Most household goods movers provide free quotes for their services. You should take advantage of this fact. The 'quote' is calculated keeping certain key factors in mind. The first of these is dependant on your household itself, or more specifically, its size. The second is the distance involved in the move – are you moving just across the town or across the country? Another factor is the amount of time that will be involved in completing the move. Finally, all these calculations would be tied in with your budget.

Household goods movers normally provide a range of services. You can neither opt in for a full service, a self-move, truck rentals, or storage facilities. A full service move involves hiring professionals who take care of every aspect of the move for you. This includes packing facilities, the loading of the goods, transportation, unloading at the new site and then unpacking.

If you have staircases in your home, it would add to the cost of moving. Also, packing facilities can prove to be costly. You might want to consider to do the packing yourself. This brings us to the next type of service that is gaining popularity – a self-move.

The household goods movers whom you employ would take care of the transport facilities of your belongings. However, as mentioned earlier, you have to do the packing and unpacking yourself. We now come to the third kind of move – the 'small move'.

This might involve (but not necessarily) a small distance (say, within a state) and also, the amounts of goods to be transported might not meet the weight criteria of the commercial van lines. Also, this facility allows you the freedom to move only a few goods, for example, antique furniture, bulky household appliances etc. Also, a small move comes with its full complement of moving services.

Many household goods movers provide storage facilities to their clients too. This can be either a long term or a short-term contract. Before you settle upon the services of any one of the several household goods movers, keep a few things in mind. Check the references of the company. Make sure that they are reliable and that they have a history of completing the move on time.

Also, inquire about the insurance facilities that the company would be willing to provide for your belongings. Be alert to the fact that some companies might provide you with a very low estimate in the beginning. However, when the time for final billing comes, they might tack on a huge 'extra costs' to your tab. The only way to guard against this is to insure that the final contract mentions that the financial charges are 'binding'.

Jennifer Strong works for a moving and storage industry for over 20 years.

Here are some of the tips that can help you move your office conveniently interstate or locally:

1. Check if you need to have the same amount of people or employees working for you in the new location as well. 2. Is the mover with whom you are going to do business having the relevant experience in the business? Has it previously helped relocate other companies in the same line of business as you? 3. Check with the local municipal office of the city that you will be moving to, if there is any kind of code, you will have to adhere for moving. Find out what are the permit costs during the move. 4. Move cartons that are less than 2.0 cubit feet in volume because this is the maximum an average person can lift without straining himself. 5. Check with your vendor or the manufacturer of your Photocopy Company or Printer Company regarding the mode of transport for these devices. It is important to remove the allied components like toners and chemicals from the machine when you move the components. 6. Find out what is the plan that the mover has in place to protect the flooring and carpeting during the move from your current location to your new destination. 7. Check with the moving company if they can move filing cabinets and drawers without disturbing the contents inside. You can also check with the vendor of your file cabinets if the file system is large and complicated. 8. Determine how many office keys are required for your new location and accordingly have them ordered from your landlord or locksmith. 9. You can wrap important office machinery and equipment like computers, fax machines and projectors in bubble packaging materials. 10. Make sure that you label all items, boxes, parcels, bags, furniture, and stationery after you have packed them with appropriate packing material. Stick a sticker or a label on the top and on the side of the package. You can mark ‘FRAGILE’ on appropriate packages and also have ‘This side up’ printed on boxes which have to be opened in a certain manner.

To find a reputable moving company go to http://www.movingcompanies.us where you can get Free Moving Services information and an instant moving quotes from qualified moving companies.

Often times moving companies will have a minimum weight that you will be charged when you use their services. For example, if you are moving twenty boxes of pillows, you are going to be charged for a minimum of 1,000 pounds, so you might as well ship four couches along with those twenty boxes of pillows. What is meant by the example is that moving companies have minimums just like every other trucking service.

If you have more than the minimum you will be charged accordingly but you should be aware of what the moving companies minimum is in case you have a small amount of contents that does require moving. Check with the moving company you are considering using so you know what their minimum weights are compared to how much you might be shipping or moving.

Moving companies are required by law to tell you about minimum charges if you have a small order that you are shipping that falls below what their minimum charges and weights are. Be sure to listen closely when you are talking or reading about a company you want to have move you.

Some moving companies will base their services on miles, hours or space. If you are worried about weight, ask the moving company to provide before and after truck weights with and without your contents on the truck so you know how much your items really weigh. If you are billed on hours and miles, you know how many miles you traveled from one location to the next so this can be easily checked. You can even check miles before going to the new location by using any of the map services and putting the two addresses in, this will be a very close gauge on the mileage for your move.

When you are having items loaded on the truck, count the number of items. On a weigh sheet, your moving company may list every item, every box individually so knowing the amount of items or number of boxes that you have when you are being charged on individual weights.

Agreed pick up and delivery dates should be in writing. If there are any changes to what is written you should get a change order in hand. Perhaps the truck broken down, get an order from the company faxed to you so you have record of why it is late. Or perhaps you wanted pick up on a Tuesday but the company called and can't make it until Saturday. Get it in writing as to the reason, and include a new binding estimate that matches those dates for your best protection when using a moving company.

1. Most moving companies expect you to schedule a day for the move at least 30 days in advance.

2. It is helpful to chalk out a week by week moving checklist.

3. Start planning about four weeks before the move.

4. Start with discarding things which you would not need in the new house- damaged furniture, clothes that you don't wear anymore.

5. You also need to check homeowner's insurance policy to see if they cover the moving process. Ensure coverage, like theft, fire and other personal property insurance for your new place. Arrange transfer of school records for your kids.

6. Three weeks to go means that you should start using up perishable items which wont survive the journey, like packaged and frozen food materials.

7. Take care of your pending bills, tax assessments etc. moving companies do not allow transfer of flammable materials and aerosol cans and sprays as change in temperature and pressure can cause them to burst or catch fire. Use them up or discard them before the move.

8. Get your tools and electronic appliances repaired and discard what is non- functional.

9. It's a good idea to arrange for travel tickets for you and your family about two weeks before the move. Remember to notify the post office and service providers like gas, electricity about the impending change in address.

10. Start returning stuff that you have borrowed from those around you or libraries and start collecting things that you gave out.

11. Dispose of cleaning liquids, acids etc. to protect your goods from damage during transportation. One week before the move would be a good time to arrange for disconnection of cable TV, and transferring bank accounts. Also arrange for domestic supplies at your new home.

12. Getting a floor plan of the house would not only help you to pre-decide the arrangement furniture but help you to figure out what can fit and what can not.

13. Keep important things like medicines and documents on your person or in the car if you are going to travel by one.

14. Leave alone stuff that is to be packed by the movers company. Start packing other things and your suitcases.

15. A day before the move would be a good time to clean and dry your refrigerator and finish packing your suitcases.

16. On the moving day you should be forever around to give required directions, answer questions and sign documents like the bill of lading etc.

17. Before leaving make a final check to ensure nothing has been left behind and all the doors and windows are secured.

18. A moving checklist would help you systematize your move and ensure that things run smoothly.