Thursday, April 10, 2008

Everyone Needs a Moving Check List

Everyone Needs a Moving Check List

When you are getting ready to move, it can get really hectic and confusing. When you make a check list before you get started, it will help you to make sure you do not forget anything important. These are some of the most important items that should be on it.

Notify all your current utility companies including your cable or satellite and internet services. Contact all the utility services where you are moving to and arrange the services there.
Make sure either you or the utility company takes final readings for your gas, electricity, and water.
Notify other places you do business with regularly like your bank, hairdresser, news papers, gardeners, cleaners, yard workers, or all such acquaintances as these.
Contact the post office and have your address changed and your mail forwarded.
Make arrangements for any extra belongings you might have to have stored or sent to where you are going.
Make a list of repairs that have to be done on the house you are moving out of.
Schedule movers well in advance if you are going to use them.
Get requirements done that need to be fulfilled in order to get back any deposits that you may be entitled to.
Check into any legal documents that you may need to have if you are moving to another state or country. This will include, driving license, visas, or passports, or medical obligations and papers.
Gather all the boxes and other packing materials you will need if you are not using a moving company or if they do not provide them.
Make lodging reservations if you will be traveling by car for more than one day.
Make a cleaning list for the home you are moving out of so you will make sure it is left in good condition.
If you are leaving appliances behind that will stay in the home you are leaving, leave behind any instruction manuals that go with them for the next resident.

These are just a number of things that are recommended to put on your moving check list. For your own individual purposes there may be more things you wish to add, so leave room for more things you do not need to forget. There are still sure to be last minute details to take care of. When you do them, add them to the list and check them off so you will not be wondering later if you forgot them.

Dispose of Unwanted Belongings before Moving

Dispose of Unwanted Belongings before Moving

When we have to move from one home to another, it always gives you a feeling of starting fresh. Moving can be a difficult process especially if you own a lot of things. It is never a good idea to drag along things with you to your new place that you no longer need or want. There are several ways to dispose of these things if you have the time before you move.

As soon as you know exactly when you are moving, then you can determine the easiest way to dispose of the things you want to. You need to decide if you have time to sell things over the internet, in the paper, or if you can have a yard sale. If you will be short of time, donating the things to charity might be the fastest way.

You should go through your home one room at a time and gather all the things you will be getting rid of and put them in one location in your home. The garage, basement, or an out building would be good. This way they will be completely separated from everything you are packing to take with you. If you are going to sell things in the paper, do it as soon as possible to allow all the time you can for the items to sell. The same principle applies if you are selling them on the internet. If you have a yard sale, advertise it for at least two weeks in advance to get the best turn out.

Try not to over price your items if you really want to sell them. Be prepared to come down on the price if you can. If you have a yard sale, instead of pricing things individually, you might make many things the same price and put them on one table. This will save you time. Make a table that is buy one item and get one free when the sale is almost over. This will help you go ahead and get rid of things that might not sell.

When you have made all the money you can from things, then you can donate the rest to a charitable organization like a thrift store or a church. Many times the Goodwill or Salvation Army will have donation boxes set up that are really convenient for dropping off the items. Just because you do not want the stuff does not mean that there is not someone out there who might really need it.

Passport help for travelers

Neglect is the only one explanation for a passport application being rejected or delayed or for a passport being misplaced, taken, or destroyed.
What steps are required to prevent these things from happening? How can you take protection of your passport? There are 16 possible tips you can obey to acquire your passport, save it in your control, and maintain it in worthy condition.
Before You Depart On Your Trip
1. Examine to see if you still require a passport.
Countries can, and ofttimes do, move overseas substance requirements. If you arrive at the airfield without the required documents, you'll be denied departure privileges. And, of course, This isn't covered by travelling insurance.
Currently, more than 80% of the world's countries require a valid passport for approach. It's significant to examine the overseas entry requirements for the region you need to see as advance as feasible.
2. Apply for your passport early.
You should pertain for a new passport at least 90 days before your departure appointment. For a restoration, begin the process 8 to 11 months before your passport expires. Why so earlyish? Numerous countries expect that your passport have six to eight months of legality remaining before they will bare a visa.
3. Fill out the right form correctly.
Every kind of passport union has particular criteria that must be met. Make certain you get the correct application form, and then fill it in carefully. Double-check each entry. Ask a person or someone to prove it as well. Errors made on the application form can move to delays, or even rejection of your passport petition.
4. Obey the specifications for the required documents exactly.
When applying for a new passport, the most oft used documents are a registered birth certification for evidence of citizenship along with a legitimate driver's license for evidence of your identity.
Your birthing certificate must be a certifiable duplicate with a registrar's lifted, decorated, impressed, or multicolored device, registrar's signature, and the date the papers was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth. No photocopies are accepted. Your driver's license must be more than six months old.
For a passport renewal, your previous passport serves as both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. To be legitimate, it cannot be mutilated, altered, or tainted in any way.
You must ship two same passport photos taken within the last 6 months. These passport photos must be 2"x2" with a solid white or off-white background. They have to be a full-face view with the front being from 1 to 1 3/8 inches from the chin to the top of the head. The photos can be either colour or colorful and white.
5. Signalize both the passport application form and your check.
Astonishingly, some people forget to signalize either the passport application form or their bill to Passport Services. Once again, inspect everything twice, or even three times.
6. Request more pages.
Are you a frequent traveler? Petition a 48-page passport (at no further value). It can let you to travelling longer before having to exchange it.
7. Mark your passport and fill out the emergency info.
When your passport arrives, review to see that all the content contained in it is correct. If it is, validate it and turn in your current destination and the name of a person to contact in instance of emergency. If not, turn it to the State Division for fixing.
8. Have two copies of your passport and photos.
Release one copy of your passport to a individual or relative who can be easily contacted in occurrence of an emergency. Use the remaining copy and the additional photos with you on your trip. If you use an online document storage service, you can scan your passport and upload a reduplicate. That way, you can attain it from almost anywhere in the world.
While You're Off
9. Always save your passport in a safe place!
Never leave your passport in your baggage, packsack, purse, car, hotel area, or anywhere else! When you must have your passport, hold it in a money belt or inner coat pocket. Upon arriving at the hotel, put your passport in the hotel safe.
10. Never lay your passport down anywhere.
Passports put on a countertop, telephone stall or table can be easily left or stolen. Practise the habit of now putting your passport away after using it.
11. If you journey as a house or as portion of a set, don't let one soul take all the passports.
The odds are much greater for one person carrying all the passports to misplace them or have them taken than for all the passports to be stolen or lost if apiece individual possessor carries them.
12. Never let anyone departure your proximity with your passport.
When you're checking in at the airport, passing to customs, exchanging money, or doing anything added that requires you to show your passport, never consent the person examining your passport to leave your presence. If the individual starts to go, call their attention and ask to follow them.
Law enforcement records exhibit that U.S. passports are sometimes misused for wrongful coming into the United States or by criminals abroad hunting to launch other identity. You would be pretty mortified if your identify were associated with unlawful activities.
13. Straightaway turnin the loss of your passport.
If you are careful and follow the tips above, you shouldn't acquire any problem with the loss of your passport.
If it does occur though, directly notify the local police and then continue to the closest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Have the double of your passport and added photos with you. You will be issued a temporary passport that you can change upon returning to the United States.
After You Return
14. Schedule your passport replacement.
Study the expiration day and make a reminder to renew your passport at the correct moment. Recall, you should start the process 8 to 11 months preceding to the expiration date. Put the reminder somewhere where it won't be forgotten.
15. Examine the limit of clean pages remaining.
Many countries order a empty page for their visa. If you project a next experience on which you will see different countries, you might demand the same figure of pages as countries to be visited.
If you do not acquire an adequate figure of pages but your passport is not due for renewal, you can request further pages.
16. Store your passport in a safe area.
If you acquire a safe in your home, keep your passport there. If not, consider a safety deposit box at your private bank.
Analyze the applicable tips above and you can easily stop passport problems and more fully enjoy your global travels.

Dealing with layovers

Most people will take a flight from one point to another at least once in their life, but surviving long layovers is something that only a few people have mastered. If you are flying for your first time and want to avoid most of the layover horrors that happen to other people, the key to it is having the right information before you head out.

Find out what airports you will be visiting along your trip. This includes the airport where you depart from, your layover airport(s), and the airport at your final destination. Get maps of these airports, since this will make getting around them a lot easier. These maps should show you where the food court is, areas where you can walk your dog, rest, where the lounges are, and etcetera.

Try to eat a decent meal before you go, but only do this if you are sure you will not get air sick. There are a number of products on the market to settle your stomach while in flight, but if you feel uncertain at all about eating before you leave, wait until you get on the plane and eat the snack or meal offered there if you are alright. Save eating for your layover, if necessary. You should also be aware that airport food is generally more expensive than food outside of the airport, but this is what you pay for the convenience of having to go outside security, eat out of the airport, and come back in through security. To eat healthier food, try to find a sit down restaurant where someone will wait on you.

Carrying around your luggage while you are on a 10 hour or even 3 hour layover is not a great experience, especially if you have a lot of it. There are sometimes places for you to store your luggage, either in lockers or sometimes services will hold it for you. Make sure you get everything out of your bags that you will need during the layover, though, such as medicine, money, passports, and etcetera.

Airport lounges have existed for many years and are full of first class conveniences, but they will cost you money to get into. Some charge around $50 to get in, others more, and others less, but there is no doubt that if you are going to have a long layover and have the cash, they are definitely worth it. A list of some amenities you may encounter while in one of these lounges includes a place to watch TV, comfortable seating, showers, wireless internet, bars, pool tables, and conference rooms.

While you should be cautious of strangers that approach you, try to use good judgment in determining if this person is out to harm you or not. Most people are not, so if you are certain your valuables are safely stored on your person, engage in conversation and make a friend. It will quite possibly relieve some of the stress you are under.

Finding something to read on the plane is pretty easy in most airports, but many people make the mistake of purchasing a magazine to read on a long flight instead of a book. Purchase a book of several hundred pages simply because there is much more in most books than a person can read in a 10 hour flight.