The idea of moving home is nearly always exciting; you might be buying your very first apartment, upsizing to a dream family home of down-sizing to a brand new house to enjoy your retirement without the maintenance headaches of an older house. Whatever the reason, affecting that excitement will be some anxiety about safely getting all of your belongings from one place to another. Whether you are moving locally, across the country or even from another country, the safety of your possessions will make the difference between a successful move and not.

Moving home is an expensive process, even when done on the lowest budget possible; there is no getting away from legal fees, taxes and transportation. To transport your belongings, at the very least you need to hire a van and pay for the cost of fuel even if you do all the lifting and removals yourself (which is a tough job). fuel always on the rise, the price isn’t going to come down in the near future.

If you want to keep the cost of removals as low as possible, here are some important points to remember:

1.       Do I need all this “stuff”?

When you pack up all your stuff in boxes you may be surprised at how many boxes there are – often taking up more space overall in the van than the large furniture items and white goods. So take a very critical look at the things in your current home and see what you can discard now to save money by moving less stuff.

2.       Check the volume of the removals van

There is usually a reason why certain vans are cheaper than others – they may be smaller and you might have to make more than one trip, which will cost more in fule if you are paying for it. So always check the capacity of the van you are renting. If you use a professional removals company they would normally estimate what size van you need.

3.       Are you moving locally?

Doing your own removals may not be too bad if you are moving locally but if you are moving to another part of the country entirely, then you really should consider a professional removals company. Fuel costs on very long journeys will mount up as will the time it takes and you may not be able to complete the move in one day if you have a lot of possessions.

4.       Packing

Good quality packing boxes and packing materials are essential to a successful move so don’t scrimp on these – however you do not have to buy new ones. Try and borrow some from friends who have moved recently (they may be glad of the impetus to finally finish un-packing) and check out companies who supply used, but still good quality, boxes at a lower price.

5.       Ask for a discount

Whether it’s van hire, packing boxes and materials or a full removal service always compare prices and ask for a discount as there may be some flexibility in prices.