Moving Tips Megathread
As someone who moved last year and paid way too much and then had the moving company go "why didn't you just do it like this" here's my pro tips for saving money moving:
- If you need to store things, have a moving company that is insured load your stuff (or count on your renters/homeowners insurance since it's less expensive and SHOULD cover it).
- You don't have to pay to have them pack unless you want to.
- Have the company deliver and unload it to an actual storage unit near your chosen domicile. Storage units are usually like 1/4 the cost of using a POD or anything else and they're way more secure than you'd think. It would have cost us at least 65-75% less if we had done it that way.
- If you provide the boxes, moving blankets, and tape, they won't charge you an arm and a leg for their supplies if you want them to pack.
- Pack books in things with wheels or you'll break your back. and if it's gonna be in storage for a hot minute, wrap the books in paper individually and store in totes to keep them weather proof. You can throw in some desiccant packets too
2 replies
Tips from group members:
Yes, that's correct - this is if you need to hold some of your things in storage because you cannot move into your new domicile right away or if you are renting or in a temporary living situation while looking for something more permanent.
That's correct, just the savings between the two; PODs cost a LOT of money depending on the size of the POD to store. Think almost $1000 or higher per month, and you don't really have access to it because it's stored in an enormous facility. A storage unit can cost around $20-100 per month so you're saving a gigantic amount of money if you need to store your belongings.
Our moving company did not; we found a separate storage facility. Moving companies base their fees on a few things in addition to moving materials and their insurance - how long it takes to pack (if you have them pack), load at the first location, transport to the second location, and then unload at the second location. They don't really care where they are unloading. So the process would be: first obtain a storage unit, then arrange the movers. (edit to remove trailing sentence)
Prices for movers will be much cheaper if you don't get their insurance and if you supply the moving materials yourself. We personally asked multiple movers for breakdowns of what their packing materials cost and realized it was significantly less money for us to buy them separately and then give them to the movers to use. Bonus is that we got to keep the extras and sell them on Craigslist or FB market afterward vs the moving company taking certain things back (eg moving blankets, extra paper for packing, etc.) We also were able to pile up the boxes we used that we had obtained from local bookstores (super sturdy, great source for moving boxes too, in addition to your suggestions) and give them away for free once we'd finally moved in to someone else who needed them.
For your other notes: movers in this case are really most beneficial if you have a full home to move or if you're moving long distance. You can definitely ask friends for help, but as you get older, that becomes less and less of an option esp with the more household goods you own lol so at some point it's just easier for your health and the sake of your friendship/family goodwill to have movers handle things.
Relevance in this community - part of prepping being discussed now is preparing to flee if necessary since many people in our community are part of marginalized groups. We share tips from all areas that relate to that. :)