From time to time, a business will find it necessary to change locations. Moving a business is no different than moving a home in theory. You will have items in one place that need to be moved to another place.  Simple right?

If only it were that easy!

Packing Smart

Businesses typically have customers relying on uninterrupted service.  You want to have as little impact as possible on the bottom line, so how do you accomplish this?  By packing smart.

• Take an inventory of your business holdings.
• Look at your calendar to determine what materials you will require to maintain scheduled business.
• Sort your inventory into two groups essential and non-essential.
• If an item is essential, give it an expiry date (eg: Pack this 2 Days before moving day).
• Draw a floor plan for the new space. Make sure everyone knows where they will be working.
• Plan and draw out where each large item (desks, filing cabinets, photocopiers etc.) will go.
• Speak to service providers (such as electrical, waste collection, and Internet service providers) to ensure a smooth transition.
• Schedule the move as early as possible for a day that will impact your business the least.
• Give your clients plenty of warning about the move, and when it will happen.

Staggered Packing

By sorting items into Essential and Non-Essential categories, you can stagger your packing to make moving day that much easier.  It is possible in some situations to begin moving the smaller non-essential items before moving day.  This will make your move faster, and easier, saving you both money and time.

It is common for commercial moves to have larger items. Make sure your team of movers is aware of these items, and knows where they will be going once you reach your next space. Unlike some of the smaller items, these will all be moved on the same day, so having your floor plan drawn up is extremely useful.

Hopefully, a few of these tips will help you to keep the impact of your commercial move at a minimum. Have a look at some of our other common packing tips for more help on safely packing away your possessions.

When putting your furniture into storage, there are a few tips to remember. These are some of the things we’ve learned over the years about furniture storage.

The Importance of Mattress Covers

A well-managed furniture storage facility will maintain regular pest control routines, but even the most spic-and-span place can still experience problems. It only takes one person to bring a contaminated item into their unit for pests to spread to neighbouring lockers. Mattresses can be enticing to insects, including dreaded bedbugs, so covering them up is crucial.

Foster’s storage units are individual containers, so infestation problems are not an issue for us like they can be for traditional mini-storage facilities where all lockers are under the same roof. Mattress bags are still a good idea, though. They will prevent moisture problems from developing and keep your mattresses clean. Your bed is where you sleep remember, you need to protect it.

Blankets are your Friends

Furniture should be snugly covered up with a blanket to protect it. This will keep your wooden antiques from getting scratched or your leather couches from being gashed. Glass tabletops or shelves should also be securely wrapped with a blanket to protect them from chipping or cracking.

Plastic Is Fantastic

Plastic shrink-wrap is a great tool for moving your stuff because it holds drawers closed and keeps things in place. It is also good for your upholstery in storage. Not only does it protect it, but it will also keep it fresh.

Think of Furniture Storage as Tetris

To get the most of your storage unit, you’ll need to minimize empty space. This means filling up all of your storage furniture like dressers or trunks. You will want to utilize any shelving that you have available as well.

Things should be packed vertically inside the locker, so put heavy, sturdy items in first and build up on them. Save light, awkwardly shaped things for the top. Utilize any shelving that you have available as well.

Disassemble large furniture where you can, it will be easier to store this way. Couches should be stored up on one end, this will save you space, but it will also prevent their springs from wearing out when things are placed on top of them.

Whether you are going to put your furniture into storage for a month or two or you think you might need it for years, we hope that you’ll find these tips helpful.

If you leave your pictures unpacked, we can often protect them with a pad. But, there’s limited space in the truck to safely store pictures this way. The best idea is to pack them in a proper box. We have used picture boxes available for $3 or $4 each, depending on the size of your pictures, you can fit between 1 and 6 pictures per box.

We use standard size moving boxes because they’re the most efficient for carrying and stacking your belongings: 2-cube, 4-cube, 5-cube and china barrel (dish pack). If you decide to get your boxes somewhere else make sure they’re similar in size (so they stack easily) and appropriate for the items you’re packing (books belong in a 2-cube box).

Liquor store boxes are often too small and mismatched to make for efficient moving. The more time it takes us to carry and load your boxes the more money it costs. Buying proper supplies in the beginning will save you money in the end.

Make sure you fill your boxes completely, all the way to the top (especially the heavy ones). The integrity of the load depends on each box supporting the weight of the others. Things shift around in the truck, if one poorly packed box is crushed the whole load is compromised.

Our goal is to make as few trips as possible. As long as your dressers are full of light items – clothing, linens, blankets, pillows – leave them, and we’ll move them as they are. Please do remove any small items – jewelry, coins, watches – as we’ll likely tip the dressers on their side along the way.

The exceptions: If your dresser is solid oak, an armoire, 7 feet tall, or too fragile to bear the weight of tipping it’s best to empty the drawers before moving.

We use pads to protect a lot of things, but lampshades are too fragile for pads (with the exception of glass lampshades). The safest way to transport your lampshade is to pack it in a box.

A good rule of thumb for properly protecting glass tabletops and shelving is to arrange to pack them into picture boxes before the move. Contact us and we’ll get you the supplies you need.

Marble, ceramic or other heavy, fragile tabletops should be crated. Let us know ahead of time and we can arrange this for you.

We can easily move your plants in our trucks. Dry plants are best so please don’t water your plants a day or two prior to moving. Drip trays should be packed separately. Groups of small plants can be packed together in open top boxes. Large plants can come as they are, we’ll use bungee cords to fix them to the walls if necessary. Wardrobe boxes work well for plants more than 4 feet high and we can supply these at a cost of $7.50.

A 2-cube box is the perfect size box for packing books. An experienced mover can carry two of these on his back, 3 or 4 on a two-wheel dolly, or 5 on a four-wheel dolly. If you’re concerned about lifting them yourself, pack them is a spot you can leave them until the movers arrive.

You can make your move go smoother by limiting the number of trips we need to make. One way to do this is to fill the empty spaces in your furniture – side tables, cabinets, dressers, trunks, suitcases, and the bottom of your wardrobe – with lighter items.

Things like: duvets, sleeping bags, pillows, lampshades, and small boxes can be easily tucked into the nooks and crannies of larger pieces of furniture. It’s our job to carry heavy things, and we’re good at it, so you don’t have to worry about weight (with a few exceptions).