PODs are giant storage containers that are delivered to your doorstep so that you can load them, and then taken away to the POD Storage Facility until you need your stuff back. They’ll also ship your container across country, if that’s where you’re moving. In our case, we were just downsizing and staying local. Because we had a two-week gap between our move-out and move-in dates, this was the perfect solution for our situation.
Here’s how it works:
- We went to the PODs website (www.pods.com)
- Start filling out the quote section on the home page. If you’re not sure how many PODs you’ll need, you can click the Storage Containers 101 link.We needed three large PODs. However, our city ordinance does not allow us to put a POD on the street, and our driveway could only hold two PODS at a time. So, we had to be a bit creative. We had two PODs delivered on Friday, so that we could spend all day Saturday and Sunday filling them up. Then, we had those two PODs removed on Monday, and the third delivered for all of our remaining “stuff.” In our case, that mean the beds, which stayed until the very last minute, one-third of the kitchen and pantry, miscellaneous furniture, bicycles, patio chairs, etc.
- On Saturday and Sunday, we had professional movers come to pack the PODs. We called Unique Moving, Inc., in Camarillo. We’ve used these guys before, and they did not disappoint. We joked several times that they must play Tetris in their off-time. Previously, we’ve had a team led by Randy. This time, Randy was busy, and so Richard led the team with Carlos, Aaron, and Eric. We hgve them a tour of the house, explained the plans for the PODs, and pointed out heavy or fragile items. They took things from there and worked non-stop to fill the PODs. In our case, it took about three hours to fill each of the PODs.
- On Monday, the first PODs was removed. About an hour later, POD #3 arrived, and after being placed in the driveway, the POD driver also removed POD#2. This gave us until Wednesday morning to fill the last POD with everything remaining in the house, including the beds we were still sleeping in, and the kitchen items we were still using. Tuesday was the last day in the house.
Bonus! If you’re a USAA member, you get 10% off of your POD rental and service. Check it out here!
(If you’re not a USAA member, and you’re a veteran or a current member of the military, what are you waiting for?!)
PODZilla
This is so cool! If you haven’t seen how PODs are delivered and removed, it’s an impressive process. Take a look here: