We can all agree that moving is a painstaking process. From choosing a new home to packing our things, almost nothing in the process is exciting at all. The costs involved can also stress us out further. But hiring outside help can lift a lot of our burden, quite literally.
However, movers and organizers don’t always come cheap, so some people opt to DIY the entire process. But while saving money on outside help can reduce stress, they come at the expense of time and exhaustion from handling everything ourselves.
So can you DIY an entire moving process? Let’s see the typical stages of moving and decide for yourself.
1. Changing Some Finishes
If you bought an existing home, chances are you’re not satisfied with every finish in the space. What you may prefer are hardwood floors, but you got carpet, instead.
In this scenario, you can either tear the carpet yourself and install the hardwood, or hire pros to do that job. If you choose the former, you may be forced to reschedule your moving day because changing floors is time-consuming. But you may retain the schedule, provided that you’ll be okay with putting all your furniture in another room while you finish the hardwood installations.
2. Painting
As with flooring, the paintwork in existing homes is hardly 100% satisfactory, either. Fortunately, repainting is far easier than replacing floors. Just do the job a few days before the move so that no furniture will suffer paint drips.
3. Electrical Upgrades
Newly-built comes usually have electrical outlets compatible with most plugs today. But if it’s an older home you bought, you may need some electrical upgrades.
Unless you’re an electrician, then the upgrades should be left to a pro. If the budget is tight, you can choose to delay the procedure; only you’ll be moving in a home with limited usable plugs. Hence, hire an electrician before the move; they’re paid by the hour, and they can work faster in a space, allowing you to minimize your expense.
4. Storage
A few days before moving, you’re going to pack all your things, making storage a problem. Leaving the big boxes in your living room will take up space, so you’ll need a separate storage facility.
If you have an empty shed or garage, you can skip paying for a storage service. But otherwise, it may be indispensable.
5. Moving
The moving day will be the toughest; without professional movers, you’ll carry the boxes yourself and load them in your vehicle. Chances are only a few boxes will fit, so you have to make a second trip.
What about your valuable and fragile items? There are moving specialists you can hire to handle those, such as a reliable auto transport service. Indeed, you’d instead not tow your other car yourself.
If these procedures are too much to DIY, you can hire a professional moving company that’ll handle the whole process, from beginning to end.
6. Organizing
Unpacking is just as challenging as packing. The new space can be overwhelming, so you may have no idea where to put all your belongings.
To make the task more manageable, you can move your things into the new home little by little, and begin organizing them at once. But if that couldn’t be an option, there are professional organizers you can hire. They will be your savior if you have lots of clothes, work-related material, and other types of belongings.
It looks like you can DIY all the stages but for the electrical upgrades. However, lifting the majority of the burden yourself can knock you out, leaving you with no more energy to enjoy your new home. Therefore, DIY only what you can without problems.
