Moving on a budget is hard. Moving on a budget when you are crunched for time is even harder. I won’t lie, I started packing with visions of Pinterest perfect organization- spreadsheets, checklists, countdowns. What ended up happening was a lot closer to chaos.

He THOUGHT he was being helpful unpacking all the boxes we’d just packed…

Trying to rehearse a show, chase after a toddler, and prepare for two more upcoming shows got the best of us so moving day involved a lot of last minute packing and we actually still had a few random things back at our old house that we have since packed up. However, rushed and crazed or not, we managed to move this month on a pretty small budget!

Luckily, we had family and a few friends help us out. that made a huge difference. Especially loading the truck ourselves (also helpful that we did not yet own big appliances such as a fridge or washer/dryer! so we didn’t even have to rent a dolly or other moving device other than a truck thanks to some good old fashioned moving muscle!) Aside from that, here are a few tips that helped us reserve our budget for things we need for our new home instead of spending it on the move to get us there!

*Free boxes: I am kicking myself for ever buying boxes during previous moves. This time we were particularly set because we had two friends who recently moved and offered us boxes. We are now trying to pass on the love so if you’re in the Phoenix area and in need please get in touch! If you aren’t in that situation with recently moved friends close by- you can check grocery stores, liquor stores, and starbucks for some of their used boxes- just to name a few! (If you are going to buy boxes- make it the awesome wardrobe boxes that have bars to keep your clothes hanging on. If you don’t buy thiese you can keep your clothes on hangers and put them in trash bags a la this picture:

This is a sampling of the books my 16 month old has… I couldn’t capture how many we have in one picture…

*Books in suitcases: If you are book fiends- like we all are in my family- you know that trying to put them all in as few boxes as possible just won’t work. It will break boxes and wreck backs. Using suitcases that have wheels made this SO MUCH EASIER!!!

*Know the terms of your moving van: when we called Uhaul they asked what time we anticipated having the van back and suggested a time. If my brother hadn’t worked for them or done our research in some other way, we would not have thought to mention that we knew it should be the same price the first 24 hours of usage. Once you agree to a time they will charge you more and you have essentially waved your free 24 hours. I’m sure the same kind of research applies to moves that are not do it yourself!

*Know what you need right away: we didn’t want to have to go out and buy hairbrushes or toothbrushes because we didn’t know where we’d packed them so I made sure those were clearly labeled amidst the chaos.

Saying goodbye to our old house, one last shot. Hoping to get a similar picture in front of our new house in the next few days!

*ASK for what you need. This goes along with the post I wrote a few weeks ago. I probably should have asked for more help leading up to the move but I felt like an inconvenience as I knew a lot of people close to me were preparing for or going through big things at the same time. Once I started asking for help post-move things started going smoother.

I learned a lot more through moving on a budget, but I would not recommend many other components of our experience. IN budgeting you are often choosing between investing time, investing money, or going without. Trying to skirt all three of those things will inevitably lead to stress. Luckily, we made it happen anyway and while we have loved all the awesome work we’ve done throughout the busy season of the summer, we are also looking forward to some nesting time after our next few projects finish up in October/early November and to make our house really feel like a home in time for the holidays!!

Have you had an insane move? Anything you learned from it or any packing/moving tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear about them. We don’t plan on moving anytime soon but the nice part about blogging is I can look up this post 4, 7, or 12 years down the road and read back on my own advice and any of yours!!