Should You Do A DIY Move or Hire Professional Movers?
The biggest dilemma in the world of moving is if hiring movers is better than doing it yourself. While it is more cost effective to do it by yourself, hiring movers has its advantages. The amount of time it takes you to pack and move your belongings can’t even be compared to hiring movers.
What they can finish in just a couple of hours, it takes you days, even months to finish everything. First you need to evaluate the situation and figure out what you need for your move. After that you can decide what would be better for you, doing it yourself or hiring movers.
If you have one item to move, hiring movers will be a waste of time and money. Moving just one item is easily done by yourself or if the item is heavier, you can always ask your friends to lend you a helping hand.
When you hire Santa Monica local movers, the only thing you need to worry about is the excitement of moving into your new home.
Deciding on your move size
One or just a couple of items
If you have just one chair to move from your neighbors house to yours, then it is obvious that you won’t hire movers to do that. Not only will you pay for at least three hours of work, but you will also have to search for same day movers because there is no reason to wait to just move a chair.
If you are moving in busy summer months, you will be lucky if you even find movers to help you with that. So in situations like this, it would be best to just DIY it.
Stress turns things into a mess and Santa Monica local movers are here to help you turn that frown upside down.
Small studio or 1 bedroom
If you are moving a residence, a small one bedroom apartment or a studio, moving it yourself versus hiring movers is a tough decision to make. It really depends on the amount of belongings you have to move because a chair can be extremely heavy for someone who isn’t a professional.
That is why, if you have heavy furniture, it would be best to hire movers because you won’t have to trouble yourself with lifting heavy pieces. On the other hand, if you are moving from a furnished apartment and you only have boxes and maybe some decor, moving that yourself is much more cost effective.
Labor jobs
If you are moving long distance, you just require helping hands not a truck. This also depends on the size of the move you have, so if you have less stuff, it would be cheaper and better to do it yourself. But if you are loading a three bedroom home, it means you have a lot of heavy stuff, at least heavy for you, so hiring movers is a better choice.
Loading the furniture will take more time and it’s harder than unloading so maybe hiring movers to help you load and unload it yourself is also something you can do.
Now that you know what type of move is better not to hire movers for, it’s time to talk about additional expenses that you will have depending on what you decide to do. Pros and cons of moving yourself vs hiring movers:
Pros of hiring movers
Speed
If you are moving from a large residence, that means you have many rooms of belongings to pack, lots of furniture to disassemble and limited time to accomplish all of it. Hiring movers could be a life saver in a situation like this. What may take you weeks or even months to finish, professionals can finish it in a few hours to a day.
Your belongings will be packed properly
Packing is an art form that requires your full attention. There are procedures and methods you need to do in order to pack yourself properly. You want everything packed efficiently, and the best way to have that is to hire professional movers.
With Santa Monica local movers, you can expect a fast, efficient and proper packing service. We have trained and skilled movers, and they know best how to wrap your delicate fragile items, how to take apart and wrap your living room set and more importantly they know the best method for packing valuable belongings such as artwork, mirrors or any other special items.
If you do have a significant amount of fragile and valuable belongings, hiring movers is a better option if you want to ensure safety of your belongings.
There will be less damaged items
It is much better for two strong people to lift your couch instead of doing it yourself. That is why those strong men will easily maneuver your couch up a flight of stairs, and you will be exhausted by just moving it out of the living room.
You don’t know what happens or what will happen once your belongings are in the truck, so keep in mind that accidents can happen and it’s not always the movers who are responsible.
Efficiency
When hiring Santa Monica local movers, you can expect an efficient and fast service. A contract between you and us is a guarantee that everything will be done with effort and efficiency.
With appropriate tools and dollies, we will save you from the not very fun task of finding blankets and tools at the last minute. What is more important, we offer protection material for your furniture like plastic wrap and moving blankets free of charge, so you won’t go through the hassle of finding that.
You won’t move a finger, literally
When you hire Santa Monica local movers, you can rest assured that everything will be done by our professional movers. If you are hiring full service movers, you won’t have to lift a finger, so you can take that time to enjoy your moving process.
In general, it’s less stressful
When you hire Santa Monica local movers, there is no space to stress. If you are doing it yourself, all you can think about is if you are going to be able to finish it on time or if you will finish it at all. You don’t want to start moving yourself if you aren’t sure you can do it because searching for last minute movers is not always an easy job.
Cons of hiring movers
Cost to hire movers
Of course, the most important reason is the cost to hire movers. Depending on your move size, cost can vary and any additional service comes with added costs. Packing services are not cheap, and so are not moving services in general.
Some moving companies charge by the hour, while some may provide you with a flat rate for your move. So sometimes it may be cheaper to just do it yourself, but we can’t help but wonder if it is worth our time and money?
No control over your belongings
With Santa Monica local movers, you can expect trained and skilled movers that will move you in the most efficient and effective method, but when it comes to packing they may not organize your items how you like. When you unpack, you may become frustrated when you need to sort through the boxes. Supervising your move and giving special instructions can let them know what you prefer.
Trust in your movers
Letting a group of strangers into your home to sort through your possessions can feel intimidating and scary. It requires a lot of trust to allow your belongings to be handled by strangers. No one can guarantee that the movers you hired are honest and ethical, but having a little bit of trust will at least help keep your head clear during the entire moving process.
Pros of DIY move
Lower cost
The biggest advantage of handling that heavy couch is the decreased expenses. Moving already costs a fortune, and you may be on a tight budget after purchasing your home. If you are not in a position to hire professionals, you may want to handle everything yourself after all.
More control over your move
When you’re doing things yourself, there is no one to stand over your head and tell you what to do, which sometimes can be a bad thing, at least when it comes to moving. Since you are not a professional, moving your belongings sounds easy, but in reality it’s a hard job that requires your full attention and lots of effort.
Flexibility
When moving yourself, you can do it whenever and however you want to. You can split your move responsibilities and do things at your own pace. You are not fixed on dates and the time it requires you to do the service.
Cons of a DIY move
Time
The entire process of moving requires a lot of time to plan and complete your tasks. When you have a busy schedule, it’s hard to find time to move yourself. That is where movers can come in handy, since they can do it much faster than you, plus you won’t have to worry about rearranging your busy schedule. If you are sure you won’t have enough time, don’t start the process because you will feel forced knowing you have a time limit.
No liability
When you are moving yourself, there is no one to hold liable if something goes wrong with your belongings. There is no insurance as well, so being careful while moving yourself is something you should be focused on.
It’s not an easy decision, hiring movers or not. While doing it yourself is much more cost effective, on the other hand it will take a lot of time and a lot of effort. When hiring movers, you may pay a fortune, but you can rest assured that your belongings will arrive safely at your destination.
Both have their pros and cons and choosing what’s best for you can only be determined by your moving needs.
Whether or not you plan on hiring movers, Santa Monica local movers are here for you every day, for 365 days. We are a company that does it all, and we are always here for our customers for anything you need. Moving a studio versus a 3 bedroom house is not the same thing, so a different type of service is required. If you have trouble deciding, give us a call and we will help you make that decision.
For those who decide to hire professional packers and movers to take care of your belongings, Santa Monica local movers offer reliable movers and professionally trained movers to help with your move. By choosing us, you can rest assured that your move and belongings will be in good hands. Happy moving!