So. You have a big move coming up, and you’re getting anxious about all the gritty details. You’re looking through Pinterest and Googling every “moving hack” you can think of. YouTube makes it look so easy, but, in reality, you know that it will be much more difficult to move on your own.
Speaking as professionals, you have good reason to hesitate. Moving is a huge undertaking that can cause serious frustration and hours of wasted time and effort if done alone. And while moving on your own (or with the help of a few friends and family) is potentially cheaper, you end up paying even more in lost time and energy.
Below, we help explain why you shouldn’t move by yourself and why professional movers are always the smart choice:
#1: Moving Requires Working When You’re Least Motivated
After a long day of work, you find yourself at home, resting in your usual spot. You look around, knowing that in just a few weeks, this room will no longer be yours. You will be sitting somewhere else, in the same chair, exhausted after another day of work. You know that should probably start to pack those boxes—well, actually, you should probably go buy those boxes.
But it’s been such a long day, and you’re tired! So you put it off by one more day, then by one more week, and then you’re scrambling for boxes two days before Moving Day which is even more exhausting and then there’s packing and then and then…
Motivating yourself to start packing is just too emotionally and physically taxing after work. How can you be expected to pack your entire house after the hours you put in at your job? Either you sacrifice your evenings or your weekends to moving, and if you’re going on a cross-country move, then those few hours are even more precious.
#2: Moving by Yourself Saves You Less Money Than You Think
You scroll down the Amazon shopping list, desperately trying to find reliable cardboard boxes that aren’t insanely expensive. Do you need a special box for dishes? Do you need a tape gun, and how much does it cost to rent moving blankets? Will you need bubble wrap and labels too? Do you know someone with a furniture dolly? What is your money buying anyway? Are you really paying money just so you can do all the work on your own?
Moving safely and efficiently requires more tools than you might realize. While you might think moving by yourself is the cheaper option, think of all the time and money you’ll end up spending on items you won’t need again until your next move. Moving is a lot like car repair—you think you’ll save yourself some cash by buying the parts and doing the labor yourself, but you end up spending just as much on tools and extraneous things (and you might end up causing some damage in the long run).
#3: Moving by Yourself Eats Up Your Quality Time with Friends & Family
You know your friends love you, but you also know they have a lot of things to do. The last thing you want is invite your friends over after work (see reason 1) to help you pack your “delicates.” It seems like a good idea to at least ask your friends for help, but you know they will have to come over on a Saturday if real work is going to get done. Shouldn’t the weekend before your move be dedicated to quality time with those friends, rather than asking them to spend time with your recently purchased cardboard boxes?
If you’re not making a local move, then all of your time with friends and family ought to be spent enjoying their company, not using them for free labor. That’s no way to send yourself off!
#4: You’re an Expert at Using Your Belongings, Not Packing Them
You may (if you’re honest) spend a lot of time with your computer, your television, your artwork, your furniture, or your bed, but that does not mean that you know how to safely move them to a new location. One wrong Tetris-esque stacking job, one dropped box, one ill-placed item, and you can say goodbye to your favorite decorative vase or your favorite computer monitor. A professional mover may not know your things as intimately as you do, but we definitely know how to move those things in a way that will ensure their safety.
#5: Moving by Yourself Can Be Dangerous
Moving might be something everyone does, but that doesn’t mean you’re still putting your hearth in your own hands. The fact is, moving is a lot of heavy lifting, and if you’re not used to lifting heavy items on a regular basis, it can be extremely dangerous for your back, knees, ankles, and shoulders. Additionally, if you own anything large or heavy, poor moving protocol could put you at risk of being crushed or knocked off-balance at a dangerous moment.
We know, this one sounds a little far-fetched, but hear us out. If you were asked to do several hours of hard labor lifting rocks, you’d be rightfully concerned. You’d think about your back, how hard it would be to enjoy life for a few days, how you’d be putting your bad joints at risk. But if you were asked to spend several hours moving boxes of books, clothing, and an old piano, would you have the same response?
So the question is: Why put yourself and your loved ones at risk for injury?
#6: A Moving Company Would Be Insured for Any Damage
You tied the mattress and were sure that it wasn’t going to fall over, but it did…right onto your chandelier. You couldn’t believe how expensive it was when you bought it, but it sure isn’t worth a dime now. Most people forget how expensive some of the items in their home are, and they also forget that some of those items are not covered through insurance or warranty.
When you break someone of yours, there’s no remedy for that. It’s broken, and you’ll need to live with the cost. However, a moving company provides two benefits: one, with our experience, we’re less likely to have moving accidents. Two, we’re 100% insured, which means anything that gets broken or misplaced in the move is covered by our policy.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we need to expect that some things will get broken or lost in the move. Hiring a professional means those losses will be covered.
Which brings us to our next point:
#7: Moving Without Help Can End Up Causing Frustration with Your Loved Ones
Your brother swung by to help you pack today, and you are excited to get that furniture moving! With his help, you start to lift that big couch you got last year, and he takes the lead toward the door. As you reach the door frame, you realize your current couch configuration will never make it through. You try to tell him to take a minute and regroup, but he’s determined!
The result?
A lot of scrapes on the wall and a broken couch leg (not to mention some brotherly frustration).
Family is wonderful, but expecting them to be professional movers is unreasonable. Just like reason #6, any damage caused by your loved ones isn’t covered. You’ll just need to pay for repairs to the couch and the walls. However, paying for a professional mover not only prevents damage, but also provides coverage in the event that it occurs.
AQMS is owned by a husband-and-wife team with more than 20 years in the business. If you’re looking for help from family, give us a try instead.
#8: Moving by Yourself Makes It Harder to Enjoy the Journey
You’ve always wanted to explore other parts of the United States, but not like this. Your back is sore because you loaded up the truck yourself and you’ve been hunched over the steering wheel for 10+ hours, trying to end this insufferable journey as soon as possible. The miles on your rent-a-truck are piling up, and you are kicking yourself for not using the flat-rate package. If you had just taken the time to do the math, you could have saved a good chunk of money.
Regardless, this is costing you way more than you thought it would, and you wish you could have just flown out to your new home—or at least driven in a more comfortable car! Why did you sentence yourself to driving a huge, gas-guzzling truck across the states on your own dime?
Let our professional moving team bring your valuables to your new home. If you are going to travel across the country, let it be for a road trip—not a load trip.
#9: You Need the Right Equipment to Move
Between Cousin Joe’s 2001 flatbed, the smallest U-Haul money can rent, and your family van, you managed to cram all of your things into your “professional” moving vehicles. As Joe pulls onto the freeway, you begin to notice that his flatbed is sitting lower than usual. Due to the weight of your belongings, Joe’s truck bed is sagging and looks like it could bust any minute. This was a huge mistake, and Joe has to pull over to wait for help from another truck. Why didn’t you just go with the pros?
Between reliable trucks that get your possessions from point A to point B, and wall protectors that guard your old and new homes, our professional movers have the right tools for the job. Your items won’t be crammed in our trucks because we know exactly how much space your valuables need.
#10: You Need the Right Skills to Move
You spend hours trying to decide if your lamp should be in a box or standing on its own, if your fridge can safely carry your book collection while in transit, or if your cabinet can stand on your bed without doing damage to your mattress. You want to cut corners. Not because you don’t care, but simply because you don’t have extensive moving experience. You can’t foresee stability issues, you can’t predict safety concerns, and you definitely can’t picture how your items will fit in X, Y, or Z.
That’s what we’re here for. If you are worried about any one of these issues, or have hundreds of other nagging concerns, let us help. Our professionals are quick and efficient because we have been there thousands of times before, and trust us, we have packed it all. The only way to have extensive knowledge about moving items is to actual have experience moving items. So let us help you with your move. Our knowledge, our team, and our equipment will be at your disposal.
Time to Pack It Up!
At AQMS, we firmly believe that your things deserve careful packing done by experienced hands. We genuinely believe that moving on your own is a poor experience, which is why we believe so strongly in what we do. While we make your move easy and stress-free, you get to relax and enjoy the journey. AQMS can help you move anywhere in the United States. We even help with international moves!
If you have any questions about our services, call for a free and accurate quote. Dial (661) 622-2636 now to set up a meeting where we walk you through our process with your items.
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