Using Self Service Moving To Save Money
It might be good to know about the various moving services you can choose if you are relocating to a new home in a different state, city or just a different house in the same vicinity. Where ever you are relocating to, it doesn’t make it any less difficult; relocating your home has always been a challenge. It involves many different problems that a person might face, but the hardest of all the tasks is the packing, transporting and then unpacking and setting everything in your new home.
Of all the tasks related to relocating, packing is what will take a whole lot of time, not to mention the effort you will have to put if you do it all right. One option would be to hire a full service moving company. You don’t have to do anything at all when you take the full service. You just have to inform the moving company about your moving date and they arrange for everything related to moving. They come and pack everything very professionally in moving boxes. If you have fragile items, these companies use tissue papers and tapes to protect these items and ensure safe transportation. You can already see how a full moving service can make it so simple to move.
Although these full services seem to be the most feasible option, higher costs that include packing and unpacking of their household goods might be the biggest concern of some people. Some people are ready to take on this difficult task of packing and loading everything in order to save money on relocating. Being already expensive to relocate, this extra expense seems to be an extravagance for many people who would rather prefer to put in some extra efforts and move their belongings themselves. This is simply called self service moving or DYI.
DIY or self service moving is a good option for you if you want to save money and like to be in control of the details of your move while keeping track of your belongings from one house to another. Once you decide on a DIY move, there are three main choices of how to successfully do it yourself.
- Moving truck rental – You can do it all by renting a moving truck. This means packing, loading, driving, unloading and unpacking everything yourself.
- Hire a professional for truck and transport only – You can use a professional moving truck and pay for the transportation of your items after you load up the truck yourself. Meet the driver and truck to unload at your new location.
- Moving Container Rental – You may choose to rent moving containers (sometimes called storage moving units) that you pack. Once they’re full and ready to move, a professional driver picks them up to move to your new location where you unpack them before a truck hauls these moving cubes away.
Before you make a decision, be sure to know and weigh all of your options. Start by getting full service moving quotes from usamovingcompanies.com. Then, consider the entire cost being sure to include your time, fuel charges, risk of lifelong injuries, who will help load/unload large items and whether or not you have experience driving the style of moving vehicle available.
Moving Truck Rental
Renting a moving truck and doing it yourself entirely may save you the most money. If you are an organized person who has plenty of time to devote to your move and want to be in charge of the entire process, this is a good choice. You will be responsible for coordinating dates and times as well as loading everything from your child’s teddy bears and bicycle to the refrigerator, stove or grand piano onto the truck. The packing and loading will be followed by you driving the truck to your new home where you will unload everything before returning the moving truck to a pre-arranged drop off site.
One thing to consider when renting a moving truck is whether or not you have experience or the ability to drive the truck you rent. Some moving trucks only offer manual transmissions. Some drive more like a minivan. Some have a driving section and a separate cab attached where your belongings will be loaded for the move. Find out the details of the truck you will be driving before you sign the rental agreement. You won’t want to find yourself stuck on the New Jersey Turnpike or Los Angeles traffic in a hands-on driving lesson with no instructor.
Also consider the fuel expense. The cost of renting the truck quite often is just that – the cost of renting the actual truck. You may be required to also cover the cost of fuel, so be sure to learn if the truck takes diesel, gasoline or an alternative form of fuel.
Check with your insurance company to verify that you are covered for driving a rental truck or accept insurance at an extra cost from the rental company.
Another part of doing it all yourself to consider is finding friends and family members who are willing to help, knowing these same friends and family members will most likely not be available to help unload when you arrive at your new destination. You will also need to count in extra time to allow for loading, unloading and drive time. These times need to be carefully coordinated with scheduled pickup and return times and location of the moving truck rental facility at your new location.
Hire a Professional for Transport Only – You Pack then Sit Back and Let a Professional Drive.
Save money on a full-service move by choosing to pack and then leave the driving to a professional mover. The way it works is the moving company truck pulls up and you load your ready-to-go boxes, furniture and appliances up the ramp and onto the truck. Once everything is inside, the doors are shut and the driver heads off to your new destination where you meet him to begin unpacking and getting settled into your new home.
This option saves the expense of paying professional movers yet saves you the worry of driving a rental truck and transporting your belongings yourself. All you pay for is the transportation of your belongings. You do the rest.
Moving Containers Rental
If you have a small house, why pay for an over-sized moving truck and services you don’t need? Renting moving containers is a good option for saving the expense of a full-service move, yet retaining control over who has access to your household items.
Moving containers are also a first-choice option when moving to another country. Some moving containers can be rented for an international move where using a truck would not be a feasible option.
You rent the moving cube and pay for the delivery. You save the expense of time and labor costs of professional movers and know that everything is packed safely in the order you prefer.
You also choose the size of storage unit you need. When you choose to use a moving container, it comes to you in the form of a convenient large box, often called too a “you-pack container”, which is delivered to your driveway. All that’s left for you to do is fill it up.
They are easy to load as there are no ramps or steps. Everything is ground level which means, you can put heavy items on rollers and easily slide them inside the moving container ready to transport.
Peace of mind is something that comes with every moving container rental. When you rent the container, only you have the key. Once it is locked, the driver has no access to your belongings. Pack it up and lock it securely knowing it will arrive as you packed it at your new destination.
If you are ready to do some real work, then you can do all tasks related to moving yourself including packing, loading, and even driving. It wont be easy but the cost savings in some cases might be worth it. The main things is to do your homework and compare your options by getting free moving quotes from multiple companies. To do everything yourself, you will of course need a rental truck which you can get from a rental truck company. You will have to pack, load and drive everything to your new location. If the distance is long, you will even have to stay at a hotel and stop at restaurants on the way. This might get a bit unfeasible especially with the huge container behind you.
Tips to remember when you take self moving services:
- If it’s any kind of furniture that you need to disassemble, it is recommended that you call a carpenter for that. They are experienced in these kinds of tasks and they will make sure to disassemble your furniture without causing any harm to it. Experience counts the most here and make sure the person is experienced and has taken many projects like these before.
- If it’s a fragile item, get tissue papers, bags and tapes to protect them. Just throwing them in a carton box and marking it fragile is not enough. You may want to move some really expensive antique items and so protecting them would be your top priority.
- You should always start packing up some good weeks before your exact move date. Organizing your packing will make it very easy to do. Start with the rooms and the items which are used less frequently and then move on towards every other room in the house.
- Make sure you reserve the rental truck from companies like uhaul.com or budgettruck.com, so that it’s is available when you need it. The last thing you would want to hear is that the moving truck is not available on the date that you scheduled for moving.
- If it’s a long distance move, then always do a research about the good restaurants and hotels on the way where you can stop and stay for the night before continuing your drive.
- Loading everything in the truck won’t be a an easy task either. Try to get some helping hands to help you out with the loading of all the items on the truck.
In many situations, DIY moving can be the perfect solution to save a great deal of money. Begin your DIY decision with knowing the facts to make sure you are making the choice that is best for you.