The lament recently is about the cost to move. Many of our clients haven't moved in many years. Their last move they probably solicited the assistance of a group of their friends, grabbed boxes from the local liquor store, asked everyone who had a pick up truck or station wagon to bring them over, ordered a bunch of pizza, some soft drinks and a keg of beer. In a few days, the move was done.
If you are like many of our clients, friends have aged. Offspring often have jobs, live remotely, have children of their own. Station wagons have been replaced by mini vans and SUVs. Our clients often look around and there are few if any people to help. It is typical, even in a large family, for the responsibility of help falls on one person.
Our clients turn to us, perhaps with one adult child or grandchild to assist, expecting the cost to be significantly less than it is. Why is it? This past year in particular has found the cost of supplies doubling, the cost of fuel doubling, labor is in short supply so the cost of labor has gone up significantly as well. What used to cost $1000 is now double.
There are things that can be done to lower the cost.
Plan! It's time to seriously look at what you have and decide if you will ever use it again. If not - discard it. If you don't love it, use it or have have a place for it, don't take it.
Create a floor plan using software to graph paper. Make certain the furniture you wish to keep fits. Make certain you allow for space to walk.
Put in the furniture the items you wish to keep. If it doesn't fit - you need to downsize more.
Sort, sort and sort some more. Don't start packing until all the sorting is done.
Call for help creating a move plan.
Remember - the less you take, the less it will cost. Take what you love, what you will use.
One last word of caution - avoid storage. What goes in, frequently never comes out. You pay to get it there, you pay to keep it there. If not one wants it when you are downsizing, it is unlikely anyone will want it in the future.