Every long-distance move forces the same question room by room: is this piece worth shipping, or would it be smarter to sell it and buy something at the new place? Get it wrong in one direction and you pay to…
A new job in another city is exciting until you start pricing the move. If your employer is not covering a full-service relocation, or offers only a modest lump sum, you need a way to get your belongings there without…
The garage is usually the last room people pack and the one that causes the most trouble. It is full of heavy tools, awkward shapes, sharp edges, half-empty cans of chemicals, yard equipment with fuel in it, and years of…
When you are moving long distance without hiring a full-service moving company, three do-it-yourself options usually come up: a portable moving container dropped at your driveway, freight shipping where your belongings ride on pallets with a carrier, and a rental…
Moving to a retirement community usually means moving into less space. Whether it is an independent living apartment, a cottage in a senior community or an assisted living suite, you, or the parent you are helping, will likely keep only…
Sending freight straight to a self-storage unit sounds like an easy fix. You are between homes, your new place is not ready, or you need somewhere to hold furniture and boxes until a move-in date. Why not have the pallets…
Ordinary packing supplies work well for most shipments, but they can quietly harm art and antiques. Newsprint transfers ink onto light surfaces. Bubble wrap pressed directly against a painting can leave a pattern in soft varnish. Colored tissue bleeds dye…
Antique sewing machines and typewriters look indestructible. Many are made of cast iron and steel and have already survived a century. But they fail in transit in very predictable ways: a heavy machine head breaks loose and smashes through its…
Antique lamps are a shipping puzzle. The base may be heavy cast metal, carved wood or thick pottery, while the shade is thin glass, leaded panels or hand-painted parchment. Add a glass chimney, a brass harp, a finial and old…
Handing a painting, a sculpture or a piece of antique furniture to a stranger is nerve-racking, and it should be. Fine art and antiques are often irreplaceable, and the difference between a careful shipper and a careless one shows up…
