When you move all your belongings from one place to another, you may be faced with many options. It’s no surprise that moving is one of the most stressful experiences people can go through. There are many approaches to moving that you can consider.
Complete moving service
You could use a full service moving company. A representative will come to your home to estimate the cost of your move. On the day of the move a team will arrive with a truck and the moving professionals will load your belongings, transport them to the new location and unload them. Full moving service usually handles the details of the move. They bring a truck, pads for their furniture, equipment to help move it, and their own supplies. Most companies will even pack and unpack your items if you choose that service. Full-service moving companies offer the most stress-free way to move, but like all things, it comes at a cost. A local move from a 2-bedroom apartment to another 2-bedroom apartment can easily cost $1,000 or more just for the move. If the company also packs your items, they typically charge by the box, packing charges can easily exceed estimates depending on how the team packs your items.
self-movement
Moving your own can be much cheaper than moving full service. When you move yourself, you rent a truck, drive the truck, pack, load, and unload your belongings yourself, perhaps with the help of family or friends. Obviously, this option can be had for much less than the price of full-service movers, however, there is a trade-off for the bargain. When you move yourself or someone you know has to drive the truck, some people feel comfortable and others may find the prospect a bit daunting. When you move yourself, you’re also faced with the daunting task of moving all of your belongings not only from the house to the truck, but also packing them into the truck so that they all fit and make sure they’ll survive the trip. . The way the truck is loaded can also make a difference in how difficult or easy it can be to drive, an unbalanced load can cause a truck to drive unevenly. No one appreciates a professional mover more than people who have already moved their furniture themselves. Moving is a skill that is not easily duplicated without a lot of experience that most people don’t want. Inexperienced people are at greater risk of damaging furniture, the house, or even worse. Even at the best of times, pulled muscles and back pain are a common symptom of proper movement, but if you’re looking for bottom-line movement, here’s what to expect. At least moving in is only $100.
Full service and self-moving used to be the only options available to moving companies, whether you paid through the nose or lay in bed for the next week easing your aches. Recently, some newer options have been made available to give people more options when it comes to their move.
U-pack or container services (ABF U-pack, PODS, etc.)
This option can be beneficial for those who are not comfortable driving. Basically, a container, trailer or truck is dropped off at your house, then you can load it up in a day or over the course of a few days at your leisure. The service will pick you up when you are done and transport you to their facility or take you to your drop off destination. The downside may be that you still do the moving yourself (explained above), also in the case of trailers you may only have limited space to pack your items, sometimes there are items from other customers being loaded onto the same trailer in which case a difficulty with your move may cause problems with your move. Waiting for their items to be delivered, drivers who may not be cautious when driving a trailer with household items inside. (Some of these companies’ drivers are known not to slow down at railroad crossings or speed bumps, most trailers don’t have air suspensions, so hard potholes can do a lot of damage)
Moving labor service or moving helpers
This option has become very popular in recent years. A moving labor service provides professional moving services to have your rental truck, container or trailer loaded or unloaded. You have to see which company you use, but many of these services employ people with the same training and experience as full-service movers. While many of these services provide labor, only many of the best companies bring their own equipment, realizing that this not only saves the customer the hassle of having to rent basic equipment, but also makes their job easier. if they have the right tools. The customer is still responsible for a few things: getting the truck, the trailer or the container. Labor services can provide equipment to help with the move, but expendable supplies used to protect items during transit (furniture pads, shrink wrap, tie rope) remain the responsibility of the customer. Your options with labor services are more versatile: you can rent a truck and use it to load/unload it, you can also use labor services with u-pack or container services to get a complete moving service to a reduced cost. These services are also good when you just need to move items around a home or office (spring cleaning, redecorating, remodeling, etc.). You can also get good workmanship for 25-50% LESS than the cost of full service moving.
Moving can still present stressful choices for many people, but it’s also something almost everyone will eventually have to do. Many people reading this article may see me as a person biased towards the mobile workforce, I prefer to think that my opinion is complete. I was a professional mover for 15 years, before that I moved on my own many times. I currently run JB Movers Moving Labor Service based in the Chicago area. I don’t think people should max out their credit cards to move, nor do I think that paying less than full service prices means you should get lower quality service. I run my business to offer a more affordable alternative to full service moving without sacrificing full service quality.