The secret to a successful move is planning, but it can be challenging anticipating all the problems that may crop up on moving day. Here are three things that may go wrong when it comes time to load up the moving van and what you can do to prevent them from happening and ensure your move goes off without a hitch.

The Furniture Won't Fit Through the Door

One of the most common problems that rear its ugly head on moving day is discovering you're unable to fit your furniture through the front door. This happens often with furniture that must be assembled after purchase or custom furniture that was built inside the home. Since you never had to try to remove from the home prior to moving day, you don't realize it won't fit until the day you're supposed to relocate to your new place.

To avoid this issue, measure large pieces of furniture several days beforehand and compare that with your front door to see if they will fit through. If not, make a plan to use other doors to get the items outside (e.g. the kitchen patio door or the garage door). Alternatively, you can disassemble the pieces into smaller more manageable parts. If need be, hire a carpenter who can help you cut custom furniture down to size in a way that makes it easy to reassemble in your new place.

The Movers Won't Transport Some of Your Items

Another issue that may come up on moving day is the movers will refuse to put some of your items onto the truck. The most common reason for this is because the item is too dangerous to transport, increasing the risk of an accident occurring that may or may not be covered by the company's insurance. However, the movers may also refuse to place items on the truck if they are too big and/or they weren't accounted for when the company rep first came to the home to measure your belongings for the estimate.

First, it's important to ask the moving company for a list of items they refuse to transport. Some things are pretty obvious, such as firearms, car batteries, and open food products. However, some may catch you off guard. For instance, some companies won't transport nail polish or polish remover, and others may even balk at carrying personal sentimental items like wedding albums and collectables.

Be sure to have the company do an in-home evaluation and let the rep know all the things you want to have transported on the moving truck. He or she will let you know whether it's on the banned list or not. Additionally, make sure the company rep includes all of your belongings when providing an estimate –even the ones hiding in the attic or basement— so there are no unpleasant surprises on moving day.

Your Friends Don't Show Up to Help

A third problem you may experience is the people you asked to help you move fail to show up on the big day. No matter how good your friendship is with people, no one wants to get up on a Saturday or Sunday and lug around dusty boxes and big pieces of furniture, even if they getting free beer and pizza out of the deal.

There are a couple of ways you can handle this situation. One way is to ask far more people than you need. This way, if a few don't show up, you'll still have plenty of help. However, the best way is to actually hire people to help you move. While the moving company will usually supply at least 2 people to help load your stuff, you can always ask for more if you don't feel that will be enough. While you may want to save money, sometimes it's better to spend money to ensure you get exactly what you need.

For help with relocating from one home to another, contact local movers.