into each box and don’t forget to add the room that they belong in. This may seem a bit over the top and tedious, but when you’re surrounded by 50 plus boxes with no space to walk, you’ll be thrilled when you can quickly glance and know where to place each box.

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

One of the main reasons why people get stressed out and flustered on moving day is because they left everything (or what feels like everything) to the last minute. Avoid becoming one of those last minute packers and give yourself plenty of time to get a head start on your packing and organizing. That way, you can slowly chip away at your items well ahead of schedule so you can kick back and have everything ready to go without the frantic stress.

Leave It to the Pros

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than being able to leave things to the pros. And moving out your entire house or apartment is definitely something that is always worth hiring someone to handle for you. Finding the time to take care of all the tasks involved can be challenging, especially when you have to deal with your hectic career or growing family. If this sounds like you, do yourself a big favour and hand it over to a reputable moving company like Ottawa Moving Logistics.

Whether you’re facing a residential or commercial move, we can take care of just about everything you need — including packing and unpacking too! Give us a call today to learn more about our services and how we can help make your move hassle-free!

how can i get my children excited to move?

Children often dread moving homes. And can you really blame them? Saying goodbye to all of their friends (distance-depending) and familiar things isn’t easy, especially when they’re young. Luckily, there are a few tricks that you can try to get your children excited to move. Here are a few handy tips that may help get your little ones more excited about their new chapter of living in a new home.

Talk To Them About The Change

It’s important to remember that a child won’t really understand what’s happening until you explain it to them. Young children may even think the family is breaking up, so when they start to worry, remind them what’s not going to change. Tell them that the family will be moving together and that they will still have all their favourite stuff, like their toys and games. And remind them that they can always talk to their friends online or during school to help ease their separation anxiety.

Show Them Pictures of Their New Home

One way to get your kids excited to move is to show them all the cool features of their new home. Show them photos and highlight all of the features that they can look forward to when they arrive, like a new playroom or backyard.

Show Them the Area

What will their new school be like? Where will they meet friends? You can help reduce some of these pre-move nerves by showing them around the area. Research all the cool spots for kids, where their school is located,k and take a drive to show them the area so they can start to see how great the new neighbourhood is.

Curtail Your Stress

Your children read your body language, and if they sense that you’re stressed about the move, they will start to feel the same. Whenever you talk about the move or organize things in front of your children, try to stay upbeat and positive. You should also tailor your language to use only optimistic phrases like “packing is fun” and “your toys are going on an exciting ride in the truck,” even when you’re slightly freaking out or feeling overwhelmed.

Empower Them

You can help empower your kids instead of making them feel like the decision is completely out of their hands by giving them some say during the moving process. By letting them do their own packing, decorate their new room, help pick new colours for the living room, or perform other little tasks that get them involved, you can help them feel like they’re more included in what’s happening.

Get Back to Normal

Once you’ve moved in, try to unpack your child’s room as quickly as possible. Try to get things back to normal as soon as you can so that your kids can feel comfortable in their new environment. If they have easy access to the things that make them feel safe like their toys, blankets, and games, they will be more likely to settle in and feel more excited about the whole process.

At Ottawa Moving Logistics, we’re your moving specialists. We can help make this transition as smooth and hassle-free as possible for you and your family. Contact us today to learn more about our rates and how we can help with your big move!

are you ready to move yet? here's how to find out.

Think you have everything in order for your move? If you’re unsure whether everything is under control, just make sure to check this quick list to be certain. We’ll show you if your business is ready to move with these 5 tasks that you should have already completed before packing up and heading out the door.

Is Your Moving Date Locked Down?

Once you’ve settled on the move in date, you’ll need to contact and arrange a reputable commercial moving company. It’s important to have your date locked in with the movers well ahead of time, as many moving companies will book up months and seasons in advance. And if you’re moving out of or into a building with multiple businesses, you’ll also need permission from the property management to book an elevator ahead of time so you can have everything ready to go.

Have You Done Your Moving Prep?

Before you can be ready to move, you should have all of your moving prep organized and out of the way. For instance, at this point, you should already have decided what company items you will transport and which ones you will need to get rid of. If you’re not giving the leftover items away to charity, you should arrange for a junk removal company to pick up the items well ahead of your moving date.

Have You Let Everyone Know?

Another prep item you should have taken care of is the address change over. You should have filled in or be in the process of completing the change of address forms for the appropriate government agencies, insurance companies, corporate bank accounts, utility companies and any service providers you will continue to use. Just don’t forget to let your clients and customers know that you’re moving and how they can reach you.

Have You Disposed of all the “Non-Allowables?”

There are a number of items that are not allowed to be placed on the moving truck. These include hazardous items that may be flammable or toxic. Certain liquids and perishable food items may also be on the non-allowable list provided by the moving company. So before your company moves, your boxes should be packed appropriately with any hazardous items already disposed of at the correct waste handling centre.

Do You Have all the Supplies Ready?

When it’s time to start packing up all your items, you’ll need boxes, banker boxes, tape rollers, bubble wrap, and markers for labelling. You can buy boxes from your moving company or order them online from an office supply store. We also recommend that you start to pack well in advance if you haven’t arranged the moving company to do it for you. Non-essential items can be boxed up weeks ahead of your move date and stored in a secure location until the big day. Getting a jump start on your packing process can alleviate so much stress for all the staff when the date finally arrives.

At Ottawa Moving Logistics, we can take the pain out of moving. We have everything your business needs for a successful and hassle-free move. Contact us today to find out what we offer and how we can help your business get ready for the big day.