Moving On A Shoestring - What Are The Best Practices? (Guest Post)

Moving can get quite expensive, especially if you don't plan the relocation in advance. But moving a couple of times in a short period of time can really take a toll on your wallet.

Luckily, there are some easily applicable tips that you can use to save your money every time you relocate. And the more you move, the more you'll actually save.

​Many relocation expenses are unavoidable, but we'll try to cover some of those that are not. So, if you're looking to move on a tight budget, read ahead!  

​Drop the Unnecessary Stuff

There probably won't be a better time for you to get rid of some extra stuff than when you're about to move. Plan your home ahead, because chances are that not all of your current stuff will fit in your new home, both aesthetically and physically.

Organizing a garage sale might earn you some extra money, and you'll still save on packaging and transportation costs for all the stuff that you don't take with you.

​For old electronics, you can call the nearest recycling center and see if they would come to pick up your things. It's pretty straightforward, the less stuff you bring with you, the more money you're going to save.  

​Professional Movers Vs DIY

Professional movers cost money, that's true, but so does the DIY option. You plan on calling your friends and neighbors to help you pack? Good, but keep in mind that they need to eat and drink, and that costs money too. And so does renting a truck. Instead of assuming that hiring professionals is a more expensive option, plan the costs for both options and go with the cheaper one.

If you do decide to go with the pro-movers, it's important to schedule ahead because they can be quite busy and you don't want to delay or speed up your plans for them.  

​Packing

Whether you hired professionals or not, you'll want to deconstruct your own furniture, as you don't want to be paying the moving company additional fees for using a screwdriver. Instead of bubble wrap, you can use your old clothes to wrap the fragile items. You can use new stuff as well, but in that case, consider that you'll probably be washing quite a few batches of clothes, and that costs money too.

​It's important to cushion everything because biggest expenses occur when something breaks. Even if you do go with the pros and their insurance covers it, sometimes money can't replace the value of a damaged item. So, cushion everything and do get good boxes, which is our next step.  

​Don't Buy Cardboard Boxes

Besides costing money, cardboard boxes don't offer much of a protection to the stuff you pack inside them. And even then, you'd need a whole lot of time just to tape all of them on the bottoms and the sides. As we said, if your expensive items get damaged, the cost of it will ruin your whole relocation process.

Instead, you can now rent moving boxes Sydney area went crazy about. Moving boxes made out of recycled plastic are much sturdier and offer better protection than cardboard, while also being eco-friendly. Once you've moved to your new home, you can call the company you rented the boxes from and they'll pick them up.  

​Make Inventory of Your Possessions

Losing an item or a whole box of items can be extremely frustrating, especially if you're not sure exactly what you lost.

Luckily, today you don't have to make inventories with a pen and paper system. Simply record while you're packing, or take photographs of every box that you packed.

If you've labeled your boxes already, you can just snap a photograph of the label and be done with it. It won't take more than a couple of minutes for you, and it can mean all the difference.  

​Consider Shipping Your Library

If you've got a lot of books, boxes containing them can be among the heaviest to move. Even if you've sold some on your garage sale, you're still likely to have some keepers. Consider shipping them, they will take a little longer to arrive, but it will definitely pay off because they are extremely heavy, but cost only around 10$ per box to ship across the country.

If you're unsure about this, make sure to calculate the gas expenses with and without books, since all the extra weight can increase these expenses substantially. 

​Enjoy Your New Home

While moving can be quite frustrating, time-consuming and expensive, it usually brings the state of relief when it's all over and you can relax in your new home.

If you've managed to save some money while moving, you can now use it to redecorate your new home and set it up to your liking.

Saving money can be a difficult process, but with some effort and good organizational skills, it definitely pays off once you're all done with it.