Moving expenses can add up quickly, which can add stress to an already stressful life event. The tips below will help both you and your wallet throughout your moving process.
- Start by decluttering
Why spend time, money, and effort to move something that you no longer use or need? Go through each room in your house BEFORE even packing anything (and even as you’re packing) and set aside items to sell, donate, or throw out. If there are items you can sell, start there. You can have a garage sale, or list items for sale online using Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp. Anything you can’t sell by the week of your move, donate to a thrift shop or resale store near you. Some places even offer drive-up and drop-off donation services. By donating, you can obtain a receipt to write off the donation when it comes time to do your taxes.
- Use free or low-cost packing materials
The cost of new boxes and packing paper can add up quickly. To avoid spending as much on supplies try to use other household items to pack efficiently. Clothing, towels, linens, and bedding can all be used to wrap fragile items safely. If you have the original packaging for any of your items, use that to safely pack them, or use sturdy, previously used boxes to pack other goods. Another way to save on materials is to ask around for someone who moved in recently who is willing to sell or give away the moving boxes they used.
- Measure your new home before moving
Spending money and time moving a piece of furniture that doesn’t even fit through your doorway or in a stairwell does you absolutely NO good. Don’t make that easily avoidable mistake. Measure things before packing/moving them to your new home. There are space planning tools that can help you figure out the best layout for your furniture so you can decide what to take. It makes the move-in day much less stressful when you don’t have to make those decisions under pressure while someone is asking “Where do you want this?” Measuring and planning help you make sure that the six-piece sectional sofa that you love will fit in your new living room!
- Don’t shop for new household items until AFTER you’ve moved
We get it, when moving to a new space, it can be tempting to splurge on new pieces of furniture or decorations for your new home. Try your best to avoid spending unnecessary money throughout your move if you can. Create a budget and remind yourself that you can always purchase items later once you’ve settled into your new house. If you do need to buy things in advance, make sure it truly is ONLY what you need, and hold off on decorations. Another good reason to wait on decorating is that the space might look different once the items you currently own have been moved in and placed. Give yourself time and don’t rush anything. Order it when you get there and take advantage of free shipping rather than paying to add those items to your move.
- Get the best when it comes to who you hire to move you
You could always recruit family and friends to help you move, but the easier option is to hire professionals to do most of the heavy lifting for you! Before deciding how you will move your stuff, figure out how much you need to move and if it is reasonable to move without movers, especially if you have a lot of large or heavy furniture. Consider how far you will be moving, the budget you have to work with, and whether or not you have many valuable/fragile items. Also, keep in mind while some moving services will be cheaper, the quality and care taken when moving your items may be worth choosing movers with a better reputation. At MiniMoves, we have the moving industry’s best on-time service record and the industry’s lowest claims rate. Last year our overall loading and delivery record was 98.8% on-time and 94% of our shipments were delivered claims free!
www.minimoves.com | 800-300-6683
