PACKING AND PREPPING

Moving house or office and need some assistance packing?

Packing can certainly be very time consuming. So, if you’ve got a busy life with kids, animals and lots going on, why not get a little extra help from the friendly team at The Smooth Mover?

In addition to our moving services, The Smooth Mover offer a packing service – be it just for your kitchen, or your whole house or office!

We have a small but dedicated team of packers ready to head to your property to pack your belongings. We bring boxes, paper and tape etc to efficiently and carefully get everything boxed and ready to be moved.

Worried about your expensive mirrors and framed artwork being placed into storage? Not to worry – we also have transit wrap available to help protect these items, and can get these ready for the move too.

Whilst we do not offer international level packing of belongings or furniture, we are able to carefully pack your belongings in readiness for transportation around NZ by our moving teams.

Depending on the amount to be packed, we generally aim to schedule packing jobs a day or two ahead of the move, to ensure there is a swift transition of packing, moving and delivering.

We offer a three-hour minimum packing charge – so keep us busy! Our packing team will arrive at your doorstep with materials consisting of medium (half tea-chest) and large (tea-chest) sized boxes, clothes/flat boxes, paper and tape. Materials are charged separately, itemised on your invoice.

Packing yourself? We can also arrange free delivery of materials to you (subject to minimum order quantity).

The best part? We offer a 30% refund on boxes if/when returned in a reusable condition following your move & unpack – this system means we can reuse them, often several times each. Although a lot of people do choose to keep some boxes for storage, or pass them on to friends for reusing.

August 17, 2019January 9, 2020

HOW BIG ARE YOUR BALLS?

If you have a towbar and don’t know how big your towball is, check it out! All towballs have their ball size stamped into the top of the ball.

As you might know, NZ’s most common tow ball size is 1 7/8” (47.625mm). But with the influx of European vehicles coming into New Zealand, along with imported trailers and floats, new tow ball sizes are increasingly 50mm.

That’s a difference in diameter of less than 3mm. But that’s enough to make a huge difference to towing safety!

The difference does result in a lot of confusion. While a 1 7/8″ coupling will not fit on a 50mm towball, the 1 7/8″ towball will fit into a 50mm trailer coupling easily… but is a loose fit, which is highly dangerous – with a real risk of the trailer coupling jumping off the ball on the road.

Towballs and couplings are critical safety components which are engineered to high standards, with very little tolerances or margins for error. The two items form the crucial link between the tow vehicle and the trailer – any incompatibility between the two could have hugely serious consequences, with the potential for a trailer to detach from the tow vehicle and career into oncoming traffic. With that in mind, it is critical the correct pairing is used.

The Smooth Mover offers a range of trailers for hire. And with both safety and practicality in mind, all of our trailers and new double horse float available for hire have clever dual fit tow couplings, which will safely accommodate either a 1 7/8” or 50mm diameter tow ball. The new couplings are super easy to use and require less time to attach than previous couplings.

Contact The Smooth Mover if you’re in need of a trailer this weekend!

August 8, 2019January 9, 2020

TRAILERS & HORSE FLOAT FOR HIRE

Going to do a garden cleanup and need a large cage trailer?

Or you’re happy to move furniture and boxes yourself with a furniture box trailer? (though don’t forget The Smooth Mover can take the stress off your shoulders and do this for you!)

Or you’re looking to take your horse(s) out for a forest or beach ride this weekend?

Well, The Smooth Mover has a solution for you!

The Smooth Mover are pleased to offer a range of four trailers in various configurations, for multiple purposes. Including the latest addition of a British made Ifor Williams double walk through horse float!

For your peace of mind, all four trailers have hydraulic brakes. And for ease and road safety, all four trailers also have unique multi-fit tow couplings to fit both towball sizes seen in New Zealand (1 7/8” & 50mm).

The furniture trailers even come equipped with blankets and ties to keep your possessions protected in transit!

We offer hire rates for half day (up to 5 hours), full day (based on a 24 hour day), weekend and longer.

We can even assist with delivery & collection if required. Or by special request, we can offer a suitable tow vehicle and driver to work with you!

Contact The Smooth Mover for further details and rates.

See more on our TRAILER & FLOAT HIRE

February 22, 2019January 9, 2020

Declutter Help in Auckland

Are you about to move and need a hand to declutter? Are you finding it hard to make a decision of what to keep, what to discard and what to donate?

We have all, to some extent become the ultimate consumer… far too many of the same items floating around our homes – do we really need them?

Lisa has been in the home-staging industry for 9 years and has seen a real need for clients to declutter prior to moving.

“Too often I see people packing up items, only to discard them in their new homes because of lack of storage – or realise through their moving experience they just don’t have any purpose anymore. We have all witnessed the boxes in the garage a year later – still not attended to!”

By making the hard decisions of what you really need to keep, and downsizing before you move, you can save time and money and stress.

With good, practical, kind advice – and either advisory or a hands on “get stuck in approach” – whether it be furniture/homewares or personal items, Lisa at The Final Touch can help you through the process.

I have had many clients tell me how liberating it feels to finally down-size, let go and start afresh!

Buy Less, choose well – make it last! (Dame Vivienne Westwood)

Contact: Lisa – Final Touch

ginod@xtra.co.nz

Ph: 021 275 5860

February 16, 2019January 9, 2020

7 Home Staging Tips to Increase Your Home’s Marketability

You’ve decided to move, and now need to sell your home? The length of time it takes to sell, and the amount of money you sell for, will vary based on many factors; including location, pricing strategy, size, the state of the property market, and the presentation and appearance of your home. While some of these factors are outside your control, you can control how it looks and broaden its appeal through using home staging techniques.

Home staging is a marketing technique used by homeowners to increase the desirability of their home to buyers. Rather than renovating a home, it requires you to highlight the areas which would be most appealing to buyers.

As Auckland furniture movers, we meet many homeowners who have used home staging successfully when selling their property. Today we’re going to share seven home staging tips we believe played a large role in our clients’ successes.

Your home is your castle, and all the decisions you’ve made regarding its décor and furnishings were to your preferences. When selling a home though, you want to make it appealing to a wide audience and not just to yourself. This requires you to highlight the positives, and make the negatives more appealing. This can be done through home staging – here are seven tips to get you started:

Declutter – there’s nothing worse than seeing hundreds of books, ornaments or pictures in a home you are interested in purchasing. While you may enjoy seeing them, buyers do not, as they like to be able to visualise their own belongings.
Put extra furniture and belongings into storage. Like with decluttering, removing and storing excess furniture helps to make your rooms look larger and more appealing. The Smooth Mover can help you with your declutter process, by packing, moving and storing your excess items. Our North Shore self-storage units are perfect for keeping your excess items while your home is on the market.
Remove personal items – put away toiletries, photos, certificates and artwork belonging to you and your family members.
Use neutral décor – you may love bright colours, but not everyone does. A splash of colour in rugs and cushions is fine, but keep your walls, floors and drapes in neutral colours if you can.
Keep things clean and tidy – remove all mould and mildew. Put items away in cupboards or drawers and make sure there are no noticeable odours which buyers will find off-putting.
Don’t forget the outdoor areas – keep the lawns mowed, trees pruned, weeds and rubbish removed and add a few coloured flowers or shrubs to improve the appearance of your garden area.
Remember your furniture – if your furniture isn’t something you are proud of, consider borrowing or hiring some to display in your home while it is on the market. A few nice pieces can set off a room, portraying the type of lifestyle a buyer is wanting to see in their new home. The Smooth Mover works with and recommends Distinctive Homestaging (www.distinctivehomestaging.co.nz) who can help you present your home for sale within Auckland.

When your home is sold and it’s time to shift, we’re here to help! Available for relocations within the Auckland area, the Hauraki Gulf, or anywhere in the North Island, our furniture removal and storage services cannot be beaten! Get in touch with our friendly team today for a free quote regarding your upcoming move.

March 7, 2014January 9, 2020

Preparing for your Furniture Removal

Preparing for a furniture removal ?

Our guide can save you hours in preparing for your home for your upcoming move. We will be adding to this list regularly so stay posted!

Packing home contents can be very time consuming (especially the kitchen ), so start early, packing as much as you can. Leave out only the minimum amount of crockery etc that you can get by with, and pack the rest.
If you have enough notice before moving it is great to get the job done in a stress free way by packing 2 or 3 boxes a day/night so there is not rushing and panicking the week before your move. The Smooth Mover will assist with small packs in conjunction with your furniture removal, so please ask when booking your move. Alternatively consider employing the help of professional packers such as The Finishing Touch for your full home pack.
Keep entrances clear of boxes. Try stacking into corners of each room, or have one bedroom reserved for all packed boxes, alternatively use your garage. This will ultimately save you money if all your boxes are located in one area.
Take pictures and mirrors down, wrap and put them all in one place.
Remove headboards
Sell, give away, and dump anything that you no longer need or want. Moving is the ideal time to have a clearout! We may be able to sell furniture items on your behalf – either at reputable second hand furniture shops or via the Trade Me website. Storage is available for this service, if required.
Clean as you go, as rooms or cupboards are emptied.
As you pack, it’s great if you can create a pile in the garage or similar area on the ground floor. This keeps your house uncluttered while you pack, and saves time during your move!
Keep ‘last minute’ things and other essentials (kettle, tea, coffee, snacks, medication, cleaning supplies etc) out and pack them last. This box should also be loaded on the truck last or taken by car ready to come off first at your new property.
If disassembling furniture, tape screws, bolts, bed legs and other loose items to the underside of the furniture or place in the drawers of furniture items destined for the same room at your new property. Make sure you bag screws etc first.
Disconnect your TV, check with your provider (eg Sky) for reconnection.
Have a good idea of where you want your furniture placed in the new property. It can be handy to make a sketch of the floor plan of your new home to determine the placement of furnishings.