3 Ways to Clean Out Before You Move Out

There is no better time to declutter than when packing to move. Whether you’re moving commercial buildings or specialty spaces, chances are you have accumulated items or equipment that go unused. Rather than having to pack items with no utility, take the time to sort out what is and isn’t going to your new location.

Are those mismatched office chairs from the back-conference room worth the trouble of transporting? Is that machine from eight years ago still relevant? If your answer is “no”, then check out our list of how to clean out before you move out.

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What You’ll Need For A Successful Laboratory Move

labratory movesMoving laboratory equipment is a complex process that requires experienced professionals. Planning and inventory management are essential for a successful move and fragile scientific instruments must be carefully handled. Our laboratory moving experts have experience organizing every aspect of the move, including a detailed timeline to make sure you can pick up where you left off as soon as possible. We have experience moving even the most expensive and sensitive lab equipment, so you can be assured that everything will arrive at its destination safely. Recently, we have handled some note-worthy moves, including a $350,000, 2,000 pound electron microscope at The George Washington University in addition to holding the relocation services contract for Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA.

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4 Safety Tips For Moving Furniture

Moving heavy furniture can be a very risky business, especially if you have no prior experience moving large pieces of furniture and even more so if you’re moving it alone. If you’re planning to take on a furniture move on your own, we have provided some tips below that can help you avoid personal injuries and any damage to your possessions when moving from one space to another.

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Temporary Storage During an Office Renovation: Pros and Cons

Office renovations can be tricky and require quite a bit of forethought to avoid having a negative impact on productivity or increased liability for injuries. Moving Masters understands the stress renovations can cause and have been successfully moving corporate offices for over 30 years. Our fleet of 40 trucks and over 100 trained moving professionals will make any temporary move during an office renovation stress-free.

Top Pros for temporary storage during an office renovation:

  1. No dust: Depending on the type of renovation you are doing, dust from exposed ceilings, walls, and floors will make its way throughout the office. Moving furniture and equipment from one side to another and covering them will do little to lessen the amount of post-renovation cleaning required (or potential damage from dust).
  2. Safety for employees and visitors: Stacking things up high on shelves or having cluttered walkways could lead to accidents, such as injuries from falling items or employees slipping and falling.
  3. Purging: When having to clear out a section of the office for renovation, a company is forced to take a look at useless assets. Many companies find that it is easier to fill up a dumpster or to donate items, then them in a storage unit or find a place to put them after the renovation.
  4. Peace of mind: Hiring a professional commercial moving and storage company, such as Moving Masters (hint, hint), will significantly reduce the stress to an already stressful renovation.

Top Cons for temporary storage during an office renovation:

  1. Cost: Having employees move the office equipment and supplies from one room to the next will undoubtedly save money on storage and professional moving. However, there are increased risks (see above).
  2. Accessibility: If you accidentally stored an important file or piece of equipment, you will not be able to access it easily if it is in a far off storage unit.

Other tips:

When packing for temporary storage during an office renovation, be sure to keep in mind the items your employees use on a daily basis. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to make multiple trips to storage to retrieve them or purchase new.

Pick a length of time when deciding what gets purged. For example, if an item hasn’t been used in a year or more (i.e. a three-hole punch), there’s a good chance it won’t be used in the future. Here’s 3 Steps to Simplify Your Move With Packers.

Ask yourself these questions to make sure your business runs smoothly during renovation:

  • Will I need swing space (temporary working space) to accommodate employees?
  • Will I need to add new wayfinding signs so customers or clients are directed appropriately?
  • Will there be enough restrooms for employees and visitors?

Temporary storage during an office renovation can be a hassle, we know, but that’s why Moving Masters is here to do all the heavy lifting. Give us a call before you begin your office renovation!

10 Office Move Budget Tips To Consider Before Moving Offices

10 budget considerations for your next office move

It’s hard to predict what’s going to come up when moving your corporate or government office. By budgeting properly you can prepare for the worst scenario. How do you know if you’ve budgeted properly for that scenario? Here are 10 office move budget tips to consider before your next office move. These tips will help ensure you’re keeping the stress and hassle of moving in check. In addition to staying on top of your budget, it’s important to make sure you are choosing the best time to move. This will ensure you and your employees have adequate time to prepare. 10 Office Move Budget Tips To Consider Before Moving Offices

Make a budget

You can’t stick to a budget if you don’t have one! Once you’ve created a budget template and before getting started on adding items to the budget, make sure you set a budget.

Create a budget template

These are simple to create, or you can download one online. A budget template will help keep everything organized.

Inventory

Take an inventory of all assets before you begin packing. This can help discourage theft and will help you keep track of anything missing during the move.

Moving expenses

Get an estimate 4-6 weeks prior to moving and include the moving company’s fee in your budget plans. If you have items worth more than they are currently insured for, consider getting quotes for this and add the highest one to your budget template.

Extra Services

Make sure you know what it costs to have your moving company pack your files. Moving Masters’ highly skilled packers will make sure all your files, including confidential materials, get to the new office safe and secure.

Extra Charges

Consider extra charges for things like packing, expedited services, or holiday moving.

New Office Costs

Include things like security deposit, rent, legal fees, building insurance, new furniture, archiving and storage.

Repairs On The Existing Office

Are these repairs your responsibility or the landlord’s? Check your lease to be sure and budget for repairs if necessary.

Employee Hours

Don’t forget to account for employee’s time that will be spent assisting with the move.

Marketing Costs

Spend time planning a marketing/PR strategy to let clients know of your new location. Business cards, letterhead, website, search listings, social media accounts will need to be updated.

Moving can be a hassle, we know, but that’s why Moving Masters is here to do all the heavy lifting. Give us a call alt=”contact us” title=”contact us” before moving to your new office!

White House Executive Office Building Library

Moving The White House Library

moving the white house libraryOn January 4, CNN Reporter Michelle Kosinski tweeted a photo of a Moving Masters truck outside the White House, implying it must have something to do with the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations. The tweet was retweeted over 750 times, liked over 1,000 times, and was quickly picked up by The Washington Examiner. In reality, while Moving Masters was working under Secret Service escort in the executive wing of the White House, it was not to move President Obama and his family out, or President Trump and his family in. Instead, they were moving thousands of historic books into the library in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB).

The EEOB, located just west of the White House on 17th Street, was built in the 1870s and is occupied by the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of the Vice President. Inside is a massive library, which contains over 60,000 volumes, all the treaties signed between the United States and other countries, George Washington’s sword, Ben Franklin’s walking stick, and other items of national historic significance.

Eight years ago a decision was made to renovate the space and so Moving Masters, recognized as the premier government and commercial moving company in the region for over 35 years, was contracted to move many of the books in the library to two new locations – some were taken to the New Executive Office Building (NEOB) down the street and some were taken to the Moving Masters warehouse, located just 15 minutes from downtown Washington, D.C. in a secured facility with a capacity of 150,000 square feet and a number of safeguards and security measures in place. After the renovation was completed seven years ago, the space had been used for a variety of purposes by several departments, including the Secret Service.

Over the years the books being stored at the warehouse were taken to other locations. In late December 2016, Moving Masters was contacted by the White House administration once again, this time with a contract to move the books from the NEOB, and other rooms within the EEOB, back into the EEOB library, merging the books from both locations into a single resource library.

helping to move the white house libraryKevin Boss, the Operations Manager at Moving Masters for 17 years, oversaw the January move.

“There was some frustration of having to go through all of the security checks – submitting all our personal information for background checks, going through multiple checkpoints, and being sniffed by the canine units, every day, and being escorted and watched by the Secret Service at all times,” he said. “But then there was the exciting part of it – being in beautiful, ornate surroundings, the history of the building, being in the hallways of the executive office building, all of that was fascinating.”

“There was also the anticipation of seeing members of the executive branch,” he added. “We did see Vice President Biden, we saw President Obama and the First Lady [Michelle Obama] from a distance, and Nancy Pelosi was there one of the days we were there, plus there was always top people walking back and forth from the West Wing to the executive office building.”

Over the course of nine days the Moving Masters team used 55 library carts, moving approximately 15,000 books from the NEOB and within the EEOB to the EEOB library. Normally it would take longer to move that many books, especially with all the detail involved with protecting the library (including the mosaic flooring, brass railings, and all the paint and gold trim), but Moving Masters was told the work had to be completed before the inauguration and so they worked Monday through Saturday of that week and completed the job on time.

For over 35 years, Moving Masters has successfully moved dozens of libraries across buildings, campuses, towns, and states, and can now add two successful White House moves to their long list of accomplishments and satisfied clients.

Whether you are moving to a new location or temporarily relocating during renovations, Moving Masters has the expertise to complete an efficient and organized move for you. If you are interested in using a company trusted by the White House for your library moving and archiving, or any of our other moving services, please contact us today.

Move for the WMATA: No Pandas Were Harmed with This Move!

Moving Masters has been keeping busy, we’re always just a call away from a move, big or small. We were recently tasked with a unique move for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which plans, develops, builds, finances, and operates a balanced regional transportation system in the national capital area.

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