Moving Guide – Saving Money
Your family is moving to your dream house just a short distance from your current home. You’re all anxious and excited about the move and know that you’ll need to hire a moving company, but you also want to make sure that you don’t break the bank. You want to save money in the midst of the move without sacrificing any of the quality. How can you keep your moving costs low?
How to Save Money and Move Well
Figuring out how to save money during your move is actually quite simple, as long as you’re prepared and organized. You might be surprised at how the little changes make such a big difference in the long run.
The most important rule on how to save money is to not move anything that you don’t currently use. It sounds simple enough, but for some people, parting with their belongings—even if they don’t use them anymore or never have—can be a big chore. Break it down into a simple process: if you’re moving it, you’re paying to have it moved and unpacked. If you had 10 extra things that you didn’t need, but were moving instead of discarding, that could take up to an extra hour to load the items into the truck. That extra hour could mean hundreds of dollars that you’re spending. Once you realize how quickly the money adds up, you might decide it’s okay to part with the items.
The best option is to have a garage sale or donate them to a local charity. Not only will this save you money, it will also save you time when it comes to packing and unpacking your items. It can also mean cash in your pocket by means of a tax write-off or from the items you sold at the garage sale.
Another way to save money is to pack well. Believe it or not, packing a box fully and closing it with a tight packing tape is the best way to move your belongings. If these boxes are neat and durable, they stack nicely and allow movers to fit more items in the truck. Also, only use wardrobe boxes—boxes that hold hanging clothes—for hanging clothes. Packing your other items in a box will make the clothes easier and more manageable to move.
The best option for saving money is to mark your boxes clearly and with the appropriate rooms on the outside. The movers will know where the boxes belong once they arrive at your new home and won’t have to step over boxes left in the middle of the room that aren’t identifiable.
The largest rooms of your home will require the most work on your part. To keep moving costs low, make sure the garage and the attic or basement spaces are well organized and packed for the move. The garage can get tricky as you’re dealing with rakes, shovels, brooms, tool boxes, etc. Have all the long-handled items bound together with tape or placed in a large garbage bag, so they can easily be moved. The attic or basement should have all boxes and trunks securely closed and marked.
Seeing the Cost Savings
The bottom line is when it comes to how to save money, organization is the key. The more quickly the movers can get your things loaded and unloaded, the less money it will cost you. If they have to wait around for you to finish packing or load things individually, like the garage items, the costs will start to add up.
Learning how to save money when you move is likely a skill that you’ll only have to use once or twice in your life. However, with a little prep work and a timeline that allows for proper packing, you’ll be glad when all is said and done that you have more money in your pocket.