Author: Great Movers

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Moving Tips

Simple Ways to Save Money During Your Move

Simple Ways to Save Money During Your Move

No matter how you look at it, moving is expensive. Of course, there’s the actual moving aspect, but there’s a lot more to it than just getting your belongings from one place to another. Luckily, that also means there are a lot of ways you can save money during your move. If you’re looking for tips on how to reduce the cost of your move without needing to cut corners, you’ve come to the right place. Below are some simple and effective ways you can save money on your move.

Declutter Your Old Furniture and Belongings to Save Money

The more items you have, the more it will cost you to move. That’s why one of the simplest ways to save money is to declutter your belongings and get rid of items you no longer use. As a rule of thumb, you should follow the six months rule. If you haven’t used or worn an item in six months, you should not bring it with you to your new home.

Decluttering is an important step for any move whether you’re moving locally or cross-country. However, it’s an especially important step for long-distance moves. If you are moving over 400 miles away from your current location, consider getting rid of all your heavy, cheap furniture. You’ll find that it’s probably easier and cheaper to buy new furniture when you arrive at your destination.

While decluttering, you should separate your belongings into four piles: keep, donate, sell, and trash. You should keep your trash pile as small as possible as you can probably donate the majority of your items so long as they are still in good shape. When it comes to selling items, see if you have any high value items that might sell well on eBay such as vintage clothes, cameras, working appliances, etc. It might take you longer, but depending on the condition of the items you could earn a decent amount of money that you can then put towards your moving expenses.

Of course, if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling items individually online, you can always have a yard or garage sale to get rid of all your unwanted items. It’s a great way to clear out your house and while you won’t be able to charge quite as much as you would on online sites, you can still make a good chunk of change.

For all your other items, donate as much as you can to goodwill. Don’t forget to ask for an itemized receipt! You’ll be able to claim a tax deduction at the end of the year. For everything else, try to give away as much as possible. Ask your friends and family if they want anything. After they have taken what they want, list whatever items are left for free on craigs list and your local Facebook group. As they say, one man’s trash is another mans’ treasure!

Get Free Boxes and Packing Materials for Your Move

A lot of people forget to include the cost of packing materials such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap, etc. After all, it’s easy to get caught up in figuring out the other moving logistics. However, you can save yourself some hefty moving costs if you can find a way to get free boxes and packing materials. Hopefully, you have at least a month or two before your planned move out date. If you have any boxes leftover from online shopping keep them!

If you don’t have any boxes, reach out to your friends and family to see if they have any they want off their hands. Otherwise, you can visit other places such as the liquor store, around the office, or a local school to see if they might have any. You can also check your local Facebook group. The same can be done for packing supplies such as bubble wrap or packing peanuts! Try to gather as much as you can for free and then purchase whatever you are missing. If you’re lucky, you may not have to spend much if any money at all!

Hire the Best Professional Movers for Your Move

Yes, hiring professional movers can actually cost you less in the long run than trying to do it yourself. For example, if you live in New Jersey, you can find some very affordable NJ movers who will be able to make your experience seamless and stress-free. Professional New Jersey movers have years of experience moving pretty much everything from pianos to delicate china. Therefore, they know exactly how each should be handled so that everything arrives in perfect condition at your new home.

Of course, when you hire professionals, you get much more than people to move your stuff. You also get the peace of mind that if any accidents happen during the move, you won’t be held liable. Did the movers damage the freight elevator? They will cover the repair costs through their insurance. Did the movers get a parking ticket? You don’t have to worry about it! More importantly, you don’t have to run the risk of injuring yourself during the move as you won’t have to carry anything heavy. This way you can relax and just deal with unpacking once you get to your new home.

The best part about hiring professional movers is that there are a lot to choose from. You can shop around to find the best local movers for your budget. Just make sure to ask plenty of questions. If you get a bad feeling from them, move on to another company.

Consider Your Utilities

Some utilities won’t let you prorate your bill, so if your billing cycle doesn’t line up with your moving date, consider cutting off your service early so you don’t have to pay for an extra month. While you don’t want to cut off your electricity too soon, you can definitely live a week or two without cable or the internet. If you only have to deal with a day or two, consider shutting off your gas early as well.

If you’re moving to a new city, do some research on what is available. Some cities offer a free concierge service that will find you the best deals on your utilities. Also, make sure to take advantage of the new customer deals that many cable and internet providers offer.

Ship Your Books Safely

If you have a veritable library and can’t part with any of your books, consider shipping them instead of moving them. While it might take a bit longer to arrive, you’ll be saving on time and backbreaking work for the movers. USPS offers a Medial Mail service that allows for shipments of up to 20 pounds. That price is hard to beat!

Get Moving Insurance to Save Money

Most professional movers offer basic moving insurance that covers $0.60 per pound if an item is damaged or lost. While this might be fine for items that aren’t expensive, it won’t get close to covering the cost of more expensive items such as TVs, cameras, laptops, fine china, etc. While most trustworthy NJ movers will do their best to make sure nothing gets damaged, accidents can happen.

While it might cost a bit extra, getting full moving insurance can give you the peace of mind you need, especially if you own a lot of electronics or expensive items. As the name suggests, full moving insurance means that you will be covered for the full amount in case something gets damaged or lost. That means you don’t have to worry about buying a replacement should anything happen, saving you money in the long run.

Conclusion

While you won’t be able to bring your moving costs down to zero, you can greatly reduce the amount you spend by following these simple tips. Speaking of tips, here’s one you often hear: wrap your fragile items in bedsheets, towels, clothes, etc. While it can work, remember that you will need to wash all of these items once you unpack! Plus, if anything breaks you’ll need to worry about glass shards in your sheets or towels!

Moving will never be easy, but hopefully these tips can at least make it less costly. If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable mover in New Jersey, make sure to contact us! We service the Tri-State area and can provide you with a quote within a few days of your request!

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General Moving Tips

How to Make a Senior Citizen’s Move Comfortable

How to Help Senior Citizens Move

Relocating a senior family member can be difficult whether they are moving to your home, downsizing to a senior apartment, or transitioning to an assisted living facility. Many senior citizens may have lived in the same home for decades, so the thought of downsizing can be daunting. They’ll be leaving behind many treasured memories and belongings!

While every move is emotional, it’s important to keep this in mind especially when moving  senior citizens. That’s why it’s so important to hire trusted and reliable NJ movers (like us!) as they will treat every item with care. While professional movers can help you and your loved ones get their belongings from one place to another, it’s up to you to make the rest of the move as easy as possible. Below is a guide on how to move senior citizens.

Involve Senior Citizens When Making a Moving Plan

Every person should have a say in where they move, and senior citizens are no exception. In fact, it’s even more important for them as they have lived decades independently. While it might be more time-consuming, make sure to get them involved from start to finish. This might mean presenting several options for them, especially when it comes to senior apartments or assisted living centers. Give them time to ask questions and voice their concerns before making any final decisions. If you plan on having them move in with you, make sure your whole family agrees to the proposal.

In addition to finding the perfect place, you should also plan moving transportation based on their needs. Many older adults cannot withstand long road trips without assistance or stops. Others might require full-service medical transport. To make the move as comfortable as possible for everyone involved, do the following:

  • If you are going to drive them yourself, make sure to add extra time to your trip. A drive that should take six hours could be extended due to multiple stops. Make sure to ask your loved one often if they need to stop and stretch their legs or use the restroom.
  • Many senior citizens often have mobility issues. If your loved one has these issues, make sure to rent a van with enough space for their mobility equipment and get a ramp so that they can easily go in and out of the vehicle. If they are flying, book non-stop flights and contact the airline in advance for boarding assistance.
  • If your aging relative needs extra help, you can hire senior-focused transportation companies that offer non-emergency medical transit for people in wheelchairs and/or require oxygen tanks. Some companies even provide transport with beds and registered nurses.

How to Help Senior Citizens Move

Help Them How to Organize And Declutter

If your aging relative has lived in one place for decades, chances are they have accumulated a lot of stuff. Unfortunately, wherever they move they will have to downsize as their living area will decrease significantly. For many, this is an emotional process as many items will have sentimental value. It’s important to be patient and allow them to mourn. You might also need to help them go through their belongings and figure out what they no longer use and how to get rid of the items. Maybe that means selling them or donating them to goodwill. If it’s a keepsake you can suggest giving it to family members since that way they might be able to see it when they visit. Start small. Instead of jumping into the living room or bedroom, start with a room with low sentimental value like a bathroom or guest room suite. This will help ease them into the moving process and give them a sense of accomplishment.

As emotionally charged as downsizing can be for senior citizens, it can also be very rewarding. It gives them the opportunity to pass on their possessions and remove physical and emotional baggage. It’s an exciting new step on their next journey in life! Depending on how much they have, this step can take months so make sure you allot enough time. Otherwise, you’ll end up rushing and potentially throwing away some truly cherished items.

If your elderly relative cannot part with certain items that won’t fit in their new living situation, you can store it. Many NJ moving companies offer affordable and secure storage options. You should research storage companies near you and find the one that best suits your needs.

The Best Way to Prepare for Moving Day

The best way to prevent a stressful moving experience is to prepare, that goes for senior citizens and non-senior citizens alike. If you are helping your relative move, you should ask them and yourself the following questions:

  • Are there professional movers nearby that specialize in moving senior citizens?
  • Will you need help packing and unpacking boxes?
  • Can you drive your relative to their new home or will you need transportation?
  • Do you have a bag full of essentials packed away so that your relative does not have to dig through boxes the day of the move?
  • Is your relative feeling overwhelmed?

It can be easy to forget steps when packing as there’s a lot to do! To make sure the move goes as smoothly as possible, you should create a checklist of everything you need to do before, during, and after the move. Chat with your relative and/or their aide to make sure you don’t miss anything important such as packing their medicine in their essentials bag.

During the packing phase, you should encourage your relative or maybe another family member to keep an inventory of all the belongings. This provides peace of mind for the senior citizen and also allows you to double check that everything gets delivered. When packing, make sure that you organize the belongings into boxes labeled by room. This way when you unpack, you know exactly where the items should go.

Hire the Best Professional NJ Movers

If you can’t be with your loved one during the move, find expert help. If you live in New Jersey, there are several New Jersey movers who can help in relocating, downsizing, and organizing senior citizens. While it might cost you more money, it can save you a lot of time and can even make it less emotional for your relatives as a third party can make the tough decisions, which can reduce tension and fighting among family. Just make sure to hire a reputable company as there are plenty of scammers who are more than willing to fleece you out of money. It’s important to do your research, ask questions, and make sure the company you hire has the appropriate licenses and insurance.

Once you’ve found a good moving company, determine whether you need full-service or or the standard moving service. The latter means that you will have to pack and organize everything yourself so really ask yourself if you have enough time to dedicate to this task.

Welcome Senior Citizens to Their New Home

Come moving day, it’s time to finally welcome your loved one to their new home. Don’t be worried if they seem nervous or anxious as it takes everyone a few days to get used to their surroundings. If they are moving in with you or living in a senior apartment, establish a daily routine in their new space and make sure they know where everything is. Feel free to introduce them to your neighbors and maybe hit up a couple community centers as many have activities for seniors. You can also take them around to places that they will need to visit such as the grocery store, pharmacy, doctor’s office, etc.

For those moving into an assisted care living center, the aides will handle all of the legwork. With that said, you should set up a consistent schedule for when you visit. This way they have something to look forward to every week or month.

Conclusion

In order to have a successful move, it’s important to involve your loved one in every aspect of the move. As with everyone, senior citizens want to have a measure of control over their life, especially when it comes to their living situation. By bringing them into the fold, you are showing them that you respect their opinions and concerns.

Of course, it’s also important to hire a good moving company that can handle the added requirements of moving senior citizens. Whether you live in New Jersey or anywhere else in the tri-state region, we can help guide you through the process and make it easy and stress-free. As a premiere New Jersey moving company, we offer full-service moving including packing, moving, and unpacking and we do so with care and attention.