Moving Equipment and Supplies for DIY Moving

If you do not have enough money to hire a professional mover to help you transport your belongings to your new place, you should consider doing it yourself. DIY moving is ideal if you only have a few boxes of belongings to move and if you have a spacious vehicle like a moving van or pickup truck. This is also ok if you are only moving to a nearby town or city.

If you are planning to move your belongings yourself, you need to have the right moving equipment and supplies for DIY moving. Check out the list below to help you prepare for your DIY move.

Like what was mentioned earlier, you need to have a large truck where you can put all your belongings. If your vehicle is not big enough to accommodate all your things, you can make several trips to and from your old and new house until you have transported all your things. You need to set aside a budget for fuel expenses. Make sure that the expenses will be cheaper if you do this than if you hire a moving company. If you do not have a spacious vehicle, you can always ask a friend with a large vehicle to help you move.

For large and heavy objects like your queen-sized bed or your two-door fridge, you should get yourself a dolly or cart that can help you carry large and heavy objects. You can get a heavy duty dolly with four wheels that you can use for really heavy objects or a dolly with two-wheels that are ideal for carrying several stacks of boxes and lightweight furniture. You can rent this equipment from your local moving company for a low fee or even from truck rental companies.

You do not want to damage your hardwood or carpeted floor by sliding heavy objects on the floor without a blanket or pad underneath. Aside from protecting the floor, wrapping your furniture with a padding or blanket also protects them from scratches and dents. You do not need to buy pads or blankets. You can wrap your furniture and appliances using old blankets or comforters.

You also need straps and ropes to secure objects and boxes. For example, you need to secure the doors of your armoire or refrigerator by tying a length of rope around the body to keep the door from opening. You can also tie large furniture and appliances to the vehicle to keep them from toppling over. You can also secure boxes by tying a rope around them. If your vehicle has storage on the roof, you need a rope to keep your things from falling off the vehicle while you are driving.

You can use shrink wrap to protect objects from dust and dirt and bubble wrap to keep them from breaking. Shrink wraps are ideal for some furniture pieces or wall decors while bubble wraps are ideal for breakable items like glass and plates. You can also use crumpled newspaper in place of bubble wrap to keep fragile objects from breaking.

You can reuse those original boxes of your appliances if you were able to keep them. You can also ask for boxes from your local grocery or from friends who recently moved and have no plans of moving anytime soon. You can put your clothes, blankets, and curtains inside large bags and luggage. Once you have placed the cabinets and armoires inside the truck, you can put non-breakable items inside like clothes and blankets to save on space.

You can also use packing tapes to secure boxes and wraps. For you to be able to identify the contents inside each box, you can put a label on each box using post-it notes.