10 Serious Diy Mistakes To Avoid When Moving By Yourself

Discover 10 serious mistakes that you must avoid when deciding to move by your self.

Ready to move to a new location? Most people think that being a self-mover is easier than hiring a professional. However, this makes you susceptible to a lot of mistakes that DIY movers make. Here are a few of them.

1) Assuming a DIY move is cheaper than hiring movers

Except if you have a relatively small home with a few household items, some good friends to assist when necessary, or a previous DIY relocation experience, you shouldn’t ignore all the hidden costs that come with a do-it-yourself move. So, most people make a common mistake of not accounting for the DIY moving cost of moving equipment, packing supplies, road taxes, and even cleaning charges, ultimately leading to financial dilemmas.

2) Underestimating the time needed to move

When you try to move without any professional assistance or prior experience, you could end up running out of time because, like most beginners, you failed to account for how much time is necessary for your DIY move. That overconfidence would lead to improper organization and hurt your chances of moving successfully. The solution is to create a detailed moving checklist.

3) Renting the wrong truck

When making a DIY move, the size of your moving truck is essential. You could end up choosing a vehicle that is too small for your items, and that would mean multiple trips to your new home or spending extra to rent a bigger truck. However, you could also rent a much larger truck and waste some cash on extra storage space you don’t need.

4) Fail to maximize storage space in your rental truck

No matter how skilled you think you are in loading a moving truck successfully, it requires experience, creative visualization, and excellent planning to maximize storage spaces. You could end up loading the heavier items first and making a whole mess of things.

5) Use any moving box for packing

You can’t use just any moving box for packing. You have to consider the safety of your household items, especially the fragile ones that could break at a drop. Don’t make the self-moving mistake of accepting any box for moving, just because it’s cheaper.

6) Starting the packing process late

Many DIYers make the mistake of assuming that there is a lot of time until moving day to start the packing process. As a result, they end up being way behind schedule because they are not done packing early. Solve this by packing a few boxes a day.

7) Assuming you’re better at protecting your things than professional packers

You’re not the only one who knows how to protect your things just because you own them. Sure, you can have this assumption for non-fragile household items. But for the fragile ones, you will need professional packers who are experienced in handling such delicate items.

8) Underestimate the importance of house moving safety

Most DIY movers don’t know the proper steps to guarantee their safety and that of everyone else, including pets, during a move. On the other hand, professionals know how to avoid personal injuries, use the right moving equipment, and don’t assume that your old home is immune to damage.

9) Assume your friends have to help you move

No one is obligated to help you move, not even your friends. Of course, no DIY move will be a hundred percent successful without the timely assistance of great friends. However, having great friends to hang out with doesn’t mean that they’ll come running to help you move.

10) Think it’s tough to find a good moving company

Finding a good moving company is not as difficult as most people think. There are tons of them available online. Check out their reviews and then request in-house surveys to get an accurate estimate of your moving costs.

Conclusion

Before you decide to be a DIY mover, think about all the mistakes you could subject yourself to and how easy it is just to leave it to the professionals.

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