7 Moving Hacks to Help Streamline Your Move

When it comes time to move, it’s important to have a plan. Whether you’re moving an entire house or from apartment to apartment, it’s important to be prepared in order to keep your move on track. These clever moving hacks will help you streamline your move and stay organized.

Use Boxes of the Same Size

While you may be tempted to get boxes anywhere you can to move your belongings, buying a stack of boxes all the same size can be a lifesaver. When you are moving over a period of time, you can begin packing up each room in your house slowly. With boxes that are all the same size, you can easily stack the boxes in the corner of a room without worrying about the tower of boxes falling over.

Look for Free Boxes

Stores and moving companies charge excessively high prices for boxes – so before you buy, try to get free boxes first. Ask friends and family, check with your employer and look on sites like Craigslist or Nextdoor to see if any of your neighbors are giving away boxes for cheap or free. Also, ask local businesses, like liquor stores or grocery stores, if they are willing to give you their empty boxes.

If you’re patient enough to do some searching, you’re likely to save yourself a good amount of dough. The boxes might not be the same size, but this is an essential moving hack to save money!

Use Different Colored Permanent Markers

Label every single box, even if you think you’ll remember what is inside. You can choose a specific color of permanent marker for each room in your home, making it easy to move your belongings when it comes time. All the red-labeled boxes go in the kitchen, the blue-labeled ones in the living room, making it simple for others to help you when you are ready for your new home.

Throw Away Stuff You Don't Want

The less stuff you have to move, the easier the move will be on you. Take the time to go through your belongings and get rid of anything you haven’t used in a year or more.

This is also a great time to ditch gifts you don't have a use for but haven't had the heart to throw away. "It got lost in the move" is a valid excuse!

Sell and Donate Decent Items

When you're moving, you'll find lots of stuff you don't want, but would feel guilty tossing away. It's time to sell or donate them.

Get rid of that old set of skates or roller blades in the back of your closet, or sell furniture you do not want in your new home. A moving sale gives you the opportunity to sell your gently used items for a few extra dollars that can help pay for the moving truck. Facebook Marketplace and Nextdoor are good places to sell items for cash.

Donate any remaining items to a charity of your choice. By donating the items, you get a tax deduction for the value of the items. Keep the receipt to prove the donation, particularly if you give up large and expensive items, like a vehicle or furniture. Goodwill is a nonprofit that will provide you with an itemized receipt of your donated goods.

Research Your Move Options

As a general rule, it is far more cost effective to rent a moving truck and move your items personally rather than hire a moving company. You can still hire laborers to help with the heavy lifting for a fraction of the cost of a full-service haul from point A to point B.

If you’re moving cross-country, it may be beneficial for you to hire a service like PODS or their many competitors. These companies bring storage containers to your house that you load at your convenience. Then, they will transport them to your destination and will store them for you. When you’re ready to move into your new place, they’ll bring your stuff to you and you can unload it at your own pace. The service is super convenient – and by only having to sign up for one service, rather than paying for movers, a truck, and storage in multiple cities – you can save a good amount of green.

Use a Moving Checklist

There’s lots to do as you prepare to move, and it can be difficult to stay organized. That’s why you should have a master list of all your to-do’s that you keep in an easy-to-remember place. Be sure to add things like finalizing moving dates, updating your address, enrolling your kids in school, and so on.

Moving is a stressful and expensive time, but it doesn’t have to be a cause for white hairs. If you're looking for a new home to buy — or still have a home to sell — and need some help, our partners at Clever Real Estate can help. With Clever, you can list your home for just a 1% fee (or $3,000 for home sales below $350,000), which can save you thousands in closing costs. And if you're buying a home, you can get up to 0.5% cash back in 41 states that allow homebuying rebates, just for using a Clever partner agent.

Want to learn more? Connect with a Clever agent to see how much you can save — and get some solid advice on where you should buy in your new town. Fill out the form below to get started and match with a local agent — it's free!

Related Reading

Posted in Moving