Bad Moving Advice That Can Derail The Whole Process
Moving is a big process that often seems simple enough when just getting started. Yet, you could easily become overwhelmed when you realize just how much stuff you have, how many boxes you'll need, and the sheer amount of time that goes into moving. The U.S. Census Bureau states that, in 2021, 27.1 million people moved from one home to another, and 29.8 million moved in 2020. This is something many people have to do over time, so it shouldn't be so hard, right?
For anyone planning a move, it may be that every one of your friends and family seems to have advice on how to make it happen. Most people mean well, but sometimes, taking the wrong advice could be disastrous for your move, especially if it ends up causing delays or higher costs. Moving is stressful, and you want to make it as easy as possible. Here are some of the most important tips that you want to avoid to ensure a stress-free move.
1. Just use any old box
You may get a lot of advice on finding boxes to pack everything up in. Some people may recommend all of those boxes that come in the mail to use or to visit a local retailer to request free boxes. After all, free is good, right? The problem is that some boxes are inferior and may easily cause your belongings to fall through. That's especially true in situations where the boxes have a weak bottom or lack any type of easy way to carry them like openings for your hands.
The Home Depot offers recommendations on choosing the best boxes for your move. Select based on the strength of the box, which can be determined by looking at the bursting strength and edge crush strength. Moving boxes typically provide this information on them when purchased. Also, consider the weight of the box as a box that's super heavy is already adding a lot of weight to the process. Choose boxes meant for moving for the best results.
2. You can save some stuff to pack the day of the move
Moving is a complex and long process, often requiring a number of days of packing and planning. It's often best to pack over time so that you don't become overwhelmed. Yet, one piece of advice some may give you is to leave some items to pack the day of your move. While that may sound OK for a few items, if you leave anything substantial to pack, it will slow you down on moving day, making the entire process more difficult.
Whatever packing you can do early on, do so, according to U-Haul. If you wait too long to pack up everything, it will create a disorganized mess and often leads to rushing, and that could mean a higher risk for items to be damaged in the move. Instead, pack everything possible by the day before your move.
3. Wait until the weekend to move
Another misconception is that moving on the weekend is the best bet. Often people will say you should move on a Friday. Sometimes you don't have much of a choice and need to move on whatever day is available. However, moving on the weekend can be challenging because you'll need to find movers that are available. Since this is the most popular day to move, according to The Professionals Moving Specialists, it could be harder to find those movers.
Better days to move are between Monday and Thursday because there is a significantly lower level of demand for professionals. Even if you have to miss work to move on this day, it could be worth it for potentially lower cost, and allows you more time on the coming weekend to organize your home. Before you book your Friday moving, talk to the movers about opportunities to save some money if you move during the week.
4. Just have friends do it
Some people may worry about the cost of moving and recommend getting a group of friends together to do it yourself. The national average cost to move is between $4,000 and $8,600, according to Fixr. Renting a box truck or using a friend's pickup sounds like a better, more affordable option.
However, there is a lot that goes into moving, especially to ensure your items are safely transported with minimal to no damage. Moving.com states professional movers are not inexpensive investments but it's nearly always worth it to hire them. That's going to save you time in your move and aid in the hard tasks, like carrying in that heavy dresser or carefully transporting that heirloom mirror. Choose a moving company you can trust with solid reviews, and ask for the best price possible to keep costs as low as they can be while still getting superior service.