1. Anticipate the exact date of the move as far in advance as possible. Give us a choice of dates.

2. Phone: Please arrange for it to remain connected throughout The Day.

3. Save all moving receipts: Keep receipts in one catch-all, not in all of those special pockets, purses and crevices you know they'll never slip through.

4. Cancel local services: Milkman, paper, maid, pest control, utilities, fire insurance. Forward Journal and Digest subscriptions. Complete change of address kit provided by us or available at the post office. Transfer bank accounts, notify broker and accountant.

5. Order services for new home.

6. Arrange for kids and pets to play safe with Grand Dad or Neighbor so as not to impede the moving process.

7. Gather all briefcase-sized valuables and keep them with you: Bank book, key to country house and safety deposit box, passport, lease, will, jewelry, precious stones, stamp and coin collection, school transcripts, medical/dental records, vehicle registration. Furs, too must go with you.

8. Pre-pack for the journey there: Hot & col thermos with favorite beverages, snack-stocked cooler.

9. Ease the First Night. Check weather report. Pre-pack a cozy provisional room with a few friendly items to make your new home feel immediately like home (coffee mug, teddy bear, radio, reading lamp, Great Expectations or another oldie).

Really Packing It In!

1. Number each box: A-Z might run out before your belongings do. Keep GENTLE MOVERS' Box Log Notebook handy to itemize the contents of each box. An easy reference when it comes to unpacking. Our Room Inventory Sheets and Room Replacement Sheets, which you complete before our arrival, help our team place each piece precisely where you prefer it.

2. Large appliances should be easily accessible to our movers. They are loaded first. Defrost refrigerator and set in a box of baking soda. Pour off drip tray under refrigerator. Pack separately all accouterments and loose fittings. Lawn mower must be drained of gas and oil to avoid leakage and combustion under pressure. Ask your appliance dealer to service all your large appliances before the move.

3. Console your console. Hi-fi, VCR, computer, air conditioner, should be packed in original boxes or GENTLE MOVERS will provide appropriate protection at a reasonable cost. Remove needle, tape arm and turntable. Confirm that your new home can accommodate your electrical appliance needs.

4. Avoid Biedermeier Breakage and Armoire Arrest. All highboys, side boards, marble and ornamental tops, are dismantled if possible. Then they are padded, wrapped and custom-crated professionally by us. Don't go to pieces over the mirror. Criss-cross tape across glass surface and we'll bubble wrap or pad it in quilting and place it in a box. Please let GENTLE MOVERS know the exact dimensions in advance. Whether a framed photo or Ottoman icon, our team encases it in shock resistant, corrugated cardboard with utmost precaution and appreciation. How grand! Piano and cello arrive in your new home composed.

5. Of Bedding and Broomsticks Dust ruffles, duvets, down pillows can be boxed together with linens. Mattresses, left flat, can be protected with plastic covers or in boxes supplied by us. Casters are removed and taped together. Mark dismantled bedframe for easy assembly. Cushions can be stowed in chest of drawers. Over-stuffed and open boxes can not be stacked one atop the other, nor do they facilitate practical carrying and loading. Brooms, mops, curtain rods may be taped together. Hearth irons should be packed separately in barrels.

6. Kitchen utensils are bound and boxed. Silver cutlery chest is tied up like a parcel with soft cloth and cord. Space in chest should be filled with clean white paper. Wrap other silver (candlesticks, tea set) in newspaper. Newsprint, which never dries, will make polishing easier.

7. Limoges, Waterford, Tiffany shades and other fragile tidbits are nested in bubble wrap and placed in dish-pack containers. First protect table surface with quilted cloth, thenquilted cloth, then wrap dishes, et.a;., in plastic to avoid rewashing later. Pad well with newspaper and place in tiered cartons. Stemware should be padded and placed individually in dish-pack containers. Pots and pans, cauldrons and colanders can be nested in cartons. Pad with white paper, pot holders, dish towels.

8. Garments & Drapes are best hung in wardrobe boxes. This saves you time later on pressing and dry cleaning. Your well-heeled shoes can be left in original shoe box, then grouped together in one larger box.

9. Cloth and canvas lampshades are wrapped in clean white tissue paper and nested by two's in sturdy, lined cardboard boxes. Chandeliers are enveloped in white tissue, piece by piece, and placed in shock-resistant, corrugated cartons. Keep silk and porcelain flowers fresh. Wrap with liberal amounts of white tissue, stow in cardboard cartons.

10. Rugs and carpets should be cleaned and transported in cleaners wrapping.

11. Books are placed in small boxes, not to exceed 50 lbs. Box seams are taped. Do not stow books in dresser drawers; stress may loosen dove-tailing and other joints. Protect bindings by alternating spines when stacking. Rare books should be wrapped individually in soft dust cloth or inter-leave sheets.

12. Foodstuffs and medicinals should be packed separately in cartons or hampers. Consider donating weighty canned goods to charity. Dine from the deep freeze a few weeks prior to The Day; don't risk spoilage of frozen foods in transit.

13. Avoid the Snag. Cover bicycle chains and remove handle bars.

14. Moving the Living: Your friends, the pets, must travel with you. Don't swallow the goldfish. Consult your veterinarian or pet shop keeper for advice on transporting them. Your friends, the plants: Consider giving as farewell presents, as we can not guarantee their security. Should you choose to have us transport them, mark each carton Top Side to avoid inversion. Soil should be moist, not drenched. As plants are loaded last, hence unloaded first, they will soon resume their normal lighting conditions. We take no responsibility for possible damages to plants as they are almost as delicate as pets.