12 Important Moving Tips to Help Save Money
As I said yesterday, I recently moved and have quite a few tips that will help you save money and time. To start, lets talk about the actual moving process…
- Make a list. We put a number on every box we packed and indexed on a notepad. So now when I am running around the new house looking for my dress shoes I can just go to the list and see what box number they are in.
- Pack early. We started more than 6 weeks ago. Rushing at the last minute would not have been fun and would have been counter productive in the long run.
- Pack like minded things together. Bathroom stuff, kitchen stuff, books, DVDs, you name it, the closer it is, the easier and faster it will be to unpack.
- Be sure to have lots of boxes (and tape). We were lucky enough to come across almost 150 boxes someone was throwing out nad we scooped them up. They go for about $3 a piece so we were fortunate. Check your local liqour store as they use boxes that are a perfect size. Shoe stores also have great unused boxes as well believe it or not. If you have to buy boxes, another advantage of starting early is so that you can buy less than you need so you dont spend too much. See if you can sell them on Craigslist when you are done!
- Use luggage. Its much easier to look around and instantly see luggage instead of looking for box #43 to get some pants.
- Hide expensive things. Put your jewelery or other important items into the ”kitchen box” so that it doesn’t get “misplaced” on ”accident” if you are hiring movers. Note where this is on your list as well.
- Set aside cleaning supplies. You want cleaning supplies handy for both your old place as well as your new. You want them handy so be sure to pack them last at the very least.
- Change your address: (Again, check this link out for a great list of addresses to change)
– Post Office
– Bank
– Cellphone
– Credit cards
– Magazines
– Insurance
– Workplace
– IRS
– Utlities - Use towels and old shirts as packing materials. Or old newspapers if you have them. Granted, none of this is sterile, but your going to wash everything when you get there…
- Throw stuff away you dont really need. Or sell it. Or give it away. The less you actually have to move the better. Saves time and money. About2-4 weeks before you move is a great time to part with that old drum set you used 3 times in the past 7 years.
- Borrow tools. You will need them in the immediate future but probably not in the long term. Why buy something you might never use again? Wait until you are settled before letting loose on items you *think* you need.
- Consider moving yourself. There is a HUGE difference between getting a group of friends together who will work for beer then a small army of movers. Yes, they are unnaturally strong and pretty quick but also very expensive. It might be the difference of a thousand dollars if you have a full house to move. All the more reason to get rid of junk and simplify your process as much as possible.
Of course there are dozens more, but Mayflower has some that you might also find interesting as well. And lets not forget Lowes…I have been there just about everyday and its a great test of my frugality to not go wild in there.
What tips have you found that helped you move?
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Comments
Thanks for sharing these tips.
We recently made a big move from North Carolina to Texas, and the one thing that I think helped out the most was throwing away stuff (or selling, or donating, or giving to friends in need) that we didn’t want or need to take with us. It was only going to create chaos if we tried to take everything with us. (We went from a three bedroom HOUSE to a three bedroom APARTMENT – I didn’t think it would be that big of a change, but it MOST DEFINITELY was!)
Having moved approximately 20 times, these are all good tips. Life does sometimes get in the way. I agree with Sarameshell in that hiring movers. I find it better, faster and less draining on family or friends. (Of course, my wedding ring was stolen in my last move so maybe the tip on hiding things I should have paid attention to). It is worth the money to me to be done and not have to wait on anyone else’s schedule. One other item I would remind is to let family (especially moms) know your new address. They may want to send a house warming gift…
Hey!!
Great post
really liked the tips which
you have provided hope it will be helpful thanks 
Wow, what an awesome blog. I wish I had these tips years ago when I did my first move. I never even thought of an inventory list. All of my boxes just said “my stuff” and if I really needed to know what it was, the box said “Really important stuff”. Needless to say my unpacking sucked.
Anyways I found this really cool website called Box
That really helped out. Well, back to packing and thanks for the awesome tips!!
@harmonsmith: Glad we could help out. Moving is never fun but if there are little things we can do to work smarter not harder it helps exponentially. Let us know how you make out! Also, what are your thoughts on paying for movers?
These are great tips and quality links to moving resources. If every moving related website had such a list, thousands more people would have better moving experiences. It’s all too common to forget to do some of these things and then end up kicking yourself after realizing you should have done it earlier. Thanks for taking the time to make this!
Although getting friends to help move is more frugal, I found it very convienent and fast to hire movers. One tip I’d like to share is to have the movers load the “everyday” boxes first into the truck, that way they are easily accessible in the house because they were unloaded last out of the truck. I didn’t do this and had the movers load the “everyday” boxes last into the truck, and now they are tucked away in the back of the dining room behind all of the boxes I don’t need immediately!