Tips to Create a List of Moving Supplies for a Cheap Move
If you’ve ever moved house before, you know that it can be a pretty overwhelming process. There are all sorts of things you need to figure out, and all sorts of places where you may end up spending more cash than you may have originally thought. Moving supplies is one of the places where cost can get out of control without realizing it.
Cutting costs to stay within a budget is very helpful. But, how can you ensure that you get your moving supplies for cheap? Are you going to have to pay a lot of money so that you can pack things up correctly and as safely as you can? Here are some things you want to look at in order to lessen those costs.
Consider Renting a Truck and Moving Yourself
In some cases, you may just want to go ahead and take care of things on your own. If you’re doing a local move, it’s actually relatively affordable to get a moving truck rental for a day or two. But, you also need to have the manpower and patience to take care of it yourself.
Look into this option and talk to some family and friends who may be able to help you with this process. You’ll want to give them some sort of thank you – food and drink is pretty standard – but it is still going to be more affordable than what you’d see with any other options.
Find Free and Low-Cost Packing Materials
There are so many different types of packing materials out there nowadays, so you may have a much simpler time finding something that works for your budget. Low-cost options include packing peanuts and rolls of bubble wrap – but you can go further.
If you are ordering from online places in this in-between time, you may find that you’re getting packing materials from their boxes. On top of that, you can often go to stores and ask for the previous day’s newspapers, which work really well. If you’re willing to do a little bit of legwork, you can get the packing materials for fairly low costs.
Use Clothing as Packing Material
In some cases, you are going to have the packing material right there in your home, without buying anything. If you make sure that all of your clothing and bedding is as clean as possible, then you’ll be able to utilize it as part of the packing material inside of boxes.
Clothing can provide the same sort of function. It’s soft, and it provides something for your fragile items to bump up against so that they don’t get damaged. Plus, it ensures that you have places to actually put your clothing, instead of forcing you to pack it up in suitcases and other places.
Get Boxes from Local Businesses
Local businesses always have boxes available. Typically, they’ll just break them down and send them to recycling (or the dumpster, depending on your locality). But, if you go into a business and ask them if they can hold some boxes aside for you, they will likely oblige.
Your best options are to go to office buildings and to liquor stores. Office buildings typically have multiple businesses within them, and it’s likely that they are going to be using some sort of paper products there. Printer paper boxes (and other boxes that hold paper) can be really, really useful when you want to move books and other heavy things.
Liquor store boxes, on the other hand, are also heavy-duty, and they typically have dividers with them. That makes it really easy for you to pack knick-knacks and other fragile items carefully. You can also pack books in them; you’ll just have to take out the dividers.
Be Smart in How Much You Pack
As you’re putting together your supplies list, you need to be sure that you compare it with your inventory list. What exactly is going with you? Have you taken the time to split your items into “what’s going with me,” “what’s getting donated,” and “what’s getting tossed?” It’s time-intensive, but worth the effort that you put into the process.
If you take the time to do that, then you’re going to need fewer supplies to pack what is actually going with you. Fewer boxes, fewer inside materials – and thus, you can make a shorter, more affordable list of what you need to get your hands on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are vacuum-sealed bags worth it?
They may be. If you have a lot of items that can be compressed together, thus taking up less space and making it easier for you to pack things tightly, then it could be a pretty solid investment. There are reusable vacuum bags available, so you can have them handy for whatever you need them for.
Will shipping save me money?
Sometimes. You can ship books, CDs, and other “media” options as media mail, which is a whole lot cheaper than regular shipping costs. And, if you only have a handful of small to medium items that you can’t fit in your vehicle, you may find it cheaper to just go ahead and ship everything else. Look into shipping options and compare prices.
What should I get rid of to save money on my move?
Do you have older furniture you can replace affordably when you get to your new place? That’s a big one; obviously, you can’t replace antiques, but you can replace that old sofa you’ve used since you got married. Sometimes, just getting rid of the junk and clutter can be really helpful as you try to reduce just how much is coming with you.
You’ve Got Affordable Moving Supplies – Now What?
If you’re looking to make your move affordable, you’ll need to take some time and really put together a list of all of the supplies that you may need in order to make it a reality. Explore what’s out there and compare prices – you’re sure to put together a plan that makes all those supplies more affordable.
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