How to reduce transportation expenses when moving

Moving from one place to another inevitably involves traveling from your old home to the new one. But that’s not all – you must also get all your belongings to your new address as well. And considering how much stuff you probably own, transporting all of it will be a big deal. It is this transportation that you pay for when you hire movers NH. But transporting all that stuff can get expensive fast. And we all want to cut costs wherever we can. So you may be looking for ways to reduce transportation expenses when moving. Luckily for you, we have a few suggestions that can help.

Reduce transportation expenses when moving by doing most of the work yourself

When you hire a full service moving company for a local relocation, you can save money by not getting all the services they offer. This is because local movers NH typically charge by the hour. The longer they spend in your home, packing your belongings, loading the truck, and more, the more their help will cost you. While handling preparing for the move by yourself may not directly impact transportation costs (you are still paying for the truck, the driver, and the fuel, after all), it’ll reduce your overall moving expenses.

Pack and unpack by yourself

Most moving companies in NH offer professional packing and unpacking services and sell packing supplies. There are numerous advantages to letting your moving company handle this step of the relocation: you can be sure the packing materials are of high quality, your stuff will be packed in a way that ensures its safety, and the entire process will be much more efficient and less stressful. But all this comes at a cost. So if you want to save money on your relocation, you’d be better off gathering cheap or free packing supplies from local stores and doing the packing and unpacking yourself.

Hire labor only services

To ensure they offer the best possible service, reputable moving companies only hire experienced and well-trained expert movers. When you hire movers, you can be sure you’re getting someone who knows what they’re doing. But that is why moving companies are able to charge so much for their services. If you want to save money, you can hire a company that offers labor-only services instead. These companies typically hire young, physically fit, and able people who will do the heavy lifting for you. They can help with relocation but that’s not what they specialize in. However, their services are typically significantly cheaper.

Rent a moving truck and DIY the whole relocation

If you really want to save on moving labor, then you can also do the entire relocation by yourself. This is the most difficult option but it does tend to be the cheapest. All you’ll really need to spend money on is the specialized equipment you don’t already have. But you can rent a moving truck and things like moving dollies and straps for less than you’d probably pay movers. The big downside, of course, is that you have to be willing to put in the work yourself.

Reduce transportation expenses when moving by having fewer things

If you’re moving long-distance, you can’t do it yourself. Long-distance relocations are more complicated and difficult than local ones so it’s best not to leave things to chance. But then you’ll face different problems because long distance movers NH usually don’t charge by the hour – they charge by weight and distance. You can’t exactly change the distance, but you can lower the weight of your shipment and with it the price of transportation.

Declutter before moving

The best way to significantly reduce the amount of stuff you’re bringing with you is to declutter before you relocate. This has mutliple benefits:

• you’ll get rid of unnecessary clutter that was just taking up space and gathering dust in your home
• you can help others by donating to charities, giving things away, and selling your stuff
• you’ll get to start your life in a new home clutter-free
• packing and unpacking will be easier with fewer belongings
• you can replace old furniture or appliances with new and better models
• you’ll pay less for packing materials, storage space, and of course, transportation.

Use storage

When you’re moving long distance, your belongings usually spend some time in storage anyway between being picked up at your old home and delivered to your new address. But you can also use storage to lower the cost of transportation. If storage units are conveniently located closer than your new home, you can have your belongings taken to storage instead of your home. Then you can take them out of storage yourself when you’re ready. Or you may even find that having the extra space storage provides works for you and leave some of your belongings there. Either way, you’ll probably pay less than you would for delivery to your new home.

Reduce transportation expenses when moving by getting creative

If you’re not in a hurry with your relocation, you may be able to experiment with not-so-typical moving plans in ways that save you money. This won’t work for every relocation every time. But it may be worth exploring sometimes.

Move in stages

We usually imagine an ideal move to go something like this: you decide to move, you buy a new home, you pack, you have your belongings delivered to your new address, you unpack. But it doesn’t have to be like that. There may be a period of time where your new home is available while your old home is still in your possession. If that’s the case and you have some time to spare, you can try moving gradually – taking some of your belongings to your new home every time you visit for some reason or specifically driving there with some of your belongings a couple of time. That way you can move by yourself without even renting a moving truck which can save you a lot of money. Just be careful to keep track of how much you’re spending on gas!

Get help from friends

You know what they say: a friend in need is a friend indeed. Well, if you’re in need of help to reduce transportation expenses when moving, there are probably at least a few friends you can rely on for help. Ask them to come over to your place and help you pack! Many of them probably have cars and can help with transport as well. Some takeout and a few beers is going to cost you less than professional movers, that’s for sure. But be careful: none of you really know what you’re doing. The risk of damaged belongings and even injuries will be higher with this method.