Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, we are in a similar situation but moving further than 2 miles. I say don't even consider doing it yourself. Do you remember how hot, muggy and horrible it is here in July? You are much better off renting a UHaul and going through them for labor, too. They are bonded and insured and very reasonably priced. We were quoted roughly $90/hour for three men, and even at 4 hours plus the extra fees, the $600 to move will be far less expensive than hiring a company.

Be wary. YOu are going to end up paying more than you think. 1) Packing and moving stuff takes longer than you think. 2) Movers being paid by the hour move more slowly than you can imagine.

not true at all. the movers we hired were great. They quotes us 4-6 hours to get the job done and came in right at 4 hours. These guys worked the entire time.

Us too. Great experience with some guys off of Craigslist. We paid $350 and they moved the big stuff and most of the boxes. We didn't have them pack anything, everything was ready to go when they got there. They loaded it up and we directed them to the right rooms when we got to the other side. It was totally worth it.
I think this would be ideal in your case because you have so much time to actually make the move. When they've loaded for 1 or 1.5 hours, stop wherever you are and drive to the new place and start unloading. Make it very clear that you only need them for 3 hours (that was the minimum for us). We actually had them unload the rest of the truck straight onto the lawn when it got close to the 3 hour mark. We finished up moving the boxes inside after they left. You could have some guys come the first weekend, move the big stuff and then have the rest of the week to pick up the odds and ends, shuttle small stuff in your car, clean, etc. Besides, it will be a LOT easier for most of your stuff to be in the house during that first week so you can start unpacking and getting things organized for the week.
Good luck

Anonymous wrote:We have used movers help from the Uhaul website twice for moves. It has worked out great both times. You rent the truck and help but these guys will move big stuff, loads of boxes, etc. It cost us $200-300. Depends how many guys you want and for how long.

http://www.uhaul.com/MovingHelp/

OP here--
This is a brilliant compromise solution. THANKS! We've had a ton of friends offer to watch our kids (4 and 6), I think we'll take them up on that, rather than ask them to help us move!

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am WAY too cheap to ever pay someone to pack for me. Plus our sellers just suggested a closing date a week earlier than I expected, so now we'll have two full weeks to move lighter stuff over ourselves before the heavy stuff has to go, perfect.

And to the PP worried about our financial situation, we COULD pay the money to move, but then I wouldn't be able to buy the new furniture for the kids rooms that I want

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we hired moved for the first time the last time we moved. We went from a 2 bdrm 2nd floor condo. Movers (my truck buddy) cost us $600, and yes this is in the DC area. Best money I EVER spent.

The way I see it is that if you are adult enough to buy a hosue then you are adult enough to not be forcing friends to move your crap. I know that for me I am at the age where I am over doing that sort of thing.

We just used My Truck Buddy last week, and they were amazing. Came in under their estimate and cost us $600 plus tip. Moved from a townhouse to SFH. We gave away a lot of our furniture, so we had about the same amount of large items as you.

Do some price comparisons; 2k is too much for what you have.

My Truck Buddy SCREWED me on my last move. Cheap, but days of missing furniture and the company's contracting out to a "friend" of his was not worth it. It was three years ago and my family still talks about what a hellish move that was.

Wow, I was just about to contact them too.

PP here who recommended them. We used them for a very local move (4 miles or so), so there was no way they could have lost the furniture. Sorry to hear your experience - we loved them.

Pack everything yourself. Move what you can yourself. Hire movers for big stuff. It is ridiculous that you are thinking of asking friends to this for pizza and beer unless you are 26 or under.

Also get a second quote. 2k for a few items? Try mitchthemover he is awesome and I have never paid over $800.00 for same amount as you indicated, unless you are moving boatloads of heavy boxes, crap and books.

Furniture will require friends to help - boxes are easy. Rent a couple of dollies along with the truck and you can typically get 3-4 of them on a dolly. Find some plywood to cover steps if there are just a couple of steps between the house and the truck.

I haven't moved myself since college, but when I staged my previous house, I moved a ton of stuff (40+ boxes of books plus bookcases and other stuff) into and out of a storage unit by myself. It really wasn't that bad. Make sure all boxes are taped up securely and aren't too heavy. (Boxes of books and breakable should be small - slightly larger than copy paper boxes. Boxes of pillows or clothes can be bigger.)

We used Movinghelp.com -- my husband thought we could do it alone. HAH. We'd already rented the uhaul, but we had a couple strong guys help us load and unload. It was pretty inexpensive. Far cheaper than movers, plus we retained control of our belongings since we drove the truck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we hired moved for the first time the last time we moved. We went from a 2 bdrm 2nd floor condo. Movers (my truck buddy) cost us $600, and yes this is in the DC area. Best money I EVER spent.

The way I see it is that if you are adult enough to buy a hosue then you are adult enough to not be forcing friends to move your crap. I know that for me I am at the age where I am over doing that sort of thing.

We just used My Truck Buddy last week, and they were amazing. Came in under their estimate and cost us $600 plus tip. Moved from a townhouse to SFH. We gave away a lot of our furniture, so we had about the same amount of large items as you.

Do some price comparisons; 2k is too much for what you have.

My Truck Buddy SCREWED me on my last move. Cheap, but days of missing furniture and the company's contracting out to a "friend" of his was not worth it. It was three years ago and my family still talks about what a hellish move that was.

Wow, I was just about to contact them too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we hired moved for the first time the last time we moved. We went from a 2 bdrm 2nd floor condo. Movers (my truck buddy) cost us $600, and yes this is in the DC area. Best money I EVER spent.

The way I see it is that if you are adult enough to buy a hosue then you are adult enough to not be forcing friends to move your crap. I know that for me I am at the age where I am over doing that sort of thing.

We just used My Truck Buddy last week, and they were amazing. Came in under their estimate and cost us $600 plus tip. Moved from a townhouse to SFH. We gave away a lot of our furniture, so we had about the same amount of large items as you.

Do some price comparisons; 2k is too much for what you have.

My Truck Buddy SCREWED me on my last move. Cheap, but days of missing furniture and the company's contracting out to a "friend" of his was not worth it. It was three years ago and my family still talks about what a hellish move that was.

I would help a friend move if she suddenly found herself in desperate straits -- lost her job, sick kid, needed to double up with a friend.

Bought a house and wants to save money? Hell no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liability issues if someone gets hurt moving your stuff.

god i hate you lawyers

Fool. You're so shallow and simple-minded.

Hate the plaintiffs, not the lawyers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People over the age of 30 should not be asking their friends to help them move.

Agreed. It put friends in a really bad spot. I've lost a few Saturdays with DH while he helps out "friends" move. When your working full time and have little kids Saturdays, or any day off, are sooooo valuable.

+10000
You are saying that your friends' and relatives' time and backs are worth less than a few hundred bucks. Selfish.

Anonymous wrote:we hired moved for the first time the last time we moved. We went from a 2 bdrm 2nd floor condo. Movers (my truck buddy) cost us $600, and yes this is in the DC area. Best money I EVER spent.

The way I see it is that if you are adult enough to buy a hosue then you are adult enough to not be forcing friends to move your crap. I know that for me I am at the age where I am over doing that sort of thing.

We just used My Truck Buddy last week, and they were amazing. Came in under their estimate and cost us $600 plus tip. Moved from a townhouse to SFH. We gave away a lot of our furniture, so we had about the same amount of large items as you.

Do some price comparisons; 2k is too much for what you have.

Anonymous wrote:People over the age of 30 should not be asking their friends to help them move.

We're booked for the week of the 4th of July, so no can do.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your friends. We have some family/friends who always do their own moves, but they aren't as well off financially as us. We do not help with moves. We make enough money to hire people to move us (and have done so in the past). Since we don't ask others to help us, we don't want to help others. I'll assist in other ways (putting away dishes, cleaning, watching the kids, etc) but we aren't going to do any lifting. Call on friends who've asked for your help with moving in the past and you're more likely to have willing participants. But be willing to hire day labors if need be.

"I don't help move because I don't want to." Phoebe Buffay

Anonymous wrote:I will never again move without movers.

And NOT in the summer without movers.