5 Smart and Easy Ways to Cut Moving Costs

Not very surprisingly, there are a number of valid reasons why moving house is believed to be such a stressful affair in a person’s life – saying goodbye to good friends and dear family, together with the nail-biting fear of the unknown, are good enough to stress out a home mover for months. But add the fact that oftentimes hard-earned money is put on the line during a house move, and the mystery of why most people are looking for good ways to cut moving costs gets solved in an instant.

How to cut moving costs? Even without a magic crystal ball, it’s relatively easy to predict that the question of how to cut your moving costs will preoccupy your mind if you yourself are expecting to move to another home anytime soon.

So, how to move for less money? What a brain-teaser! In reality, this is an interesting puzzle that actually has a few good solutions – money saving solutions which you should know well before your moving day arrives.

Ready to learn the top 5 ways to reduce moving costs?

#1: Hire an affordable removals company

The first proven way to reduce moving costs is to find a moving company that offers highly competitive and therefore affordable relocation services. Of course, that major cost reduction method is easier said than done, and finding cheap professional movers who still offer quality services is anything but a piece of cake. So, how do you do it?

The key to lowering your moving costs via a low cost removal company is to first research your potential professional partners, and then get and compare multiple price quotes.

Research your movers

It would be a serious moving mistake to just hire a random removals firm or contract the services of the first company that contacts you without weighing all of your available options. Luck when moving house is something that you shouldn’t really rely on. Instead, just keep in mind that a little preliminary research can go a long way towards making sure your house move goes as smoothly and cheaply as it can possibly go.

• Ask friends, co-workers and neighbours if they should know a removals company that has recently done a great job helping them or friends of theirs move house. Honest recommendations can really help you single out an affordable moving company which will let you cut down on moving costs like nothing else.

• Browse through moving reviews and ratings to learn what former customers have had to say about the services of the removals firms you may have already picked as possible candidates. As a rule of thumb, think twice before contacting removals with low ratings and prevailing negative reviews.

• Choose a reputable and safe remover that’s also a BAR Member, as membership at the British Association of Removers is a clear sign that you won’t lose money by getting into the hands of an unsafe and even fraudulent removal company.

Compare moving quotes

To lower your moving costs, you will have to choose the relocation offer that best fits into your personal moving budget. Thanks to the competition in the moving industry, you can still have quality relocation services at a reasonable price.

• Request multiple price quotes from different reputable removal companies;

• Compare the estimates by paying special attention to the additional moving services offered;

• Don’t be quick to accept a price offer that is way lower than the rest, but try to understand the reasons for that abnormally low price;

• Speak with the removers for possible discounts from the quoted price in the form of special deals or valid promotions.

#2: Be extra careful what you take with you

While the final relocation cost will be influenced by a score of external factors which fall outside your controlling powers (the distance between the two homes), the good news is that you will still have direct control over some aspects of your move (what you choose to take with you to your new home). Which basically means that you will be able to lower your moving costs significantly by being pickier than usual.

Here’s what you should do to pay less and still have a smooth moving adventure:

• Learn the best way to inventory your entire house or apartment here. A detailed home inventory will help you 1) jog your memory about possessions you may have forgotten about, 2) decide which items are worth moving, and which are not, and 3) create a packing list to aid you in the packing process ahead of you.

• One of the most fundamental rules of moving house states that the more household items you decide to move, the more the total weight of the shipment will be, and therefore the more money you will pay in the end.

• The above move related rule is so logical that most home movers fail to see its potential. Want to slash your moving costs? Then take as few items with you as possible. It’s as simple as that.

• That cost reduction rule may be simple but the upcoming decisions will be anything but simple. The moment you remove the obvious Yes!-es and the apparent No!-s from the pre-packing equation, you should be left with some tough choices to make. Most moving experts agree that if you haven’t used an item in more than a year, then you should seriously consider getting rid of it prior to your moving day.

• So, here comes the piece of advice that will let you save big when moving house: cutting moving costs is all about knowing how to get rid of things prior to your scheduled move-out date. So, once you’re aware of your options, do keep in mind that selling some of your no longer wanted or needed belongings, either online or at a moving sale, will bring fresh funds for your house moving project.

#3: Get yourself inexpensive packing supplies

Depending on the number of rooms in your house, and especially the amount of household items in each of them, the cost of packing materials can easily skyrocket. The chances are that you won’t really think of packing supplies as a great expense when moving house, but their overall cost can really put a strain on your already stretched relocation budget.

Now, how to reduce moving costs even further? It’s fairly straightforward: pay as little for quality packing supplies as possible, or don’t pay anything at all. It sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

Here’s how you should do it:

Moving boxes

You won’t just need moving boxes – you’re going to need a lot of packing boxes to keep your belongings safe during the house move. Needless to say, to purchase all of your moving containers brand new is the best choice out there, but it can also cost you a fortune. Besides, there are some excellent cheaper or even free alternatives to getting hold of the required number and expected quality of cardboard boxes for your relocation:

• Ask your circle of friends if anyone can give you good cardboard boxes which they won’t really need anymore;

• Ask around local businesses such as supermarkets, bookshops, and office shops if they should have an excess of cardboard boxes they no longer need. You shouldn’t be unwelcome there as such businesses are required to recycle most of their unwanted boxes and you will actually save them valuable recycling time. Opt for clean and sturdy containers in good overall condition;

• Take a good look around your own home – don’t you have suitable containers that can be used to store and transport other items? If you really want to know how to keep moving costs low, look around for buckets, baskets, trash cans, suitcases (ideal for books), bags, or even trash bags (good for transporting clothes on their hangers).

Alternative packing supplies

In addition to moving boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap and moving blankets can also cost you more than you want. So, to lower your moving expenses even more, you may as well find and choose good alternatives of theirs.

• Packing paper can be substituted with super cheap newsprint. Newspapers can be great space fillers inside boxes, can serve as cushions when packing fragile items, and can be used as another level of protection when wrapping up breakables. Just be warned that newsprint tends to leave ink marks if used directly on delicate items.

• Furniture blankets and bubble wrap can be substituted with regular blankets, towels, socks, bed sheets, or any other pieces of clothing you can spare.

#4: Pack your home by yourself

It’s no secret that professional packing services can be rather expensive, so if you

• have ample time until moving day,
• have reliable friends who are willing to give you a hand when you need it the most, and
• you don’t possess too many household item that require special packing techniques /a snooker or billiard table, antique furniture pieces, a piano, etc./,

then you can easily choose to bring down your moving expenses by attempting to pack up your entire home on your own.

However, it’s fair to say that self-packing marathons can also be rather risky affairs, especially when home movers have plenty of valuable, expensive, fragile, breakable, or heavy items to be packed and transported to the new residence. If we include the possibility of costly property damage due to unsafe packing, then it’s only logical that thorough pre-pack risk assessment is a must.

If it’s worth it, cut your moving expenses by packing by yourself, but keep in mind the following packing principles to keep things running smoothly:

• As mentioned above, you should only consider packing the items you want and will need in the foreseeable future;

• Introduce impeccable organization by creating a specialized moving and packing checklist to keep you on the right track from Day 1;

• Begin to pack as early in your preparations as you can to avoid falling behind your set schedule;

• Start from the rooms that are the hardest ones to pack and move gradually to the premises that are much easier to prepare for moving. In other words, your storage areas should be first, while your bedroom and bathroom should be the last ones to be packed up;

• Obtain the no-packing list from your removals firm and don’t waste your time preparing or packing hazardous items that are forbidden for transportation. Find good ways to get rid of them here;

• Good packing is safe packing, so you should pack your stuff with safety on your mind. Always double tape the bottom of moving boxes no matter how strong they seem, and do not make the costly packing mistake of skimping on quality packing materials;

• Secure some friendly help in advance as packing an entire household is not something you can do entirely on your own.

#5: Take moving costs reduction to the next level

Finally, let’s offer you 3 bonus tips for reducing moving costs, and thus completing your house move for less money without compromising its safety or undermining its overall success:

• Organize your time. They say that time is money and that’s especially true when you’re getting ready to move out. Every hour of every pre-move day matters more than you think, so organize your time effectively to get the job done on schedule and avoid unexpected moving costs.

• Schedule your move. The moment you have decided which removal company to hire is the moment you should reserve your move date. If you have the freedom of choice, then select a date during the off-peak season to avoid the crowd and cut the costs when moving though a healthy price discount.

• Watch your post move expenses. Now, it won’t do you any good to organize and execute an exemplary low-cost local or long distance move only to watch your saved money disappear quickly after the move. The moving inertia and thrill of your new place may cause to switch into an overspending mode. Whatever you do, don’t fall into that post relocation trap. Your best bet? Give yourself enough time to assess the new home situation before making any impulse-driven purchases.

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