Most of us will move house a few times in our lives, and most of us will find that the whole thing costs a lot more than we expected, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way, not if you get creative anyway.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best, most creative ways for how to save money on moving costs:

Move at a random time 

Instead of moving at the weekend or early in the morning, try to move on a random weekday at a time that is likely to be in less demand. Because demand will be lower, you can typically save money by getting a better deal whether you’re hiring a van to move your belongings yourself, or hiring movers to do it for you.

Pay for a deep clean

Okay, this might sound like a stupid idea if you are looking to save money, but if you are moving out of a rental and you want to get your deposit back, then it might not be a bad idea to pay for an end of tenancy cleaning service that will ensure the place is spotless, providing that it costs you much less than your deposit. So, do the math and bear it in mind if you’re worried your house might not be quite up to scratch ahead of a move.

Pack everything yourself

It can be time-consuming, but you can save a small fortune by packaging your belongings yourself rather than paying movers to pack everything. You can still use movers, but do the packing yourself to cut costs.

Hit up the recycling centre

The local recycling centre can be a surprisingly good source of free cardboard boxes which will help you to save a little, or maybe even a lot on the cost of moving boxes. Just be sure to ask first if it is the kind of place that doesn’t just let you take stuff.  Supermarkets and local convenience stores are also good places to ask as well as on Facebook Marketplace.  Otherwise buy boxes in bulk and compare prices to find the best deal on a site like eBay.

You can also use your recycling centre to dispose of many old goods for free such as an old washing machine or other white goods that no longer work and you don’t want to move with you.  The council often charge a small fee to collect this sort of waste, but your local recycling centre might take it for free.  You just have to get it there.

Use what you already have for packing and wrapping

Instead of buying lots of bubble wrap and packing peanuts, use towels, clothing, curtains and other fabrics to safely wrap up your valuables and you will save even more money. You could also use suitcases, baskets, and hampers in place of boxes in some cases too.

Don’t forget to start saving packaging from online deliveries as soon as you know you are moving.  There’s no point in throwing all this packaging material away or recycling it, then buying the same stuff when you need to move!

Hold a garage sale to make some extra cash towards the moving costs

If you have a lot of stuff, then it will be cheaper for you to sell some of it and make a little cash than it will be to pay to move it all. Especially if you don’t think you need it all or it won’t fit in the new house.

Holding a garage sale, attending a car boot or even offering things up to the highest bidder on Facebook can help you to shift some of that stuff, reduce the number of belongings you have to pay to move, and you can even make some money in the process to cover the moving costs.

Get your friends to help

If you have good friends who would be willing to help, buy everyone a takeaway and have your friends help you with your move and you could save on the cost of hiring a moving company completely. Just be prepared to do the same thing for them one day too!

Final word

Moving is one of the most stressful things in life. And it's one of the most expensive, too. However, there are many creative ways to save on the cost of a move.  As you can see, if you think outside the box and really make an effort, you can slash the cost of moving!

 

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