Moving by Yourself May Save You Some Money! Or So You Thought…

In this article, we describe DIY moving procedure step by step. We review major things to consider when moving by Yourself such as your time, efforts and money you would spend when not using professional moving companies. We also discuss most important self-moving pros and cons

Rent a moving truck. If you’re tackling the moving by yourself, then you’ll need to arrange to pick up a moving truck on the morning of the move. Make this arrangement well in advance, or it may be tricky to rent a truck exactly when you want it for a reasonable price during a busy moving season. Compare the prices of a few companies before making your decision.Pick up your truck on the morning of the move. Get there early to avoid waiting in a line on a busy moving day.
Pack your moving truck. Packing your moving truck won’t be a big challenge if you plan in advance and have the help of a few trusted friends when you do it. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you pack your moving truck:

• Remember that you will need at least two people to handle things other than lifting and hauling. They will need to organize the things that need to be loaded by keeping the packed boxes close to the door easily accessible.
• Disassemble your furniture. Take apart any lamps, tables with removable legs, bookshelves, and entertainment systems.
• Protect your furniture. Wrap all of your items with packing paper and tape as you load them into the truck.
• Load the heaviest items first, into the back of the truck. This includes your fridge, washer, dryer, and other appliances, as well as your heaviest boxes.
• Load the heaviest boxes. Stack them like bricks to form layers of walls that fill the back of the truck. Use T-stacks to make the boxes more stable: make each vertical seam make a T with the horizontal layer below it, like bricks in a house. Avoid vertical pillars of similar sized boxes. To maximize space, it is essential to stack high, stable walls early on.
• Next, load your longer items into the truck. This includes your bed and shelves. Lean them against the sides of the truck.
• Pack your remaining boxes into the truck. Create three layers of boxes which includes the heaviest boxes on the bottom, the medium-sized boxes in the middle, and the lightest boxes on top. Once you’re done with each layer, tape it together with packing tape.
• Put in your remaining items. The trick is to make everything fit snugly together, but don’t pack it so tight that it looks ready to explode.
• When using the ramp of a box van, such as the vans pictured, make sure the ramp has been fitted into place: once you have fully extended the ramp from under the truck, you will find two prongs that will fit into slots on the lip of the van’s cargo space. This will ensure that the ramp is flush with the lip, and make it a breeze to use the dolly. This step is often overlooked.
• Make sure the dolly is one of the last things to get loaded, so you will have it as soon as you arrive at the new house.

When using the ramp of a box van, such as the vans pictured, make sure the ramp has been fitted into place: once you have fully extended the ramp from under the truck, you will find two prongs that will fit into slots on the lip of the van’s cargo space. This will ensure that the ramp is flush with the lip, and make it a breeze to use the dolly. This step is often overlooked. Make sure the dolly is one of the last things to get loaded, so you will have it as soon as you arrive at the new house.

Drive your truck to your new location. Carefully drive the truck to your new home. Be prepared to drive slower and more carefully than you would in a car. Driving a moving truck takes a big adjustment. Remember to go slowly and stay calm, because the drive may be stressful.

Unload your stuff. If at all possible, back the truck up to the new house so that the ramp will extend onto the porch. Use all of your crew as spotters to make sure you are clear of any obstacles. When you are close to the porch, extend the ramp and hook it in place, and have a crew member carry the opposite end. Most ramps will not latch properly unless the end is on the ground. Once you have the ramp set up, here’s how you can unload your stuff:

• Have a plan for where you’re going to put the large items in each room. Do a walk through with the movers, and show them where the larger items go, such as the sofas, TV, cabinets, beds, dressers, nightstands, etc.
• Choose where to put the boxes and small items in each room based on that. That way the boxes won’t be in the way when the big furniture comes in. And you won’t have to move the boxes again. You can put Post-it notes on the wall if necessary.

Return your moving truck. You will have arranged whether you will do this the same day or the next morning.

Pros.:

1. Another reason to workout for muscles and brain. Moving by yourself is a hard work, besides heavy lifting, it requires thorough planning. All heavy items should be properly protected with moving blanket and wrapping plastic in order not to damage it during the handling and/or transporting.
2. Meet your friends again and throw a moving party. You would need them if you want to successfully move your couch e.t.c.
3. Save some money. Well, this is very questionable. First, think of how much more time you would spend moving by yourself even if you have twice more friends coming over then movers you would hire. For all this time you would need to pay for moving truck rental rate, not mentioning tools and moving devices you would need to pay extra for.

Cons.:

1. Potential damage. Remember when moving by yourself your furniture covered by no insurance.
2. Time-consuming. Lacking professional experience requires you to learn on the go which can take lots of time
3. Stressful and counterproductive. You have so many things to take care of, besides the actual moving. For example transferring you SDG&E account and internet, signing your lease agreement e.t.c.

You got it! Now you decide what you would choose. We hope you consider hiring Cheap Movers San Diego as true professionals with a decade of experience in residential moving. Check our rates and book online or call 619-880-MOVE for free estimate