Three Ways to Save Time (And Money) While Moving Home

Moving home is hard.

You have to pack all your belongings – most of which you’ve acquired over a large sum of years – and prepare them for transportation. It’s weeks and weeks of preparation, stress, and anxiety, all for one ten-hour period. And do you know what? It’s always worth it.

Moving home is hard. But that’s why we’re here. We’re here to help.

One of the most common things for people to worry about is the price – especially if they’re opting to hire a professional company. They agonise over the numbers, wondering if they can afford a professional service. And the answer is: Yes. Yes they can.

Now, if you’re someone who is moving soon, and have found yourself worrying about the cost, you can rest easy knowing that we’re here to help. Here at Alan Carroll removals, our goal is very simple. We want to offer a friendly, professional service that relieves people of all stresses and leaves them with a sense of freedom; freedom to settle into the next exciting chapter of their lives.

So if you’re worrying about the cost of your removal, now you can stop. We’ve got your back.

#1: Make Sure Your Small Items Are Properly Packed

Contrary to what you might assume, the large items that are involved in a removal are usually less time-consuming than the smaller items. What we mean by this is in terms of cubic capacity. It would take us way more time to load the truck with book boxes than it would with wardrobes – and that’s all because of the cubic capacity. For every wardrobe we’d take in, we’d likely need thirty or so small boxes to fill the same space.

So how does this apply to you?

Well, if you plan on doing your own packing and preparation, making sure your boxes are packed correctly is key. You need your boxes to be packed tightly, but at the same time, you must ensure that they’re light enough for one porter to carry. A great way to do this is to mix things up with the box’s contents. If you’ve filled half a box with books, and think it feels too heavy, top it off with towels or Tupperware – lighter items. That way, the box will be one-person manageable.

Another upside to well-packaged small goods is the amount of time it takes. Imagine how long it would take us to carry stacks of five books at a time, as opposed to a box full of fifty. Are you following? Of course you are, it’s common sense! The more loose items we have to carry and transport, the longer it will take. This will likely get irritating for you, especially if those items could (and should) have been boxed in the first place.

So, in summary: make sure your small goods are packaged or boxed appropriately – you’d be very surprised at how much money that could actually save you.

#2: Select A Van/Crew Size That’s Right For Your Job

Now, this may seem counterproductive at first – how can spending more money possibly help you spend less? Well, let us explain.

Consider this: let’s say you’re moving from a four bedroom house. You have four bedrooms that are full of the typical items – beds, bedside cabinets, wardrobes, drawers; a full set of living/dining room furniture, four kitchen appliances, a total of one-hundred boxes, and some garden equipment and furniture. And then, when talking on the phone to your company, you learn that they have three vehicles – a transit van, a box LGV, and a large HGV. Now, upon learning the prices of these vans, you opt for the transit van. For a small per hour price, it’s a steal compared to the rest of them.

Well… not exactly.

The distance between your current property and your new home is twenty miles – not too far, but still a decent drive for a van full of furniture. However, this is where the problem lies. You’ve hired a small van, and with your amount of house contents, it’s going to take at least three trips. So now, instead of driving a grand total of twenty miles (plus the distance from, and back to, the company’s depot) your company have to travel around a hundred and twenty. And what does this mean for you? The job is going to take longer, and therefore, will cost more money.

This is a mistake a lot of customers make. Instead of paying a little extra per hour for a larger vehicle, they opt for the cheaper rate. Only it’s not cheaper, because it takes way more trips and involves a lot more travelling time.

The moral of the story? Choose a van that’s the right size for your job and save yourself money in the process.

#3: Dismantle Any Awkward Items (If You’re Able)

If you’re fit and well (and know how to use a screwdriver), there’s no reason you can’t do your own dismantling. Doing this yourself will really reduce the time your job takes, and because of this, will save you a lot of money. If you’re willing to pay your company more for something you could do yourself, then dismantling isn’t necessary. However, if that was the case, you probably wouldn’t have clicked on this article. Yeah, we don’t miss much…

Think about it logically. If you have three wooden frame beds, a huge wardrobe, and a sizable outdoor chair that needs to come apart, that would likely take around three hours – and that’s before you’ve even moved them.

Whereas, if you put in extra effort and ensure your larger items are dismantled before your company’s arrival, the porters can just waltz in and start loading the truck. You won’t be much of a fan of dismantling at the time, but when the time comes to hand over your cash, you’ll be happy you went that extra mile.

Now You’re Equipped

Here at the company, we’re really big on providing value for our customers, and want each and every one of them to get the very best from our services. That’s why we work hard to help you save money. That’s why when you call you’re always talked through some of the best ways to make your moving day run as smooth as possible.

If value is something you’re looking for in a company, Alan Carroll Removals is a great place to begin your search.

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