Transport Solutions: Three ways to move your stuff

Posted on 16/12/2013

When it comes to moving house, figuring out how to get your possessions to your new home is a very important task. How should you go about doing it? Should you let a professional do all of the work at extra cost, or do you do it all yourself and save a few quid? Take a look at the options and decide from there;

Professional Moving Companies

Obviously, the professional movers are the ones who are trained for the job. As long as you make sure you hire the one of the reputable firms with a good track record they will have a large amount of staff at your disposal and provide excellent customer service. They tend to offer a wide variety of services too. For example, they’ll usually dismantle your larger pieces of furniture and help you with the packing. All this aid means you won’t have to spend as much time scheduling, and you can keep your mind on other things.

All this convenience and piece of mind, however, comes at a price. Money. When compared to the other transport methods in this article, professional movers will be the most expensive. However, a lot of this cost will include the services and the rental charge, any extra costs will usually be ‘per mile’ – and they don’t tend to charge much for extra mileage.

So I would recommend that if you’re moving a lot of things, or moving a long way away, this is probably your best bet. If you’re moving a long distance, you really don’t want anything to go wrong, and the likelihood of that is at its lowest with the professionals.

‘Man and Van’ Services

A ‘Man and Van’ service is very similar to a professional mover, it can transport your goods from place to place just as well, will usually offer the same types of van for less cost. Where the costs are cut is in the man power.

A ‘Man and Van’ service is just that, a man and his van, and perhaps a few staff. That means that some of the additional services that you would get from a mover such as dismantling the furniture and packing either won’t be offered, or will take a longer time. This means you’ll have to do a lot of the legwork yourself.

Still, ‘Man and Van’ services are, as I stated, cheaper. Usually a lot cheaper too. So if you’re doing a relatively small move over a moderate distance, these services are for you. They’re almost as reliable, and you retain your piece of mind.

Rent a van yourself

And finally, you can just cut out most of the middle men and just hire a van. Van rental is, as long as you don’t travel too far a distance, is the least expensive way to move. But with this comes a ton of scheduling and labour. You’ll have to pack everything, load everything, make sure everything’s secure and drive your way to the destination. And, don’t forget you’ll have to return the van too – though most rental services do offer ‘drop off points’ for additional convenience.

To be honest, I would only recommend doing this yourself if you’re planning a small move over a short distance, or if you already have access to a van without renting. That way, you’ll only have to pay for the insurance and fuel and don’t necessarily have to worry too much about returning it, if its the property of a close friend or relative (as long as you can get it back at some point).

So, three methods and three conclusions. I hope you found this article enlightening, and it’s taken a load off your mind…