Packing up and moving to an entirely different state can be a huge life change. It can be expensive to start a new life elsewhere, and leaving friends and family behind is often challenging for many people who make this move.
There are many reasons people decide to move to a different state. Some people relocate to find more opportunities for career progression in popular jobs such as nurse practitioners or other roles in the healthcare sector. Others move home because of their partner’s location or simply to have a change of scenery and lifestyle.
When you’re moving house on a budget, it can add an extra layer of challenges. Saving money might be the number one priority when transitioning from one place to another. Taking a do-it-yourself approach to many things can help to conserve funds. Here are some of the top DIY tips to help you save money on home tasks while moving state.
1. Start Packing Early
Leaving it too late before you start packing can often lead to a need for expensive packing services.
Companies offer a wide range of services for people who want help with their packing, but it can add many extra costs which could otherwise be avoided.
Once you know you’re moving home, consider all the things you will need to take with you. Make a list initially which you can add to over the weeks and months leading up to the move.
You may decide that there are furniture items and other bulky pieces that you don’t want to take with you. Give them away to thrift stores or family and friends. Advertising on social media can help you to find new homes for your preloved items.
In the weeks before you move, start packing your things into boxes. You should start with the items that are not essential and won’t be needed over the next few weeks. These are often things such as book collections, clothes for the next season, and ornamental items.
2. Ask For Help with Transport
If you are travelling to a different state by car or by train, ask friends or family members to travel with you to help move your belongings. This will cut out the need for removal companies or van hire, but can add extra costs in terms of train tickets, gas, and other travel expenditure which can’t be avoided.
It’s important to weigh up whether it will be cheaper to hire a removal company or to enlist the help of people you know and make it a DIY job. Driving can be the cheapest option if you are travelling to a neighboring state, while moving across country is likely to be cheaper and more effective by plane.
Limiting the number of large items and suitcases you take with you can reduce transport costs. Sell or recycle anything you don’t need. Moving home can often bring an opportunity to refresh your wardrobe and other collections. It may be impossible to take some large furniture items with you, so consider storage options if you want to keep them, or raise some extra cash by finding a buyer nearby.
3. Repaint It Yourself
Every home looks better with a fresh coat of paint. Depending how long you’ve lived in your current property, it might need repainting before you leave.
If you’re departing a rental property, repainting before you leave can ensure there are no problems with the landlord and will cover up any marks and scuffs which may have been left during your time in the home. If you’re selling a property, speak with the new owners and see whether they plan to repaint once they move in.
When you move to your new home, if there are parts of the walls or ceilings which need to be repainted, doing it yourself can again help to keep your costs lower. If you’re renting the property, always check with your landlord to make sure they are happy for you to repaint, particularly if you want to choose a different color.
4. Find Time for Cleaning
With everything else involved in moving house, finding time to clean can be difficult. However, doing this yourself can save a lot of money in the long run, especially if you are leaving or moving into a large property.
Whether you’ve been renting or owning your home, leaving it in a clean and tidy condition is essential. Paying a cleaner to do this work can cost on average $50-$90 per hour, which can soon add up if there are many rooms and areas of the home to clean.
The new property you are moving into should already be clean and tidy from the previous owners or tenants. If you need to arrange for it to be cleaned, it is much cheaper to buy cleaning products and attempt this yourself rather than recruiting a professional cleaning company.
If you’re unable to clean and tidy the homes yourself, ask friends and family members to help.
Getting additional help with cleaning will also get the job done much faster.
5. Tidying the Garden
The garden or outdoor space can be easily forgotten when you are focused on packing your
belongings and sorting out admin and other important tasks ahead of your move. Paying a gardener can be the easiest option, but it can come with a high price.
If the garden has been looked after regularly, there may not be a lot of work to do. But a neglected garden will often need a substantial amount of work. There may be some things you are not able to complete yourself, such as cutting down large trees and shrubs.
Consider hiring a professional gardening company for the larger jobs you cannot tackle alone. But smaller jobs such as cutting the lawn, trimming the hedges, and pulling up weeds and unwanted plants can be DIY tasks.
6. Find Used Cardboard Boxes and Storage
Borrowing storage containers and finding used cardboard boxes can save significant amounts of money when moving state on a budget. Visit warehouses and supermarkets as they often have boxes at the end of the day which will be recycled or disposed of. You can sometimes take these and reuse for packing and moving.
Ask friends and family whether they have suitcases, storage containers and boxes you can use. While the cost of buying these items might seem minimal at the start, it can soon add up when you need many boxes. This aspect of moving home can even drive your expenditure over budget. Collecting as many storage options as possible free of charge will be a huge help in saving your funds.
7. Unblocking the Drains
Most people don’t need to hire a professional plumber for standard blockages in the bathroom and kitchen. Using a plunger, unblocking agents, and a bit of patience, you could achieve the same results yourself for a much lower cost.
Natural solutions, including baking soda and vinegar, can help to dissolve grime and clogs in the drainpipes. These are items which most people have in the kitchen, and they don’t cost a lot to buy either. If cleaning products don’t work to unblock the drains, you can try using a plunger.
The same applies when moving into your new home. In rental homes where the landlord is
responsible for maintenance, you should move into a property which is fully ready and does not have any blockages. But if there are any issues and your landlord is not responding in a timely manner, spending money on a professional plumber isn’t always necessary if you can try to fix the problem yourself.
8. Fixing Cracks in the Walls
Cracks will naturally appear in many areas of the home over time. Door and window frames are some of the most common places for these to occur, either caused by damp or other wear and tear.
With caulk and silicone sealants, you can fix most of the cracks in your home. If the problem has become too big to handle yourself, you may need to enlist the help of a professional. But smaller cracks and splits in the walls, ceilings, and other areas of the home can be swiftly mended in a DIY fashion.
The difficulty with doing this job yourself is often in ensuring you achieve a neat finish. If you’re leaving a rental property which will be inspected afterwards, you should take extra care and be sure to remove any excess product.
Once the cracks have been filled and the sealant is set in place, you can repaint over the area. Find the right color match when choosing paint to help your DIY fix look as seamless as possible.
Conclusion
Job opportunities, marriages and partnerships, and the desire for change are just some of the main reasons why so many people embrace home moves every year. Moving to a different state on a budget can be challenging, but there are several ways to keep these costs down and help your move go as smoothly as possible.