Author Topic: General tips for moving?  (Read 4097 times)

TheGadfly

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General tips for moving?
« on: July 23, 2014, 02:52:52 PM »
Hi,

Next week, my wife and I are moving from Washington, DC to greener pastures in Ann Arbor, MI.  Does anyone have any good tips for moving?

Moving is expensive no matter what you do or where you go.  Still, I am determined to make this move as cost-efficient as possible:

- Renting a 10' Budget Truck (with a 20% discount through my employer).
- selling/purging as much stuff as possible before loading it into the truck.
- The trip is about 530 miles total and I plan to drive in a way that maximizes MPG.

In dollars, it should look like this:

Truck Rental..............$445
Liability coverage......$105 (this is a guess)
Gas...........................$200
Tolls............................$35 (I think)
Hotel...........................$80 (Due to the way our leases end and start this is necessary unless we want to sleep in the truck)
Food...........................$20 (we will pack snacks)

Total: $885 

Since this is the minimum I expect to spend, I'll be happy if I can move for less than $900.

Can I do better?  I'll take any advice (tips for fuel efficiency, ways to get better rental rates, etc.) Anything?

Thanks

CommonCents

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2014, 03:02:39 PM »
Veteran of about 25 moves in just under 35 years, as first a military brat and then roommate downsizing/grad school attending/moving in with husband/buying house:

Purge and purge again.  Sell low value but big or heavy furniture of no sentimental value and buy at the other end.

Ask friends, family and nearby businesses for free boxes

Buy any remaining boxes from Home Depot/Lowes (never a moving company)

I splurge on buying the paper there too (we save ours move to move, but no one does that so its no use ask friends) rather than using used newsprint, because newsprint will get your dishes and glasses dirty which causes a lot of stress to wash on the other end.

If you want a mattress cover, buy it there as well (never a moving company)

Use towels, stuffed animals, linens etc as packing material when possible to cut down on paper.

Pack boxes full, they will be more secure and not shift content.

Pack the truck full, they will be more secure and not shift.  Take your time to really do this well or you'll risk broken stuff.

Pack dishes - pack end on end, not as they are stored on top of each other in your cabinets right now.  They are sturdier this way and less apt to break.

Label boxes so you know what is in what box

Don't overpack boxes.  Use the book boxes for heavy items.  Big boxes are for light items.

Buy a lot of duct tape at Home Depot/Lowes.  You need more than you think, and you can return anything unused.

Research your trip to make sure you're not headed under a bridge lower than your truck.  See that happen every fall in Boston with Sept 1 move day.

frugaliknowit

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2014, 04:31:47 PM »
From my moving experience, a 10' truck sounds awfully small.  The tighter you have to pack it, the more tricky the packing is.  If you happen to be wrong and the truck is too small, then you're in deep.  I would think for 2 people a 17' truck would be better and not cost much more.

Start packing way ahead of time.  Seek out sources of free boxes (grocery stores and high rise apartment buildings).  For clothes that tend to wrinkle, buy the "wardrobe" boxes so you can hang them and won't have to re-press or dry clean them after you unpack.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2014, 04:42:09 PM »
Look in the Free section on craigslist for moving boxes. We have gotten moving boxes there, and also given them away.

Wait--you're moving next week? Get cracking! You don't have much time left to sell stuff and pack.

BlueHouse

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2014, 04:53:08 PM »
Call moving companies and ask if they recycle moving boxes. Mine did (sterling VA) , and i got over forty almost new boxes and wardrobes and picture boxes free.  Plus they carried them to my car. Call ahead and ask them what days have the best selection. Thursday afternoons and Saturdays worked great for me.  Trying to remember moving company name because your local. Two letter name. See trucks on 267 all the time.

GreenPen

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2014, 07:14:32 PM »
Your ordinary auto insurance should cover the Budget truck and liability, just like a rental car. I have State Farm Auto, but without collision. Before I moved, they let me add collision with the lowest-possible deductible for just a few days (I officially had to purchase the plan for six months, which they promptly refunded when I changed it back). I talked to the agent ahead of time to make sure collision would cover the truck, which it did. So I was able to cover the truck for just a few bucks.

I got boxes from Trader Joe's and another grocery store (and later gave them away on the Craigslist free section). I called in advance at Trader Joe's, and they even helped load the boxes into my car.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2014, 08:07:33 PM »
Your ordinary auto insurance should cover the Budget truck and liability, just like a rental car. I have State Farm Auto, but without collision. Before I moved, they let me add collision with the lowest-possible deductible for just a few days (I officially had to purchase the plan for six months, which they promptly refunded when I changed it back). I talked to the agent ahead of time to make sure collision would cover the truck, which it did. So I was able to cover the truck for just a few bucks.

I did exactly the same thing with Geico--upped my insurance to full coverage for a week, which hardly cost me anything at all. I didn't even have to pay the bill until after I had dropped it, so it was negligible. That gave me coverage for the truck if I broke it, plus anything I hit. The only thing it didn't cover was my belongings. (Rental insurance covered those for theft and fire. Had we broken our stuff in an accident, we would have been SOL.) So there's like a hundred bucks you can save right there!

TheGadfly

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2014, 03:00:46 PM »
Thanks for the advice!

I have been saving boxes from my employer for several months now so that's covered.

Fortunately, I don't own a car but, unfortunately, I don't have any kind of insurance of my own.  I'm going to have to pay for the coverage Budget provides (which won't be cheap).

As for frugaliknowit's concern, 10' will be plenty.  My wife and I are young and haven't accumulated a lot of stuff.  In fact, this move is also an opportunity for us to shed away our crappy Ikea furniture.  Incidentally, folks in DC actually pay top dollar for used Ikea furniture.  Go figure.

Thanks again everyone!

Russ

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Re: General tips for moving?
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2014, 03:35:38 PM »
Fortunately, I don't own a car but, unfortunately, I don't have any kind of insurance of my own.  I'm going to have to pay for the coverage Budget provides (which won't be cheap).

your credit card (if you have one) may also cover this. check into it