If renting a truck, double-check that the company still has your reservation a day or two in advance. Also, make sure the truck is big enough for your stuff, or let people know it will be more than one load.

Pack things in smaller boxes (paper boxes are a good size); too large and it's hard on people's backs, as well as harder to fit into vehicles easily.

Finish packing in advance. Have good directions to the new place.

If it's permit parking only at either end, arrange with the municipality to have the space marked off, so the truck will have the best spot. If it's parking meters, this can also be done, though it may cost.

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Remember that, even if they do have your reservation, they may rent the truck to someone else. Have a backup, if possible.

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Scheduling is good. So is giving people good directions and reasonable ideas about traffic so that they can show up on time.

Move on a weekday if at all possible.

Finish your packing, furniture disassembly, etc. two days before.

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I helped sonata960 move a couple of weeks ago, and the move went very well. Here's a couple of things that I thought helped:

(1) Everyone who showed up was assigned tasks. There were people whose job it was to tape up boxes, pad furniture, and otherwise prepare items for being moved out. Others were in charge of actually transporting items from the apartment to the moving truck. I was in charge of figuring out the best way to fit everything into the truck. Such a breaking down of tasks helped the job move along more efficiently.

(2) When we arrived, sonata960 and her husband had already mapped out the new place, so as people removed items from the truck they were told precisely which room to move it to. (That goes in the living room, that in the front bedroom, etc.) This avoided needless clutter in any one space and, again, improved efficiency.

(3) Even if the weather is pleasantly cool and the items aren't particularly heavy, moving is tiring business. I don't care if the mover wants to treat people to pizza/beer/etc. afterwards to thank them, but they should, at the very least, have plenty of bottled water on hand to replenish all the lost fluids during the move. Being able to turn to that gallon jug of chilled water after moving a heavy piece of furniture sure helped keep me going.

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