When loading a moving truck, the general rule is to load the heaviest and largest items first to create a stable base at the front of the truck, which helps balance the weight. You can start with large furniture like sofas, beds, mattresses, and tables to form a solid foundation, or begin by placing your heaviest boxes against the truck's walls to create a base layer. After the base is set, continue loading other large items like appliances and square furniture. Lighter and smaller objects, including most of your boxes, should be loaded last. They can be packed into gaps, around, and on top of the heavier items to maximize space. Following this order makes unloading easier and helps prevent damage to your belongings.

For a long trip, it is less expensive to schedule a one-way rental since you're driving fewer miles. Plus, it's usually not feasible to move across the country and then drive the vehicle back to where you got it. However, a round-trip option makes more sense if you're moving in town.

You can’t start preparing for movers too soon. Some steps, like scheduling the movers and arranging for pet care, need to happen months ahead to fit into busy schedules, especially if you’re moving during on-season.

Several weeks ahead of the moving date, start packing lesser-used rooms and supplies. As the moving day gets closer, move your packing toward more and more essential rooms until only a few necessities are left on the day ahead of the move.

There are generally three ways to ship furniture to another state: hiring professional movers, using consolidated freight, or through parcel shipping. Professional movers will generally pack your boxes in a truck and transport them to a storage facility or directly to your home. 

A consolidated freight service will pack, load, and ship your items, but this is best to use for one or two pieces since your items will take longer to be delivered and will share truck space with other items. Parcel shipping such as UPS and FedEx is best for smaller items since there are size limits, and you’ll have to drop the boxes off at a local branch.