It’s Easy To Consider Going Diy With Your House Relocation When You Find Yourself Strapped For Cash.

Of course, moving on your own is always going to cost less than hiring a moving company. That’s particularly so when hiring a full-service mover to provide you with both moving and storage NYC services – or whichever city you’re moving from for that matter.

Cheaper it may be, but a DIY move is not without its costs. Even when using your own car, there are expenses you’ll have to put up with. Gas, for example. If you’re headed out of state, you’ll likely be staring at a sizable bill.

So, the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question is: How much would a DIY move cost you?

Well, there is no definite answer per se, as this is to a large extent dependent on a host of factors. These include:

• The distance of the move
• Scope of the items you’re moving
• Supplies and rentals you’ll need en route
• Amount of help you’ll need

In other words, the cost of each DIY move will differ.

Do not underestimate the expenses involved in a DIY move. Here are six moving costs you need to think about when moving house by yourself.

Read Also: Key Tips For Moving To A New Home

Moving boxes and packing supplies

You’ll need moving boxes and other packing supplies whether you’re using a professional mover or going it alone.

Some of the key supplies you’ll need to include:

• Cardboard moving boxes
• Plastic tubs
• Specialty boxes
• Plastic wrap
• Packing tape
• Foam peanuts
• Foam pouches (for dishware)
• Marker pens

Individually, the cost of these items may not seem like much, but they do add up. The only workaround to shaving off the few hundred dollars you’ll likely shell out on packing supplies is to find someplace to get them for free.

Renting moving equipment

If there are any heavy items that will be moving, you’ll need to rent moving equipment like dollies to help execute the move successfully.

You will also need to rent (or purchase in the case of others) things like hand trucks, straps, moving blankets, loading ramps, and trailers.

A truck rental company or your local Home Depot should have these items for rental.

The overall cost of renting moving equipment will be determined by the particular item(s) you need, the duration of time you’ll be renting them, as well as the current demand.

Just as an overview of what you can expect, Home Depot rents a hand truck for approximately $80 a week.

Gas prices

Depending on the distance you’ll be covering, you will need to budget for gas as well, something many people tend to overlook, much to their chagrin.

Moving assistance

Do you have friends or family members who can help with the heavy lifting?

If not, you’ll need to hire some muscle as you cannot haul large items like furniture, bed, and appliances like the refrigerator by yourself.

Movers provide labor-only service which you can hire by the hour if you need professional hands to do the job. It’s not the cheapest option, especially for someone working on a budget, but feel free to do some digging around to compare the rates offered by different companies.

Renting a moving truck

Unless you know someone who has a truck you can borrow, the cost of renting a moving truck is one you’ll need to work into your budget as well.

There is no shortage of truck rental companies. While they’re cheaper than opting for full-service moving, rental trucks still don’t come for cheap.

For example, the cost of hiring a 10-foot box truck for a long-distance cross-country move could be anywhere between $500 and $1800; probably more. If you’re moving a lot of stuff, keep in mind that a larger truck will set you back north of $2,000.

You can explore the different truck rental offerings in the market first.

Consider a moving container

A moving container is cheaper than hiring a professional mover. All you have to do is bundle your possessions in the container and the container company will deliver it to your destination.

Unfortunately, it is costlier than a truck rental (it will cost you upwards of about $2,000). When you factor in that the packing and unpacking are still on you, you might find that this could be a hefty cost not worth incurring.

Conclusion

As you can see, a move is always going to cost you money – DIY or not.

The onus is on you to establish how much you stand to save by opting for a DIY move over professional movers, and if the work involved is worth the savings you stand to make.