Moving as Frugally as Possible

[MamaPam]

We are most likely moving in a little less than a month. This job and school change will ultimately be good for our financial stability, but we've got to pull off the move. We'll be exiting our lease a little early, but have already talked to the managers here and will have to pay January rent and will lose our deposit. They aren't going require rent for the rest of the lease or other fees. :

So what are your best frugal moving tips? We've been watching Craigslist for boxes. We know what the fixed fees are like our deposit for where we are moving. We've been wondering if we could get away with a 17 foot truck to save money, but can't afford for everything not to fit either as we are moving out of state. Any ideas are appreciated.

[marimara]

Liquor stores for boxes! They are sturdy and usually have handles. I always use them for packing stuff especially books since you don't want to pack too many books in one box!

[woodchick]

Use your clothing as packing material for breakables.

Purge anything that you haven't been using or think you won't need...NOW. There's no need to haul something to another state just to toss it there. And there'll be more room for the stuff you really want/need.

[Usually Curious]

We just did this. Check the Craigslist in the new town, you can probably sell a lot of your furniture and replace it when you get there. We really only brought 'family' pieces and a few sentimental pieces of furniture or things we couldn't easily replace.

[eclipse]

Yeah, if you're moving far away, it's probably cheaper for you to sell what furniture you can while you're here, free cycle most of the rest, and only take with you your nicest furniture, or things you're very attached to. You'll probably be able to buy anything else you need once you get there from craigslist/thrift stores/yard sales, etc. Also, try to plan for as little on the road time as possible - because if you're looking at longer than a day's drive, it can really rack up the rental truck fees, hotel bills (if you were childless, you migth be able to swing sleeping in a the truck - not a real option with kids!, on the road food (pack as much as you can of your own food!), etc.

[MamaPam]

We can do the drive in one day since it is ten hours. We have some friends about 3-4 hours out of our destination that would could stay with if needed.

Do you really think it would be cheaper to sell and re-buy furniture rather than moving it?

[momma_monkey]

Originally Posted by MamaPam

We can do the drive in one day since it is ten hours. We have some friends about 3-4 hours out of our destination that would could stay with if needed.

Do you really think it would be cheaper to sell and re-buy furniture rather than moving it?

I just moved from WA to AZ, it would have cost about $3500 for moving truck fees, gas for the uhaul (at the time gas was $4.50/gal.), insurance, tow-trailer for cars,etc. I decided that none of my furniture (aside from a few sentimental pieces) even cost me near $3000. This didn't factor hotels, food, etc. So I gave/sold/freecycled everything. We fit everything we owned in 2 cars-- filled to the brim. We've slowly replaced things freecycle/friends/st. vincent/etc., but really I am so glad we have less "stuff" if ykwim?

So, you have to total the entire cost of renting everything for your stuff, and then decide if it's worth it? Before deciding to purge everything we taped off the exact footage of a storage shed in our living room to determine how much stuff would fit. You can also mail (the cheapest way possible) some lighter things, like pictures w/o frames, other keepsakes.

good luck

[Logan's Mom]

I would do the math on the truck rental (a larger size that will fit all your stuff and a smaller size if you downsized.) You need to take into account the cost of gas (it will take you a bit more gas with a larger truck but nothing too astronmical I would imagine with the price of gas being pretty good right now.) I'm going to venture to say have a yard sale (or post on craigslist)now and get rid of stuff, kind of how they do on clean house if you have ever watched that show. Take a look at getting rid of stuff you haven't used in X amount of time (I'd say a year) and think about getting rid of it. You would make money, have less stuff to pack, move and unpack. Of course, sentimental stuff doesn't apply in my book.

You could post a wanted ad on craigslist and freecycle for boxes. Grocery stores, liquior stores (as PP suggested) and believe it or not parts departments at auto dealerships have a ton of boxes.

[Tradd]

The lidded copy paper boxes are great for books and other small things. Try a copy shop or ask friends who do office work to save them for you.

[Ola_]

I used liquor store boxes for the small/heavy things and banana boxes for the lighter/bigger things. The banana boxes I got from a grocery store, they charge you for plastic bags so they put their empty boxes at the front of the stores, free for the taking.

Also, we rented a truck from a car rental place - we found they had MUCH lower mileage charges than Uhaul. Definitely check that out and compare prices, many car rental shops have trucks as well.

[MacroMama]

For boxes go to WalMart on a Tuesday morning, around 5am. They stock at night and that's about when they are finishing. Be sure to go on a Tuesday because that's when they restock from the weekend and have the most boxes. Call ahead just to make sure they're open.

We tried the liquor boxes, but I didn't find too many and wasn't that impressed. They did work well for plates though.

Also, bubble wrap is cheapest at Sam's Club.

For one of our moves, we looked into PODs. It was really easy, cheaper than a moving company and we were really happy with their service. Not the most frugal though...

Good luck!

[missmich]

I moved a few months ago,not a big move just a few blocks. I moved in the BIG moving day in this city though and I saved about $200 by getting rid of a lot of stuff before the move and having 2 friends help load and unload the truck.

If I were you I'd start going through things and get rid of or sell whatever you really don't need or want to bring with you. If your dishes are old and chipped,it might be better to get new or 2nd hands when you move. Same with the furniture. If it's not in that great of shape now you can sell it for cheap or give it for free and find something else in the new place.

[ellee]

Reusable grocery bags can make a great substitute for moving boxes. Just don't put breakables in them.

If your looking for frugal, I'd disagree with buying all new furnishings unless you aren't too fond of what you have. Last move I made, I packed the truck in the order of things I wanted. It was apparent towards the end of truck packing what wouldn't fit. A friend hauled those things to Goodwill while the truck got finished packing.

[PenelopeJune]

I have moved many, many times and I've never once paid for a box. I just go to the grocery stores, liquor stores, and anywhere else I think they might give me some boxes. Do you REALLY have to have boxes with lids? Most of them can fold closed, and a lot of times you don't even need to do that.

Garbage bags work great for things like clothes, blankets, etc. And if you have suitcases and backpacks that you are going to take anyway, fill them to the brim.

Sell or give away EVERYTHING that you don't want. I don't know about giving away furniture and buying new, but I'd sure get rid of anything that wasn't a necessity. You know, keep one couch, a bed for everyone, a few dressers, and a kitchen table. Most of the rest is just decoration.

[BedHead]

You could do what my cousins wife did. Call up everyone you know and tell them you're moving on such-and-such a date, then when they show up have NO boxes and NOTHING packed, and no truck rented. Then just expect everyone to run around looking for boxes for you, do all your packing, and move it all in their cars. :

[MamaPam]

We're definitely getting rid of as much stuff as possible. DH has some outgrown clothes we've had for years that need to go. This baby is a boy so with a few exceptions all the outgrown clothes of my youngest, pink receiving blankets etc are out the door. I have taken some stuff to a consignment shop that pays upfront. Not a lot of money, but it was easy and I donated the rest.

I'll compare the asking prices from here and where we are moving, to try to figure out if it would really be a savings to sell and re-buy. We don't have a lot of time to sell stuff as I will likely not come back here after we go to see family for Christmas. My grandmother is in poor health and between the kids and being preggo I can't help move stuff anyways. We're hoping I stay with family at Christmas and DH and my dad coming back here to move our belongings. I'll meet back up with them at this point.

Keep the ideas coming and thanks for all the contributions so far.

[texmati]

well... we hired a group of college kiddos to help us move-- There add was something like, we do anything for 10 dollars an hour (move, lawn mow, ect). The weren't proffessional movers, but they were an extra couple of hands when we needed it.

[lightheart]

it's a little something in saving space but start eating up all your food, so that you are not moving consumables.

Pack food and snacks for the road so that you don't buy overpriced foods when you stop at a gas station.

Also pack a box that's easy to get to with some quick meal ingrediants in it so that when you get to the new place you are not tempted to order meals in restaraunts.