When it’s time to move, the first decision you are faced with is “Do you really need a moving company to help you move? Or should you just ( DIY Move )do it yourself with the assistance of some of your friends and family members?”
Almost anyone who intends to move is faced with this dilemna. In some cases the choice is obvious, but most of the time its a confusing situation to be in. The reason being that there’s no right answer.
Each move is different and therefore the answer to this question will be different for each individual move. Several factors can influence the answer in your case.
- Complexity of your move — How much stuff do you have? Do you have any special items that need extra care? Do you own a lot of expensive items?
- Time Constraints
- Moving Budget Constraints
- Availability of help for moving
- Your ability to drive a truck
All these questions will help you decide which of the available moving options is right for you. Below are somethings to consider before making the decision:
How Much Stuff Are You Moving?
First, you need to decide what you’re moving and what you’ll leave behind. If you intend to hire a moving company, how much stuff you’re moving will determine your costs. In order to have an idea of what you intend to move count the bedrooms in your house.
Several moving companies have a truck-size guide to give you an idea of what to expect when you’re moving.
Here is a typical sample:
- 26′ will move 4+ bedrooms
- 24′ will move 3-4 bedrooms
- 17′ will move 2-3 bedrooms
- 14′ will move 1-2 bedrooms
- 10′ will move an apartment
The bigger the truck you need, the harder it’ll be to move yourself, because you might not be comfortable driving a huge truck. In addition, there’s several state and federal laws that you need to abide by when driving a truck across state lines. It might be better to save yourself all the headache and just hire a moving company.
What kind of stuff are moving?
The kind of stuff in your home may be different from the stuff I have in my house. You may have a lot of delicate and expensive items, artwork, antiques that cost a lot and would be hard to replace if lost or damaged.
Handling things like pianos, antiques require special skills which your friend might not possess. Also some stuff could be large and heavy to carry down 2 or more floors. You could damage your furniture or the walls.
All these questions are important to consider before you make a choice whether to just handle it yourself of hire professionals.
Distance: Where Are You Moving To?
Moving to the next street will be definitely easier than moving across the country. Distance is one of the single most important factors you must consider when you’re moving. Long Distance moves can be really taxing and resource extensive.
When you hire a moving company for a long distance move, a lot of things are included in your moving cost. Things like, truck, fuel, tolls, insurance, driving time etc are examples of things included in your moving estimate.
Not having to worry about any of those things could make your life a lot easier in case of a long move. On the other hand, if you are just moving a few blocks, scenario might be very different. Try and figure this out before you make the decisions to hire movers or DIY move.
Compare the estimated costs to the costs of hiring a moving company. Then you can make a reasonable decision between moving yourself and hiring movers. You may search online for quotes of moving companies. You can use our moving quotes tool to get accurate quotes from moving companies and get comparing.
Here are some additional questions that’ll help you make up your mind.
- Do you have additional help? Friends, family, neighbors or colleagues that can lend a hand?
- Are you confident that you can move your household goods safely?
- Will you need to rent additional equipment/supplies/hired-hands to move larger items such as appliances?
- How much time will it take to pack your things, load your things and drive it all to your new destination?
- Do you have fragile or special items that will require special handling? Can you move these items yourself? If not, what will it cost to move them?
- Are you aware of hidden costs that can creep into your move, such as additional insurance or packing supplies?
Now you may carefully weigh your options, and consider if you should hire movers or just do it yourself.
