While professional movers make the process of relocating much more viable for most people, they aren't magicians or mind readers. There's much more to simply hiring them when you want to make a smooth move. Here's how to cooperatively make your domestic transition much easier:

Clarify Everything Ahead Of Time

Don't just set a time and date for your big move; give the company you'll be working with specific information on how many boxes there will be, large pieces of furniture and in particular, heavy appliances and other time and resource heavy items. The more they know ahead of time, the better they can plan the move, including expediting from one area to the other.

Also, it helps to verify your moving date and time a day or two before, so that there's no room for misunderstanding. This also gives you a final countdown alert as well, because the moving date nearly always arrives before you're really ready for it.

Move Your Own Boxed Valuables And Breakables

Although your mover will be insured over things like breakage, you don't want to test their policies by actually losing your most cherished or valuable possessions. Pack them up yourself, rather than leaving them as part of the professional packing and transporting process. If you then place them in your own trunk or backseat, you can leave them there until your new home is more situated, without a lot of people coming and going with full hands.

If you choose to let the movers handle your more valuable or irreplaceable items, be sure to clearly identify them as such and include special instructions. They'll handle these boxes with special care and can leave them aside for you in the new home if needed.

Coordinate The Heavy Lifting With A Blueprint

It's important that the movers know where they'll be placing furniture at your new residence, not just that they bring it over. Draw up a rough draft of the new place, indicating where you want things to go. Discuss this blueprint with the movers once they've arrived at your current address, so that they can coordinate the lifting, maneuvering up stairs and around corners, and placement of your various pieces of furniture. Your fridge may weigh as much as 250 pounds; thus, finding a way to move that to the kitchen first, rather than working it around other pieces makes for a smart plan.

Be sure to wrap furniture in blankets and protect floors from scuffing beforehand; a simple throw-rug can be used to push an easy-chair, for example, and you could tie cloth on the feet of other pieces or use sliders to prevent scraping.

Clear The Way For Your Movers

Before they arrive at your current location, make sure they have a clear path to and from the apartment, including possible obstructions in the hallways, if you live in a complex. You need to keep kids and pets out of harm's way as well, so they don't get underfoot; however, you may not want your young children elsewhere during the move, as it can inhibit their absorption of the reality of the move. If they don't witness the different elements of moving, their minds may not see the process as permanent, especially if they're not taking the move well.

Let the movers know about access to both your existing and new residence, too, such as if there are elevators, back doors and other things they could use to their advantage. If possible, take care of all the paperwork on your new home ahead of the move, so you can devote your time and attention to coordinating the effort with the movers.

While moving can be one of the most hectic events in life, when you work together with the professionals you hire, the move should be smooth. Otherwise, all those loose ends will really add up to major headaches.