Moving Ourselves ????

[GJM]

We are moving from NJ to SC in the next couple of weeks. We are making this move ourselves! We have moved before ourselves but never more then an hour away, so when it came to packing I didn't bubble wrap and all that.

But now I am going to have to pack pretty decently so nothing breaks.

Does anyone know of a good (fairly cheap) place to get boxes and bubble wrap? Any websites or stores I should go to.

Also anyone use a certain rental place to rent a truck from - is one better then the other.

DH thinks we can do this ourselves - I just see alot more stress on me!

Thanks for the help or ANY suggestions -

 

[tiggerlover]

As a retired military wife I have moved many times (about 13 times in 20 years) so I have learned a thing or two about packing and moving.

If you are selling your house check with your realtor, she or he may have another client who just moved in who would be willing to give you their boxes so they don't have to dispose of them. As far as wrapping material, use your towels to wrap some of your things, they are free and you have them on hand. I sometimes used the sheets and pillowcases too depending on what I was wrapping. You can also use your clothing to wrap things as well. I wouldn't use jeans, but t-shirts, flannel pj's etc work well. One move I wrapped all of our pictures in t's and then I would seperate each layer in the box with a doubled or tripled over sheet.

Good luck on your move!

 

[WDWAurora]

Don't rent from U-Haul. They tried to charge us WAY too much on one occasion, and on another they gave us a terrible truck. Penske was ok, but for the last move they wanted triple the price of Budget. Right now, Budget is my fave. We were also able to rent these moving quilts from them to pad furniture (12 for $12) which were really great. We had a MASSIVE truck and were pretty happy with it.

I don't just like moving. I'm a grad student, and graduated high school in 2000. Moved to dorm, apartment, then apartment, then home, then grad school, then to apartment with now husband, then new apartment this year with husband because our old ones were sold as condos. Since high school, I've only lived in the same place for more than a year once: junior and senior year of college. I'm starting to be a pro at moving, although we're ditching most of the furniture when we buy a house sometime next year.

 

[magiccouple2004]

we are doing a move ourselves too from va beach to knoxville and i am finding out that it is cheaper to do the move yourself as for boxes i found ours on a website called craislist and got them for free and as for the truck budget is by far the cheapest we are coming across...good luck!

 

[mecllap]

Crumpled newspaper is a little messy, but good for wrapping. Liquor stores are usually a good source for boxes (small enough not to get too heavy, and very sturdy). As previous poster noted -- finding someone who's just moved in is a great source for boxes and wrapping. U-Haul and other truck rental places sell all that stuff. You can check out rental trucks online and compare prices (we've used U-Haul recently for trailers -- they also install hitches on cars). You might also look online at Freecycle -- (I haven't checked on them, so not sure of web site, just have seen a little info about that as a source for all sorts of things). There might be a recycle place near you that has broken-down boxes that you could retape (and clean newspapers).

 

[marybet]

Don't use newspaper, way to messy. You can buy clean newsprint paper, you'll only need bubble warp for really delicate items. Call the moving companies and get prices on boxes and paper.

The last time we moved I packed but we had Two Men and a Truck move us. I got all my boxes from them and they delivered them for free and took back any I didn't use.

Pack plates on their rims, not flat. Pack glasses upright, not on their sides, they are stronger and less likely to break. I have a lot of stuff, took me 6 weeks to pack, and nothing broke. Better to use more paper than less and don't make the boxes to heavy to pick up. Put books and photo albums in smaller boxes, sheets and towels in larger boxes.

Buying boxes may be more expensive but it will be easier to pack the truck if the boxes are a uniform size. It is tough to stack odd sized boxes.

Good luck.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

Most of the major moving companies sell used boxes.

Too bad you aren't here. I just unpacked 250 boxes of my own.

 

[GJM]

Thanks for the suggestions so far - I didn't know about some of the packing tips!

I have never moved so much since I married my DH - I really hate moving, and hope this will be it for awhile.

Wow 250 boxes! That is alot - I look around my house and wonder how many I will need, it is just too much stuff.

 

[All American]

I second what a previous poster said about using towels and clothes to pack breakables. It will save space and money. If you have a paper shredder, save your shreddings (is that a word?) and use those as packing material too.

One more thing. If you have a couple of weeks. Do one room or select items every few days or week. I usually start with pictures on the walls. Then I pack accessories. From there, I pack room-by-room and leave the essentials.

Good luck!

Oh yeah! This is a great time to thin out and get rid of stuff.

 

[GJM]

I will say my sister & I just did a yard sale in June & Sept. so I really thinned out stuff, I knew we where going to be moving so I got rid of alot of stuff.

Plus I just went thru my DS toys the other day and got rid of the little garbage stuff - that stuff drives me nuts.

 

[golfgal]

We have moved too many times so here are my suggestions, contact a local newspaper and see if they give away/sell their end rolls of newspaper. This is the easiest way to pack. If you don't have that available, contact a moving company and see if you can buy a few packs of their packing paper. You will be thankful you spent that money because it will make your job easier.

For boxes, if you contact Target, Walmart, etc. they will save boxes for you. Usually they are broken down so you can get them back and forth easier. Liquor stores are ok too but those boxes tend to be small. They are often divided so they are good for backing glasses, etc. though.

For trucks, I would check into the PODS company. They drop a trailer off at your house, you pack at your leisure, when you are done, they pick up the trailer and bring it to your destination. I don't have any idea of the cost.

Personally though, it is worth the money to pay someone to move me, although I am NEVER moving again.

 

[Disney Doll]

When DMIL died and we had to mail certain things to SIL in the midwest (a story for another day ) I bought a big roll of bubble wrap at Staples, and it went a pretty long way. I did about 16 boxes of dishes and other assorted glassware with it.

One thing I learned when I moved is not to empty your dresser drawers. Take them out of the dresser so it will be lighter to carry and just stack them in the truck. When you get to the new place, just put them into the dresser and !voila! your dressers are all set. This works if you are moving yourselves. If you are having a moving company, it may ne be an acceptable alternative.

Good luck. I hate moving. I have told DH that the next thing going out of the house in a box is me!!!!

 

[saucymb]

I've seen free moving boxes listed on Craig's List several times. You should check it out.