Moving can be overwhelming if you try to do it alone — it's a task which requires more than one set of hands. That's what friends are for, right? But even if your friends gladly offer to help, you still need to follow a few rules of thumb to ensure that your friends remain your friends, even after moving day.
Enlisting friends to help you move can be wonderful, but be prepared for the fact that it requires more preparation on your part. Here's a list of how to prep for your move BEFORE the big day, so things go smoothly.
Organization is the key to a smooth and successful move - it will make things easier for you and your volunteers. Here are five steps to setting up a successful moving day with friends:
- Reach Out Early. As soon as you know you'll be moving, pull together a friendly and organized email and get it out to as many people as possible. Giving people adequate notice ups the odds that you'll get a good group together - remember, the more people that show up to help you move, the easier it is for everyone.
- List Needed Tasks, "Potluck" Style.When asking people for help, list out specific tasks that you need assistance with. Do you have any super-organized friends that would like to help you with sorting through items before packing starts? Do you want to organize "teams" of people (couples, etc.) to tackle one room together, so they know exactly what they're signing up for? Be creative, and be specific - think of it like a potluck, where everyone signs up to bring a specific dish. If people know what they're in for, it allows them to plan their own schedule and approach the day with optimism.
- Keep, Discard, or Donate. One of the joys of moving is going through all of your rooms, item by item, and determining what you really need to keep, what should go to trash or recycling, or what needs a new home. If you've found some friends who want to help with this task, all the better - it allows you to reminisce as you go through things and make decisions together. It can be overwhelming, and time may not be on your side. See who volunteers to help, pick a date (or two), and be ready to tackle the project methodically. Having space in one room with "Keep", "Discard", and "Donate" signs helps people know where things go and keeps things moving.
- Have Supplies Ready. Get a list of moving supplies together (blankets, packing tape, boxes) and have it ready-to-go on the day of your move. Whatever items you have not discarded or donated will be packed on that day, and you want to make sure to have the "tools of the trade" ready for your volunteers.
- Music and Food Are Key. The day of, you want to make it as fun as possible - if you're moving far away, this may be your last chance to spend time with these folks, so keep it festive! Music (don't pack away your speakers just yet), snacks, and beverages will go a very far way with your volunteers. As an added touch, think about getting a little something for each person, or writing a personal thank you note to each one. They're giving you their time, and you want to make sure they know how appreciative you are.
How else have you planned for a successful moving day with friends?
(Image: Photo by Flickr user qwrrty, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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We made sure all our stuff was ready to be loaded. Everything was packed in matching boxes, and all furniture was wrapped. Nobody had to worry about what was in boxes, because they were all well labeled. We've had so many friends tell us how easy it was for them to help because it was all set up and ready to go.
Then, when unloading at our new place, I stationed myself right by the front door. I would read each box and tell the helper what room it needed to go to. This made everything really easy and nothing had to be moved twice!
Read more about it here: http://bonnieprojects.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-newlywed-move-9-rules-for-moving-in.html
Critical point regarding food and drinks. Do not provide the beer until AFTER your helpers are done working! Water and sodas while they work.
@bonnieprojects...
You just stood at the front door while everyone was working for you? Wow. How about labelling the boxes with the room it is supposed to end up in and getting in there and helping out!
I lucked out with my last move. A friend's moving company moved us for free! What a dream come true! We, of course, helped out and took the guys out for lunch.
we recently did this and for us the trick was: 1. organisation 2. large group of friends.
before everyone showed up, all our boxes were packed, labelled, and ready to go. we did what CARROTSTICKS mentioned - everything was labelled with what room in the new place it should end up in.
we 'invited' about 20 people which was great because no one worked too hard - i think everyone carried 2 boxes at most which means no one felt overworked or annoyed (i hope). the fridge in the new place was filled with beer and we had homemade pizza for all. when everyone left, the new apartment already had all the boxes in the correct location and all we did over the next few days was slowly unpack.
I do enjoy this list. If you're going to go the pester-your-friends route, you can at least exercise some ettiquete. I am personally of the camp that you should, if at all possible, budget for hiring movers so as not to inconvenience or upset your friends. This is one of those "I'm an adult now" flags I like to fly. I'd hire movers over harrassing friends much in the same way I wouldn't stay out partying until 5am anymore--it's something that feels immature to me and says "I don't have my ish together."
(Please note these are my personal standards for myself and even though it might not sound like it, I'm not trying to poo on anyone else)
OMG. This is such a point of contention for me. I have this one friend, I've known her for approximately twelve years. I've helped her move back and forth, here and there, at least six to seven times. Finally, I told her, on her last move, that was IT. I was done. Find someone else.
A) Who moves within a 60 mile radius eight times in twelve years. (Crazy people, that's who.) And B) Just because she's one of my best friends does not mean I have to bend over backwards for her every time (it's called being a doormat.)
My boyfriend (of only a year, so he has yet to learn) thinks differently ("You should always be there for your friends and family, NO MATTER what.") and during a recent visit, my best friend says to my boyfriend (in front of me) "You'll help me move in a couple of months, won't you?" cause yes, she's moving for a ninth time, BACK to her old apt. And she was trying to get him to guilt me into helping. He of course agreed to help her, and my response was "Well, you two have FUN!" ;)
Obviously it's a sore spot. Feel free to agree, or beat me down. I'm curious what others think. Isn't there such a thing as too much, even in friendships?
@modernartist - Yeah, this pushed a few buttons for me too. I've had too many "friends" who wanted too many favours like this.
I notice the list above doesn't say "Return the Favour". Heck, if someone helps you move, you must OFFER to help them move when the time comes. They shouldn't have to ask.
Also on the list should be "Don't wear out your welcome". Unless you are making it up to your friends somehow, you really can't ask for this favour more than once or twice.
My personal opinion is that asking people to help you pack is going a bridge too far. Unless it's your parents or your bff. Or unless you are having to move due to some emergency and thus didn't have time to plan ahead. If you must ask for free help with the heavy lifting part of the ordeal, then do everything you can to make the work they're doing for you as easy as possible, and don't waste their time. Have everything packed and ready to go before they get there. That means doing things like unscrewing the mirror from your dresser, taking the bedding off the bed, etc. Be sure your moving truck is there and ready to go when people show up. Have blankets and ropes to tie stuff down in the truck. Make sure you get the lease all taken care of and have the keys to the new place in hand the day before, so people aren't waiting around while you sign a contract. Give out gate codes or station someone (besides yourself) at any security gates to let people in, so they don't have to try to reach your cell phone when they get there. Offer plenty of water and snacks, and pizza or whatever for lunch. Oh - and have toilet paper, hand soap and paper towels at both the new and old place so people can use the facilities.
I don't know. ..I also don't think it's cool to ask people close to you to help you move. It's very hard work. We hire movers even though it's expensive :(
I pay my friends $100/hr to help me move. $ well spent and my friends never get tired of helping.
I also pay my workers (aka awesome friends) with booze and a free meal out at a nice-ish restaurant. I only say nice-ish because there aren't many places to eat at all around here, nice or otherwise.
I once helped some friends move and when I got to their house they hadn't even started packing! It was a nightmare.
I'm past that age (late 40's) where you ask your friends to help you move. I've moved a lot and the best way is to hire movers. It's not that expensive for local moves. I usually move the small items myself and have the movers move the furniture and other larger items.
I had a boyfriend who rented the rental truck and then when we went to his apt he hadn't even started packing and we had the rental truck for only two hours so we had to rush around putting things in boxes and when I sat down once to rest, I could a lecture about not being a team player as we were on a time budget and there was no time for me to rest.
I live in Argentina and we have to ask friends to watch the truck while the movers are moving your stuff to make sure no one robs anything out of the truck while the movers are busy. So sad.
@carrotsticks, funny how that doesn't work with furniture! And with 12 helpers, it helps to have a leader in the mayhem.
and yes, of course you then obligate yourself to help them move, too, which we've done twice in the three weeks since our move!
Tip: pre-print big white labels LVRM, BDRM, etc. and stick 2 on opposite sides of the box - because boxes inevitably get stacked label-in. You can scribble more detail under the label if you want.
And then: HIRE MOVERS! Or look forward to the day when you can - best $ I've ever spent.
I got quotes for our last move and it was going to be over $1,100 for moving a one bedroom apartment about a block. I called every mover out there and they were all around the same price, or if they were significantly cheaper they had horrible reviews. So I disagree that moving is "not that expensive", at least in my city.
Sorry @bonnie, no offense intended. It just seems that while you were labelling the contents of the boxes so you could direct, you could have just written the room on the box. Also, a bit of painter's tape with the room written on it, stuck to the piece of furniture would have freed you up entirely to help out with the lifting.
If I showed up to a friend's place to help them move, I would be disgruntled if they weren't putting in some sweat equity of their own, unless they were incapacitated of course.
I've had to help someone who hadn't even packed until we got there with the moving truck (which I rented on his behalf since he doesn't drive). It was just awful. He didn't even have boxes ready so we had to go searching for a bunch at the liquor and grocery stores before even starting to pack. AND! He barely did anything himself. He's an amazing friend in so many other ways, but I would never help him move again.
Not only does my best friend NOT pack anything until you come over to help her on moving day, BUT many times she has honestly expected you to help her put her new place together so it's all moved in and complete by end of day. I am not joking.
House Voyeur, wow on both counts!
Our friends knew we were moving to our first house nearby so they had offered to help.
I printed out invitations explaining when "the big move" was and when the after-party would start at the new place. The after-party was open to everyone who helped and their families and active older friends (age 70+) that we didn't want lifting things...
We had everything packed ahead of time and were moving from a small apartment. We had budgeted about 4 hours (2 hours loading, 10 minutes driving, 2 hours unloading), but with all the help we were done in 2 hours.
At the new place, we had pizza, trays of awesome wings, and a 1/4 keg of birch beer (there was going to be a lot of kids). It was great because we finally had a place big enough for all our friends to hang out.
Hire movers. I live in an average apartment but I own a big couch and a washer and dryer. I had trouble finding movers I felt comfortable hiring (the last thing you want is to plan for help and have them either ruin furniture or not show up on time), so I caved and paid for Angie's List for three months.The movers I found were awesome, proactive, and made the whole process much easier. Best $500 I've ever spent, and that includes using Angie's List. Sometimes throwing some cash at the problem can save lots of stress.
I have friends that surprisingly "disappeared" when it was time for me to move out of my grad school apartment. I had a medical emergency (extensive hip surgery) and was on crutches when I returned to my apartment and was under strict orders not to carry anything heavy. No one offered to help. My best friend's roommate not only offered, but drove my stuff to Amtrak for it to be palletized and shipped halfway across the country. He was truly an angel in disguise. What did he want in return? Not much, just an old turntable I wasn't using.
Fast forward 15 years...when my husband and I moved from our rowhouse to a home in the nearby 'burbs, we hired pro movers. All of our stuff was door to door in about 2-1/2 hours. It was worth twice what we paid, and we tipped the artists/musicians/movers very well :)
my friends never got tired of helping me move and I always helped them move, so it was natural. I liked helping them paint, too, and it never involved payments or rules. A friend drove my car across country for me, and when it broke down had it repaired and had a new clutch installed. Refused to let me pay for things. Because we'd been friends forever, and felt like family, and were always there to help each other. Nice to know I have a core group of about 8 people I can always count on and they can depend on me as well. I recently wanted to get rid of a few large pieces of furniture and a piano. A friend knew of a truck and hauled them away. Later he gave me a piece of paper-- a thank you from a church he had donated the piano in my name.
Buy a decent dinner/lunch either that day or at a later time. Pizza and bucket of chicken doesn't cut it.
Unless it's an unexpected move, save up the money and hire movers. :)
I understand the need to budget, and sometimes it's just hard to shell out for hiring movers.
I've usually moved sometime around the end of April, beginning of May, so I start saving for movers in January. I've done moves with/out movers, and personally I would rather pay for the convenience of having someone else move the heavy stuff. My boyfriend and I have moved thrift store/Craigslist furniture into our current apartment, and while I love him, moving crap with him is so frustrating. We were trying to move a couch up the stairs (we're only on the first floor) but it was getting stuck and we had to shift it a couple of times. He'd go "Ok, wait, let's think about this for a minute" While I'm still at the top of the stairs holding the damn couch. So, again, I'd rather pay for my own personal ease and to avoid fights with movers :)
Having friends come over and assist where the furniture and other items should go in the apartment, that's a different story and I actually think that's rather fun.
The point that no one has covered yet is that if movers drop your stuff and it gets damaged or broken, their company pays for it! That's something that would cause resentment with among friends. Personally a combination of movers moving your junk in + friends helping to deep clean or paint the place you're moving out of so that it's ready for inspection is my favorite way to do things.
After a couple of moves, we felt like we were taking advantage of our friends and decided that the next time we move, we will be paying movers. In our early 20s, everybody helped everybody move in exchange for pizza. But now that feels weird. Maybe this is overly optimistic of us, but if we have to move for a job then the cost of moving had better be part of the negotiation. And if we're moving locally, we're planning to factor that into the budget---in addition to the home purchase price, closing costs, etc.
I'd have to say using friends/family is for when you have a very small amount to move (like a few boxes from a studio apartment) and/or have a reason you can''t hire help... like moving for a job after a long unemployment. People will be happy to rally for you when appropriate, but for normal circumstances they'll resent it.
As for the cost of movers - yes it is thousands if you hire a big national company to do it all - but it's much cheaper if you rent a truck and then hire people from small local companies on each end of the move to simply load and unload for you. We did that a year ago for a few hundred on each end, and it was so worth it. If I may say this, visit movinghelp.com for mover listings.
Once you are out of college I think you should be able to move without expecting your friends to do all the heavy lifting. If you can't afford movers for the whole job then you can break it down. Move the boxes yourself with some help from friends and have movers take the furniture, for example. Get your quotes early and save up the money.
I always set a time limit for my helpers. I tell them when I will start moving and when I expect to be finished - this gives them an out if I'm disorganized - and you can do the same! Tell your friend you can help her from 8-10 and then leave. I've even done this with my mother and it has worked pretty well. She can't complain that I didn't help and she knew ahead of time the rules.
I always give my helpers food and drink if they want it, or offer to buy them lunch or dinner at a later time if they can't stay. Most importantly, be ORGANIZED. And help! I work twice as hard as anyone helping me move and they appreciate it and always comment on it. I never stand and give orders, but I do know when to stand back and let the boys play with fitting things in the moving van, even though it may take a little longer.