Raise your hand if you love moving.
Crickets.
Thought so.
It’s a sweaty, back-achey, lost-boxy and something’s-definitely-gonna-breaky day. Sure, your new place awaits on the other end, but right now? You’re fantasizing about teleportation.
And you’re about to shell out a small fortune for all this hassle. (Hopefully not literally, but you’d be amazed at what you’ll do to get a couch up six flights of stairs.)
Let’s take some of the sting out of it.
Here are four practical moving-day tips from a writer who trimmed nearly $500 off her last move.
1. Haggle Your Move-In Date
Big life transitions don’t always line up with the first of the month. Maybe you’re ready to move on the 7th or the 17th. Why fund a week or more of rent when you’re not even living there?
Ask your new landlord to prorate rent. In a competitive rental market you might not get your ideal date, but you could shave off a few days and keep a few (hundred) dollars in your pocket.
2. Sell What You Don’t Need
Furniture. Sweaters that are so last season. Books — those painfully heavy things you can’t explain why you still own.
Bulky items drive up moving costs. They’re either another thing you pay movers to carry or more cubic feet you need in a rental truck.
Put anything you’re willing to part with on Craigslist, Facebook or one of these apps:
- letgo lets you photograph nearly any item you want to sell and post it in under 30 seconds.
- Decluttr buys old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games, plus devices like phones, tablets, game consoles and iPods.
- Bookscouter helps you unload old textbooks. Search by ISBN to compare offers from more than 25 reputable buyback services.
You can always replace things — often for free — once you’ve settled into the new place. Chances are you’ll realize you didn’t miss them much anyway.
3. Talk With Your Current Landlord
Getting your apartment ready to vacate is a potential minefield.
Was that chip in the front window there before you moved in? Will they ding you for not filling nail holes? Can you leave the closet shelves you installed?
Don’t gamble. Ask your landlord directly. Send an email so you have a written record of their reply to prevent any disputes.
4. NEVER Buy Boxes
Despite the mountains of cardboard tossed from neighbors or stacked from deliveries at the local grocery store, many people pay for new boxes when moving.
Instead, scavenge your building’s recycling area. Or politely ask neighbors if they have extras, if you don’t mind a little human contact.
Or my favorite: Find out when nearby supermarkets and retailers receive shipments and stop by later in the day to collect empty boxes.
If you’re outgoing, introduce yourself to someone moving into your building and reuse their empty boxes. You can bet those boxes are move-worthy.
Whatever route you take, don’t buy boxes!
One more tip…
Heading Cross-Country?
Think about shipping everything — including yourself — instead of driving. It can be the most cost-effective option for a long-distance move.
Disclosure: Our friends got tired of us scavenging couch cushions for spare change. We accept affiliate links so we still get invited to the occasional gathering.
Dana Sitar (@danasitar) is a senior writer at Savinly. She’s contributed to Huffington Post, Entrepreneur.com, Writer’s Digest and others, sprinkling humor where it fits (and sometimes where it doesn’t).
