Cutting costs on moving expenses – how and when?

Moving guides - December 25, 2018

Moving is notorious for being stressful and expensive. But, it doesn’t have to be! If you organize yourself just right, you’ll be able to spend a lot less. But the trick is to know how and when to do it. When cutting costs on moving expenses, you have to know what you absolutely can’t cut. For example, packing your own boxes? Good way to cut costs! Moving your piano yourself? Easy way to damage your piano, costing you more in the long run! After all, you’re paying for the professionals’ knowledge as well as their actions and time. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any good ways to cut costs when moving though – you just have to find the diamonds in the rough.

A notebook with 'my plan' on it, perfect for writing down cutting costs on moving expenses.
It’s important to plan things well if you’re intent on cutting costs on moving expenses.

Cutting costs on moving expenses – packing

Packing, the bane of moving everywhere. It can be difficult to even begin, much less organize. That’s one of the reason packing services have become so popular! But, there is definitely a way to go cutting costs on moving expenses when it comes to packing! Of course, it depends on what you have to pack. And, it depends on what you don’t have to pack. For example, do you really need all the items you’re packing? An excellent way to cut costs on moving expenses is to host a yard sale for items you won’t bring with you! After all, you’re paying for the shipping of all the items. But, if you go without them, you’ll also be paying for their purchase if you need them again. It’s a delicate balancing act. Will you need all the things in your home, and if so, when and how expensive are they?

  • If there aren’t any free boxes near you, you can hit up sites like freecycle , which are certain to have free boxes around.
  • If you can’t or don’t want to host a yard sale, you can put up the items you don’t want to bring with you on sites like craigslist. It’s a good way to put a bit of income in your pocket!
  • The materials you’re using while packing can also be used for cutting costs on moving expenses!
  • You can use blankets and crumpled newspapers for filling your boxes instead of packing peanuts.

Free moving boxes?

What boxes are you using? There’s an excellent way to cut costs – search for free boxes! Moving boxes are pretty expensive, but there are a lot of quality free replacements. Grocery stores, libraries, liquor stores, hell even your office (if they have deliveries of materials) all have perfectly quality boxes. Not only that, but they have no use for them, as legally, they have to recycle them. The boxes are trashed anyway, so they wouldn’t mind letting you take them instead – but you have to be politeThey’re doing you a favor, so be polite instead of demanding. That way, you’ll leave the establishment with a pile of boxes as big as you are tall! Especially hit up liquor stores, as their boxes are especially quality, because they have to be sturdy enough that the bottles won’t break.

Cutting costs on moving expenses is easy when you ask the grocery store to give you their boxes.
Plenty of free, sturdy moving boxes!

You can use your actual belongings as moving supplies – that way you’ll move them too! Socks, for example, are a very good way to protect glassware. Instead of buying packing peanuts, stuff the boxes with blankets. Wrap your dishes in your shirts. Of course, don’t pick something you’ll have to iron – not because it’s a bad idea, just because ironing is a hassle. Need to make sure your items aren’t sliding around in their boxes? Time to shove socks and underwear in the corners! Suitcases are basically free moving boxes! Put your newspaper to use instead of throwing it away – but be careful as you might get ink stains on your belongings.

Cutting costs on moving expenses – time is money!

You can cut costs without cutting corners by working hard instead of working smart. There are a lot of neat tips and tricks for saving time during moving – and, of course, some of them work by spending money, but some of them don’t. You can use smart tips for packing, or organizing, or any number of things related to the move. A common tip and trick is to take pictures of the backs of your electronics – that way you won’t have to fiddle with miles of cables to set your computer back up! Following packing guides will ensure you don’t end up with overstuffed boxes that burst and cost more by breaking the items. They can also ensure you don’t end up moving ten boxes when you could move six, paying more for transport than you should.

Cutting costs on moving expenses – date and time

Moving companies have different prices for different dates. It all has to do with supply and demand, of course. Most people choose to move on the weekend, so the price is higher on the weekend. More people choose to move in the summer, so it costs more in the summer. If you can time it so you’re moving in an unpopular time to move, it will do wonders towards cutting costs on moving expenses!

A calendar.
Think of the pros and cons when it comes to the date of your move.

However, there is a reason those times are unpopular. You have to wrangle the pros and cons on this one. Most people move on the weekend because they don’t have to worry about their jobs and time off on the weekday. Can you take a weekday off, or would you have to move after your job is done? How would the rest of your household handle it? Can you move in the winter, or would the roads be too perilous? Can you find real-estate when you want it? Those kinds of questions are very important when it comes to cutting costs on moving expenses.

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