Founded in 1890, Hansen Bros. Moving & Storage has successfully weathered many history-changing events including the Great Seattle Fire, WWI, the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression, WWII, the 2008 recession, and 9/11 among many other public crises. The health & safety of our customers, staff, service providers, and local community are paramount and we continue to adhere to all directives from local, state, and federal government agencies.
Although many unknowns still remain, rest assured that Hansen Bros. will be timely and transparent in our communications regarding servicing your moving & storage needs. Our professional relocation consultants will work diligently to offer creative solutions in the event your project is impacted by the current health crisis.

OUR ACTIONS FOR COVID-19

All Hansen Bros. Employees are instructed and expected to follow the guidelines provided by the CDC. This includes:

  • Staying home from work if ill, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or having been exposed to someone with the virus
  • Washing hands frequently with soap or using proper hand sanitizer when soap is not available
  • Maintaining a 6’ social distance from others to the highest degree possible
  • Wearing appropriate face masks when/if requested or required

Hansen Bros. continues to take the following steps:

  • Regularly refreshing and reinforcing prevention guidelines among all staff members to reduce the risk of spreading infection
  • Daily monitoring of staff for symptoms of illness and sending anyone with symptoms home
  • Offering customers the option of contact-free virtual estimate appointments – More Information About Virtual Estimates
  • Following all guidelines and protocols required by Retirement Living Communities, Apartment Complexes, Condominiums, Commercial Buildings, etc.
  • Upon request and at no charge, our crew members can wear masks while performing your move. Please simply notify your Relocation Consultant if this is your preference.

Hansen Bros. requests the following of our customers:

  • If you have a scheduled estimate appointment or booked move, please notify us immediately if you or any members of your household have been exposed to COVID-19, tested positive for COVID-19, or are experiencing symptoms including cough, fever, or difficulty breathing. Please rest assured there is NO CHARGE to reschedule your estimate or move due to illness – we will work together to find an alternate date that works for you.
  • Please use disinfectant/cleaner to wipe down commonly touched surfaces, objects, door handles, etc. at your residence.
  • Please make a sink, hand soap, and paper towels available to your outside salesperson and moving crew for handwashing during their time within your home.
  • Please keep all windows open throughout the moving process as this allows for greater airflow and reduces the containment of germs.
  • Please maintain a social distance of 6’ or greater during both your in-person estimate appointment and while moving services are being performed.

Here are some informative and helpful resources about COVID-19:

The team at Hansen Bros. is proud to continue offering our wide range of services in accordance with the necessary precautions outlined above. Whether you are planning to move your household or business down the street, across the country, or around the world, we’re here to make the process seamless & safe for you, just as we’ve done for well over a century!

~Hansen Bros. Moving & Storage  

Tips for planning your moving budget

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    Undergoing a relocation, even a local one, can be a very costly process. Therefore, it is vitally important that you budget accordingly. The easiest way to be planning your moving budget is to find out about and understand moving costs. For example, you might think that simply hiring one of the best movers Seattle has to offer is going to provide you with an accurate assessment of costs. But this is not the case, as there are many other expenses to account for. In this article, we will be breaking down the budget-planning process to help you come to optimal decisions that concern your budget.

    Planning your moving budget 101:

    To plan your budget to the best of your ability, you will need to consider:

    • Inventory
    • Research
    • Time and place
    • Expenses money
    • Saving/earning money
    • Emergency fund
    • Additional costs
    • Breathing room
    person using a computer for planning a moving budget
    Research is an extremely important step in planning your moving budget.

    Also, if you need to save some money on your relocation, you might want to handle some relocation tasks by yourself. Most notably, the packing process. But you can also pad/shrink-wrap some of your items, lowering the time it takes for your movers Kirkland, for example, to load your belongings in the truck and, by extension, the overall moving cost. The more you can accomplish on your own, the cheaper the relocation. With that in mind, let’s see how to approach budget planning.

    Taking inventory

    This is the first step you will need to take. Take some time to determine the items that will be making the trip with you before you do anything else. You will want to go through each room and consider whether you want to sell/donate/throw away some of your belongings. This will provide you with a more accurate assessment of the costs required to relocate your items.

    Doing research

    After you have a firm grasp of your inventory, it is time to figure out the best movers for the job. Every single one of the shipping companies Seattle has on offer will need your inventory list to provide you with a moving quote. Depending on your situation, different moving companies will provide you with different pricing models. It is up to you to do some research and figure out which company can provide you with the best deal.

    Where and when to move?

    The time of the year has a large impact on moving costs. For example, summer relocations always cost more than winter relocations. This is due to the fact that fewer people move in the winter and moving companies are more inclined to offer better deals due to lack of work.

    winter scenery
    It is cheaper to move in the winter.

    Where you are moving from/to has a large impact as well. An example of this is the fact that moving out of a rural area is usually more expensive than moving out of a big city. Furthermore, if you are moving to a large city for the first time, you will want to budget for additional living costs. This leads us to our next point.

    Setting aside money for everyday expenses when planning your moving budget

    It is really easy to forget that your everyday life does not stop while you are in the middle of relocating. You will still need to send your kids to school, walk your pets, and buy groceries. These expenses can quickly “rack up” and chip away at your moving budget. What you want to do is keep track of your everyday expenses a few months before actually creating a moving budget. That will provide you with accurate information to go on.

    How to save/earn money during the move?

    If you find yourself in a situation where you need more money for the relocation, you may want to start saving or earning more before relocating. If you are often eating out, for example, you may want to start preparing your own meals a lot more. Or you might want to postpone buying new clothes or additional items.

    You can also obtain moving boxes and packing supplies for free, or very cheap. For boxes, visit your local stores and ask if you can have any. As for moving supplies, you may want to browse the internet for people that are donating them to others. Don’t worry if you don’t find everything that you need, you can easily purchase the remainder from one of the Washington movers. But the more you are able to obtain on your own, the easier it will be to plan your budget.

    couple preparing a meal
    Preparing your own meals can be a lot of fun!

    Have an emergency fund in place

    Having an emergency fund is not something that everyone can afford to do. But if you are in a position to create one, it is something that you should absolutely do. Relocations can often have completely unexpected costs to them, and it is good if you can be prepared. A good example of an emergency fund is to set aside money for at least three months worth of everyday expenses.

    Additional costs

    Aside from the “standard” costs that people associate with relocation, there are always some additional costs to worry about. For example, you may need a professional cleaning service to get your security deposit back. Or you may need to account for paying for childcare at your new home. You may even want to set aside some money for exploring the city of Seattle, even. All these can quickly add up and present a problem to your moving budget.

    What you need to do is carefully analyze your situation and try to identify as many of these additional costs as you can. That will allow you to make the optimal financial decisions.

    Remember to allow for some “breathing room” when planning your moving budget

    Lastly, you may want to “relax” your budget restrictions a bit, provided you can afford it. Going to watch a movie, for example, might not do any favors to your moving budget but it may provide you with a more than a welcome distraction. You are still human, after all, and you will need some stress relief.

    Planning your moving budget is not the easiest thing in the world, but it need not be very difficult, either. Follow the steps outlined in this article and you will have a much easier time budgeting your relocation costs!

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