Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

We will soon be moving out of our townhouse and into our house and we are planning on doing the move ourselves (we're only going about 3 blocks). There aren't too many boxes and there is some big furniture, but we think we can do it with the help we will have.

Has anyone done this before? Any tips? We plan to rent a truck.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

We did this last week. We moved from a 2 BR apartment into a 2 BR house. It took us 2 days, b/c stupid Uhaul screwed up and we had to get a 14' truck instead of a 17' truck. If we had the 17' truck I think we could have gotten it all in one day.

We needed about 5 people to help us move *big things* like the bigger TVs, the bed & mattress, the China cabinet & hutch, the 2 credenzas and the entertainment unit. Everything else was just boxes of stuff (about 45 boxes ) and our suitcases full of clothes.

We also had to move a 55 gallon fish tank, which took up the better part of the 2nd move day.
I would definitely rent a dolly and.or a hand truck to move the larger stuff. Even when we were done with the heavy items, we used it to move multiple boxes into the truck all at once & it saved us a bunch of time. Also, we got the cellophane to wrap the furniture with & it really helped as well.

Message edited 7/11/2005 4:57:16 PM.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

We did once and only because we were throwing out a lot of our old furniture and just buying new stuff. Big headache, next time I would prefer to just hire movers.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

When DH and I moved into our co-op we brought all my furniture from my parent's basement in TN. We drove it from TN to NY and then moved it in. We ended up having to move a lot of it by ourselves because all of our helpers magically disappeared. We even moved a piano by ourselves.

My advise is to get a dolly. We had one that was just a big rectangle with padded sides on four wheels. It made the job so much easier!! It's still a lot of work, but easier.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

DH, his brother in law, and I moved us out of our two bedroom fourth floor walk-up.

Yes, we are insane.

It actually wasn't horrible, but I would not do it again!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Yes both my DH and I moved from our parents house into our home using a mini van..

Mostly boxes

the only big things were 3 dressers, bed and couch.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

When we first moved into our co-op we did the move ourselves ( with the help of a few friends ). We rented a U-Haul Truck to bring everything over. I think that we're going to do it ourselves again when we move into a house. We're going to need a lot of people to help us move a 65 inch TV down a flight of stairs though...

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

I've personally have only used movers. However, I've helped other people move. If you have a bunch of people, trucks and a willingness to get it done quickly - it isn't that bad.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Thanks for all the info. everyone. I think with all the help we have that we really will be fine!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

When we moved into our house we were only coming from a co-op, so we didn't have too much stuff, we just packed early (months in advance) with stuff we knew we weren't using and then did little by little, had some friends help us move and we were fine.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Do you guys have PODS up in NY?
If so, use that

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Honestly, no one I've ever known has actually used movers!!!

Everyone in my family has always done it on their own with the help of all of us. Here in London we have plenty of people who will help us because we've always helped them. I wouldn't ever use movers.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

We did, both times we moved. The first time was the worst. We rented the biggest truck we could get through UHaul, first went to my four-story walk-up and moved everything into the truck, went to his apartment next, and then unloaded everything at our new apartment. With about 5 people helping, it took all freakin' day and hurt like hell. Second time we moved from our apartment to our house. Rented the biggest Uhaul possible, and with the help of 2 people, it really didn't take that much time at all. BUT, beware of Uhaul. Any/all of our problems came from them... we couldn't get the truck we wanted, at the time we wanted, etc. They'll probably give you the runaround, and make sure you call the day before to confirm your reservation.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Thanks for the tips on UHaul!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

yes.

and i will NEVER do it again. Never.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

There are two things I have VOWed i will never do again.

Move (as in.. moving the furniture myself)

and

Paint (anything)

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

We did about a month ago. We did it with the help of Uhaul and about 15 friends and all thier cars (Thank god for Chevy Blazers and Toyota Camry's )
My BIL also made a trip from Jersey City to help whick I thought was so sweet.
To say "Thank You" I had hero, salad, beer, soda and dessert.
Everyone pulled together and we were moved in within 7 hours.
Moved from "out east" to central suffolk from a 1BR apt. to a house
Good Luck!
ETA: We were in a 2BR apt. before that, so my 1BR had A Lot of stuff!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

we did from NY to GA, then from SIL to our apt, then our apt to our house...all on our own.

The first trip we rented a Budget truck, the other times a friend with a trailer helped us.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

we moved from our townhouse to our house (only a few blocks too) but we had to put our stuff into storage "in between" besides that being a pain in the a$$ we swore we'd never do it again but we did save lots of $$ doing it ourselves. We just enlisted friends and family and bought them lunch. We rented Uhaul and had no problems...they even supplied hand-trucks and blankets so that furniture didnt knock into each other. I would also recommend a hand truck with 4 wheels on it so you can use it like a dolly.
But if you can get a POD that sounds like the easiest way to do it! I wish I had known about them when we moved, that would have been PERFECT and we wouldn;t have had to move twice!!!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Yes my DH and I moved with no movers. It wasn't too bad. We had a few people cancel on us at the last minute, but so many people came through for us. It took about 4hrs...

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

when i first moved into my apt we did it...it can be done....the only thing to consider is how narrow the doorways might be...i lived in a 2 family walk up and it was tight getting the mattress up and in....but we did it! when we moved this time, mike's friend from work has a company on the side so we let him do it for us since we had amassed so much!

are you moving from the cute townhouse we came to?? (ummm...you didn't need that desk back, did 'ya??)

good luck - can't wait to see pics!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Deidre, the desk is all yours! Enjoy! Yes, we're moving out of our cute townhouse into a house a few blocks away. We are so excited. We should be closing next week. It should have been this week but the seller had to have minor surgery.

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

I think what we have decided to do is move all the boxes ourselves and use a mover for the furniture. We got a good price for that and there really aren't that many boxes. Plus we have lots of family/friends to help with those. THANKS for all your input!!!!!

Re: Has anyone done their own move (no movers)?

Good luck with your move! Where is the house?