We rounded up the best tips from our Real Estate clients and moving companies to put together 9 ways you can save money, time, and stress during a move. It’s no secret that a move can be stressful and costly, but these insider tips will help to make a move across Canada, a move across the province, or even just a move across Calgary a lot more cost-efficient and seamless.

So here it is, 9 money and stress-saving tips to know before a move.

Packing Tips

1. Save some money on packing supplies by “shopping” for empty boxes in local retail stores. 

In the month leading up to your move, keep an eye out for employees unpacking product boxes while stocking shelves. Retail stores receive products in various box sizes, and in our experience, they have no issue if you ask to take a few of their empty boxes from them. Our only tip here is to avoid “box shopping” in stores like Costco where they utilize these boxes to pack customers groceries; their overwhelmed employees likely won’t receive the request as kindly.

2. Pack the items you’ll need first in clearly labelled boxes that are loaded into your moving vehicle last.

Loading these item last means they’ll be the first into the home, allowing you to place them in the exact rooms they need to be in. If you want to do a quick vacuum and mop before moving into your new place, be sure to load those items last so you can easily get the job done before all your other items and furniture claim the floor real estate.

3. Remember to reverse order your vehicle loading; the things you need to place into your new home first get packed last. (Ie. A bed frame would be loaded into the vehicle after the mattress.)

Avoid a game of Tetris once inside by loading your vehicle strategically. This ensures you have the space you need to set up things like your bed frame and prevents you from having to constantly shuffle things around to get anything in its proper place. 

If you have a memory foam mattress you will thank us for this tip - those things are a BEAST to manoeuvre.

4. Leading up to your move, arrange daily menus based on items in your cupboards.

Often times a move will uncover a bunch of pantry items we forgot we even owned, and canned food is heavy! Try to arrange menus to utilize the items you’ve had tucked away. Sorting this area of the home first allows you to pre-plan meals that can reduce some bulk from your packing list and moving loads.