There is a running joke in our family that me and my sister should become Two Sisters and a Truck…and if you know us, knew us, or remotely saw what we look like, you wouldn’t expect that we have the strength to move a 5,000 square foot building or several houses (all my moves) hahaha. And yes, one of us is a better driver of 26 ft moving trucks than of her personal car. It’s true!
In the process of doing several moves, there have been trail and error of the do’s and do not’s of moving. These are true trail and errors of moving yourself. Here are some helpful tips for when you move…
1. DO NOT BUY BOXES unless it is an emergency move! Yes, it has become harder to find boxes due to the “go green”/”recycle” generation. Meaning, many companies which you could rely on to get boxes from, now crush them and crate them to be picked up and recycled. BUT here are some ideas where to locate boxes that don’t get crushed.
- Apartment Complex’s. There are people moving in and out of Apartment’s all the time. Each Apartment complex has a “Cardboard” only bin. They are generally picked up during the week but they aren’t crushed. So contact or drive by your local Apartment Complex and ask/look around for their “Cardboard” bin. I can tell you, on my last move I landed a package from U-haul in a bin that cost somewhere around 100.00. What a savings!!!!
- Your local Liquor store. That’s right! They keep their boxes in it’s orginial shape for customers to package their bottles up instead of bags. They are great for kitchen wear!
- If you do have to buy boxes: Google search: “Recycle/Used boxes OR get boxes from a local store that will buy them back.
2. Tissue paper! Yikes. It has gotten expensive. So how do you combat that? Buy the Sunday newspaper on Monday for 1/2 price. You will not only get the benefit of a lot of paper to wrap your items in, you will also get “COUPONS”!!!! I recommend you purchase 5 papers. So on average, $2.50 instead of the almost 7.50! SAVINGS.
3. Taping gun and packing tape! Purchase these at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s . They are half the price of a “moving” store.
4. Instead of purchasing “packing blankets”, use comforters and sheets you have around. Two benefits: you save the money plus they get moved in the process without packing them in a box.
5. Here is the biggest savings: Move Monday thru Thursday. NOT on the WEEKEND. There is a difference of 25% between weekday moves and weekend moves. That is on the rental of the truck and the mileage. It makes a difference. Savings of around $10.00 on the Truck rental and .20 cent on mileage.
These are the 5 saving tips of moving yourself.
