Packing on your own vs hiring packers and movers
When we say moving, most of the people get excited – you are going to find a new home, get some new furniture, have a fresh start. Overall, moving is exciting. Until you start thinking about packing and how much stuff you have to pack and prepare. That is where all fun disappears! Packing is a nerve-racking, time-consuming, and delicate task that requires the most of the attention from you. At the same time, there are two main questions when you are moving: what local movers to hire for the move and whether to hire packers and movers, so you don’t have to do a thing. When it comes to the second one, we have some tips and tricks that might be helpful. Keep reading!
Before you even start thinking about hiring packers and movers, make sure to answer these questions to see what option is better for you.
How much time do you have?
In the ideal conditions, people start planning their move for months and they have enough time to carefully perform each task from their list. In reality, the moving process can easily get chaotic and you might even forget to hire professional movers. Since we already mentioned that packing is the most time-consuming task, you will have to think carefully about the amount of time you have available to pack up your things. Firstly, you should make a timeline if you would like to pack on your own and to determine how much time will you spend packing each day. That’s right, you can’t skip any. Packing is a serious task that will require you to invest some time every day before the move. On the other hand, we are not perfect, and sometimes we might plan to move in just a few days from the standing point. That is why you might have to hire packers and movers.
The main advantage when you hire packers and movers to help you with everything is because they will make sure to finish everything in just one day. Unless you have a huge home, then they might need two days for packing and moving. But no matter what, it will be way faster. You should also hire packers and movers when you are living in the bigger house, because if they will need two days – imagine how much time you will need. Yup, you’re right, over a month for sure. At first, packing might seem like a simple task and you might even think that you don’t even have that many items. But once you start packing, you will start finding forgotten belongings that you will either have to pack or declutter. But no matter what, this will require some time too. And hiring packers and movers will buy you some time that you can spend doing something more productive or just spend some time with your friends and family before moving. Moving comes with many tasks, so don’t think that you will be lacking in any if you decide to let packers and movers take care of this one.
What is your moving budget?
Many people think that hiring packers and movers is too expensive for their budget and that they don’t have enough to pay for the professional movers and everything else that needs to be paid when you are moving. Truth is, there are many budget movers nowadays that can offer you a high-quality full pack service that will exceed your expectations. You will just have to do more detailed research to find them. But it is not even that hard. However, the fact is – when you are hiring packers and movers, the price will be higher. No matter how your professional movers are charging for their services, hourly or flat rates, the price will still be higher when you are using both services. When your packers and movers are hiring hourly rates they will need more time to perform the move. And when we are talking about the flat price for moving, there will be a service charge on top of packing.
But before you give up the idea of hiring packers and movers, you should think about all the options you have and call a bunch of local movers to get quotes for moving. After you gather all of that, you will be able to determine if it will fit your moving budget. Packing on your own is definitely cheaper, since you will have only the expense of getting the moving boxes and packing materials, the rest will be done by you and your friends or family. Also, when you are hiring packers and movers, the price usually doesn’t contain packing supplies, so you will have to get those additionally. Local movers will always provide you with the option to get the moving boxes from them, and they usually charge them per item used, or they can use yours. Whatever is more convenient for you.
How experienced are you?
Considering that the average US person is moving more than 10 times during the lifetime, we can guess that you have already had some experience with moving. If that is not the case, don’t panic, we all had our first move and it went through. But, how much experience you have with packing? If you have moved so many times before and packed on your own each time, then you are probably good to go (and you are probably not even reading this text). If you have moved just a couple of times, and you never had to conquer such a big task, you might want to ask your packers and movers to help you out.
Bear in mind that packers and movers are trained and experienced professionals who know how to handle any type of move properly. Packing included. As someone who has performed dozens of relocations each month, you can be sure that your items will be safe in the hands of packers and movers. The good thing when you hire local movers to help you with packing is that they will keep your items safe while making sure the whole process is finished most efficiently. But, if you think that you will have to try to pack on your own eventually and you have enough time, we can encourage you to go and try. As local movers ourselves, we can provide you with some tips that might be useful
Be careful
Rule number one is to be careful. If you don’t have enough time, you better hire packers and movers to help you because you might end up with some damages to your items, which is something that you certainly want to avoid.
Start with the least used rooms
You should start with the least used rooms because that won’t disrupt your daily routine. The general rule is that you should be packed and ready to go at least the night before your local movers arrive. And if you start with the least used rooms – that is guaranteed.
Start in time
This is crucial because if you notice that you are not gonna make it and be ready before your professional movers arrive, you might start panicking and you might damage some of your belongings because you will try to pack them in a hurry.
Get boxes in various sizes
Packers and movers are using boxes in various sizes because that way they can pack different items in the box that is made for them. This will help you not overpack the boxes, and avoid any damages along the way.
Get a lot of packing paper
And we mean it! If you have ever watched packers and movers in action, you have probably noticed that they are using a lot of packing paper so there is no space in any box. This is done so the items inside the boxes cannot move, and that prevents damages.
The weight of the box
The heavier the item is, the fewer items should be packed with it. Not only that your professional movers will have trouble carrying those, but the box might tear down. Heavy items should be placed in a smaller box alone, and the rest of the area should be filled with packing paper or with some clothes that you are planning to move. This will keep it safe.
Label the boxes
Your professional movers will place your belongings in the appropriate rooms once they get to your new home. That is why you should make sure they are properly labeled. Also, you might want to add some notes to your local movers for the boxes that contain some fragile belongings. There are many ways to keep things well-organized when labeling the boxes, from color-coding to labeling the boxes with numbers only, and keeping the list of the content of boxes with yourself.
Do you have the energy for packing?
Packing doesn’t require you to invest your time only, but also you will need to invest a lot of energy if you want to perform things the right way. If you don’t feel rested enough to even start with all of this, you might want to hire packers and movers at the very beginning. This way you will save yourself a lot of time and nerves.
Are you willing to buy additional insurance?
When you hire packers and movers, they have basic coverage insurance included in the price, and you won’t have to worry about that. Usually, this is the main reason why people decide to hire packers and movers because they have all of their belongings covered with them. When you are packing on your own, professional movers will have that insurance included as well, but it will be applied for the items they are handling only. Not for the content of boxes when you were packing. If you want to pack on your own and to get additional insurance, check the price of packers and movers, it might be more budget-friendly to let them handle packing.
How comfortable are you?
Some people can hire packers and movers budget-wise and time-wise, but they simply don’t feel comfortable having a bunch of strangers going through their private belongings. If you see yourself as this person, then hiring packers and movers might not be for you. The same goes if you to love to have control over your belongings and how and where they were placed. That is normal too! Not all of us are feeling comfortable having local movers dealing with our whole life. However, you might want to think about hiring packers and movers to help you with the most fragile items, like dishes. And you can take care of everything else that is yours and private. Many people are not even aware that local movers are offering this type of service, but they do. It is called partial packing.
Are you looking for the best packers and movers who can help you with both – you are in the right place! Vista Movers is one of the best moving companies in San Diego and we have a team of experts at your service seven days a week. Not only that our local movers are trained and experienced professionals who will go above and beyond to provide you with a smooth relocation that will exceed your expectations, but our customer support department will help you plan your move as well. At Vista Movers, we have just one goal – to make our clients happy! And we are doing everything in our power to achieve it. When you hire our packers and movers you can be sure that your belongings will be at your new home or an office without hustle or damage. Since we are licensed local movers, you won’t have to worry about a thing during the process, because we have your back. Give us a call and let us know about your moving needs, and our customer support agents will make sure to create a moving plan that is tailored for your needs. At your service, Vista Movers!