Moving on a Budget (Canada)
Question:
What have your experiences been with long-distance moving? Aside from the obvious "get rid of as much stuff as you can before leaving", has anyone got any advice for keeping expenses as low as possible? We're fortunate in that my SO's employer will be covering a hefty share of the expenses, but we're still going to be footing the bill for a lot of it ourselves.
Answer:
I moved from Toronto to Victoria BC last October. If you haven't already
started selling off things, start now. You'd be surprised at how long it
takes to sell some things.
It's a little cold for garage sales, so try ads in Buy & Sell (use their
"contents" section). You can advertise for free.
I used the following criterion to decide if I should sell something:
1) have I used it in the last year?
2) do I like it and/or need it?
3) is it worth the cost of transporting (for me it worked out to $1 a
pound using a professional moving company)?
Do you know how much the moving costs will be? Try to get an estimate of
the cost per pound. Some moving companies will give you a sheet showing
volume and weight figures for items (e.g. sofa - 600 pounds (I believe
this includes blankets etc.)
You can hire a moving company, use a container , or DIY.
I was going to use a container since it was cheaper than moving company,
until I factored in the costs of: 1) paying movers, 2) providing bubble
wrap./blankets, 3) possible damage due to improper loading - the trick to
containers is you can't leave gaps or the load will shift. Pros build a
wall to "close off" the gap. It was only $150 more to hire a moving company.
Make sure you negotiate for a better deal. Movers are very competitive.
Also check for references. I used North American and had no problems.
Since I was paying for my own move, I didn't transport any food (except
in my suitcase to last until I could get to a grocery). Now that I've
lived here 3 months, I know better - food and paper goods are more
expensive here! Stock up an extra month on things you really need or love
and aren't sure they carry in BC.
I made arrangements to take my 11 year old cat (having her checked by the
vet, getting rabies certificate, getting valium (for her, although I
could have used it too!)
Start collecting storage cartons now (get the really sturdy ones, used
for storing heavy loads like juice, cans). The LCBO might have good
ones, as well as Loblaws (etc) and Pet Value. And tape the tops shut
with non-transparent tape, so movers can't get a glimpse of contents.
Label boxes with the destination ROOM (e.g. Kitchen, bedroom 1). Don't
put "TOOLS" on a carton - put "BOOKS" or something else to prevent theft.
Take your jewellery, legal documents and personal treasures with you
(carry-on luggage, or in car if you're driving). Label boxes you need to
open immediately: "Start-up" or something to flag them - fill with bedding,
food supplies, cleaning supplies.
I bought Rubbermaid storage containers on sale for storing more expensive
stuff (e.g.computer software). Tape the tops shut with strapping tape to
help prevent theft (and cover the top with something innocuous like file
folders or newspaper.
I started packing months before - it was tricky selling things because I
didn't want to be living without a bed for example. I ended up ordering
a new bed from Eatons and they delivered it so it was there on arrival.
I gave the old one (5 years old!) to relatives.
Use towels and other linens to pack dishware and glasses. Fill your
kitchen storage containers with smaller items. Try not to mix boxes with
items from different rooms, so it's easier to unpack. Keep a separate
inventory of box contents (e.g. carton labelled Kitchen 1; inventory page
for Kitchen, carton 1). You'll need to unpack cartons before you move
looking for things you thought you wouldn't need!
Hopefully, the company takes care of temporary accommodations for you.
Consumer Reports has a book on moving (US) but it was the latest
published and in the library.
Type up destination address and phone labels for all your goods. I left
off my phone number and the destination agent didn't try very hard to
phone me to arrange delivery.
If you have a lot of books, and don't want to sell most of them, compare
the costs of moving ($x per pound) with the cost of Canada Post. It
might be cheaper to mail them.
If you're flying, use your maximum weight allowance (I ended up buying a
maximum size suitcase so I could take bedding, and stuff I needed to get
my hands on right away). I also was lucky to get a seat-saver sale.
Give the folks at Money Saving Moving, Inc. a call. They do moves where they
park a semi trailer in front, you fill it and they drive it to where you are
going. They park it again and you get to unload it. This way, you get to pack
it and unpack it and they do the driving. I don't know if they do business
in Canada. They can be reached at 1(800)279-6675. Tell them Scott Johnson
gave you there name.
Certainly theft is a real problem, as people who have moved very much know.
When we moved a few years ago my husband's large tool chest just did
not get unloaded off the truck. When a whole houseload is being unloaded
it is virtually impossible to check to see that everything has been
unloaded. By the time we realized they hadn't left it and called the
moving company it was, of course, too late.
He remembered that for some reason they had not put it in back with the
rest of the things when it was loaded onto the truck, giving some excuse
like its weight. They had put it in the cab behind the seat. If he had
realized it had not been unloaded before they left, they presumably would
have just said they forgot it because it wasn't with the rest of the
stuff. He naturally believed that they had picked out something that they
wanted as they were loading the truck and stashed it where they could
pretend to be innocent if they got caught.
I gather from this experience that it isn't people that the movers let
into the moving vans that steal things, it is the movers themselves.
Even if the moving company itself were impeccable, in a busy season they
are picking up people off the streets that they know nothing about to do
a low-paying, high-turnover physically demanding job. And what is to stop
an unscrupulous driver from simply detouring his almost empty truck to
drop off whatever he has cached away "behind the cab"--or under a pile of
pads in the back of the truck--before returning the truck to the company
lot? If someone calls managment to complain that everything didn't get
unloaded the driver can demonstrate that the truck is now indeed empty.
Managment either doesn't believe the homeowner or knowingly looks the
other way to allow their employees to "supplement" their income.
With all the commotion of a large move it is always advisable to do
everything possible to avoid giving the moving men a chance to rummage
through the cartons or to be able to identify whole cartons that might
be tempting to them. Also, if I were being moved again I would get on
the truck and be sure nothing had been "inadvertently" left under that
pile of pads they throw in the back before they leave.
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