It ain’t cheap to move house, that much is a given.
First you have to spend time (and money) looking for a new place to begin with. Then come the middlemen, like surveyors and solicitors, with their pricey professional opinions. Your estate agent will probably take a chunk of change too, and we haven’t even got to the stamp duty and the mortgage yet!
With all these dilemmas, it’s not all lost hope as there are still a few ways you can save money or even (maybe) make a small profit when moving house. All it takes is some savvy planning and careful decision-making. Here are a few tips.
Sell on some items with preloved.co.uk
Decluttering before a move is essential, and you can certainly make some money by doing so.
Maybe you have some lightly used furniture that won’t fit into your new house? Perhaps you have lots of designer shoes that you never wear and definitely don’t need?
Whatever you have to flog, you can do so quickly, easily and, most importantly, for free on Preloved.
Then, local buyers can browse through your belongings and (fingers crossed) make you an offer.
As long as you’re somewhat open to haggling and can be flexible about collections, you’ll easily have made a few quid by the end of it!
Donate the rest to charity
Once you’ve figured out what needs to go and, of that, what you can sell for some cold hard cash, turn your attentions to donating.
Sure, you could spend hours scanning barcodes of old books, CDs and DVDs onto MusicMagpie but (trust us) it’s not worth your time unless you somehow own some rare and sought after titles. Even then, you have to meet a minimum though! Instead, take it down to your local library.
When it comes to old clothes, charity shops will be glad to get them if they’re in good condition and weren’t poor quality to begin with. (Honestly, East Africa doesn’t need your Primark hand-me-downs.)
If they’re looking a bit shoddy, hand them over to a local animal shelter instead, or consider just recycling them.
If you have unused camping gear, or even toiletries, school supplies, bikes and old phones, you can donate that to local homeless shelters. The same goes for warm clothing and blankets that you no longer need.
Invest in a removals company
Many movers blanch at the idea of hiring a removals company, because they see it as a large financial outset which isn’t strictly necessary when moving. For people with very few belongings, this might be true.
However, when relocating your entire life (furniture and all) it quickly becomes impractical to shove everything in your Ford Fiesta and drive it across town. Even hiring a man with a van can be a bit of a pain, because you tend to end up doing all the loading and unloading yourself.
In the long run then, hiring professional movers can help you save time and energy on moving day itself, plus you can rest easy in the knowledge that your stuff will get there safely.
We recommend checking out buzzmove for all your removals comparison needs, as they allow you to conduct a super speedy video survey of your belongings before bringing you individual quotes from local companies.
(Plus, if you’ve already sold on some items and made a bit of money with Preloved, your removals quote may well be lower anyway!)
Eat everything in the fridge
Throwing away good food is both wasteful and a waste of money. However, you might find that when it comes to moving day, you’ve got cupboards and freezers full of grub that you haven’t even touched.
One way to save money (and cut down on unnecessary waste) is to plan your meals carefully in the run-up to moving day, and gradually make your way through everything you have in the freezer to start with. Then you can tackle the cupboards.
Obviously, don’t bother trying to scarf down entire jars of peanut butter or gravy granules, but do try and polish up things that are nearly empty and weighty items.
Don’t bother buying packing materials
It’s easy to go nuts buying bubble wrap for days, packing peanuts and endless rolls of tape when you’re planning a move. Add onto that the hundreds of boxes you think you’ll need, will maybe use half of and then just throw away anyway.
However, the fact of the matter is, your movers may well provide boxes and materials anyway.
And if they don’t, you’ve likely got everything you need at home to transport your stuff safely: think towels, blankets, cushions and sheets. All of them can help you wrap up more fragile belongings and get them to your new home in one piece. And without spending a penny!
Alternatively, just ask around your local shops. They’d be more than happy to let you take their used but sturdy boxes of their hands.
To read more on topics like this, check out the lifestyle category.
2018 ·
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