A Budget-Friendly Move That Was Worth Every Penny


A Budget-Friendly Move

It’s been a few months since we moved out of our old house. I still can’t believe a space that once looked like this…

…looked more like this when we left it.

Crazy, right?! Leaving this house was emotional, but the actual moving process was so easy and extremely stress-free thanks to the professionals we hired to help us out. I’ve never hired movers and was a little hesitant to splurge on this expense since life with a new house (that came with a laundry list of projects) is expensive.

However,ย  I was able to use HireAHelper to customize the price of my move, which made this expense worth every penny. If you’re looking to move, they are definitely worth checking out! Before I get into details about my move, allow me to briefly explain HireAHelper for others who may benefit from this resource someday. <– you guys know we’re all about saving money around here!

How does HireAHelper work?

Have you guys ever used sites like Expedia, Travelocity, or Trivago to compare hotel or flight prices when booking a vacation? You put in your vacation dates, your location, and a few filters and the vacation site comes up with a list of popular hotels that are available in that area during that time. Then you can scroll through the options and identify which hotel is best for you based on cost, amenities, location, etc.

HireAHelper works just like this… for movers! I used their Moving Calculator to put in my moving date, my location, and HireAHelper’s website came up with a long list of local movers, prices, and each moving company’s credentials. GENIUS! I read through each moving company’s reviews and chose Moody’s Movers based on the price and the outstanding reviews. I was able to get 2 movers for 2 hours for $210! And let me tell you, this was worth every penny.

Rent A Truck

So now I had the movers, but I still needed a moving truck. One of HireAHelper’s budget-friendly options is a “hybrid” move, which means you pay for the helpers and then you rent/drive the moving truck to cut down on costs even more. You can always purchase a full-service move, but the hybrid move was an easy way for us to save more money, so I opted for that option.

I used HireAHelper’s Moving Truck Calculator to rent a 15-foot truck I picked up a few blocks away from my house for $42!! Matt and I went to pick it up early that morning and had it all set in our driveway when the movers arrived. The grand total for the move (helpers + truck) was about $250, which was worth the money… especially since I’m pregnant and can’t lift anything too heavy.

Hire A Helper… Or A Few!

I can’t say enough about how amazing this crew was. They were careful but quick, and fit the items from our home in the truck like a perfect puzzle! Plus they were SO nice, especially when I asked if I could take some photos of them hard at work. #awkward

Since we’ve had the new house for a few weeks (only a mile away), we brought over a lot of the boxes and started unpacking the kitchen and basement closets. My in-laws have been amazing helping with this process, which definitely cut down on the amount of time we needed to hire the movers on moving day. Plus our closets and kitchen were completely unpacked before moving day, which cut down on A LOT of stress for me.

Some of the heavy boxes were still left to transport over to the new house, but the movers mostly just had to worry about the furniture on moving day. It was a breeze and we could not be more thankful for their help! What these professionals did in 2 hours would have seriously taken us all day.

Drive the Truck Yourself

I drove the truck to the new house and the movers followed behind in their own car. I only had a short distance to drive, but you can use this method regardless of how far your new house is away from the first house. As long as you’re comfortable to drive, this is a great way to save money!

Let The Helpers Do The Heavy Lifting

The movers quickly got to work unloading all of the furniture into the basement when we got to the new house. It took them a little under an hour. They were just as careful and precise on this side of the move, which made me feel very comfortable.

When we were done unpacking everything off of the truck, we still had their services for a little longer so we had them move a few of our Christmas decorations up into the attic. They were more than happy to help and we were so grateful to check a few of these heavy items off of our to-do list right away!

Once they left, we received a text from HireAHelper about our experience and permission for them to add this payment to our credit card. Done and done! We brought back the truck and couldn’t believe the entire process was over by 11 am.

Clean, Clean, Clean!!ย 

Meanwhile, my amazing mom and Matt’s amazing mom were back at our old house finishing up cleaning it. They cleaned the cabinets, refrigerator, bathroom, floors and our sheets one last time. Having them start on the cleaning right as the truck pulled away was a LIFESAVER and ensured the house was sparkling for the new homeowner’s walk-through early the next morning.

Time to Unpack

All that was left to do during the rest of the day was UNPACK! I put washi tape on all of our boxes with very specific labels of what was in each box. I’m SO happy I took the time to do this because I have been able to easily find anything I’ve needed over the past month. We’re currently living in the basement of the new house (with full use of the kitchen upstairs) so most of our everyday essentials are unpacked, but there have been times when I needed to find items that are in our storage room within these boxes. The detailed labels have been ah-mazing in making this process pretty efficient.

Overall I could not be more pleased with our entire moving process. It was well worth the $250 expense!

Bridget


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.