Every time someone has to move the same question has to be answered – can I do it myself or do I need professional help? To be fair, the question seems easier to answer than it actually is. There are a lot of moving parts (pun intended) to take into consideration before making a decision. Today, we’ve decided to help all the future movers reach their decision easier. We’ve decided to compare the two based on several factors and see which of the two options fits best in a certain situation. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
How Far Are You Moving?
First things first, before you decide on whether you’re going to hire someone or take a DIY route, you have to answer this question. The distance between the new or the old home is a major factor when making this decision.
- Not far
Now, this is actually up for a debate since anything within a 100-mile radius is considered a short-distance move. However, moving across the street into another building or just relocating to another part of town is in no way the same thing as relocating to another city 80 miles out. Why? Well, if you’re moving across the street you can basically carry most of your stuff on foot and you obviously can’t do that in the other cases. So, for a short-distance move, you could do DIY.
- Far away
If your new home is hundreds or even thousands of miles away from the current one, there’s no reason for you to do a DIY move. To be fair, if you’re moving from New York to Los Angeles, you should probably just leave everything behind and purchase new stuff when you get there, but if you’re not willing or able to do that, you should definitely hire a moving company. Logistics alone would cause anyone a headache.
How Much Stuff Is There To Move?
- Not a lot
If you’re only moving contents of a single bedroom or just a few pieces of furniture, you could probably manage without the professional help. If a bed, TV, a closet and a PlayStation is everything you need to carry with you, you could get a couple of friends to help you load everything into a rented truck and be done with it.
- Entire home
If every item in the household is going with you, don’t set up yourself for failure. With many objects and items to move, it’s just going to be too hard to keep track and organize everything. In these cases, it’s best to hire a moving company so you can focus on some other things.
Are There Any Special Items?
If you need to transfer special items like pianos or pool tables, you’re probably not going to be able to do so yourself. Let’s say you live in an apartment building and you have a piano. That thing is not being carried down the stairs – it’s going out of the window. So, unless you’re planning on learning how to operate and rent a crane, you should probably leave this to professionals. Many professional companies, such as Easy Peasy Removals often stress the importance of proper care of special items like pianos, pool tables, hot tubs or antique furniture.
A good tip to remember is to try not to fasten your gear into your road case using an exacto knife or any type of sharp tool, as this could damage it and possibly scratch the finish. Instead, use a flathead screwdriver. This will protect the finish from scratches and other damage that might occur. Visit DIY Road Case Store for more tips and tricks!
How’s Your Schedule?
- Tight schedule
If you only have a week or so to complete a move – you should probably forget about DIY from the start. Packing everything up, getting rid of unnecessary things, loading everything up and driving to your new home is just too much work for someone inexperienced. Instead, you should rely on the effectiveness of the professional crews.
- Time is not an issue
Generally speaking, if you have a month or more to prepare for a relocation, you can probably DIY it. That is, if you have people willing to help you DIY it, because, let’s face it, you’re not moving an entire bed or a closet by yourself. Nevertheless, with a lot of time for prep, you could pull this off without professional help is what we’re trying to say.
Is There Anyone To Help?
The key factor to a successful Do-It-Yourself move is to have friends that can help you Not-Do-It-Yourself. As we’ve mentioned, there’s no way you could be able to singlehandedly do all the required help without any friends or family willing to break a sweat and feel sore for a day or two. It all comes down to this – if you have friends that are willing to help – you can try and DIY it. On the other hand, if there’s no one to help – you should hire professional help.
Have You Done This Before?
- Yes
Experience is one of the major factors as well. You’ve gone through it once, you know what you have to pay attention to, who to call, which trucks to use and much more. If you’ve tried and failed – you’ve learned from your mistakes. If you’ve tried and succeeded – good, you’ll do it again.
- No
On the other hand, if you haven’t done this before and it seems like it could be a little bit too much for you to handle – it might be best not to risk it. the thing is, if you mess up, you could damage or lose some of your stuff or even end up in debt or financial struggle. It’s best not to risk it if you haven’t done this previously.
How’s Your Budget?
Finally, as a lot of other things, moving also depends on our budget. Sometimes you just don’t have the means to hire a pro and you have to do it yourself to save a few bucks. However, keep in mind that if you mess up, you could end up losing more money than you would initially have to pay to a moving company. So, it’s a calculated decision you have to make. It should also be said that if the budget is not an issue, you should just save yourself some trouble and hire someone to execute a move while you handle other business.
Our final advice to you would be to go over all of these questions, check and see in which category you fall into and act accordingly. Good luck.