Moving companies are prepared to provide full service moves. Each move is different, however, and different people have different needs and budgets.
Local moves (moves within a radius of approximately 100 miles) are generally charged by the hour. The more the moving company does, the more the move costs. There are some things you can do to save money on local moves.
Be organized and ready to move
Having all packing done and all furniture items totally cleared of knick-knacks and other small items, as well as having a clear pathway from the door to all areas of the house, will make your move go more quickly and save you money.
Do some or all of your own packing
Professional moving companies are fully prepared to do all of your packing for you. On a local move, however, the cost of packing everything into cartons can often exceed the cost of just moving your belongings. You can save a substantial amount of money by doing some or all of your own packing.
Disconnect and reconnect your own appliances
Disconnecting and reconnecting washers, dryers and refrigerator ice-makers can be time-consuming and doing this yourself will save you money. Additionally, most moving companies are reluctant to reconnect appliances, particularly gas lines to dryers and some moving companies will simply refuse to do it.
Disassemble and reassemble furniture items
Certain items must be disassembled before being moved. For example: beds must be taken apart, tops must be disconnected from two part hutches and mirrors must be removed from dressers. Also, dining room tables usually need to have the legs removed. Doing disassembly and reassembly yourself will save you money.
Centralize cartons
At the loading location boxes centralized in the garage or other central location near the door can be moved into the moving van more quickly than boxes scattered throughout the house. Ideally, boxes should be placed in stacks of similar sized boxes four to five feet high so that they can be readily dollied from the house to the moving van.
At delivery each box can be placed in its specific room or all boxes can be placed in a central location. Placing boxes in a central location saves time and money, particularly when that location is the garage.
Move small items yourself
Boxes and many smaller items such as lamps, mirrors, wall hangings, pictures and plants are time-consuming to move, can often be moved in a pickup truck or even a car and do not necessarily require the special equipment used by a moving company. One way to save a substantial amount of money is to move these smaller items yourself and have the moving company move your major furniture only.
