Thursday, July 12, 2012

Moving Tips- Part 4

HI! It's Jilly. It's finally the post you thought would never come...Part 4 of our Moving Tips Series! We moved from Arizona to New York, and now that I'm getting a bit more settled I have just a few more things to share with you. Hopefully it will help some of you out!

First, did you know you can price match your moving truck?! All the big companies- U-Haul, Budget & Penske- want your business and are willing to beat their competitor's prices to get it. So, you can get a written quote from one company, take it to another company, and they will match or beat the other company's quote!

Some people like the fact that U-Haul has the lower truck bed, so you can get a quote from Penske or Budget, then take it to U-Haul and they will beat it. This is a great way to save yourself some moola on your move.


You can also save money on the truck rental by booking online. Most places give you a 10-20% discount. Plus, they usually have discounts for students, military, AAA, AARP, and other things. Look for promo codes online. Be sure to explore all your options and all the ways YOU can get a discount. Moving is not cheap, my friends!


image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We got our truck from Penske this time. They didn't have our truck the day we reserved it for (grrrr...). But, they gave us a huge discount as an apology, plus gave us an extra day, since we had to move our truck-loading help back when they didn't have our truck on time. So, in a way, not having the truck on the day we reserved it may have been a blessing in disguise, because it saved us even more money on our ridiculously expensive move cross-country.

Another way to save money on your move? Get boxes from local grocery stores. Some of the best boxes come from the produce department. Get apple and orange boxes, because they come with lids and are nice and sturdy. Check your local health store, because they usually have more produce boxes. In the Phoenix area we have Sprout's and Whole Foods. 




We got some great boxes from Albertson's. At the stores in Phoenix they call them "Ponca" boxes, because they are shipped from Ponca City, OK. The boxes come with hair & body products in them, and other non-food items. They store them flat in the back near the baler. 



Ponca boxes are great because a) they give them to you flat, so you can fit more of them in your car when you pick them up, and they take up less space in your house while you are packing, b) they are all the same size, so the stack well together in the truck and in your house, c) they are nice, sturdy boxes, and d) they are free. Mwahaha!


My friend, Pam, suggested making a schedule when preparing to move, i.e. Monday- Master Bedroom, Tuesday- Office, Wednesday- Kitchen, etc. This is a great idea, as long as you stick to your schedule. I am terrible at keeping myself on track. Hence, one of the reasons we left FOUR DAYS LATE! Granted, we left a little later because we had a lot of little projects to finish up on our house before we sell it, but still... If I'd stayed on schedule we would have been a LOT better off! Then I might not have looked like this because I was sleep-deprived and running on Dr. Pepper.



As a comparison, this is me at the park with my kiddos the other day, not sleep-deprived and running on Dr. Pepper. Ok, well maybe a little sleep-deprived. I am a Mom, after all. ;)




The last tip is good for anyone, but is especially helpful when preparing for a move. Do you have a pile of stuff you want to get rid of & donate, but don't want to/can't/don't have time to take it somewhere? Well, many of the places that take donations- like Goodwill, Deseret Industries, and The Salvation Army- will come out to your house and pick-up your donations. You just call them, schedule a pick-up date & time, then put your stuff out in front of your house. Everything from clothes, housewares, and toys, to bigger items like furniture, they will accept. Then you know your stuff is going to help people in your community, not just going in the trash. Plus, it's a tax write-off! 



We had DI (Deseret Industries) come out TWICE to pick-up a huge pile of stuff. SO easy!

That's the end of our Moving Tips Series. I hope at least one of these tips will help your move go a little smoother. If you missed the rest of the series, follow the links below.

Moving Tips- Part 1 Moving Tips Part 2 movingtips3pin

And, I feel like I need to add a disclaimer here...just because I'm giving you all these tips does NOT mean I am a pro! I felt like I was in WAY over my head! Not everything I wanted to get done before I left got done. Not every road-trip activity I envisioned was made. Not every box was perfectly marked. (That's Ethernet cable, btw. Yeah...)


So, when trying to move don't let yourself get discouraged if things aren't going according to plan. Life happens. Unexpected road-bumps get in your way. Just go with the flow and do what you can to make it go smoothly, then just let the rest go. It will all work out somehow, I promise!

moving tips 4



Sometimes I link up with THESE parties.

Check out the rest of the series!

Hi! It's Jilly: Moving Tips- Part 1

Hi! It's Jilly: Moving Tips- Part 2

Hi! It's Jilly: Moving Tips- Part 3

23 comments:

  1. I'll just say that i'm sooo glad that the military hires out movers for when we have to move. We've done it twice ourself and moving SUCKS. haha


    xoxo,
    Melissa

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    1. Lucky... Yeah, moving is not my favorite pastime, that's for sure!

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    2. Yeah, that’s a great service unless they take forever to deliver your stuff, which happened to us! Our couch, bed, you name it, took weeks to get to us. I wish I was kidding! We made the most of it though by building makeshift beds out of sleeping bags and pillows. And a Dish coworker turned us on to DishOnline.com that features tons of movies and shows to instantly watch, even without a subscription, which was great since our DVRs and TVs were tucked away in the moving truck as well. So even though we were banished to the floor, we still felt right at home in our new house. I hope you guys have settled in nicely as well!

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  2. Oh I so love these tips and you make it all so very doable. =)

    Aloha Jilly,
    Following ya here and on FB via the weekend blog hop. If you've recovered from such a big huge move and are up for a different sort of ride I'd love it if you'd join us as we ride the wave of life at localsugarhawaii.com. And if you come by soon you'll find a giveaway to enter and a sweet ALOHA Friday HOP to join if you please.

    Happiness Always.
    xo,
    Nicole
    localsugarhawaii.com

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  3. Great moving tips didn't know you could price match trucks!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah! My hubby actually found that out! He's a pro at getting good deals. Good deals gravitate towards him like a magnet. Ha ha! :)

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  4. Great tips! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm following you back from What's Cooking in the Burbs. Have a great afternoon!

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    Replies
    1. Yay! Thanks for stopping by! Excited to get to know you!

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  5. Wow! Great info!

    New follower from: Musings of an Imperfect Mom

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  6. Love the tips on where to get boxes. You know, some places it's hard to get people to come to your house for donations. They're a little finicky where we live.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm...I hadn't thought about that. I've lived in fairly small towns before, though, so I should have thought of that! Where do you live? Is it a small town?

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  7. what an organized move!

    come say hi at nichollvincent.blogspot.com

    have a good day!

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  8. Moving can be such a headache - glad you were organised!

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  9. Hi! Visiting from Salt Tree. Love love love these tips! We are moving to a new house this month and I am soaking up all the tips that I can get. Im going to make a schedule now.. such a great idea!

    If you get a chance I would love for you to share this at my Friday link party.. its open til tomorrow! http://www.thegrantlife.com/2012/07/financial-friday-fabulous-features_12.html

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    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the tips! Be sure to check out the first three posts in the series. I stopped by and linked up. :)

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  10. Great tips Jill!!!

    So happy you got to get out with the kiddos!

    Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!

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  11. How overwhelming to move so far! But you rocked it!

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  12. Thanks for posting these tips. I'm glad you linked up at Romance on a dime!

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  13. found your list on mom on a time out blog hop-but i am goin to rewind to moving tip number one! thank you for sharing!

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  14. Great tips! One thing I would add about getting boxes from the grocery store is to call ahead. Unless you request that they reserve them for you, they often are thrown out or compacted before you get there. Call the night before you plan on going to pick them up and ask them to save them for you and where you can pick them up.

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Thanks for commenting! It really makes me smile!

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