How can I cut the cost of a move?

The process of elimination is simplified somewhat by what can’t be put on the van.

• Aerosol cans of hair spray, shaving cream, deodorants, car cleaners, etc.
• Flammables such as paint, bleach, matches, gasoline, oil-drenched rags, cleaning fluids, chemistry-set supplies
• Ammunition
• Pets
• House plants (though, where legally permitted, some movers take them on short moves where they need no special attention)
• Frozen food

• Begin with a floor plan of your future home. Leave behind whatever is too large or too out-of-place to fit.
• Be ruthless with never-used stuff in attic, basement, garage, workshop, garden shed.
• Weed out LP records and bookcases. On books you want to keep, compare postal book rates to the weight cost on the moving van.
• Don't take large, unused equipment: the swing set, the exercise bike, the pool table.
• Consider leaving behind appliances if they are more than five years old or if they won’t work on the power system at the future home.
• Compare the cost of moving the baby grand piano with the price of a new one (and the sale of the present one).