How to Get Friends to Help You Move

As a rule of thumb, most instances of moving house give you a sense of dilemma at its earliest stages – should you hire the professional services of a removal company or should you attempt to move on your own?

Not surprisingly, the type of relocation you select will determine the largely pre-set course of the entire house move. This is so because even though some pre-move tasks remain the same regardless of the exact nature of assistance you will receive in the end – professional (removers) or amateur (friends), there are some specific milestones where the big initial boulevard becomes two distinctive paths, both of which, hopefully, will eventually lead to your new home.

“Wait, have you just said assistance? Why would I need help moving? Isn’t moving house by yourself supposed to be done… by yourself?”

Moving has never been meant to be done by one single person. The process of relocating from one home to another can be a truly daunting experience to first organize and then to pull off with flying colours entirely on your own. Instead, any successful self-move is viewed as a collective team effort where the word friends is synonymous with saviours.

Top Reasons To Decide To Move On Your Own

Get professionalism and affordability together, and you have a high quality combination that should never be turned down easily in any service sector, especially when it comes to the moving industry. If you have somehow managed to find a professional removal company whose affordable relocation services agree with your moving budget and whose proven level of experience and reputation gives you enough confidence that your move will be problem-free from start to finish, then you clearly must have been born under a lucky moving star.

Yes, professional assistance is usually a big plus but you may have decided to move on your own this time around for a number of valid personal reasons that usually vary greatly from one relocation instance to the next.

• Previous experience. Having a previous moving experience can influence greatly your decision to perform a self-move. Having moved houses before, you are now familiar with the challenges that lie ahead of you and you know very well what to expect from each moving stage as you enter it. Besides, experience is all about learning from your past mistakes, so one thing you know for sure is that you will not make the same rookie moving mistakes again.
• Boosted confidence. Confidence comes with positive experience and if you have ever performed a smooth residential move without any professional aid whatsoever, then that success of yours may have boosted your level of confidence, and that alone can be a good reason for you to try to recreate that noteworthy achievement.
• Shorter distance. Moving to a new home that is only a short distance away (for example, moving across town or relocating to a nearby city) can prove to be an excellent opportunity to test your self-moving abilities. However, have in mind that while the relocation trip will definitely take much less time that that of a long distance move, the numerous hectic pre-move preparations will stay relatively unchanged.
• Tight budget. Considering the multitude of proven ways to lower the moving cost, the belief that to hire a removal company to take care of your move will be much more expensive than to move house by yourself is nothing more than common misconception. You should understand that the final moving cost is determined by a number of constants and a host of variables, so the only way to know the moving price in advance is to get accurate moving quotes from various removal firms and then compare them with your self-moving budget.
• Great friends. Having friends to help you move is a major requirement for a successful relocation on your own. The availability of good, reliable and considerate friends who wouldn’t normally mind helping another friend in relocation need is exactly what can tip the scales towards a self-move.

Read on to find out how to ask your friends to help you move, how to take the most of the offered help and how to thank friends who help you move.

How To Ask Friends To Help You Move

Asking friends to help you move is a big deal and this delicate matter should never be approached carelessly or handled too casually. Always keep in mind that by asking your pals to do you the favour of helping you move, you’re not only asking them to erase one full day off their calendars, but you’ll also be subjecting them to hard physical labour as well. And all this just for you.

Give plenty of notice

Do your best to be as considerate toward your buddies as possible as you shouldn’t forget even for a minute who’s asking who for a favour. Thus said, one of the most inconsiderate things you can do when getting friends to help you move is to ask for their assistance in the last minute and expect them to cancel all their previously set plans and run to you with smiles on their faces.

Instead, inform your pals that their help will be invaluable as early as possible /preferably as soon as you know for sure that you will be moving/ so that they have ample time to schedule or re-schedule the tasks in their calendars and eventually find some time for you.

Be a straight shooter

While negotiating the relocation terms with your good friends, you may be tempted to downplay the complexity of the moving task at hand for fear of being turned down. Saying that you only have a few chairs and a table to move out of your home when you actually mean all your furniture pieces is a rather risky approach that won’t get you any bonus points when your pals show up and see what they are up against in person.

Be a straight shooter with your potential helpers and inform them what they should expect realistically when they arrive at your home. Tricking your loyal friends into helping you should never even cross your mind anyway.

Select your wording carefully

How exactly you go about asking friends to help you move house is important for the entire self-moving operation. First, think about who you will reach up to and then give some thought to how to structure your call for help. While looking for the right words, don’t forget to let your pals know that you will really appreciate their priceless moving assistance and that you are ready to return the favour whenever they may happen to need your help.

Also, it’s essential that you personalize each message as much as possible so that your individual buddies feel special. Refrain from the tempting idea to write a short HELP! I’M MOVING! type of message on your preferred social network and address it to all your networked friends at once. Instead, either seek relocation help in person or compose individual messages to each of your pals. Don’t forget to be very specific about what kind of moving help you’re asking them for.

Don’t be too quick to judge your friends

Moving house is nobody’s favourite pastime, so don’t be too surprised if some of your calls for help remain unanswered while others don’t contain the answer you were hoping to get. The majority of your pals will probably be genuinely busy raising families, pursuing careers and just being preoccupied with their everyday struggles.

Also, it’s perfectly possible that some of your friends get down with the flu just the day before they are supposed to come and give you a helping hand.

Anyway, instead of getting angry at your friends for not being able to help you out during this tough transitional period, use the practical tips below and make the most of the friendly help you do receive.

How To Make The Most Of Your Friendly Help

You are getting ready to move and have asked some friends to help. Hopefully, some of your good friends will have agreed to go to your place at the arranged day and time and contribute with whatever they can to your successful self-move. Thus said, the worst welcoming gift you can prepare for them is, ironically, is to not be prepared properly for their arrival.

Be ready to accept your friends’ help

Don’t make the rookie mistake of wasting your friends’ time by being late with your moving preparations. Schedule them to arrive when you’re sure you will be finished with your major role in the residential move so that they can get down to helping with theirs straight away.

For example, if you have asked for packing help, you should have already sorted out your items and prepared sufficient and appropriate packing supplies. On the other hand, if a number of your helpers arrive to give you assistance with the loading and unloading operations, then you must be entirely ready with packing and labelling your moving boxes, as well as any other task that should be done beforehand.

Therefore, plan the whole move ahead so that everyone knows their part and plays it well. If you’re not ready when your friends arrive, you’ll be simply wasting your time, and more importantly – their time as well.

Distribute the tasks the right way

Another moving mistake on your part is to improperly hand out the required tasks to anyone who’s been nice, considerate and loyal enough to help you move to another home. Be creative and specific when distributing the moving tasks and take their individual strengths into consideration.

Some friends will be better suited to help you organize, sort, pack and label your household items while your more muscular buddies wouldn’t mind too much helping you lift and carry your heavyweight furniture pieces and kitchen appliances.

If you fail to assess the moving situation realistically and fail to distribute the relocation load properly among your helpers, then it’s highly probable that your friends get disgruntled by the way their musclepower and brainpower were utilized and they will probably not be willing to help you out again should the need to do so arise.

How To Thank Friends Who Help You Move

While it’s true that helping a friend move is one of the things that usually goes hand in hand with good friendships, it’s also true that that relocation help comes as a favour and your friends don’t have to agree to do it to keep the friendships alive.

Therefore, every time you happen to ask for moving help, you have to show your appreciation the right way so that your pals know you really appreciate their gratuitous assistance.

Provide enough food and drinks

It would be a serious blunder if you failed to provide snacks and refreshments to keep your buddies’ energy and satisfaction elevated. If you’re wondering what to feed friends who help you move, then you should wonder no more.

While the standard pizza slices or other types of snacks will keep them from starving, the far better option is to offer your pals homemade treats as a personalized gesture of gratitude. If you don’t enjoy cooking or just don’t have the time for it, why don’t you ask a family member /parent or grandparent/ to prepare something really, really delicious for your loyal helpers?

As far as drinks go, you cannot go wrong with any of the vast variety of non-alcoholic refreshments found around every corner. Leave the alcoholic drinks for when the move is completely over.

Reward your friends’ efforts

Don’t take your friends’ help for granted but make it a point to show your appreciation and gratitude properly. Questions like “How much do you pay friends to help you move?” shouldn’t bother you too much as it’s not really about money. Good friends will help you move not because they expect to be paid for the job but because they care for you and feel like they should respond to your call for relocation assistance. Plus, they might need you to return the favour sometime in the near future too.

Although money is usually out of the question /unless you must compensate a friend for their travel expenses/, a small gift of appreciation for everyone can go a long way. Prepare appropriate gifts for friends who help you move – a personal thank you note for each helper or think of a playful certificate to make them laugh.

Alternatively, consider gifting each buddy of yours a particular household item that you won’t need again in your new home but which you know will come pretty handy to the respective recipient.  All in all, the options to make your friends feel appreciated seem well packed with great ideas.

When asking friends to help you move, you must plan properly each step of the way so that the bond between you grows ever stronger. Impeccable organization is the key to making things much easier for everyone involved in the move.

Feel free to make the moving experience as fun as possible too. Don’t be quick to box up your stereo or computer speakers so that you can play some great music while you’re taking care of the tasks one by one.

A memorable moving experience with your friends like the old times? Why not?

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