There are several ways to reduce your overall moving cost. Some are good ideas and some aren’t such good ideas. Some of the best ways to reduce overall cost of your relocation are:
First & Foremost: Plan ahead. – One of the biggest expenses people incur in moving is their failure to plan ahead. Planning ahead is an essential way to reduce your overall cost of moving. The sooner you schedule your move the better moving rates you can get. Also when you allow yourself time in planning your move you create time to declutter, purge, have garage sales, do your own packing, etc.
Move Less Stuff – We are a moving company and we get paid to move items but we believe we’re doing a disservice to our customers if we don’t offer solutions to help meet all of your needs. One of the best ways to reduce your overall cost of moving is to move less stuff so moving is s a great time to declutter and purge unwanted or unnecessary items instead of moving them only to be stored in the basement or storage at your new residence. Go through your current storage and eliminate things you haven’t used in the last year or longer. If they were truly important to you then you’d be using them so sell them, give them away, donate them, or throw them away.
Do you own packing – Packing is an overwhelming task if you decide to tackle this chore People often think they can pack their entire house in a few evenings or the weekend before loading, only to be surprised by how hard it is and how much time it actually takes. But, doing some packing is a good way to reduce your overall cost. If I was going to saving money on packing, then I’d start with the basement and storage. In packing these rooms I would eliminate things that I don’t need to move (if I have it professional packed they aren’t gong to purge for me – they pack everything). Second I’d set aside one weekend and pack the kitchen/dining room. These rooms have the most expensive boxes to pack and can save you a significant amount towards your overall packing. Third I’d pack all the mirrors and flat panel televisions. By packing those 3 areas you could very easily save 10-15% or more off your overall moving cost.
Be Prepared – If you commit to doing things to save on your overall moving cost then make sure you get them done. It can become very costly if the movers show up and you’ve not completed everything you said you were going to do. This can cause delays and additional charges (at premium prices). On local moves people often have things sitting around that need to be packed or in garbage bags. This really slows down the moving process and can add significant cost to your over all move.
Pre Moving – On local moves you can save a significant by having lots of boxes and items all stacked neatly in a main floor room or garage. When moving locally it is usually by the hour so moving items out of the basement or upstairs takes a lot longer than moving them from a front room or garage. If you are able to move items to a main floor this can save you overall dollars and the movers greatly appreciate it. Also when you do this stack the items neatly and put them in rows. Again this will allow the movers to move quickly without having to walk around the clutter. Also tear your beds down and have mattresses leaning up against the walls. Anything you do means you aren’t paying them hourly to do it for you. Electronics should be disconnected and packed. Make sure you put remotes in the boxes with the other electronics.
Is your moving estimate a guaranteed cost?
We prefer to give guaranteed price estimates because thats what our customers like you want. 90% of our estimates are guaranteed prices. Good communication between both parties is an essential part of having a guaranteed quotation. When we give an estimate we clearly communicate both the services we are going to provide along with our guarantees and also write out what you are customer state you are going to do. Your moving concierge will revisit this agreement several times prior to moving day to make sure any commitments you made (selling items and discarding items, or doing your own packing, etc) are on track. If adjustments need to be made we like to have these discussion prior to moving day so that everyone is prepared when moving day arrives. Sometimes there are to many factors to allow a guaranteed price, but those are rare and can be discussed at time of moving consultation.