Mrs. T and I spent this past weekend moving from our old apartment to our new house. The moving itself went really smoothly and was much faster than I expected. It certainly helped to have 8 friends to help us move! Now Mrs. T and I just need to unpack all of the boxes and figure out where to store all the items. As someone who have just moved, here are 5 frugal moving tips that will help you save money.
1. Donate or sell unneeded items
Although Mrs. T and I are pretty good with not accumulating unnecessary items, we still ended up finding some items that left us asking why we had them in the first place. To reduce amount of things that needed to be packed for the move, we worked together on what we really need and what can be donated/sold.
Donating unneeded items is a great way to provide a helping hand to others in need. Selling items that are still valuable so you can get some money back in your pocket.
2. Don’t buy cardboard boxes
I was shocked how much cardboard boxes cost at Home Depot. The cheapest cardboard box available is almost a dollar! The cost adds up really quickly if you need 20 or more boxes. The best way to save money on cardboard boxes for packing is to find used ones. Here are some good places to find clean and great conditioned cardboard boxes:
- Work’s shipping department – if your work has one, check out the cardboard recycling bin
- Bookstores
- Grocery stores – sometimes you may need to call ahead
- Costco
- UPS/FexEx stores – sometimes you can take the used boxes from the recycling bin
3. Use newspaper for wrapping
Don’t use fancy bubble wraps for those fragile items. Use old newspaper instead. Wrap the fragile items very carefully and make sure to label the boxes as “Fragile.”
4. Ask friends for help
If you are moving locally, don’t hire movers. Send out an email and ask your friends for help. You can bribe them with a pizza lunch and a few cases of beer. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
5. Plan your packing schedule
Plan your packing schedule so you will pack the essential things last. For example, if you know you’re moving on Saturday, you want to leave a few kitchen items unpacked until the Friday night. Make sure you clean out as much items in the fridge/freezer as possible before the big moving day. It makes no sense to pack all the kitchen items and force yourself to dine out for multiple days.
Do you have any frugal moving tips?
I seriously cannot even stand moving, so I’m glad we’ve settled into our home and won’t be moving for some time. We never spend any money on moving – we have a truck and would never hire a mover – but it’s a huge pain. I love the first tip to get rid of unneeded items. After all, why spend the effort moving these things you don’t need.
Tawcan,
Wow. Eight friends? Those are some good friends. 🙂
We moved a while back with no car (we didn’t own a car at the time). We ended up hiring a friend of a friend, who happened to own a van, for $50. Best $50 I ever spent, but moving still sucks!
Good tips here.
Best regards.
Hi Dividend Mantra,
I guess I am lucky to have great friends. It’s great to get helping hands.
I honestly didn’t even know people actually went out and bought cardboard boxes! That’s crazy, yes as you mentioned just go to grocery store or a shipping place and they have more boxes than they know what to do with.
Another thing I often do when moving from one location to another is I try and do it all in one trip, saves on time, gas and labor. However i suppose that really depends on how many items you have to begin which brings us back to the first point of selling and donating old items. Nevertheless cool post and thanks for sharing!
Ace
Hi Ace,
Great advise on trying to do it all in one trip. Makes no sense to drive back and forth. This is why you should get rid of the unneeded items.