Moving can get costly pretty quickly. Here are a few tips for keeping some of that money in your pocket.
Donate or Sell
Try to sort through items in your home in advance to moving. This will save you time and energy when you finally move. Make a few extra bucks to help pay for your move by hosting a yard sale or selling items on Craigslist, Ebay, Annies Book Swap etc… There also plenty of places where you can donate items and some will even pick it up for you at your house. See Donating Items (add link) on my website.
DIY or Hire Movers
You may have a great group of friends able and willing to help you move but before you decide to DIY, make sure you have thought this one through. Professional movers are just that, they do this everyday, they not only have the right equipment but they are experts on how to maneuver furniture through tight spaces. And I most cases are able to do it properly without hurting the furniture or themselves. Here are ways to help save money while hiring a mover:
Get Multiple Estimates
Look into Portable Containers - where you can load and unload the container yourself and someone else transports it
Pack & Unpack Boxes Yourself
Move in the Off Season - not always possible, but if it is and you are willing to move during the winter you will likely get better rates.
Don’t Buy Boxes
There are so many resources to get free boxes.
Friends & neighbors from packages delivered to their home.
Liquor stores and other local retail shops. Some liquor store boxes are sectioned off which work great for glasses and other dish items.
Craigslist
Use Luggage as Boxes
Keep Clothes in Drawers - wrap top with plastic wrap so they stay clean. This could also work for other container type items such as utensil organizers.
Reuse Dry Cleaning Bags - to move clothes on hangers or use clean garbage bags
Rethink Packing Material
Towels, sheets, clothing, dish towels, tablecloths and plastic grocery bags all make for great packing material in place of buying bubble wrap and tissue paper.
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