How do I move house cheaply?

SuzySu

Hi - I have posted this on the house selling board, but as this is where I feel most at home (excuse the pun) I thought I would post here as well.

We are due to be completing in the next few weeks and we need to start packing up our house. We are trying to move ourselves to save money but not sure where to start.

Do any of you know where I can get some boxes (we will need more than can be found scouting round local supermarkets as we have a 3-bed house) and will need extras such as bubble wrap etc.

Also, any ideas about who to use for moving? I have googled man with a van and got a quote for about £168 which is a medium sized van plus a driver who helps load/unload for 3 hours (not including journey time). Does that sound reasonable. It will take us for ever moving stuff in my car and we could not cope with things like sofa, beds etc.

Any advice with regards to moving house the MSE way will be greatly appreciated.

OliveOyl_2

Good luck with your move, I hope you'll be happy in your new home.

I have seen a number of requests and offers on our Freecycle for boxes suitable for moving. Certainly we had LOADS when we moved and I've given them out regularly since. (People keep giving them back :rotfl: )

And the best hint I can give is to be really organised ahead, then you'll take fewer journeys. LABEL everything, LABEL LABEL LABEL!

Though DS1 labelled all his boxes with his name's stuff, and then had no idea what was in each box.:rotfl:

marksandsparksgal

Do you have any friends or family that could help you for the day? And then give a dinner party when you're in and settled as way of a thank you? And also, ask around for old newspaper, that's brilliant for packing!

I second freecycle, or even ebay if there is nothing on freecycle for packaging materials.

SuzySu

Awww.....sweet. Thanks. I'll try Freecycle. BTW....haven't got a new home to go to yet, but that's a whole new story.

Miia

Is it worth checking out how much a van would cost to rent and you drive it yourselves? Do you have anyone else who could help?

However, the man with the van doesn't seem unreasonable for 3 hours work and it is another pair of hands.

When we moved a lovely friend offered to help and borrowed his brother's truck which was brilliant. What he failed to tell me was that it was a flat bed truck (completely open) so we turned up like the Clampett's (not that I cared).

Idiophreak

SuzySu wrote: »

Also, any ideas about who to use for moving? I have googled man with a van and got a quote for about £168 which is a medium sized van plus a driver who helps load/unload for 3 hours (not including journey time). Does that sound reasonable.

As above, have you looked at just renting a van to drive yourself?

My mates moved and paid something liike £50 for a long-wheelbase transit for the day - might save a few pennies, if you don't need the extra hands.

Tigger1983

Get the mwv to move all the big stuff then take your time over the rest. Draft in friends, neighbours and family to help. Also, ask around, every time we move we find someone with proper packing boxes sat up in the loft and borrow or dispose of them at the end. You could also try asking at supermarkets...we couldn't have managed with the ones they leave out but if you time it around a delivery time they often have some better ones.
Clothes packed in bin bags fit nicely in little spaces as well. Also ask around for newspaper for packing (we even used clothes when we ran out).

Tig x

SuzySu

Thanks all for your replies - some good ideas there. I have registered on Freecycle but don't have the time to have a proper look so I'll do that when I get home.

There's no man around to help with the heavier items such as the sofa bed so an extra pair of hands will be very useful. Neighbours not much use and family not near enough to help so it will just be the two of us and the kids but should be fun.

I will look at hiring a van myself and see how it compares.

marksandsparksgal

I second the idea about boxes, as the name suggests I worked for m&s for 6 years and the amount of boxes we had was amazing, and only went to be recycled after they'd been unpacked, so I think your local supermarket would let you have some for free, as you'd probably be doing them a favour!

tyllwyd

About bubble wrap and packing tape - if you can't find any for free, try office supplies websites to buy in bulk.

phantom9999

when we moved we hired a van - the largest I could drive on my car licence and made a few trips. The big firms charge a lot for insurance which is very hard to claim on... last time my parents moved some crockery got smashed but the insurance small print said you needed to get replacement quotes to them in 10 days. also they charged only £300ish less for a journey of half a mile compared to a journey of about 100 miles.