Are you looking to hire movers? Specifically, are you looking to hire Clutter Moving & Storage company? If so, you might want to know these 5 things…

If you peeked into my bedroom and saw the 50+ shoeboxes, you’d be shocked that I’d never hired movers before. To be honest, I’m shocked too. But, up until I moved to Los Angeles three years ago, I was moving once a year, so I didn’t accumulate that much. I bought cheap furniture that I left behind, and I didn’t really make my former places “my own,” ya know?

But, my LA apartment was my first solo apartment that I really took time to decorate—so there’s a lot of stuff I planned to keep. Not to mention, my new home is a four-story townhouse, so I knew I’d need all my stuff (and then some) to fill it up properly.

I knew it was time to bite the bullet and hire some movers for the first time for a stress-free experience. Thankfully, I got in touch with Clutter and was able to utilize their moving services in exchange for an honest review and recap of my experience with them, so here we are!

Here are some things I wish I knew before hiring movers for the first time…

1. They will literally pack all your stuff for you (if you want them to)

There were so many little knickknacks in my old apartment that I had no idea how to pack. Not to mention I only had about five suitcases to put everything in. My boyfriend assured me that the movers would pack my stuff for me (since I chose that option when booking them), but somehow I still worried they wouldn’t and felt guilty about giving them all this work to do. Up until the last second I was worrying I should pack more. But, as moving day came and I saw that Clutter’s moving experts were trained in-house and accustomed to packing everything away, a mountain of stress lifted from my shoulders. I still helped with some packing to speed things along, but I definitely took quite a few breaks (and even went down the street to have lunch while they finished packing things up).

That being said, if there are things you know you’re going to want right when you move in (think phone chargers, face wash, toilet paper, etc.) you might want to pack all the essentials in your own box (they’ll provide you with the boxing materials if you need them). The thing I struggled with slightly was not knowing where things were when I started unpacking, because the movers had done pretty much all the packing for me!

2. You should definitely tip your movers

I thankfully got this tip from one of my Instagram followers beforehand, because I’d never hired movers before so I didn’t really think about it. That being said, I still forgot to get cash. But I live right by an ATM, so while the movers were packing our stuff we ran down there and got cash. The appropriate amount to tip varies based on who you consult, but websites say 15 to 20% of the total amount is good. Of course, you may not know the total amount until you’re done with your move, so take out extra cash in case. If you’d prefer not to tip in cash (or just don’t wanna run to an ATM), you can even tip the movers through the Clutter app after your move!

3. You have to be wary of sketchy moving companies

I’ve never hired movers, so thankfully I’ve never had any run-ins with sketchy moving companies, but I’ve heard horror stories. One of the cool things about Clutter is they have in-app tracking so you can track your movers to see when they’ll be arriving (so you know you’re letting the right people into your home) and when your stuff will be arriving at your new place.

4. Timing can be flexible—it’s hard to know how long a move will take!

My moving date kept changing because I accidentally scheduled my move on the same day as the Super Bowl (whoops), and then my boyfriend got booked to travel for work. Thankfully, it was super easy to change our move date on the Clutter site—basically as easy as changing a reservation on OpenTable. And when it came to the actual move, there wasn’t an “end time” for the movers. They finished when they finished. Although, with the amount of stuff I had, it took about eight hours.

5. They can disassemble and reassemble furniture for you—but notify them in advance if you have Ikea furniture

While booking my movers, I was very excited to notice that Clutter offered the option of having their movers disassemble and reassemble furniture for you. I paid someone to build my Ikea bed when I first got it, so I was definitely planning on having someone else build it again. Knowing that the movers could do it for me was a huge plus.

When the movers arrived and I let them know that my Ikea bed needed to be disassembled, they got a little nervous. They said that Ikea furniture can be a bit complicated. Thankfully, I have the most basic Ikea bed model (the Malm, AKA the one every 20-something guy with a bed frame has), so one of my movers, Hulland, said he could totally take it on.

When I got into my new place and everything was in boxes, it was really nice seeing that my bed was already all set up (aside from the sheets needing to be put on the bed, of course), so I would definitely recommend utilizing this additional service if you can!

Should you hire movers?

At the end of the day, even though there’s some stuff I wished I knew before hiring movers, I literally am never moving without movers again. I have way too much stuff, way too little packing materials, and way too little patience. I work hard so I can hire people to help me with these things, and I’m so glad Clutter (specifically Cory and Hulland) were there to help me with my big move!

Book Clutter movers here and use my code “UZER” for a discount!