Infographic to help you plan a painless Boston move

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While May marks the transition to summer, for many Boston-area families, May also means it is time to start planning a move. May is National Moving Month, or the beginning of moving season. About 35 million Americans will move this year, about 11% of the population, and nearly a third of the those moves will occur during the summer. This is especially true in New England, where relocation is heavily influenced by weather and school schedules.

Local Boston moving companies, such as Olympia Moving & Storage, see a tremendous increase in moving requests beginning in May. Moving season in Boston runs from May through September, with the most moves occurring the last week in August, when the students return, and the last week of June, just after school finishes. Boston families planning a move to avoid those weeks if possible, to avoid increased hassle and higher costs.

Olympia Moving & Storage uses National Moving Month as an opportunity to educate local consumers about the relocation process. In honor of National Moving Month, Olympia Moving created a handy infographic to help Greater-Boston families plan their move. Olympia designed the infographic to help consumers find a mover they can trust, as well as take the mystery out of the planning process.

With the right moving company, good communication, and proper planning, the move will go smoothly and your family will be enjoying their new home in no time.

Allston Christmas 2016 and Why We Love It

Another year, brings another September 1st and another one of our favorite holidays… Allston Christmas. Allston Christmas is the time when hundreds of thousands of college students move into and out of apartments in the area, leaving their belongings strewn about streets in student-rich sections of the city.

According to Urban Dictionary, Allston ‘Christmas’ refers to the bounty of “new” stuff that one can easily acquire free of cost simply by walking down to the sidewalk and running off with it back into your own apartment. Much of the items that are left on the sidewalk are free to take because people can’t fit them into their new apartment or don’t have enough space in the truck to move them. However, many of the items are simply left on the sidewalk temporarily and are rummaged (read: ‘stolen’) by the neighbors in the chaos that is the city of Boston on September 1st.

With over 70% of leases ending on September 1st, it’s no surprise to find the city alive with moving trucks and to find discarded belongings on every corner. What is surprising is the types of things you’ll find.

This year in honor of Allston Christmas, we at Olympia decided to pair with Flutter to give one lucky winner the gift of a free move. And,while Bridget didn’t have to deal with the stress of heavy lifting during her move, these people weren’t so lucky.

Whether you love it or hate it, here are some of our favorite accounts of Allston Christmas 2016:

allston santa

You know it’s Christmas when Santa shows up!

allston santa police

but an Allston Christmas wouldn’t be the same without an appearance from the BPD… bad Santa.

 

When you know you shouldn’t even bother trying to drive through Allston…

allston christmas traffic

traffic allston christmas

 

but you still appreciate the holiday’s roots!

allston christmas carol

allston christmas shoppingallston christmas campus

allston christmas moving

Allston Christmas is a deep rooted tradition that you won’t soon escape, even if you aren’t living in the area anymore.

missing allston christmas first allston christmas

Because despite all the frustration…

allston christmas drinkingallston christmas disssemblyallston christmas ikea

at the end of the day you (hopefully) have a new, furnished apartment, with some street finds and maybe a bedbug or ten…

allston bean bag allston bed bugs

allston christmas porch amy winehouse allston

and minimal damage,

allston christmas snow

or insights into the reality of how your neighbors live…

allston christmas csi

 

But most of all, it wouldn’t be Allston Christmas without the fun.

allston christmas elves allston christmas pups

Until next year, Boston!

merry allston christmas

If you’re planning a move and you’d like to save yourself some stress, give us a call at 800-222-4744.

 

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Find Affordable Used Furniture with Dibind

DibindDibind is a new online platform where people can list and buy pre-owned furniture in great condition, with the goal of pairing Boston-area college students and young professionals to save money and reduce waste.

What really differentiates Dibind from similar sites is that they provide the option to pick up and deliver your purchases! Think of it like Craig’s List, but with a much better interface, curated options, and no hassle of arranging a truck to bring your purchase to your home!

The greater Boston area is known for its multitude of colleges and young and vibrant community. Moving is the perfect time to declutter or upgrade our belongings. As millennials frequently move as their leases turn over, they often leave their old furniture on the curb to give away or send to the dump. Alternatively, Dibind is the perfect tool to use when moving in or out of an apartment. With Dibind you can easily post your furniture for sale to clear out your place while making some cash in the process.

zero-gravity interior. 3d creative concept

Another major plus to using Dibind is if the item you enlist isn’t bought with in the time period of your choice, you can choose to have it picked up by Dibind and donated for free – so there’s no risk to trying to make some cash before sending unwanted furniture to the trash!

Moving companies like Olympia Moving & Storage love the Dibind concept. We get calls daily from people who are looking to move furniture they bought or sold online, and our service minimums don’t allow us to service those clients affordably. Instead, Olympia Moving is thrilled to recommend Dibind to our clients buying and selling furniture instead!

Ready to use Dibind to declutter for your move or buy furniture for your new home? Get started at https://www.dibind.com/

Need a mover to move everything else to your new home? Request a free moving estimate online from Olympia Moving & Storage or call 800.222.4744 to get started.

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Boston Moving Company Partners with Flutter to Give Away Free Allston Christmas Move

The notorious Boston moving date, September 1st, is just around the corner. Nicknamed “Allston Christmas,” September 1st is the date when 79% of Boston’s leases begin. This move date is infamous in Boston, the roads are jammed with moving and rental trucks and the streets are flooded with abandoned belongings. In an effort to make this miserable moving day a bit brighter for one Boston resident, Olympia Moving & Storage is teaming up with Flutter, an online fund-raising platform. A $8 donation to Special Olympics Massachusetts via Flutter gives Bostonians the chance to win the Allston Christmas gift of a free move on September 1st.

Enter to win a free move on Allston Christmas!

Click here to enter to win the free move on Allston Christmas September 1st!
Click here to enter to win the free move on September 1st!

“Having run the @BostonTweet Twitter account for 8 years I know how popular and dreaded September 1st is in the city,” says Flutter founder Tom O’Keefe. “I thought partnering with Olympia Moving to make moving easier for someone would be very timely and help raise a lot of money for the Special Olympics Massachusetts.”

Flutter was created by Tom O’Keefe last year as a way to get more people involved with charitable donations, regardless of their income. The idea was to create the opposite of an auction and give everyone the chance to win a prize for donating to charity regardless of their financial wealth. So far they have raised almost $70,000 for Boston-area charities.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with Flutter for this Free Move for Allston Christmas contest,” says Michael Gilmartin, President of Olympia Moving & Storage. “Flutter has raised thousands of dollars for local charities, and it’s an innovative way to raise funds for another partner of Olympia’s, Special Olympics Massachusetts.”

Special Olympics Massachusetts was the natural choice to benefit from this campaign, as Olympia Moving & Storage has been a corporate sponsor of the organization since 2013. Olympia Moving & Storage provides free logistics services for Special Olympics’ competitions and fundraisers, and contributed over $50,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to Special Olympics athletes last year.

Boston residents can enter to win the free move via Flutter’s website, at https://www.experienceflutter.com/experiences/merry-allston-christmas.

In case you don’t win, you should reach out to Olympia Moving & Storage for a free Boston moving estimate online or by calling 800-222-4744.

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Announcing Olympia’s New Mansfield MA Moving Company Location!

Mansfield MA moving companyOlympia Moving & Storage, a premier Boston moving and storage company, is proud to announce the opening of Olympia’s second Boston area location in Mansfield, MA.

“We are proud of our hard-earned reputation,” says Michael Gilmartin, Founder and President of the company. “The growing demand for Olympia’s services is built on our reputation, and is really what prompted the expansion.”

Olympia Moving & Storage chose Mansfield because it provides better access to the South Shore, and towns such as Franklin and Medway. The Mansfield facility is located at 290 Forbes Boulevard; with easy access to I-95 & I-495.

Olympia Moving's new Mansfield MA storage facility
Olympia Moving’s new Mansfield MA storage facility

The 80,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art warehouse is the company’s largest facility to date. “We exceeded capacity in our Watertown location” says Michael Gilmartin, “Mansfield will feature 2,000 additional storage units along with a comprehensive training facility for our moving teams. This is a big step for us and reflective of past success and our commitment to responsible growth. Over time, I also believe this location will create a lot of jobs.”

The training center in the facility will be for both current and new employees. The Mansfield facility has a seminar room for classroom training and a model home inside the warehouse where crew members can practice their technique in a realistic setting.

Since acquiring the warehouse, the Olympia Team has been working hard to ensure that the Mansfield location is up to standard. This includes a 24-hour security system, climate control, a dedicated warehouse staff, and an immaculately clean space.

Olympia Moving is exciting to bring their premier moving and storage services to the families and businesses in the Mansfield, MA area!

Are you moving in Eastern Massachusetts or Rhode Island and looking for a Mansfield MA moving company? Click here to request a free, no obligation moving estimate or give us a call at 800.222.4744.

Boston Moving Company and Northern Virginia Moving Company Trends 2015

Olympia Moving was proud to move thousands of happy families in 2015! We decided to take a look back at the year’s moves and dig out some interesting moving trends in the numbers.  Here are some infographics and observations on our findings:

Boston on the Move 2015 Trends by Olympia Moving & Storage2015 Boston Moving Trends

We started by taking a look at trends among the families we moved in our Boston moving company branch in Watertown, MA.

  • Boston-area families seem to be seeking warmer climates, as California, Florida, and Texas are among the top states we moved families to last year.
  • Bostonians also look to move to bigger metro areas in states such as California, Virginia, and New York.  The high number of families we move to Virginia might also be influenced by our second location in Alexandria, Virginia.
  • Most Boston-area moves occur in the summer, due to the good weather and the summer school break.  The most popular month to move is July, but due to the influence of universities and rental turnovers, the popularity of August moving days is higher than in other parts of the country.
  • Olympia Moving & Storage moved families all over the world in 2015, and 94% of our clients said they would choose us for their next relocation.

Northern Virginia on the Move 2015 Trends by Olympia Moving & Storage2015 Northern Virginia Moving Trends

We also looked at trends among families we moved in our Washington DC moving company branch in Alexandria, VA.

  • The most Northern Virginia families we moved interstate were relocating to the nearby states of the District of Columbia and Maryland.  A large number of Northern Virginia families shipped up to Boston and moved to Massachusetts.  One reason we moved so many NOVA families to the Bay State may be due to the location of our Boston branch.
  • Many Northern Virginia families also looked to escape the cold by moving to California and Florida.
  • Moving in Northern Virginia starts to pick up in April, peaking in June.

Are you moving in 2016?

If you’re looking to move from Boston or Northern Virginia to these states, or any other states, we’re looking forward to guiding you through every step of the relocation!  Get started by requesting a free, no obligation moving estimate or give us a call at 800.222.4744

Boston moving company asks residents to share their moving stories

Everyone has their own moving stories that define how they feel about moving.

Whether you’ve moved with the help of friends and family or have worked with a moving company, every move faces challenges and obstacles. Let’s face it, planning a move can be super stressful!

We wanted to hear what your biggest concerns are when planning a move, so we took to the streets to ask Boston to share their moving stories.  Our team wanted to know people’s true feelings, challenges, and pain points while moving,  because the more we know the more we can help our clients have a smooth, stress-free move.

For real Bostonians’ moving stories, watch the video below:

Olympia Moving Asks Boston: How Do You Feel About Moving?

From flaky friends to broken belongings, there are many worries when moving your belongings, but Olympia Moving & Storage is here to help! Here at Olympia, we have the resources and knowledge to help you through your relocation, whether you just need an extra hand to load your Uhaul or don’t want to lift a finger. We’re a full service moving company, which means we can handle any and all of your moving needs.

We offer a number of additional services to choose from to make your move a success – including, but not limited to:

And yes, we can totally move that piano for you! We’re here to take the stress out of moving, check out our resource center for tips and tricks.

Whether you’re apartment moving down the street, moving across the country or planning an international move, our relocation specialists are here to work through your move with you and will tailor our services to fit your needs.

Ready to tell some better moving stories?

Request an estimate today!

Video: GoPros on the Olympia Moving crew during Boston moving day

September 1st Boston Moving Day, also known as Allston Christmas, is the most hectic day to move in the city. 63% of Boston leases turn over, meaning that thousands of residents are moving, renting trucks, and hiring moving companies in the same week. Over 2000 moving parking permits were ordered in Boston for that week, and that doesn’t even include neighboring Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline, as well as the many residents who didn’t bother to order a permit!

Many Boston residents struggle to accomplish just one move, but the Olympia Moving crew completes hundreds of moves in the Boston area that week. Some of our crews move 3 residents per day on September 1st, not to mention the fact that our tireless movers are carrying furniture almost every day of the year! We decided to give GoPros to a few of our moving crews to see if they could capture some of the moving madness for us. Even our team was surprised by the result! Clearly our crews are skilled movers and incredible athletes that can overcome any moving challenge: from parallel parking a truck on a narrow Boston street to moving out of a dizzying 4th floor walk up, our crew is made of professional moving superheros!

Check out the result in this mesmerizing video:

After watching that video, you’re probably ready to hire our incredible movers. Click here to request a free, no obligation estimate.

Be sure to also check out the rest of our Allston Christmas/September 1st coverage on our blog:

Epic Roundup of an Epic Boston Moving Day: Allston Christmas 2015

Congratulations Boston, on surviving yet another Allston Christmas! In case you’re not familiar with this move-in day of massive proportions, 63% of Boston leases turn over on September 1st due to the thousands of students returning to university. The result is the biggest moving day in Boston, traffic jams of Uhauls, and sidewalks littered with belongings deemed not worthy of new apartments. Click here to learn more about September 1st Boston move in.

2015 was the year that Boston took the tradition to the next level. Social media and the press eagerly anticipated the horde of moving trucks and chaos, trending #AllstonChristmas on Twitter well before the 1st. Local residents made the day more festive with holiday-themed signage. Local companies also marketed the event more than ever, especially new neighborhood grocer bfresh market with a series of clever marketing stunts. The city of Boston also did their part to alleviate the gridlock by putting moving permit requests online and carefully monitoring Storrow Drive to prevent trucks from getting stuck under low pedestrian bridges.

For those lucky enough to avoid this annual relocation event, we compiled the best Allston Christmas stories, tweets, and instagrams:

The streets, especially Commonwealth Avenue, were gridlocked with rental trucks, students, parents, and unlucky commuters

Continue reading “Epic Roundup of an Epic Boston Moving Day: Allston Christmas 2015”

Olympia Moving Foreman Chip Caspreac Featured on Boston.com

Olympia Moving & Storage foreman Chip Caspreac
Olympia Moving & Storage foreman Chip Caspreac

We’re so proud of Olympia Moving & Storage foreman Chip Caspreac who was featured today in a Boston.com article titled “A professional mover shares his Fitbit data to show what you’re in for on moving day.”

In the article, Chip shares his Fitbit data and talks about the challenges of being a mover in Boston. Many Bostonians dread moving on September 1st, but Chip is an expert who’s moving in Boston every day!

According the numbers, Chip takes 14,442 to 35,582 steps every day. That’s more than 15 miles, and about half those steps are while he’s carrying 50-150 lbs of boxes and furniture!

You can check out Chip’s stats in the chart below:

Chart from the 8/31/15 Boston.com article by Megan Turchi
Chart from the 8/31/15 Boston.com article by Megan Turchi shows Chip’s FitBit steps data over the past few weeks of August

Chip has worked with Olympia Moving for two years and is one of our top foremen. A client we moved from Lynnfield, MA to West Harwich, MA this summer told us in a review “Yesterday’s move was flawless. Chip was an extraordinary team leader.”

We so proud to see a feature on how hard Chip and all the crew members with Olympia Moving & Storage work. It’s not an easy job and requires a lot of energy, strength, and sweat. Our crew achieves these athletic feats every day – all while providing extraordinary service with a smile.

Click here to read more press articles about Olympia Moving & Storage, including a mention in ESPN magazine earlier this year.

If you want to move with Chip, or any of the other amazing Olympia Movers, click here to get started with a free, no obligation estimate.