Cinco de Mayo - Celebrate Diversity!

While it is a Mexican holiday celebrating the defeat of the French army in the Battle of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated throughout the US with food, music and lively gatherings.

Cinco de Mayo is a great example of our country’s respect for other cultures. The staff and movers of All My Sons Moving & Storage carry on that tradition by creating a richly diverse, harmonious workplace. In addition to making All My Sons a great place to work, the appeal reaches our equally diverse customer base. We make it a point to make diversity a priority while adhering to our strike hiring rules to ensure our Dallas movers are the best of the best.

Embracing our individuality is our common goal…well, that and providing the best moving services in the DFW area!

Your Family Traditions

You’ve heard all about how All My Sons Moving & Storage is a family moving company and how our professional moving services are like family traditions. Each year of the four generations All My Sons has been in business has strengthened our family. Our traditions keep us accountable to our neighbors and customers as our family grows.

What family traditions do you have? Outside of the moving company, my family has always made time to gather for a family dinner with minimal distractions several times a week. This tradition keeps our family strong and opens lines of communication.

If you have a long-lived family tradition, I encourage your family to keep it going! If not, why not start one? Who knows, it may become a tradition that outlasts generations! Whether its game night, movie night, a meal or a weekend trip, traditions are at the heart of what keep families going.

Swine Flu Can't Stop These Movers!

I wanted to let our customers know that the staff and movers of All My Sons Moving & Storage are prepared to take extra precautions in light of the rising swine flu scare. Already, our Dallas movers are utilizing hand sanitizer and gloves at all times to protect themselves and their customers from the spread of germs during a move. Additionally, we do not send movers into the field if they are feeling ill.

Should the threat of swine flu rise significantly in the coming weeks, All My Sons is prepared to protect our customers and their belongings at all costs. While we do not anticipate a problem, we are prepared to deal with whatever comes our way. Rest assured your moving plans will not be disrupted. For questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to us!

Get Your Kids Involved in Your Move!

Many parents meet a brick wall when it comes to getting children involved in a move to Dallas. While moving is a stressful event, especially for children, there are many things you can do to get them more involved and more comfortable with your moving plans.

All My Sons Moving & Storage recommends creating a simple color-coding system to help identify box contents and made unloading a snap for your family and your local movers. Invite your kids to help create a fun, easy-to-follow coding system. And remember, you’re not limited to colors! Take a trip to your local craft store and stock up on colorful stickers with a common theme. For example, you can purchase a variety of stickers featuring animals, flowers or whatever you prefer. Let each child choose an animal, flower etc to represent their room and belongings. Add a sticker to each box in a visible location. Try to place stickers in the same corner or area of each box so the movers and your family can locate your belongings easily during the move.

If you have the time, encourage the kids to make their own box labels using colored paper or markers, scissors and tape. Cut paper into shapes or letters and tape them to moving boxes to indicate which boxes go to which rooms in your new home.

With a little creativity, you can give your children peace of mind about your move to Dallas.

Plan Ahead for a Smart Move

So you have your moving folder and all of the paperwork you need to start planning your hassle-free move to Dallas. To get ahead of the moving game, why not begin packing? Packing is one of the most time-consuming and difficult tasks of the entire moving process, so a head start will benefit your move in many ways. Have you ever packed in a rush? It is stressful and often leads to damaged items that were not properly packaged for the move.

Of course, the easiest way to pack is to have some else do it! Dallas movers can take care of your packing months, weeks or even days before your move. This professional service can be accompanied by various levels of insurance to protect your belongings in the event of any damage. Utilizing professional packing services also decreases the risks of damage. High-quality moving boxes and packing materials are used (at least with All My Sons!), as well as tested techniques that leave even dishes and glasses intact.

Should you want or need to pack on your own, however, local movers recommend beginning ASAP! You can get new or gently used boxes from your local moving company. Then, make it a point to pack a few boxes, or even just a few items when you have a spare minute around the house. There are many items in your home that you may not need for the next month or two. These items can be packed and safely stored until moving day. After designating an area to store your packed boxes, load up off-season clothing, home décor, house keepsakes and anything else you won’t need in the coming weeks. Make sure you label each box!

With such a large head start, your move to Dallas will be smooth and easy!

Borrow Some Time from All My Sons

Did day light savings time throw you for a loop? I was definitely taken aback when I woke up for work on Monday to a dark world! Not to mention the lost hour of sleep or, in my case, unpacking. (I KNEW I should have requested unpacking services from the professional Dallas movers of All My Sons Moving & Storage!)

It seems like we're always rushing around and running out of time these days. I don't know about you, but my to-do list is always growing longer. The sooner I cross off a task, the more tasks I think of to add. Moving to Dallas is a lot like that, too. There is so MUCH to think about! Where are you going to get quality moving boxes? How will you find time to pack everything? What packing supplies will you use? Will you have to rent a dolly? Or padded blankets? And how on earth are you going to get your piano, pool table or large aquarium out of the house and into your new home safely and with time to spare?

I'm not saying All My Sons of Dallas is a miracle. Well, maybe I am saying it! My team can provide answers and services for all of those moving and storage questions. We can also take care of the moving details you haven't even thought of yet! With a team of professionally-trained, knowledgeable Dallas movers, you'll be crossing items off of your to-do list left and right!

And the less items on your list, the more time you have! Its like have your own special daylight savings time. You get more done in a few hours that you can do in one week!

With All My Sons, time is on your side.

Trust is a Virtue, Especially for Moving Companies

By the time you reach the ripe old age of adulthood, you’ve probably had a broken heart or two. At the basis of many relationship slip-ups is the issue of trust. It’s common knowledge that trust is a foundation for almost any relationship, romantic or not. As an employee of a Dallas moving company and a small, family-owned business to boot, I know that trust plays a major role in establishing a healthy relationship with customers.

Think about it. Your moving company has your entire past, present and future in their hands! Your furniture, your family heirlooms, personal files, pictures and clothing…everything! All or at least most of your worldly possessions are involved in a move, and a move to Dallas is not the time to take chances or risk damaging your possessions. As nice as your neighbors are, or as reliable as your friends may be, recruiting inexperienced hands to move your pricey and priceless belongings could result in serious damage. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard customers tell me that “Last time, we ruined our plasma TV” or “We had to buy a new set of dishes.” Are you really saving that much money if your spending hundreds, even thousands of dollars replacing a TV or set of china?

All My Sons Moving & Storage has been operating in Dallas for over 10 years, and our family has been providing moving and storage services for over four generations. I invite you to call my coworkers at the office. You’ll see why we are easy to do business with. I focus on establishing trust on a sturdy foundation, not by simply telling you what you want to here. I tell each customer I speak to that All My Sons has the best movers in Dallas because I see the great work they do each day. All My Sons offers a solid, trustworthy business relationship. We want to be your Dallas movers today and for years to come.

Now Introducing All My Sons of Dallas Staff

I have been writing this blog for a couple months now and thought it was about time that I introduce some of my fellow members of All My Sons of Dallas. It was kind of a hard choice to only pick one but I finally decided to tell you about one of our lead estimators, LeVanuel Montgomery. LeVanuel has been with All My Sons for a little over two years now. He came to us from his own moving company and started training to become a salesman. His job is to go out and be the face of All My Sons of Dallas. He specializes in local and long distance moves. What he does is come out to your residence, do a physical walkthrough of your home, and based off the information you give him he gives you a written estimate for your move.

LeVanuel recently got married this past December and lives in Desoto, TX with his wife. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a very proud Longhorn fan. Not only is he one of our top salesmen every week,he works very hard at his job and building that personal relationship with each and every one of his customers. One principle I have tried to install in our salesmen is that once you make contact with the customer they are yours until the end. LeVanuel takes this to heart from the first time he speaks with you. You are his responsibility and he makes sure that he does everything in his power to make your move as smooth as possible.

All My Sons Gives Back to Dallas

In my two years working for All My Sons Moving and Storage, we have done a lot to help out in our community. Every year we sponsor local schools so they can get new uniforms or equipment or whatever it is that they need for that school year. We help out our local chapter of Habitat for Humanity in moving the new families and getting them set up in their brand new homes. A first for us this year though, we sponsored a friend in the 2008 March of Dimes Walk for Babies. We also donated the use of our trucks for a local school auction, so they could pick up the donations and get them to where they need to be.

I try to get us involved as much as possible in helping within the community, and every time we do it makes me feel as if I did a little something to help someone who really needs it.

Your Mover’s Accountability for Loss or Damaged Property

One of the highest priorities on your checklist of moving is how indispensable your items are to you. Everyone has those items in their homes that are extremely expensive as well as those that have more sentimental value that monetary worth. So, among the list of qualities in choosing a mover their level of liability is something you should beyond doubt check on.

If you are moving in Texas there are three options you have to select from. These selections are explained in detail in Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move in Texas, as well as below. One thing you should always keep in mind is that valuation is NOT insurance; it is a distinct level of carrier liability. The mover of your choice is not selling nor are you buying insurance on your household goods.

Option #1 Standard Level of Liability: The standard level of liability for Dallas movers is $.60 cents per pound per article. This coverage is already included, at no additional charge to you with All My Sons of Dallas . What this means is if you have a table that weighs 100 pounds and it is lost or damaged in any way, then your mover is accountable for a maximum of only $60. Now, the moving company can not reduce this amount they can always decide to go above and beyond this based on the situation.

Option #2 Full Value Protection: This level of liability is going to be based off how much you (the shipper) think your items are worth. One way to estimate this is to multiply each room in you room in your home by $10,000 or if you have obtained a written estimate from a Dallas mover then you can multiply the weight of your shipment by $10.00. Either mode you choose the total value of the protection you chose MUST equal 100% of the replacement value of protection of all your belongings being shipped.
Once this value has been decided then you can choose a deductible to go with. Just like all insurance companies you will have a range of deductibles to choose from it just depends on what you will be comfortable with.

All My Sons of Dallas works with the local agent Bakers International. This policy must be purchased at least 24 hours in advance and covers just about any event that can happen in the moving industry.

Option #3 Your Homeowners Policy: Each and every homeowner’s policy will be different. You will need to check with your local agent to find out what level of coverage you have.

Of course thinking about your items being lost or damaged when moving is something that we would rather not think about, but it really is something that should be considered. Each and every Dallas mover should make you aware of their level of liability and ought to give you the option of obtaining additional liability coverage if you want it. You already have enough on your mind this should be one thing you take care of and forget about it unless you need to use it.

The Cost of a Self Move

The moving season is upon us. Whether it is a small move or a sizeable one the notion to move yourself has crossed everyone’s minds. We think it will be the most cost friendly choice to our pocket book than actually hiring someone to do it for us. In some, not all, instances yes it would be cheaper to move myself than hiring a local moving company. However, one thing I have learned working in this industry, just because I think that it might be cheaper doesn’t mean it will. The AMSA (American Moving and Storage Association) has a link on their website that helps you figure out the cost of doing it yourself. Just go to AMSA, click the link to evaluate the cost of a self haul and follow the instructions.

I used my apartment, a one bedroom on the second floor, as an example and filled out everything and came up with a grand total of moving myself of $743.00. Expensive, huh? That is what I thought too. Here is how I came up with this total.

I looked up a local truck rental place and found out how much it would cost me to rent a truck for a day. I chose that I would need my rental for twelve hours since I know it will take me all day to do it myself I figured if I picked it up at 8 am then I should (hopefully) be done by 8 pm. I also rented two furniture dollies and one appliance dolly as well as five dozen furniture pads to wrap all of my belongings. I used their prices for packing materials and just went with the amount of material that they had suggested. It also asks you how much it will cost for me to drive my own car around for the day as well as feeding myself and anyone who helps me. I also allowed myself a $100 miscellanous expense in case any last minute emergencies came up on that day.

My breakdown of the charges:

Truck rental $39.95 plus $0.79/mile

I estimated that I would be traveling 20 miles in the truck that day.

Total $65.00

Utility dolly 2 @ $7.00
Furniture pads 5 dozen @ $ 10.00
Appliance dolly 1 @ $10.00
Ropes & Tie downs 1 @ $24.95

Total $99.00

Packing materials $339.00 (which will be shipped to me in 5-7 business days)
The Dallas movers I choose will bring them out in advance or the day of my move and pack for me. At no additional cost all I am responsible for is the cost of materials.

Driving my own vehicle (cost of gasoline per gallon) $3 for 20 miles $60.00
Cost of feeding myself and whomever helps me $20 per person per day $80.00

Ok...so either way I can not get out of driving myself or feeding the people who help me.

Miscellaneous of $100 (in case of emergencies) Total $ 240

This could be used for the cost of gas and feeding everyone istead of an additional "what if" cost.

This gives me a grand total of $743.00 to do it myself. Not to mention I have already had to pay all the transferal fees of my utilities to my new place, any deposits for the new apartment as well as the first months rent. So I am easily up to over $2000.00 to move myself. I don’t know about you but I would much rather hire a certified local moving company to move me instead. Having two trained professionals come in, wrap and load all of my belongings and potentially get it done in three to four hours sounds a lot better than doing it myself.

Ok…having gone through all that I am a little shell shocked about moving. I know that hiring a moving company could easily be a costly undertaking. However, when I really truly think about it, it is almost always the better choice. I do not do this everyday for a living, why would I not want to hire a mover who does? They are going to be trained and knowledgeable about moving my belongings. Nowadays most homes have specialty items, i.e. plasma tv’s, pianos, antiques, large marble or glass pieces. I am no expert and while I know I would handle my stuff with care I know inevitably I would damage something.

It really is worth it to take the time and do the research about moving yourself versus hiring a moving company. Some of the minor details that you might forget to consider, until last minute like me, have already been taken care of because it is standard for the movers. The day of your move you really just wake up have a cup of coffee, show the movers what to move, watch them load, lead them over to your new house watch them unload everything, and even put your beds back together for you. Pay the bill and wave goodbye…or you can do it all by yourself and depend on the kindness of your friends and family?

Having this knowledge about moving has made me realize that hiring a professional mover is the best, and the most cost efficient way to go.