De-Cluttering Services

To save money, you may want to reduce the quantity of items you are moving.

Furniture
Get rid of anything that’s worn out, badly damaged, or soon to be replaced. Anything that will not fit in your new home should be discarded or left behind. Make sure your furniture will fit through doorways and up or down the stairs, both in your old home and your new home. Think twice about moving any items made of particleboard, such as shelving or storage units. Particleboard items do not normally travel well, since nails and screws may become loose when the item is moved. If you insist on moving these items, it will be done at your own risk.

Draperies, curtains, and rugs
Make sure these items will fit your new home’s floors and windows before you consider taking them with you. If you do decided to take them, consider having them cleaned before moving day and leave any protective wrapping on them for extra protection.

Kitchen Supplies
Go through all your cabinets and discard any items you don’t use. Use up your perishables and frozen items before you move. If you have canned goods or other non-perishable items, consider giving them to a food bank or soup kitchen.

Clothes
The rule of thumb is that if you haven’t worn something in two years, you probably never will. Give these items to a homeless shelter or charitable group.

Outdoor equipment
If swing sets, barbecues, picnic tables, lawn mowers, and TV antennas are in good condition and you’ll use them in your new home, take them with you. Otherwise, find out if the new owners or your neighbors are interested in buying them from you. After you finish sorting through your belongings, take stock of the items you are not going to move. If you give them to charity, make sure you get a receipt for tax purposes. You may also want to have a yard or garage sale to dispose of these items and make a little extra money.

Save Money, Be Green
Need help to get rid of your Junk? Arpin Van Lines has partnered with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to help you get rid of those things you know you will no longer use or need, helping you potentially reduce the cost of your moving expenses.

For a fee, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? provides de-cluttering and junk removal services. The best part is that all items collected gets either recycled, donated, or reused. For more information about this program, please call us at 800-343-3500.

Your social media profiles have morphed as the sites they live on have changed. So has the way people view them.

To get a better idea of how profile design affects profile viewers, Mashable asked eye-tracking research startup EyeTrackShop to compare visual statistics for Twitter, Facebook and MySpace profiles before and after major site redesigns. The company had 30 people to look at the profiles while tracking their eye movements. Here are some interesting observations from the resulting data: 

• Facebook Timeline cover photos get noticed first. However, study participants still spent a longer time looking at the Facebook Timeline profile photo than the cover photo.
• Facebook ads get noticed more in Facebook Timeline. While 43% of participants noticed Facebook “sponsored stories” in the old profile format, 63% noticed the ads in the Timeline format. Participants spent the same amount of time on average looking at the ads in each profile.
• Personal information such as employer and location gets more attention in the new Facebook Timeline. Viewers spent an average 2.2 seconds looking at this section in the new format, which includes images, but only 1.6 seconds looking at this section in the old format.
• MySpace text gets read last and least. In both the new and old versions of MySpace, top photos were noticed first and viewers spent the most time looking at them.
• The New MySpace makes soundtracks more prominent. Ninety-seven percent of viewers noticed the section of songs you can click on to play in the new profile, but only 53% noticed them in the old profile.
• Profile information is easier to find in the new Twitter. While viewing the old profile, participants noticed tweets before they noticed profiles. While viewing the new version, that pattern was reversed.

• Contact or visit your local Post Office to obtain a Change of Address form. You can also obtain this form online at the postal service website by visiting: www.usps.com
• Give a change of address to the following:
• 1. Banks
  2. Schools
  3. Friends & family
  4. Insurance company
  5. Doctors & specialists
  6. Cellular phone company
  7. Credit card companies
  8. Subscriptions (Magazine, newspaper, etc.)
• By this point you should have already hired a mover and received an estimate. Check with you mover to confirm that all the details of the move are set. If you are packing on your own, make the proper arrangements and get the right supplies.
• Make the arrangements to connect and disconnect your cable, internet, electric and any other services you currently use. Dealing with this at an earlier date will prevent any date and time conflicts you may incur.
• You may have to switch banks because your current bank branches may be sparse in your new town. Investigate the popular banks in the area you will be living in so that you can close and open new bank accounts as needed.
• Check what the requirements are to receive a new driver’s license and complete auto registration at your new motor vehicle location.
• If you will be making an international move, make sure your passport is up to date and has not expired. Passports generally take three weeks to process.

Tare Weight – Weight of the entire transportation unit (van/truck) and its contents prior to loading household goods.

Tariff – Schedule of rates or table of charges published by each van line which shows price schedule, classification rating, and other rules and regulations.

Third Party Service – Moving services (i.e., dismantling a pool table, removal of an antenna or satellite dish) performed by an individual or company not associated with Arpin Van Lines, Inc. The cost of these services appear as a separate item on the Bill of Lading.

Shrink Wrap – Plastic sheeting which is wrapped around large items (i.e., sofas) to decrease or eliminate soiling.

Shuttle Service – Service performed, usually at an additional cost, when a road or driveway to a residence does not permit access by a large van.

Skin – Burlap bag used to wrap and pad small items that may not be very clean (i.e., lawn mower, grill, etc.).

Storage Container – A large, front loaded plywood box into which household goods are placed for storage.

Storage-In-Transit (SIT) – Temporary storage of household goods in a warehouse (used mostly on long-distance moves).

Straight Truck – A moving truck constructed as a single unit (as opposed to a tractor and separate trailer).

Registration Number – Number assigned exclusively to a shipment for recordkeeping and tracking. Also referred to as “Reg Number.”

Replacement Value – Cost to replace a lost or damaged item based on current market prices or substantiated value.

Paperwork – The forms and documents that accompany a shipment.

Private Storage – Household goods stored by an individual, at his/her expense, in a self-storage facility.

Order for Service – Document signed by the customer, prior to loading, designating the moving services they want performed, and signed by the carrier acknowledging the acceptance of the move.

Origin – The location where the shipment is picked up.

Origin Agent – The lawful agent of a carrier responsible for all services at origin, including performing the estimate, signing contracts, and packing household goods.

O.S. – Overstuff; refers to padded or upholstered furniture items (i.e., sofas, easy chairs, recliners).

Overflow – Portion of a shipment which cannot be loaded on the main van due to lack of space. The overflow is carried on another vehicle and a separate inventory is prepared.

Net Weight – Actual weight of household goods, determined by subtracting the Tare Weight from the Gross Weight.

Non-Binding Estimate – Estimated price given to the customer which is not guaranteed. Final charges are based on the weight of the shipment, distance traveled, and all actual services performed.

Line Haul – Cost of moving household goods over the road from origin to destination, excluding other services, based on distance and the weight of the shipment.

Local Move – A move in which the distance is within approximately 500 miles from origin to destination.

Lump Sum Value – The total value of the entire shipment.