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The majority of our customers plan to do their own packing. Time and time again, when we are gathering information about a customer’s moving service needs, they will say, “We will do our own packing. We just need you to move the big stuff.”
It is totally understandable wanting to save some money during the move process, and a full-service move can be very expensive. We want to break down the pros and cons of DIY packing, so we can help you create a moving experience that best fits your needs and desires.
Pros:
One of the best reasons to DIY packing or at least some of it is to save money. You can save time by having it packed professionally, but save money when you do it yourself. You have to weigh what is more important to you.
Another major benefit to DIY packing is the ability to purge. If the professional packers come in they don’t decide what should be moved and what shouldn't. They pack it all. Doing some of the packing yourself allows you time to eliminate items you don’t need to move.
Organization is another reason to do your own packing. As you do your own packing you know where things are going to go at your new home, whereas the professional movers may not know that. For example - your college daughter’s room is just going to be packed up and stored in the basement at the new house. You could pack it and mark it for basement storage. Professional packers wouldn’t know this unless you pointed it out to them as they went along. Packing yourself allows you to pick and choose how you want to classify and distribute things at the new home.
One last benefit - no one else is going through your stuff. Some people just aren’t comfortable with others seeing their personal items. If that’s you, packing those personal items yourself will give you peace of mind.
Cons:
It takes way longer than you’d imagine. A typical customer will only pack about 2 or 3 boxes / hour and on a 3 bedroom home that averages about 150 boxes that means you will have 50-75 hours packing your home. That isn’t counting the time to go buy packing materials and supplies or additional time purging or going down memory row.
You miss things that you don’t realize need packed. Most customers walk into a room and think that will only be 3 or 4 boxes to pack this room. 15-20 boxes later they realize it took a lot more than they had anticipated and are quite frustrated by how little they accomplished.
Liability for any damage shifts from the professional packers to you when you pack. This may not be a major concern, but there are certain items you’d be upset about losing because they were damaged by your packing.
Partial Packing:
Maybe the best of both worlds is an approach you may want to take. You may want to pack up some personal items and memories and purge some items, then have the professional movers pack up some of the more fragile and timely things. This can offer you a good balance between saving money, saving time, and the money you save purging items will offset some of the money you are paying professional packers.
