Moving across the country can be quite expensive and stressful. It requires a lot of planning and giving up the things you may not need in your new location. Plenty of difficult decisions to make. According to Prime Texas Movers, a couple of things can influence the price of the moving service, and they include the distance they need to cross, the number of rooms you’re moving with you, any special requests you may have.
Did you know that on the lists of the most stressful events of one’s life, moving is number three? Who would have thought…? Yet we find a way to cope with it.
Just thinking about the amount of furniture, wardrobe, decorations, dishes and kitchen appliances, books, you need to pack, a panic attack is most likely to strike you and you may as well give up on the whole thing. Re-think if it was such a good idea in the first place. The thing that makes this process even more difficult, is that you have to do it on a budget.
However, there’s a catch. It’s in good preparation. Good preparation is the only way for the moving process not to turn into complete chaos and torture. Limited resources are not an excuse for failure. Don’t expect it to go easy either, but if you take your time, you should be fine. Some statistics showed that if you need to pack and move a fifty square meters apartment, you should plan the process for at least a month if you want to make it smooth and stress-free.
Here are some more useful tips on how to move on a budget.
Start on Time
We gave you a hint earlier about how important it is to start on time and how you can assess the time you need to prepare everything neatly, based on how many square meters you live in. Additionally, it is useful to pack things from each room separately.
Mark the packed boxes, suitcases, and bags from one room so that you can see where each item is at any time. It is best to make stickers in a different color for each room. And for every box, you can attach a list of the things that it contains. This way, even if you get lost, you won’t have to dig through the boxes to find out what they contain.
Prioritize
It is unlikely you will need all your possessions in the new place of residence. Maybe the place you’ll be living in already has some appliances and furniture that you do not need to take from your old home. Explore what it already has, then based on that make a priority list containing stuff you’ll need the most. Those you can live without, simply put on a garage sale and make some money to increase your moving budget.
Don’t forget to measure huge house appliances such as the refrigerator, washing machine, closet, sofa, and other bulky items. When you do that, check if they can fit in a new space, if they can be carried through some door or hallway. Measure the entrances to the new building and apartment, corridors, and other narrow passages. Keep in mind, every single thing you decide to take with you will cost to transport.
Additionally, most of the time during the move is spent packing and unpacking, so don’t waste time on things you haven’t used in years. Use this opportunity to get rid of them.
Create a Checklist
Here’s a tip coming from the professional moving services. From their experience, creating a checklist of all the things you need to do while moving on a budget, is priceless.
Take your time, sit with yourself and put those tasks on a piece of paper.
Set the Moving Date as Early as Possible
Whether you are moving alone or hiring a moving agency, make an appointment on time and specify the time for transportation in an hour. Hiring a professional moving agency might end up cheaper, therefore browse through their offer and see how much money it will cost you to hire them. Pick the one that fits best to your budget size.
If you’ve decided to be the organizer of your cross country moving, take a look at the long-term weather forecast as well, as weather conditions are essential for a move to go smoothly and damage things. Each damage you suffer will affect your budget.
If you can, select the most affordable moving season
Some things we can influence, some not. But if you are in a position of influencing when you’re going to move, then check what time will be the most affordable. At times, moving is cheaper in certain seasons. Therefore, when you check the offer of the moving agencies, also check if they offer seasonal discounts. If they do, it’s a great opportunity, not to be missed.
Find an affordable storage container
Since you’re moving, transporting as many things as possible at once will save you money for gas and movable storage container rent. If you’ve been following the advice stated above, you’ve managed to organize all the boxes neatly, and get rid of the things you do not need. Therefore, filling in the storage container should be a piece of cake. One additional advantage these storages have is that you can rent them for a period of time and slowly fill it in with the things you’re moving. As you pack them, without additional stress.
The point of moving on a budget is to save money wherever possible. Every single dollar counts, therefore whatever comes to your mind you can get for free, go for it. For instance, do not buy cardboard boxes, since you’ll be needing plenty. Better pay a visit to the local supermarket and ask if they have some spare boxes to give. Things like this will keep your moving budget low.
