How to Pack Clothes for Moving

As far as packing clothes in a suitcase or a travel bag is concerned, almost everyone’s a packing expert, or at least that’s how most people view themselves. After all, who hasn’t packed various types of clothes in travel bags, suitcases or storage boxes? It’s a packing skill that’s required for the start of every trip or vacation, right?

Packing clothes when moving house may feel similar to packing clothes when traveling but the pre-move task does have a number of peculiarities that make it way more challenging. With Moving day approaching faster than you can handle it, you’re going to need to know how to pack clothes quickly, easily, and efficiently in such a way as to avoid wrinkles, tears or any other damage to your pieces of clothing.

To make your move easier, follow these moving tips for packing clothes when moving in order to best protect your expensive clothes on the road. Also, use the clothes packing tips to save time, space, and even some money during the home moving process.

Top 7 things to know when packing clothes for a move

The task of packing up your clothes when moving to a new home seems pretty straightforward at first. However, as soon as you start placing your garments into cardboard boxes and suitcases, you will realize that there are things you wish you had known before the initiation of that time-consuming task.

1. Procrastination is your arch-enemy

According to your own packing timeline, you should begin sorting out and packing your clothes as soon as your move has been confirmed. Packing up an entire home is, without a doubt, the task that will take the most time, so there isn’t really any time to lose.

One of the worst moving mistakes you can make is to keep postponing the clothes packing job for tomorrow, and then do it again when that tomorrow has come. As a rule of thumb, 4 weeks prior to Moving day is a good period to start planning on how to pack clothes in moving boxes. If you have less time than one month, you can still make it but you’re going to have to use special techniques to speed up the packing task.

2. Sorting your clothes is a must-do task

Packing up and moving all the clothes you own will often turn out to be a mistake. Why? Because a home move is a perfect opportunity to get rid of the things that you won’t use again in your life, and that includes your garments as well.

It’s important to sort out your clothes as you don’t want to waste time and money packing pieces you will never wear again.

Why would you pay more money to transport clothes you will never wear again?

Go through your clothes and put aside the ones that are no longer relevant and definitely out of fashion.

Also, don’t waste your time boxing up clothes that are too worn out or torn up to continue to serve you in the new home you’re about to move to.

Read on to find more information about how to sort clothes when moving out.

3. You have good packing options for your clothes

It’s important to be aware of your options when it comes to packing clothes for moving.

• Cardboard boxes. You will fold up and place most of your clothes into standard cardboard boxes which should be first lined with soft packing paper for extra protection. Use this packing option for your ordinary everyday clothes which you would not mind too much to see slightly wrinkled when you open up the boxes.
• Wardrobe boxes. You can use specialized wardrobe boxes to transport the more expensive clothes that you own. Wardrobe boxes are tall and durable cardboard boxes equipped with a metal rod at the top where you will hang those designer clothes with their own hangers. Read on to learn more about wardrobe boxes.
• Trash bags. If time is really pressing you, then you have the option to pack clothes in plastic bags straight from the wardrobe, closer or dresser. Described further below, this innovative hack for packing clothes will save you time but it won’t offer a good level of protection for your pieces.
• Suitcases. Needless to say, you can use suitcases to protect some of your clothes on the road. Nevertheless, it’s usually a better idea to leave travel suitcases, especially the ones with small sturdy wheels at the bottom, for packing much heavier items such as books.

4. You should save on moving boxes

It’s not a secret that the home moving process is expensive so you should really try to cut down your moving costs as much as you can. But how can you do it? One proven way is to use free moving boxes.

To pack folded clothes when moving, you will need a good number of standard cardboard boxes. One such box is not too expensive, but purchase 50 of them and you will realize what a great expense those containers can be. So, be prudent and consider using second-hand boxes in good condition to transport your clothes and thus reduce your moving costs.

Good to know: Where to get free moving boxes

5. Clothes are not fragile

The good news when packing clothes for a move is that your pieces of clothing will not be breakable in any way, which means that you shouldn’t worry too much about accidentally dropping a piece on the floor like you would when packing kitchen plates and glasses.

Also, you shouldn’t fear that you’ll open a clothes-filled box and find its contents broken into pieces. Sure, you may find your clothes rather wrinkled, especially if you haven’t followed our advice on how to pack clothes to prevent wrinkles, but that shouldn’t be something to really stress you out.

6. Clothes are not heavy

Are you ready for the clothes packing marathon?

Unlike books, the majority of clothes are lightweight so you shouldn’t be preoccupied with how you will carry the full boxes out of your home and all the way to the moving vehicle.

If you do fill up a large box with too many well-folded clothes, the overall weight of the container will increase substantially. Still, you shouldn’t have any problems moving that box around, especially when you know that even an accidental drop won’t cause any damage.

7. Clothes will take plenty of space

The seventh and final thing you should know when you pack clothes for moving house is that some clothes such as jackets and coats are voluminous, and therefore will take plenty of space when placed inside a moving box.

And this is why you should: 1) always prepare more boxes than you think you will need, and 2) take advantage of good packing practices to use all of the available space inside each container.

Additionally, you may consider using special vacuum bags to reduce the volume of the packed clothes. Nevertheless, the best way to pack clothes when moving is to reduce their number to the absolute minimum prior to initiating the packing job.

How to pack clothes for moving: 3 must-do steps

Now that you are familiar with the 7 most important things when packing clothes for a move, let’s move on to the actual packing steps in each clothes packing scenario. But before we do, here are 3 fundamental steps that you should always complete regardless of how you’ve chosen to pack your clothes.

• Step 1. Sort out your clothes and choose which pieces you will be taking with you and which ones you will be leaving behind. Clothes you should seriously consider leaving behind include worn out clothes, torn clothes, out-of-fashion clothes, clothes that no longer fit you, and clothes that you don’t like anymore.
• Step 2. Save time by grouping similar clothes according to their material, size, purpose and season. This way, you will be able to pack and unpack much faster.
• Step 3. Pre-pack the type of clothes you know you won’t wear until Moving day such as pieces of clothing that are out of the season (a mid-summer move means you can safely pack up your winter clothes early in the packing process) or clothes for special occasions such as formal attire, outdoor clothing, swimsuits, etc.

Useful info: How to pack quickly for a move

How to pack clothes in boxes (standard cardboard boxes)

Use ordinary cardboard boxes to transport your everyday clothes while keeping in mind that wrinkles and creases are still likely despite your best packing efforts. So, don’t even think about cramming your $700 tuxedo or $400 evening dress into a $4 cardboard box.

How to pack clothes in a box?

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  This is NOT a good way to pack up your clothes when getting ready to move out.
  Step 1. Select cardboard boxes that are both strong and clean – a couple of requirements that are especially important if you’ve managed to get the packing boxes for free, either from friends or from local businesses.
• Step 2. What box sixes should you use to pack clothes for moving and storage? Because clothes tend to be lightweight, you should be safe choosing medium to large cardboard boxes for your garments.
• Step 3. Place a few sheets of white packing paper on the bottom of each box before filling it up with your clothes. Those sheets will serve as an extra layer of protection for your pieces.
• Step 4. Transfer your neatly folded clothes directly from your wardrobe or dresser into the box. Use your best judgment to stack them nicely and snugly into the available space so that you can 1) pack your clothes more efficiently, and 2) reduce or even avoid wrinkles altogether.
• Step 5. Make sure you pack your clothes tightly but don’t forget to leave enough space so that the flaps of the box can be closed normally.
• Step 6. Close up the box when you’ve packed your folded clothes without overfilling the container. Then, use tape to seal it properly.
• Step 7. Use a marker pen to label each and every box you’ve just packed. Write down CLOTHES or choose to be more specific like SWEATERS or UNDERWEAR. Also, mark the destination room so that you or your movers know where to leave the box in the new home.

Read also: The best packing tips when moving home

How to pack clothes in wardrobe boxes

Here are the steps that will show you how to pack hanging clothes when moving. In reality, you have a couple of options: pack hanging clothes in wardrobe boxes or pack hanging clothes with trash bags.

Wardrobe boxes are perfect for transporting expensive clothes – formal designer attire that you’d hate to see damaged in any way. Those special boxes are tall and even have their own metal rods, so in a way, they look like much smaller versions of your wardrobe or dresser. While they will offer the best protection for your clothes, they are costly ($15-$20 per box) and take up plenty of space in the moving vehicle. Wardrobe boxes can be purchased from a local moving company.

How to pack clothes on hangers using wardrobe boxes?

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  Wardrobe boxes offer the best protection for your clothes.
  Step 1. Assemble a wardrobe box and position the metal rod in the special openings on the top. The rod should click into place.
• Step 2. Transfer your hanging clothes directly from the wardrobe or dresser without taking them from their hangers.
• Step 3. Remove any plastic bags if you’re moving in the summer as the extremer heat could melt the plastic and thus ruin your valuable garments.
• Step 4. Arrange your clothes tightly enough but don’t overdo it to avoid possible damage.
• Step 5. Do not place heavy things on the bottom of the wardrobe box. If there’s some space there, you can insert light items such as pillows.
• Step 6. Close the wardrobe box and seal it with tape to keep away dust or moisture.
• Step 7. Label the wardrobe box with its destination room and possibly its contents.

Good to know: How to pack for a move like a pro

How to pack clothes with trash bags

If you can’t afford to buy wardrobe boxes, you may want to consider one interesting trick to pack your hanging clothes quickly and cheaply by using clean garbage bags.

Garbage bags are cheap and do not take much space in the moving van but they won’t offer a great level of protection for your clothes pieces, at least not as great as wardrobe boxes. Also, trash bags are prone to tears, so the main thing to remember here is that you should still use wardrobe boxes for your expensive clothes.

How to pack clothes on hangers using trash bags?

• Step 1. Purchase brand new garbage bags.
• Step 2. Tie together a few hangers with the clothes on them using a strong elastic rubber band or a cable tie.
• Step 3. Poke a small hole in the bottom of a trash bag and insert the metal hooks of the grouped hanging clothes.
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  Packing clothes in a suitcase is super easy and pretty straightforward.
  Step 4. Pull the trash bag to cover the entire length of the clothes, then secure the loose end of the plastic bag with tape to prevent dust or dirt from reaching the clothes.
• Step 5. You’re done. If you think the plastic garbage bags you purchased are too thin, you can use two bags one over the other for a better level of protection.

Packing clothes when you move is definitely something you can do on your own… unless you have very little time to prepare to move out, in which case you can considering hiring professional packers to complete that task for you. Request a quote to see how much professional packing services will cost in your case.

See also: The best residential moving companies: Services, reviews, cost

11 Tips For Hiring Quality Movers

With millions of moves every year in the United States, it’s a minor miracle that most of them go smoothly, with no issues whatsoever. Hiring quality moves is a must, of course.

But even with so many smooth moves, scams or shoddy practices do occur. It’s in your interest to be informed about every step in the process.

Here are 11 ways to hire the right team for your move:

1. Moving inventory

A reputable moving company will take inventory of all your belongings and determine the bulk and weight of your move. The estimator should be thorough and check all of your storage places such as cupboards, drawers, garages and bookcases. A large component of the mover’s price is based on the weight of your stuff and the space your goods take up in the truck. Be sure you understand this estimate and that it is as accurate as possible.

2. Get a thorough walk-through

An estimator who performs a quick walk-through without noting what you plan to move is going to be off the mark. A good estimator will ask questions about what you plan to take from your current house to your next home. So, be sure you are prepared to tell the estimator which items you don’t want on the truck—the items you plan to give away, donate to a charity, sell in a yard sale, or leave behind for the new owners.

3. Don’t pay a large deposit

Reputable movers won’t demand cash or a large deposit before moving. You should only pay upon delivery. If you pay in advance, you have no control over when you will see your belongings again. When you do pay, use a credit card to help protect you from possible fraudulent activity.

4. Avoid moving companies with a name switch

Some companies avoid being assessed by the Better Business Bureau by doing business under a variety of names. Be sure the company has a local address and information about licensing and insurance. Their employees should answer the phone with the full name of the business.

Find out if there are any other names the company “does business as,” as well as their state and federal license numbers. Search online to see if there are complaints about the company. To find out more about the company’s history, call the consumer complaints hotline at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 888-368-7238.

5. Get references on movers

If your friends and family don’t have recommendations, get a list of reliable movers from associations such as the American Moving and Storage Association and state associations of movers.

Ask any mover you speak with for references. Tell them you want a list of three customers from your area who have moved in the past three months. Call those customers and ask direct questions about their experiences.

6. Avoid packing costs

If you pack your belongings yourself, the mover generally isn’t responsible for damage to them. However, if you have your mover do the packing, you may pay inflated prices for boxes and packing materials, not to mention time and labor. If you decide to have the movers pack, ask about the packers’ experience. Most packers are  careful, but you want to avoid the chance of getting someone who tosses whatever they can into a box and then seals it up with little regard for breakage.

7. Beware of extra fees

Do you live in a two-story house or are you moving into one? Moving to or from a 10th-floor apartment? If so, you’ll likely be charged extra for the movers’ having to negotiate stairs and elevators. Have a narrow street that won’t fit a moving van? Expect a surcharge for the transfer of your belongings to a smaller truck for delivery. Make sure to ask your mover about any additional fees that may apply to your situation.

8. Avoid a blank moving contract

Never sign a blank contract. Get absolutely everything in writing. The mover’s estimate and any extra fees should be listed, as well as your pick-up and delivery dates.

Read your contract and make sure all of your belongings are listed. If your laptop isn’t labeled on the inventory form you sign before the driver leaves, you can’t expect it to be in the box when he arrives. You can’t file a claim for something that doesn’t appear on the inventory list.

9. Don’t accept the “guaranteed” quote

There are three kinds of moving contracts:

A non-binding estimate on your contract means the company cannot require payment more than 10% above the original estimate. Any overages must by paid within 30 days of delivery.

A non-binding to exceed estimate on your contract insures that you will not have to pay for any overages to the original estimate. The estimate is the maximum you’ll be required to pay for any services rendered.

A binding estimate on your contract is supposed to be a guaranteed price for the move and all extras and services. If you request additional services (such as unpacking), any extra fees must be paid within 30 days of delivery.

10. Report any problems

You have nine months to report any problems to the moving company and file an insurance claim. So if you’re opening boxes a year later and find shards of glass, you’re out of luck.

On moving day, try to open each box and sift through it to check for damage. Note any problems on the mover’s copy of the bill of lading before signing it.

Your mover has 30 days to acknowledge receipt of your claim. Within 120 days of receiving it, he must deny your claim or make an offer to pay.

11. Moving insurance and valuation protection

All moving companies are required to assume liability for the value of the goods they transport. However, there are two different levels of liability. You need to be aware of the charges that apply and the amount of protection provided by each level.

Full (Replacement) Value Protection:

This is the most comprehensive plan available for the protection of your goods. Unless you select the Alternative Level of Liability described below, your shipment will be transported under your mover’s Full (Replacement) Value Protection level of liability. With this plan, whenever an article is lost, destroyed or damaged while in your mover’s custody, the mover has the option to either:

• • • Repair the article to the extent necessary to restore it to the same condition as when it was received by your mover, or pay you for the cost of repairs.
    • Replace the article with an article of like kind and quality, or pay you for the cost of replacement.

Under this option, movers are permitted to limit their liability for loss or damage to articles of extraordinary value, unless you specifically list these articles on the shipping documents. An article of extraordinary value is any item whose value exceeds $100 per pound (for example, jewelry, silverware, china, furs, antiques, rugs and electronics). Ask your mover for a complete explanation of this limitation before your move. It’s your responsibility to study this provision carefully and make the necessary declaration.

Alternative Level of Liability: 

This no-cost option is the most economical protection available, but it provides only minimal protection. Under this option, the mover assumes liability for no more than 60 cents per pound, per article. Loss or damage claims are settled based on the pound weight of the article multiplied by 60 cents. For example, if a 10-pound stereo component valued at $1,000 were lost or destroyed, the mover would be liable for no more than $6 (10 pounds x 60 cents). There is no extra charge for this minimal protection, but you must sign a specific statement on the bill of lading agreeing to it. If you do not select this alternative level of liability, your shipment will be transported at the full (replacement) value level of liability and you will be assessed the applicable valuation charge.

10 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Sabotage Ambitious Millennials:

As a generation, Millennials (myself included) have had more access to opportunity than any other generation in human history. There is an unlimited amount of productive ways toward which we can direct our intelligence, passion, and attentiveness—and an equally unlimited amount of distractions pulling us away from those things that actually matter.

This article will list out ten everyday problems that most Millennials encounter and how they hold them back from success, both in business and the pursuit of their passions.

Keep in mind that almost all of us, myself included, indulge in the behaviors on this list at least periodically. There is absolutely nothing wrong with partaking in these activities on occasion.

The problem is in habitually doing these activities, every day, as part of your routine.

With that, here are the ten barriers to success that many Millennials allow as distractions every single day.

10 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Sabotage Ambitious Millennials

1. TV/Netflix

Unless you are a better person than me, you’ve gotten home from work and plopped yourself in front of the TV or computer to watch a few hours of Netflix, TV, or movies. I was actually so good at denial once that I even managed to convince myself that this was productive. I’d think that whatever I was watching was ok because it was some documentary or series that expanded my mind or put me more in tune with the shows that “everybody should watch.”

Literally thousands of hours of my life have been wasted on this. My goals do not include being the top contributor to a conversation surrounding Friends or The Big Bang Theory. Netflix has almost nothing to contribute to my day, and the off chance that some of the content could actually benefit me is just that—pure chance.

No thanks.

Netflix and 99.9 percent of television programming have absolutely nothing to offer me in terms of furthering me towards the things I really want in life. They are a distraction, a waste of time, and worst of all, an opportunity cost. I could be doing something better with almost every second. This is especially true in selecting a TV show or movie to watch. I have in the past been known to spend up to an hour just trying to pick one non-productive movie or TV show over another!

I care about my goals, and while I still watch a very minimal amount of television from time to time, it is no longer a part of my day to day life. I believe that I am way more productive, happy, and progress towards my goals more rapidly with this change.

TV and Netflix have no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

2. Sports Entertainment

Professional, college, and amateur sports are a distraction. You could be doing something better with that time in almost every situation.

Now, the trap that most people fall into is the mindset that sports don’t hurt us. Unlike other activities on this list, watching sports isn’t actively taking us farther from our goals, especially when we deceive ourselves into believing that they periodically produce connections and conversations with others. However, when we factor in opportunity cost, sports become a huge and obvious anchor, slowing our progress toward our goals.

This is not to say that you should cut sports out of your life entirely, but it does mean that being a rabid fan of the local NFL team or watching every game in the NCAA tournament is costing you. Big time. For an example from my personal life, we can look back to the year the Phillies won the world series (2008). I remember skipping class; missing social events; getting happy, angry, or sad about things well outside of my control; spending money on merchandise; and ignoring most of the other things that were important to me at the time.

Related: 3 Negatively Cashflowing “Assets” That Devastate 20-Somethings’ Finances

After that year, I decided to let sports go as a part of my everyday life, and I’m amazed at how I ever cared so much. Don’t get me wrong; I still like sports and don’t mind going to a game every now and then, especially when I can get free tickets. But at the end of the day, making the Phillies a big part of your day to day life will make you… a great Phillies fan.

Is that really who you want to be?

Sports entertainment has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

3. A Luxury Residence Far From Work

This is a fun one that many folks can’t seem to wrap their heads around. The luxury residence (read: house in the suburbs or apartment in the happening part of town) can be a massive detractor from most Americans’ wealth, health, and happiness.

It bleeds them dry in the form of rent/mortgage payments that preclude them from building wealth, force them to spend large amounts of unproductive time commuting to and from work, and incentivize them to stay at home—often alone, bored, or at best, tired from a long day or week working and commuting.

Luxury living is often expensive to maintain and furnish and encourages other behaviors that further detract from goals. Many folks who choose such living situations also purchase an expensive automobile to compensate for their long commute, divert significant resources in the form of time and money into decorating and maintaining their household, and worst yet, feel compelled to spend time “enjoying” (read: lazing around in or watching #1 Netflix or #2 Sports) their home.

Many folks who feel stuck and frustrated with their lives compound that frustration daily on the way to and from work in their luxury car (which is stuck in traffic because of their poor choice in the location of their residence). They are also forced to allocate time to maintaining their home, which they fail to see is a distraction to their higher objectives, misguidedly believing that their home is an “asset” to their social status or in the case of the suburban homeowners, a “wealth building” investment.

“Sacrificing” your luxury residence (at least in the short-term) for a downgrade closer to work might just be the single most powerful thing you can do in the pursuit of your dreams, both in freeing up your time AND your money.

A luxury apartment and a long commute have no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

4. Eating Out

There are occasions during which meeting someone for lunch can be extremely productive. Catching up with a friend or family member, potential business associate, or coworker over lunch or a beer can be extremely productive. Using reasonable restaurants in the way I describe here is not a bad use of time.

But habitually eating out as a default option in your day-to-day life is killing your dreams.

Eating out regularly has the following drawbacks:

• Eating out is expensive. I know folks who buy lunch almost every single day, and god knows how much they order for dinner. I even know people who order breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a typical workday. That’s $30 most workdays, if we’re feeling very conservative.
• Eating out is time consuming. You are wasting time in line, at the register, commuting to and from the restaurant, and in the usual lazing around after the meal.
• Eating out is unhealthy. Sure, there are a few places where you can get a healthy meal out, but let’s be honest—that’s not the norm.

Eating out is acceptable when you are invited to an event or when it’s the best way to meet critical people—people who can help you get where you want to be. This situation is far more rare than we like to admit, unless we deliberately attempt to meet new key people as often as possible (if that’s you, then keep up the good work!). Far too often, we fool ourselves into thinking that a lunch was “productive,” when it was really a net loss to our wallets, productivity, and health. Don’t fall into that trap. Make your own food, and default to a healthy, efficient, delicious, and self-prepared meal.

Eating out has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

5. Social Media

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and whatever else we are using these days are now part of everyday business vernacular. It’s actually totally acceptable, even mandatory in some cases, for many of us to be on these networks as a normal part of our jobs—and there is a merit behind them. They help us reach more people, share our content, achievements, and milestones with others, and create business.

The problem with these tools is that they are designed to distract us. They are designed to keep our attention for as long as possible and to suck us back in as frequently as possible. That’s their job. That’s how they make money—HUGE money. And they are very, very good at it.

If you are serious about success and achieving some big goals, then social media is not something that you spend all day on. Social media is something that you use efficiently, effectively, and succinctly to share, access, and collaborate on those issues that are relevant to your goals.

If you want to see how your friends are doing and keep up with their lives, check in once per week with the feeds of just those you care about. That hot girl from history class back in middle school? Her job in Seattle doesn’t matter. Her stuff shouldn’t appear in any of your feeds and shouldn’t command one second of your time. It’s preventing you from focusing on something better. If something cool happens with that guy who always smelled funky in math class, you’ll hear about it through the grapevine either way, and you don’t benefit from being first out the gate with that information.

Aimlessly trolling social media feeds has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

6. Music

Ah, I can hear the shouts of disapproval already as I write this.

Music in and of itself is a wonderful thing and has many proven health benefits when applied appropriately. If you need a few minutes of your favorite song in the morning or like classical music while you work or need a few amped up songs to get pumped for your workout, obviously it would be a mistake to cut that out.

But let’s be real—we are NOT routinely using music to reduce pain, relieve depression, or to compete more intensely at the gym. The best excuse that I can come up with to defend my old music listening habits is that it helps me to “elevate mood.”

Give me a break.

Music is NOT helping you achieve your goals when you are listening to your favorite rap, country, rock, pop, or typically popular music. That country station on the way to work can and should be swapped out for a book on tape or podcast on real estate, business, personal development, or something similarly productive.

Music distracts you. Period. This has been scientifically proven—with the possible exception of listening to music within a narrow band of acceptable listening.

Free time and mindless, repetitive chores can be put to far more productive use when you listen to content that helps you grow in business, personal life, or develop new skills. If you are listening to your favorite music artist, you must acknowledge that you are at that point prioritizing the recreational pursuit of listening to that song over your career, personal development, or other life goals. You could be doing better.

Unlike some of the other things on this list, music doesn’t directly take away from your ability to do other things, but it could be replaced with something that will actually help move you towards your goals and it is a distraction. Over a long time period, such as a year, the person who forgoes music for self-education and development audio will have a massive advantage over the music listener.

Typically popular music has no place in the workplace, commute, or mindless activity of an ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

Related: Not Too Late: A 20-Something’s Plea to Generation Yers for Financial Change

7. Nightlife

I’ll be the umpteenth person to cite this ridiculous article from Elite Daily as a guide for rapid self-destruction, mediocrity, and financial dependence. To quote one particularly hilarious brain fart:

“$200 a month [in savings]isn’t going to make the dent that a $60,000 pay raise will after spending all those nights out networking.”

If you believe in this approach, you are full of it. I wish you well, and hope that one day you will be my opposition in a struggle for something that I really want. I will beat you 100 percent of the time and by exponentially increasing margins with every passing day (or night?). Good luck to you.

I’m not going to say that I haven’t enjoyed my share of nightlife, but I also don’t kid myself that this was productive to my higher goals. They were fun, plain and simple. But the people that I’ve met out on the town, at the bar, are not likely to help me proceed towards my goals. Like the rest of these distractions, indulging occasionally is not going to devastate your progress, but it is going to slow you down. Recognize that, and temper yourself appropriately.

Nightlife has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

8. Shopping

There are some items in your life that can make a serious difference in your productivity, and there are some items that will last much longer than others. For example, I might spend a large amount of time selecting a new mattress, property, computer, or insurance policy, as that might significantly improve my quality of life, my ability to produce effectively on a day to day basis, my peace of mind, and my financial position.

On the other hand, I and many of my peers have been known to spend far too much time comparing options between things that really don’t matter. Examples of this include the Netflix movie selection process described earlier, wandering around stores at the mall, or browsing the internet lackadaisically. I truly don’t understand this concept. Like many others on this list, it’s a waste of time and money, for items that are obviously not of benefit for more than a brief snapshot in time.

Shopping should only take as long as it takes to understand what you need and the tradeoffs between price and quality. Decisions only need to be brooded over when the stakes are high.

Shopping has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.

9. The Snooze Button

The snooze button is the ambitious person’s greatest ally. It keeps the competition in bed, where they can’t compete! Better yet, it makes them groggy, unproductive, and way worse off than if they had just gotten out of bed in the first place.

When that snooze button goes off and you have to awaken to hit it, that’s it. It’s over. You aren’t going to get any more productive rest, you aren’t going to be better off in 15 minutes, 30, minutes, or an hour while your alarm keeps going off every 10 minutes. In fact, you are actually making yourself way worse offthan if you just got out of bed the first time the alarm goes off—at least from the standpoint of benefitting from sleep.

The snooze button is costing you more than the few extra minutes of time that you spend unproductively in bed. It’s costing you the next several hours of productivity, mental sharpness, and production.

Waking up is a mindset. When that alarm goes off, get up quickly and be grateful for whatever sleep you did get. Snoozing for more won’t help you.

The snooze button has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s mornings.

10. The “I Want to Try and Do EVERYTHING” Mentality

Millennials have been widely documented as valuing “experiences” over pretty much everything else. I too value awesome experiences more highly than possessions and also hope to see as much of the world as possible. However, I feel that many of my peers and those in our generation take this mindset to an extreme where they arrive at this inevitable outcome:

They have a ton of shallow experiences in a large number of areas, thus becoming fairly lousy at a lot of different things. This can come at the expense of becoming excellent in just a few areas that they truly enjoy.

If the desire to experience new cities, lifestyles, and experiences is too strong, then it holds you back from self-development and mastery of any of these locations, hobbies, or passions. You can’t commit to any projects or visions that will help you make an impact on the world or that lead to success if you are too preoccupied with experiencing everything the world has to offer.

Millennials seem to prioritize having as wide as possible a breadth of life experiences, but fail to prioritize having a deep level of expertise or passion about hobbies in a more narrow range.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have hobbies, passions, or pursuits that you genuinely love. It’s to say that instead of trying to do everything, pick a few that you truly love and develop an intimate level of expertise and knowledge in those areas, instead of trying to overextend into too many new areas of life.

By all means, develop new interests outside your comfort zone. Just don’t forget that the bulk of your focus should be on your core strengths and those weaknesses that you need to overcome to achieve what you truly want.

Being a “jack of all trades and a master of none” has no merits for the ambitious Millennial.

Conclusion 

I make some pretty bold claims here and criticize behavior that I observe as being both widespread and detracting from peers’ success. I believe that the activities listed above do little to impact day to day happiness and in many cases are simply bad habits that take away from more meaningfulness in our lives.

We can attempt to deny this list and argue that there actually are some merits to each of these habits (well, except for the snooze button). But if we are honest with ourselves, these things aren’t helping us to grow in our personal lives, with our finances, or with our passions. They need to go.

I also fully understand that many of us indulge in these behaviors at least some of the time. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in moderation, these activities can be fun and enjoyable. Just recognize when too much becomes too much and when it’s time to cut back and get truly serious about whatever it is that you want to do with your life.

It’s then that you’ll see that these things have no place in your day to day life, and with that understanding, they’ll gradually start to fade out of your life.

Fremont Home Delivery Services That Excel:

We live in an exciting time. Virtually every need or amenity can be delivered to your doorstop, and in little to no time. Food, clothing, entertainment, a monthly gift box for your dog. Why should it be any different for your personal belongings?

It’s a question that’s always stumped us too; but instead of resigning to our confusion, we decided to change the game by offering a Fremont home delivery service that is as professional and courteous as it is efficient and reliable. Of course, those are just words; we measure the success of our home delivery in Fremont against the number of satisfying customer relationships we create. It’s our true business and, as they say, business is booming.

But what exactly is it about our local delivery services that give our clients such peace of mind, and, more importantly, how can they do the same for you and your family? Full-scale residential and commercial moves are equally lengthy processes that require outstanding amounts of patience and planning, especially if you’re travelling across the country or overseas. Yet, sometimes, nothing is harder to conquer than that final home stretch, especially when you start to consider all of the unloading, unpacking, and debris removal. Or, let’s say you best that final mile, but you find out you have too much stuff and not enough space in your new home, and now you need a secure storage solution with a no-hassle retrieval process.

Our Fremont local delivery team is prepared for both of these scenarios, or any other unique logistical challenge that comes our way. Valley Relocation’s expert team has completed successful deliveries for thousands of residential and commercial clients, so we are well aware of the diverse needs of our Northern California customers as well as their high standard of quality service. In fact, it’s been our pleasure going above and beyond the call of duty for this fantastic region for over three decades.

Your Home Delivery Experts

Of course, all the best intentions in the world don’t amount to much without the industry-grade tools and resources to back them up. This is where we’ve really cemented ourselves as the gold standard in Fremont local delivery. As an agent of CRST Specialized Transportation, we have unrivaled access to an expansive fleet of specialty transit vehicles as well as the support of hundreds of moving and storage professionals.

Regardless of how large, fragile, or unconventional your items are, we have the tools to craft a custom delivery solution for them to ensure they make it back to you in pristine condition. And if you’re not quite ready to retrieve your items yet, no worries; we also operate three expansive CRST distribution centers that offer a staggering amount of fire and theft-preventive storage space for all items, ranging from bulky to sensitive to simply unwieldy.

To learn more about how we deliver not only household items but peace of mind to Northern California residents, families, and businesses, give Valley Relocation a call today to discuss your home delivery needs with one of our knowledgeable representatives. We also invite you to submit our convenient online form to request a free home delivery quote.

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Finding Good Schools Before You Move Requires Homework:

You want the best possible education for your children. Most parents do. But the stress of finding good schools before you move to a new town can be challenging. However, doing your homework allows you to make smart choices for your children. Follow the steps below to help you pass this test.

Finding Good Schools Before You Move 101

It used to be you dug up a phone number to a Chamber of Commerce, called and asked whoever answered to send you information about relocation to their city. Nowadays, we hop online. To help get an idea of the quality of local educational offerings, check the National Center for Education Statistics. This center compiles data for each school district from prekindergarten to high school for you to review. Another helpful federal agency — the U.S. Department of Education. It includes a plethora of tips, helpful questions and statistics.

Two helpful FREE websites include GreatSchools and SchoolDigger. GreatSchools, a national non-profit, rates each school, provides test scores, gives information on programs and offers reviews of teacher quality, parental involvement and principal leadership. It even features homes for sale in the area. One drawback, though, it may lack some schools and fail to report some vital information.

You can also try SchoolDigger, which boasts that it offers “useful metrics” to 120,000 K-12 schools in the United States. This includes test scores, rankings, school and district boundaries, student/teacher ratios, ethnic makeup, and other information.

Finally, go straight to the school district and school websites. These usually give you an indication of the quality of the curriculum, teachers and student activities.

Reach Out to Real People

Statistics and reports can tell you only so much. Excellent sources of info will be other parents, especially moms, students and even your real estate agent. They all know the good, bad and the ugly and will likely be more than happy to share it.

Additionally, make sure to put the word out to everyone you know about your upcoming move. This may drum up a parent or two with children who can offer insights on schools. If you already have a new job in the new town or are moving for your company, ask your future co-workers for the scoop and their recommendations. Ask to speak to their children about experiences at the school they attend.

But finding good schools before you move takes more than talking on the phone, texting or emailing.

Visit the Good Schools

This may seem like a luxury. But once you narrow down your children’s school choices pay them a visit. Nothing compares to getting a firsthand look at where your children will begin spending their days.

Write down a list of important questions and bring them with you to ask teachers, counselors and the principals. You may want to know about bullying, the types of classes offered, the technology/computers available to students, after-school activities, the quality of teachers and the level of communication with parents. Make sure all of your concerns get addressed.

Relax and Let Master Movers Do the Rest!

You did it! You have your children’s schools lined up! Now, relax and leave the packing and moving up to Master Movers. We offer the best local and national moving services available. Call us today to move to that high-ranking school district!