Moving to a new place is one of the most important decisions you can make as an adult. Naturally, you want everything to go smoothly and according to schedule — especially during a cross-country move. Unfortunately, even a carefully planned long-distance move can get sidetracked. This is more probable during a busy moving season, when even the most professional movers may be late.

You’re probably feeling nervous as someone falling behind schedule with their move. Don’t worry; it is perfectly understandable. After all, even when they’re in the care of professionals, not having most of your belongings with you is stressful.

However, you can do a couple of useful things if your relocation is delayed. Read on to learn more!

Movers Haven’t Arrived To Pick Up Your Things

In this article, we’ll explore a few different scenarios in which your long-distance move gets delayed.

The first of them is also the least stressful one — movers not appearing on the designated date for pickup. Since you’re moving long-distance, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the same day you’re supposed to enter your home. Depending on the distance between your old home and the new, this could be a couple of days.

If you have a checklist handy, double-check the time and date you agreed upon with the movers. Provided they’re really late, you can do a couple of things to speed up the process.

The first thing you should do is to call the moving company. There are plenty of reasons why they’re running late — from previous deliveries which took more than anticipated, to a road accident or another unforeseeable issue.

Still, you want to know what’s going on. So, call the management of your chosen moving company. If they’re a reputable establishment, they probably have more information for you. By contacting their HQ, you may learn why the movers haven’t arrived and an updated ETA.

After contacting the moving company, don’t just wait around. There’s no point in wasting time — so check if you need to perform any last-minute chores. See if you’ve thoroughly cleaned the premises from top to bottom, or label the remaining boxes. Ultimately,

Find Other Movers

A small delay isn’t unheard of, even among professional movers. However, being late is one thing. And being tardy and unprofessional is another level of irresponsibility. If you contact the moving company and they don’t provide more information or an updated ETA, it may be time to consider hiring another company.

Of course, this depends on the arrangement you have with your current movers. If you’ve already paid a deposit, getting it back is definitely a priority if you want to switch to another service provider.

Unfortunately, the reality is that you’ll have a hard time finding a new moving team on the same day — especially during summer when movers have a busy season. But if your current movers are sufficiently unprofessional, considering alternatives is only natural.

Movers Haven’t Delivered Your Things

If your movers have picked up your things on time but are running late on delivery, you’re probably nervous. And it’s completely understandable — at that point, you’re not sure where your things are. However, in most cases, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.

To see what’s going on, contact your moving company and see if they have more information about your delivery. Your reaction depends on how late they are and what the new ETA is.

Let’s say that your delivery is running only a few hours late. As far as late deliveries go, this isn’t the worst-case scenario. Depending on the route of the move, you may need to take traffic into account. After all, this is the number one reason why your long-distance move got delayed.

In that case, you can use the remaining time to run some errands. There’s bound to be something you need to spend the first night at the new house — and you might not even have it with your belongings. Go get the necessary items, but make sure someone is at home to greet the movers if they arrive.

After you run errands around town in your new neighborhood, you can see if there are any chores left to do at the new house. For instance, see if any areas need to be cleaned — or at least cleaned more thoroughly than they were previously.

Get To Know The Neighborhood

If you’ve done everything you need to and the movers haven’t arrived yet, take some time to get to know your new neighborhood. Greet your first neighbors and ask them about local amenities. You can use your remaining time to walk around and see where everything is. Just make sure you’re within walking or driving distance of your new home — you may need to return quickly to meet the movers when they arrive.

What To Do With Longer Delays?

Being late a couple of hours isn’t that bad. However, if your movers are late by one or two days, this is another entirely different situation. In that case, you need to be in constant contact with the moving company. Don’t be afraid to demand continuous updates on the status of your belongings.

In the meantime, try to work on sleeping arrangements. If your bed is with the movers, you may need to get an air mattress as a temporary solution or find a hotel nearby — whichever is easier and more affordable.

Wrapping Up

So, the fact of the matter is — your long-distance move has been delayed, and you need to deal with it.

While waiting for your belongings to arrive, you must do two things. First, talk to the moving company to ensure you’re updated on any new developments. Second, find small projects and things to do in the meantime.

Once you’ve done everything you can to ensure your things arrive soon, there’s no point obsessing over the situation. Try to focus on useful chores you can complete, as well as your new neighborhood and home. Unless you’ve fallen prey to a moving scam, don’t worry — your belongings will likely arrive soon!