1Get Rid of Stuff

Before you move you should go through your residence room by room and decide what you can afford to discard. Everyone has things that they accumulate for no apparent reason and what is junk to one person is a treasure to another. Weed out every room of your house including the basement, attic, and garage, and place all of the stuff you really don’t need in one location. This should be accomplished well in advance of moving to give you time to organize a garage sale, give things away to charity, or have a sale on eBay. Should you decide to have a garage sale, any money you have to invest in moving can come from the proceeds of your sale. If you decide to give your stuff away to charity, you can use this as a tax deduction.

2Take Inventory

Take inventory of what you have left and write everything down so you can see it in front of you. Create a spreadsheet and decide what items you really need professional movers to handle and what items you can transport in a car or pickup truck. The items for professional movers may include your appliances and furniture, fine china, other valuable breakables, and other household items of this nature. Other items such as clothing, small furniture, carpets, toys, miscellaneous items, and any other items in this category can easily be moved in a car or pickup truck.

Separate everything on the spreadsheet so you can see exactly what will require professional movers, what you can pack in a car, and what you can pack in a pickup truck. This will give you an overview of the big picture and what it will take to move all of your possessions.

3Shop Around

If you have a list of items for professional movers, shop around for the best price. Many moving companies provide extra services you really do not need which are included in the moving price. Find a company that has what you need, insures their work, and has a reputable track record. If you are going to move some of your belongings yourself, this should cut back on the costs of professional moving services.

Once you find a few professional moving companies that may serve your needs, take your list with you and go over it with a few different businesses. Compare pricing and what you are getting for the price and then go with the best deal. If the charge for boxes is separate you may want to consider getting your own. Most moving companies will include the number of boxes you need in the price.

4Contact Your Friends and Acquaintances

Look at your spreadsheet and decide what you will need as far as pickup truck services and car services. Contact your friends and acquaintances to find out who is willing to lend their vehicle and their services. Most friends and acquaintances will be happy to help you in exchange for pizza and beer and when you have a group of people it is a lot easier and you can have fun in the process.

5Collect Boxes

You can save money by going to your local stores and malls and asking if you can have the boxes they have discarded. Most retail establishments pile all of their boxes out by the trash bin and they will let you choose what you need for free. They are happy to get rid of the boxes and it will save you hundreds of dollars buying boxes in an office supply or other retail store that sells boxes.

If you know of someone who has recently moved into your area, you can ask them if they have any leftover boxes that they are willing to part with. When you move, you usually end up with more boxes on hand than you will ever use.

6Start Packing at Least One Month in Advance

To save stress and unexpected costs, start packing at least one month in advance. For the professional movers, you can do part of the packing for items that go in boxes to save costs and for the other items you can save yourself stress by starting to pack way in advance. This will also help you to avoid any unexpected costs such as hiring an extra vehicle because you have more boxes than you originally thought.

7Other Money Saving Options

If you do not have friends that own pickup trucks you can opt to rent your own truck. Most truck rental companies are a lot cheaper than hiring professional movers and you can hire a team of friends at the cost of a few pizzas to help you load and unload the truck.

You can also opt for a company such as PODS which delivers the storage so you can fill it up with your belongings and then they send a driver to simply drive your possessions to a new location.

Moving is always a hassle and can be stressful; however, if you prepare well in advance you can remove a lot of the stress from the experience, save money, and have some fun in the process.