The Five Best Ways To Save Money On Your Move

Image CC 2.0 by Addison Yacht Charters via Flickr

If you have a move coming up in the near future, you might be looking for ways to save money. Who could blame you? Times seem to be tough for most of us these days.

Some are moving away from expensive cities like San Francisco and San Jose to the East Bay or even further away, like to Sacramento. The last thing people want to do is go broke on their move.

Fortunately there are ways to save a lot of money on your move, and not a single one of them requires heavy lifting on your part.

Move some items yourself

Wait, didn’t I promise no heavy lifting? Yes, I did. There wouldn’t be much point in hiring a moving company if we were going to suggest you break your back. If you are strategic about what you move yourself, you can prevent some extra charges you may have not anticipated.

When you hire a moving company, you should know that anything that isn’t furniture (and there are some exceptions there) needs to be in cardboard boxes. Some of the items that take customers by surprise are pictures and mirrors on the walls, lamps and electronics.

Fortunately, those are pretty easy items to move yourself. You can wrap pictures and mirrors in blankets and place them between the front and backseats of your car. Pack your lamps’ bulbs and shades and then put the bases in your car. You can also wrap any electronics in blankets and move them in your car.

If you aren’t comfortable with blankets as the only barriers between your kids and your expensive electronics or artwork, Ninja Movers can supply you boxes so you can pack them up. If you don’t have room in your car, Ninja Movers will be happy to move them, but note that someone will have to box everything up. We can do it for you, but at an extra charge.

Pack everything

You probably already know that you can save money by packing everything. Ninja Movers can save you time searching for boxes by delivering them to you at no additional charge.

Pack most things

Time is money, which is why a lot of our customers have us pack the difficult things, like breakables. We can deliver the boxes for you to pack all your non-breakables.

Organize

An organized move will always go faster. Thoroughly label each box, including with what room they should go in at your new place. Color coded labels work best.

You should also clear a pathway for the movers to move through your house and out to the truck. If the only parking is street parking, reserve at least two spots with the city (three if you are moving long-distance). If you live in an elevator building, ask your building manager about elevator rules so you aren’t caught off-guard on moving day.

Purge, but do it right

Of course you know that purging will save you money, but most people don’t do it in a way that will make a difference. If you get rid of a couple of garbage bags full of clothing, you might be pretty proud of yourself, and you should be, but it’s not going to make much of a difference on your move. That’s basically one or two boxes.

When you’re purging, go for big stuff if you can. If you don’t like a piece of furniture or you aren’t sure it will fit in your new place, don’t move it. You’re likely better off replacing junk furniture than moving it.