Moving to Toronto - Moving Tips

The thought of moving your possessions into your new home in Toronto is both exciting and daunting.  You can’t wait to move in, but all those boxes and packing and unpacking, and the mess!  With a little planning and organization you can make your move a relatively painless and positive experience.

The best time to start planning your moves is shortly after your Agreement of Purchase and Sale has become firm.  That is once the Agreement has been signed by all parties and all conditions have been met/removed.  At this point you know the deal is firm and everyone has agreed upon a possession/closing date.

AMJ Campbell Van Lines is Canada’s largest household mover and relocation company, operating from coast to coast through 50 franchised and company-owned locations.  AMJ Campbell is committed to providing professional sales consultants, experienced drivers/crews, packers and administration.  We are dedicated and proud to make your moving experience as pleasant as possible. In partnership with Right At Home Realty Inc., AMJ Campbell Van Lines offers the following Ultimate Service Moving Program: 12% discount on published hourly rates Minimum 58% linehaul discount on long distance moves 25% Packing/Unpacking discount Free Aeroplan Miles Sears payment option and receive Sears points Free wardrobe service on local moves (max. 6) Climate controlled, palletized storage facilities Detailed free estimate by a qualified Sales Consultant

Looking for a Toronto Moving Company? Right At Home Realty and AMJ Campbell Van Lines have created the Ultimate Service Moving Program.

Complete and submit the on-line Moving form for a free estimate and answers to your moving questions.  All information will be sent to you by e-mail.

Use this checklist and you should be just fine! Also check the related questions at the top or bottom of this page.

• Get "Change of Address" cards from the post office and mail to family, friends and creditor well before moving day.
  
• Have the post office forward your mail to your new address. Be sure to specify how long you want them to continue forwarding your mail.
  
• Cancel any contracted services and pre-authorized cheques.
  
• Inform other home services (i.e. gardening, dry cleaning, garbage pick-up, newspapers, magazines, etc.) about your change of address and arrange for service at your new address.
  
• If you are going to be changing banking branches or institutions, a letter of introduction from your current branch may help establish new accounts. Transfer trust or bank accounts and securities.
  
• Cancel or transfer social, athletic, civic, religious or business affiliations and memberships.
  
• Arrange for the transfer of medical, dental, prescription and optical records.
  
• Change the address on your driver's license effective the day of the move.
  
• Remember to collect any items you may have out for cleaning or repair and any items in storage.
  
• Make any necessary arrangements for moving perishables (i.e. plants).
  
• Make arrangements for moving your pets.
  
• Safely dispose of any flammable liquids. It is illegal for movers to carry them.

You can reduce your moving costs by not moving items that you no longer need or use. Not only will getting rid of unnecessary items result in savings since you will not be paying to move them, but you may even make a few dollars. A garage sale is one of the easiest ways of lessening your possessions. These days ‘recycling’ is a big issue, and a garage sale can be considered an environmentally responsible way of keeping useable items out of our dumps.

Before you start planning your sale, check with your municipal authorities for any type of permits you may need and if you need to collect tax. It is usually not necessary unless you expect to reach a certain dollar figure.

Check out other garage sales to get an idea of the best way to arrange the items.  This is also a good way to decide on pricing. You could also visit resale shops, antique shops and flea markets to get an idea of value for certain items.  If you have any large, more expensive furniture items you might check with local re-sale or consignment shops. Occasionally, even with the commission you pay to them, you will get more for your items than you would in a garage sale. This may also be true for very high quality clothing items.

Your next step is to a date for your sale. Typically weekends generate the best exposure, except for Holidays when many people are away or involved in other activities. Spring and Fall are usually good garage sale periods and many times coincide with preferred moving dates. Even if you are planning to move during the summer, it is a good idea to hold a Spring sale. Removing excess items is a good way to make your home more attractive to potential buyers by giving it a more spacious look. Real estate agents often recommend garage sales or the storing of items just for this reason.

A lot of people like to attend garage sales before noon so plan to get an early start.  Sometimes you even get people arriving as you are setting up.  Most garage sales are set up in front of your home, either in the garage and on the driveway or across the lawn area. If you have a large porch, you can utilize this space for larger or more expensive items.

It is always a good idea to have a back up plan/location in case of rain or bad weather.

Some things to think about when planning your garage/yard sale include:

Pricing the items - Your sale day will run smoother if you price items in advance. By doing this ahead of time you will reduce the amount of bartering time because the purchaser will have an idea of what you expect to sell the items for. A general rule of thumb is to charge between 40 and 50% of your purchase price if an item is new or almost new and 10 to 20% of purchase price for older items.  Self-adhesive price tags are an inexpensive and secure way of labeling your items.  Be sure to dust and clean the items to make them more attractive.

Advertise Your Sale – Consider placing a "Moving Sale" advertisement in your local paper.  Try to avoid using the terms garage or rummage sale. People expect a higher quality of items if someone is moving. If possible advertise the sale more than once and include your address, date of sale, hours and any rain date. If you are selling worthwhile items like furniture, be sure to include that information in your ad. If you choose, you could include your phone number for those who want more information about specific items. Sometimes local radio stations advertise garage sales as part of their free community service announcements.

Bulletin boards at supermarkets, libraries, clubs etc are a great location for a flyer. If your municipality allows, put notices and signs up on lamp standards to direct people to the sale. Put a large sign at the entrance to your neighbourhood and on your front lawn. Attractive signs can be made with a piece of Bristol board paper with either cut outs or written text.

To get more exposure, you may choose to make up flyers and have someone deliver them to houses in your neighbourhood.  Tell everyone you know that you are holding a sale and ask them to pass the word along.  Perhaps your neighbours will decide to have a sale the same day and you could advertise a “street sale” to attract more customers.

Things to do on Sale Day - Have plastic bags, small boxes, string, tape and elastic bands on hand for customers to pack their purchases. Have a calculator, pen and paper handy to make totaling purchases easier.

Sort like items together and arrange goods as attractively as possible.  Arrange smaller items on tables and group items such as costume jewellery and lego into “grab bags” for a price per bag.  Clothing should be hung on racks or from poles and for customer convenience, pin sizing tags at the underarm or waistband of clothing. These tags are available at most dollar stores and will be worth the small expense.

Ensure all furniture is fully assembled so that customers know there are no parts are missing.  If you have any electrical items consider running an extension cord from the house or garage so they can be test.

Place books, records, CDs etc. in cartons (face up if possible) so people can easily see what they are.

Have lots of change available and keep a record the amount of your ‘float’ in a notebook before the sale starts.  Put a sign up that states ‘Cash Only’ as it is not a good idea to accept cheques from someone you don’t know.

If you are planning to use your garage to display your sale items and there are also items in there that are not for sale, be sure to put a large ‘Not for Sale’ sign on them.  If possible you may wish to section these items off from the rest of the area.

Have Fun - Try to have everything on display 1 hours before your start time.  You may choose to serve coffee and donuts to make your sale more inviting. Or you could provide home-made banana bread cookies etc.  Sometimes children like to help out by having their own lemonade stand.

If you kept a record of the items being sold, mark the items off in your notebook as they sell and indicate sale price if it differs from established price.

Rearrange your displays as necessary to keep them neat and tidy.  Consider reducing prices near the end of the sale in order to dispose of what is left. Perhaps even a 2 for one sale. Having signs to that effect made up ahead of time will make it easier. Put these signs out on the lawn or up against the relevant table.

Security Issues - Keep your cash box out of sight and NEVER leave it unattended.  Put larger bills in a pouch around your waist. Keep the doors to your house locked and watch for shoplifters.

After the Sale - Take down all the outdoor signs including those on light standards on the street. Go inside to count your money and don’t forget to deduct the ‘float’ you started with.

If you haven’t already done so, decide what to do with the left-over items. Anything useful can be donated to the Salvation Army, Goodwill etc. or given to your church or club organization for a future sale.  Check with your local school to see if there is anything they could use for crafts or a drama production.