Cheap and easy ways to move home

Should I move house on my own?

It’s tempting to consider a DIY house move to save costs. It’s a great option if you only have a small amount of household goods to shift, but remember you’ll need to be organised and willing to undertake the preparation required, including sorting, packing, and labelling your goods. You might also need to find friends and family to help with the move. Consider insurance to cover risks like breakage and loss when moving your household items – you’ll often need to purchase specific cover to insure household moves. When all of the time and effort required is considered, it may actually be cheaper to move house using commercial home moving services. Surprisingly, this doesn’t need to be expensive, as you can apply some commonsense preparation of your own to keep costs down.

The benefits of hiring professional home movers

Professional home movers make the moving process easy and reasonably stress free. These services are normally fast, as they often have years of experience helping people to move house. As they are experts at moving household items, they are less likely to break items, and can usually supply box packaging, bubble wrap, newspaper, blankets and packing tape. Professional movers have the necessary moving trucks or vans and tools to move your whole house efficiently. Unlike friends and family, home mover employees generally all show up at once too. This allows a well-coordinated movement of your household goods, saving you time and money.

How to reduce costs

Whilst home moving services can do it all, you may be able to reduce costs by doing some things on your own. Here are some of our suggestions.

Pack your own items

Most moving companies will pack your items for you, but doing it yourself means you won’t need to hire the movers for as long. It will also mean you can decide exactly which items go into which boxes, saving time when you unpack in your new home. Most moving companies can supply you with brand new boxes to pack into, but you may be able to save money by asking them to supply pre-used packing boxes. You may be able to get boxes for free from a local supermarket or you could also place an advertisement in your local newspaper or ask on Facebook for additional boxes.

Wrap delicate items with things you already have

Bubble wrap is a great way to protect items that you are moving, but to save costs you could use your towels, blankets, or newspapers instead. Each of these items can be reused numerous times, avoiding unnecessary wastage and costs.

Find the best deals

Research moving companies online before you move and look for the best deals. Some moving companies offer reduced rates on off-peak days (like mid-week), or in cold seasons. Find and read reviews of moving companies left by other people who’ve used their services, to help you decide which firm to hire. 

And once you’ve finalised your move dates, ensure your insurance is organised too. Tower can insure your home, contents, and more.