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Moving home is not only one of the most stressful things you can do, but it can also be very expensive. You will have had enough costs with solicitors or agents fees, and cutting the cost of moving home could be vitally important for you.
The first thing to do is totally declutter your existing home. Get rid of things that have sat in boxes for years and never get used. You may even be able to sell them and bring in a bit of extra cash. Of course, there will be sentimental things such as family heirlooms that you want to keep, but do you really need two food mixers, three sewing machines and two laptops that are so old they are unusable? Not only will getting rid of these extras make your move easier, but it will also mean that your new home will not start with the clutter of them.
Removal companies work on volume to calculate your price, so the less they have to move, the cheaper the cost will be. It might also be worth loading your car for a few trips to lessen their load as well. This can especially apply to things like TV’s and computers that perhaps need some special care.
Doing your own packing can save quite a lot of money and lets you spot anything else that can be disposed of. Do not spend a fortune on removal boxes; ask your local stores to save you some of the ones the goods arrive in, or ask friends and family to collect you some as well.
You will know by the strength of the box whether it needs light goods or if it can cope with heavier ones. Then all you need to buy is some parcel tape, which is really cheap, and a marker pen to write on each box which room it should go into in your new home.
You might be quite shocked when you see just how much removal companies charge to take your goods from one home to another. The reputable ones will know how to lift the heavier items, and they are fully insured if any damage occurs, but you may well be asking yourself if that justifies the cost.
The other option is to do a search for something like Man and Van Hire in London and find a reputable one that way, which is likely to work out so much cheaper. The move to London may take a couple of hours longer as their vans are not usually as large as the huge removal vans, and they may need to make two trips, but the cost-saving can be significant.
Most people move home from Friday to Monday, and that is when moving companies are their busiest. Choose to move on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and it is quite often the case that you will get a better price. They would rather win your job for one of these days than have their workers sitting twiddling their thumbs.
Moving home need not be as expensive as you may first think if you are ready to sort a lot of the preparation yourself first.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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