If you thought moving companies do nothing but put all your stuff on a big truck, you’d be right—if you were living sometime in the distant past.
Today’s moving companies are constantly expanding their range of services and offering them all à la carte. That half-job or heavy lifting you need help with? Sure, you can try begging and bribing your friends, or you can call up a few movers in your area. You might be surprised at what they can help you with.
So What Else, Exactly, Can Movers Help With?
More than you can probably imagine. Heck, you don’t even need to be moving to have them give you a hand! More and more, people are turning to moving companies for all kinds of tasks too big to tackle alone. Movers make great day laborers, for things like:
Clearing out your garage or basement
- Having a couple of sets of hands to move stuff while you figure out whether it goes to the curb or your cousin’s house or back into the garage can save you an entire weekend (if your garage looks anything like mine)
- This also applies to attics, sheds, or anywhere
Hauling individual furniture from Point A to Point B
- From your house to the curb; from your bedroom to the basement; to that cousin’s house; to the municipal trash dump; to your local secondhand store or consignment shop
Moving everything out of the room you are repainting or remodeling
- And then moving it back when you are done
Hauling stuff to your home from the furniture store
- Or from your second cousin’s house, or from the garage of the guy selling that big beautiful piano on craigslist
Movers can (and often will) also take care of those jobs tangential to a move:
- Packing up fragile items
- Disassembling furniture
- Getting that one huge piece down your stairwell or out your front door
- Re-assembling your furniture
- Unpacking your stuff
Even if you’ve managed to tackle your entire move on your own, you may be left with a mountain of unwanted cardboard boxes and unusable packing paper that you just don’t want to deal with. Movers, however, see gold in those mountains. So try giving them a call.
Protip: Most movers tend to charge for a minimum of two hours of labor, due to scheduling their business hours. This is not by any means a hard and fast rule, but make sure you ask before you book your help.
Can I hire movers to JUST help me load and unload my U-Haul?
You betcha!
Renting a truck or a moving container and hiring moving labor for all the heavy lifting is a huge trend—and for good reason. You save a ton of money by renting your own truck, and you save your back by hiring movers.
À la carte movers often:
- Bring all the equipment
- Have all the knowledge necessary to do the job right
- Pack stuff you need packed, wrap stuff you need to be wrapped
- Load it all up safely and securely
You drive your U-Haul (or Penske or Budget), or have your portable container delivered, and a fresh crew of movers unloads everything at your new home. This is what we call a Hybrid Move. As far as moving goes, it’s the best of both worlds. And it’s what HireAHelper movers do best.
Protip: If you are moving locally, your movers may be able to rent you moving blankets for a small fee. But if you are moving out of the area, you might be able to rent them from your rental truck company. You may, however, have to buy them. Just please don’t move without them!
Can my movers do my entire move?
Yes, of course. Your traditional Full Service moving company will handle the whole moving enchilada if that is what you want, including packing up your entire home, right down to your last box of biscuits. This is the easiest way to move. It is also by far the most expensive.
Movers Know Best
Of course, we can’t tell you what’s best for you. But we can say with total confidence that movers know how to best handle your stuff. Whether it’s a single item job or a few pieces of heavy furniture; whether you’re moving one room or one door down or one hundred miles away; whether you need loading help, unloading help, or both, hiring moving labor is the best and most economical way to make sure your belongings are taken care of.
If you’re not sure what to do, that’s cool. Calling a mover and asking a few questions costs nothing. And it could end up saving you a lot.
