Crazy for thinking of moving ourselves?

[Anonymous]

I stopped moving myself years ago, but the way I see it, you need three things.

(1) a babysitter for the day
(2) a couple of strong, burly guys who you can pay to help you
(3) a rental truck big enough to get all the furniture in one trip.

other than that, if you're really organized, you can do it. I stopped moving myself because it was easier to pay people to do it, rather than try to find friends to help me. (never mind that these same friends were always asking for MY help.) I wouldn't move myself now though, because I have a piano and a treadmill, which are best handled by professionals. I do all my packing myself, though, and everything's organized, taped, labeled and ready to go when the guys show up.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you are crazy - it can be done! But, depending how old you are and at what stage of your life, I would advice against asking friends for help. I would be relly pissed if my friends with kids asked me to help, I mean a couch is one thing but a whole apt... no.

[Anonymous]

I think if you are game you should do it. $1500 is a good chunk of change and you could use it to buy yourself some new furniture.

I do think the suggestion of getting a babysitter would be very beneficial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think you are crazy - it can be done! But, depending how old you are and at what stage of your life, I would advice against asking friends for help. I would be relly pissed if my friends with kids asked me to help, I mean a couch is one thing but a whole apt... no.

Well, I think it really depends on your friends. I'm in my late thirties and we recently moved (we hired movers), but two of my guy friends who are in their late 40's were all set to come and help us move. They did not hesitate to offer and I know they meant it.

[Anonymous]

We recently moved and saved a good bit of money by moving the smaller things ourselves and just having the professionals move the big furniture. We packed up boxes and had "moving day" with some friends where we just loaded up everyone's vehicle with as much as it could hold. It was just one trip for each car, and no heavy lifting, so no one was overwhelmed. Check with your moving company that there's no minimum charge, and that if the move takes less time than expected you won't have to pay the estimate.

I absolutely agree to get a babysitter for moving day! DD is 22 months, and trying to watch her and tell the movers where to put things was quite challenging; with two I can't imagine how you could do it.

[Anonymous]

I was in similar boat but we did hybrid--we moved alot of the small stuff ourselves in loads and put it in garage of new home. Used movers for big, bulky heavy things. So glad we did. Ended up paying about 700.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Thanks for all the responses!

13:06 -- was your move considered in-town? What movers did you use? ($700 for moving furniture doesn't sound bad to me...

[Anonymous]

You can do it yourself, but it will be extremely stressful and tiring. You will need someone to watch the kids or help your husband while you watch the kids. Given the distance and two kids I personally would pay the movers. Just depends on what the money is worth to you. FWIW the last time we moved when I was pregnant, I had to promise I would not move us again for 10 years-that's how much of a hassle it was. Not helped by UHaul not having a truck available for us even with reservations. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would go for a cheaper, but reputable company. We used one called "Amigo Movers" who we were very pleased with & they were about half the price of other quotes we were getting.

It could be this company here (see another good review on this site & quote for $415):
http://www.yelp.com/biz/amigo-express-moving-company-hyattsville

[Anonymous]

We last moved five years ago with a 12 month old and a 25 month old. We only moved ten minutes down the road and we did the majority of it ourselves. We made several trips each week and got all the smaller items out. We did then hire a mover for the little furniture we did have. We had done the majority of the work ourselves and we paid under two hundred dollars for the move.

[Anonymous]

13:06 we used 2guysandatruck was great!

[Anonymous]

We moved ourselves a few years ago, with an infant (just one) from an apartment to a house.

A pain, but definitely doable. We were glad we saved the cash though.

Definitely need someone to watch the kids. And, if you can move some of the smaller stuff in carloads beforehand, it makes a HUGE difference. Less chaos on moving day.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I did it with my d's 2 and 4 yrs old- moving from our rental to our house about an hour away.

Try to have your kids stay with friends or relatives for the moving day and call every able bodied person to help- provide food and drinks and eternal thanks.

[Anonymous]

We moved out of our 2 bedroom condo to a house just a few miles away. Total Cost - $800. Worth every penny.

[Anonymous]

We jsut did it with an 18 month old and 4 year old. Was not bad at all. Our realtor provided a free moving truck. Husband, his cousin and a friend did the heavy lifting. I moved some boxes and things with my mom the week leading up o the big day. We did not have a ton of stuff as had sold so much on craigslist prior and had a lot of new furniture delivered to new house. It can be done rather painlessly.