Cross Country moving advice?

[psying]

Hi all. I read and lurk quite a bit, but don't often post. Anyway My family (me DH and 2 sons) and I will be moving cross country from NY to TX within 4-8 weeks. I'd like to keep costs as low as possible and was wondering if you ladies had any advice for me.

[dancemommy]

When I was a teenager we moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. My parents literally sold everything that would not fit into a suburban with the seats out. We rode in the car with one parent and the other parent and her friend drove the suburban. They bought new furniture, etc, slowly as we got to our new destination. I know that seems kind of drastic but it worked for them.

[MaryCarney]

My DD#2 moved from North Carolina to Indiana last year at this time. She had a 2 BR apartment and about a jillion books. UHaul, gas and one night in a hotel, plus my Greyhound ticket one-way to get out there ran right at $1000.
Start collecting boxes NOW and packing. Do it all yourself. Lock in your truck as soon as you have a date - and when you get the truck, price out leaving on different days of the week - the price difference can really be a lot.
OH- and play a lot of Tetris- packing a moving van is very similar

[Uniwolf]

I am a ex military brat which equals we moved A LOT when I was growing up. My mother never packed dishes in newspaper, and I don't believe she ever had a broken dish. She packed her dishes with her kitchen towles and aprons ( which she used always, kinda miss those). But she saved space because both items have to be packed, but by using the towles and aprons instead of newspaper she wasn't packing something that she was just going to throw away when they arrived at dad's next duty station. This is something that I still do.

[Libby]

Price out rates for both DIY via Uhaul and for a moving company. When getting quotes - be sure to get pricing for EVERYTHING you want - features, boxes and supplies, moving blankets, storage etc.

As you're starting to pack things up - decide if you really want to move it/can you live without it, is it something you can give away/donate etc. If you're able to purge now, your moving costs will be significantly less.

Start gathering up boxes, old newspapers, decent quality packaging tape and permanent markers. Remember, bigger boxes hold more but need to be MUCH stronger then you'd think. Opt for strong medium sized boxes if possible. (plus they're easier to move around)

If going Uhaul route - plan your route now and be sure to include places to stop overnight for larger vehicles. Oh and be sure to double your estimated gas budget - Uhaul's may do the job but sure are thirsty!

[walker24]

If you are planning on moving on your own sign up for budget trucks email now. We were sent a 15% off voucher within a couple of days. We also pack dishes and pictures in the sheets and towels.
Pay the money for good moving boxes. It makes a big difference.
We sold whatever wasn't crucial. Moving is expensive and craigslist is awesome.
Remember the post office only charges a dollar a pound to mail whatever gets left out parcel post. It takes a good 2 weeks to get there, but we've had to do it twice now.
Call around for quotes if someone else will be moving you. Moving companies will price match.
Read reviews of moving companies and measure your total goods. Moving companies are notorious for "selling air" (telling you that you have 500 cf of furnishings when you have 400 and pocketing the difference).

Good luck!

[steelergal]

My cousin moved from Pennsylvania to Alaska. She did not have a lot of belongings and not knowing too much about Alaska- she basically bought a whole house and moved! Her experience was so awful and traumatic that when she had to move from Alaska to California she sold off most of her belongings, all the furniture, most of her housewares, she only kept 2 suitcases full of her own clothing, and a trunk full of sentimental and irreplaceable items (all wrapped in towels and linens). When she relocated to California with the money she earned from selling everything went towards new to her or even new furniture.

Good Luck!

[oheoh's momma]

oh good luck, get rid of what you do not need, purge and declutter In all honesty stuff comes back. Usually more than u had to start with. Wrap your treasures carefully. decide what u really need. Save now for the move and look at it as new adventure is my only advice.

[MissSeetonFan]

We did a NY to UT move and sold or gave away most furniture and big stuff. Everything fit in the back the largest Uhaul trailer.

For strong but medium size boxes, ask bookstores, liquor stores and pharmacies for their boxes. Those have to be tough because books and full bottles are heavy and medicines need the protection. Here in UT, Barnes and Noble will let you dumpster dive in their cardboard dumpster for boxes. Check with the stores.

Amen to using towels, aprons, etc. to pack dishes, breakables in. Sheets and blankets for bigger pictures work well. If you do use newspaper, I keep the mailer ads from the mail and whatever else comes our way to add to the boxes. If you have kids, their soft toys work well to fill empty spaces in boxes too.

Plan your route. If you pull a trailer or rent a truck, you may need to go slow. We couldn't get up over 55 miles per hour pulling the trailer. So if you have limited time, plot out the best way. Check for construction too.

We would stay the night in a hotel that had wi-fi. So we would plot out where the next leg should take us and write down the phone numbers of hotels in a 20 mile radius or so. When we would be getting close to time to turn in, someone would get on a cell phone and call for rooms or deals. If you are really prepared, you could plan that out ahead of time but if something like the truck speed is slower than you planned, it might mess things up a bit.

Good luck.

[peanut]

We've always had our best luck moving ourselves. The moving company broke a lot of things, and moved things we didn't want moved. Apparently they cleaned out the garage before DH did! My last minute guy...

I too, pack breakables in linens and towels. We check out the liquor store dumpster for good sturdy boxes. We move books and the liquor boxes are small and sturdy for that.

I also hung onto all the packing supplies for when we closed down my mom's place. So check with friends or neighbors who've moved recently and see if they still have that stuff for you to use. I have sheets of foam and bubble wrap for breakables.

If I had my move to do over again, I'd get rid of most of our furniture. We're already having this discussion. We are planning a move cross country in a couple years, maybe three.

I also recommend not labeling your boxes with anything other than a number, the room it goes in, and whether it's fragile or not. This cuts down on theft. My mom had a bunch of stuff stolen from the moving company's storage area because it was labeled 'electronics' (another reason for moving yourself!). Instead, I keep a master list of all the box numbers and what's in them. I keep that with me on a clipboard at all times during the move.

Be generous with packing tape. If at all in doubt, use it! Lots of it!

ETA: Oh, and be sure to do a thorough de-clutter first! Room by room. Take your time and do it right. You may need to do it in layers. Expect it to take up to a week a room, depending how much stuff you have and how much you want to move...and how much time you actually have to do it!

[NicJean]

+1 on having a clipboard list with room, box #, list of what's in each box (can be general). Keep labelling boxes simply: room, box #. Saves time as you are packing.

Decluttering is key, not only right now, but as you pack say to yourself - is this really needed, do I love it, is this the best I can afford, etc. You will cut down on clutter entering your new home.

Another ex military brat - moved cross country 6 times, overseas and back 6 times too, with other moves in between.

Pack essentials into a box or two you have with you (skillet, saucepan, cooking knife, spatula, salt/pepper, paper plates, utensils, munchies, toilet paper, lightbulbs, lamp or two, and a couple outfits. This way you can easily find things to start dinner, and go potty, right when you arrive, not dig through a truck to locate, or have to run to the store right off.

Good luck, oh yeah, and stop at those weird 'attractions' on the way, it helps break up the drive - and you did'nt know how big the biggest ball of yarn was, did you?

[shoiji]

Keep all important documents separate in a container and be sure to take with you if you are driving separately in a car. This way you will know where your important paperwork is at all times.

Make sure to purchase really good packing tape. I had purchased some at the dollar store and it really did not hold very well.

When I first moved across states I had very little to take with me. Since I was taking a plane I had a couple of bags on the plane and ended up sending the remainder of the items in a foot locker and two boxes via UPS. Not sure if this is still reasonable to do now but it was very cheap for me at the time.

[sinopa27]

I bet you are going to have a heck of a yard sale!!
Everyone has so much wonderful advice. I am an air force brat and moved every 18 months. My parents used to make sure we had a cooler in our car. Stock up on drinks and made snacks to keep in the car. It gets expensive on the road. We used to fry chicken and wrap in foil. That chicken gets good when you are driving down the road.
Have a safe move!

[Bachelor]

Well, actually I am still in the process of moving. Here are a few things I did or wish I did.

1) If you are operating with a tight moving budget, pack the things that are most important to you first. If you need to purge something due to space limitations or for cost reasons, better it should be something that is not important. I subconsciously did that. My original intent was to pack a room at a time, but I ended up packing each room a bit at a time. And it really helped, when I ran out of space, well, it wasn't that important to me anyway!

2) Don't pick up hitch hikers! And by that, I mean bedbugs. I rented a U-haul trailer and used an insect fogger for bedbugs. You will find different opinions on whether it works, but it is cheap enough to be worth the time and money. If you are using a moving company, ask if they fumigate their trucks. At the extreme, you could even hire a specially trained dog to detect bedbugs in the moving truck. Also, you may wish to research techniques to seal your items and reduce the chances of picking up some nasty house guests.

3) Document! If you have a digital camera, take a picture of each box before you tape it shut. It is nice to have a record of what is where. If you need to make an insurance claim for loss, well, pictures can be useful.

4) And above all, embrace the opportunity to simplify. If you find yourself moving less, then you are gaining so much more!

[wanderlusting]

Don't have advice on keeping costs down- all our cross country and international moves as a child and adult were military moves.

But I do suggest you keep an "important box". This is a box or container that contains all important things like birth certificates, keys, moving receipts, etc. When moving, I keep it in the same place so I don't misplace it. This also allows me to know that important documents are in one place and I don't have to worry that I lost them or dig through a bunch of boxes to find them.

In the important box, I also keep some duct tape, sharpie markers, scissors and measuring tape since I always need those during a move