This is a post I wrote over a year ago when our family moved from Tennessee to Louisiana and used POD Moving Containers. Recently our family moved again out of an apartment and into a house with a yard, Hooray! I wanted to dedicate the whole month of September to provided Moving Tips and Resources that have benefited our family over the years. Enjoy…
A few months back our family moved to the state of Louisiana. The move was 5+ hours from where we had lived on and off for 10 years in Tennessee. We are a family of 7 with our 5 kids being ages 6 and under at the time of this move. With our kids being so young and us not having help post move we chose to go with POD Moving Containers. This seemed like the best option for us. Read more if you are curious about My Honest Review after using POD Moving Containers.
Making the Arrangements with POD Moving Containers
My husband was the one who made the arrangements. He did so four weeks before our moving day. We received a quote and scheduled the delivery for a Friday. This would give us a week and a half to pack the POD before our moving day. Your quote is based on how long you plan to have the POD. Where they will have to transport it, etc. The payments made to POD Moving Containers are in installments. The first payment was the deposit. The second payment made when the POD was dropped off. The last payment made before they would deliver the POD Moving Container to our new home.
We scheduled the POD to be delivered on a Friday. The day before the drop off we received a call that our container was leaking. They were going to get it fixed then send the repaired POD our way the upcoming Monday. On Monday, we received another call and were told the POD had not been fixed. They would get us a different POD once another was turned in. However, they neglected to give us a date for delivery. Finally, a week later on a Friday evening we received a POD moving container. The delay left us only two full days to pack it up. Ugh!
Packing Up
With the delivery a week later than expected, this did set back a few days loading up the POD. My husband was concerned we would not be able to fit everything in the 16-foot POD we reserved. Here is an idea of what we were trying to pack. Our 3-bedroom house including one set of Bunk Beds. Three Twin Beds. One Queen Bed. A Crib. Sectional Couch. 6-foot Dining Table, plus all our packed boxes. Even though we are a larger family we tend to live on the minimal side. With that in mind our belongings actually fit in there with ease.
We did not take any outside toys such as Bikes, Scooters, Trampoline, or our Basketball Goal with us. Not know what our new living arrangements would be, my In Laws came a few days before we moved to pick up those items and store them for us. Since we had been renting, we also weren’t having to pack up any major appliances. When all was said and done, we actually had a little room to spare. We also stored one row of seats from our Ford 12-Passenger Van in the POD. This allowed us more room to pack things we would need over the next week in our Van.
POD Pick Up
There was no trouble with the POD pick up. The night before, we were sent a text giving a window of time a driver would be by. The next morning, they had the POD picked up by 10a.m. so we were able to head out soon after.
Delivery of the POD to Our New Home
The delivery of our packed POD is where things went off the rails. When the POD was picked up from our old house in Tennessee, we were told that once we gave them the delivery address of our new home it would be roughly three days before they could get the POD delivered. Once arrangements had been made for our new home. The leased signed, and keys in hand, my husband called to schedule the delivery. Customer Service gave him a delivery date two weeks out. We were NOT happy about this! When living in a hotel for over a week with 7 people you are more than ready to be in your new home with your stuff! After talking with a manager, they were able to move the delivery up a week.
Even though we were still not happy about the delay we moved into our new place. First stopping by Walmart to purchase some basics to make it through. That first week, my husband, myself, and 4 kids slept on air mattresses. The baby slept in a pack n play. Thankfully our POD did come early in the morning a week later, like Customer Service said. However, when my husband went to open the door to the POD it would not open. Since items had been sliding all around it took him a minute to get the door to open.
Will We Ever Use a POD Moving Containers Again?
For the 5+ hour move we made. Not knowing where we would be living and having no family around. This was honestly the best choice for us over using Uhual or another moving company. Considering how the drop off and delivery of the POD went we have agreed that this is NOT something we would consider doing again! For those wondering, even though our Pod was dropped off and delivered late we did not get any sort of discount or reimbursement for the inconveniences.
Do you have an experience with POD you would like to share?
Leave it in the comments. Or if you are curious how to make a move with little kids happen with minimal stress, read my post Prepare for a Move with Little Kids Around.
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