Gday peeps,
How’s it all going! February’s here, which means we are well and truly into 2018.
Going to be a short post today guys because MrsFrugalSamurai-to-be and I are in the process of moving into our new place, i.e. boxes and sticky tape and shit strewn everywhere like a bomb site.
I thought about continuing with the real estate series but wouldn’t have done you all justice considering I can’t even find a cup to drink precious, precious water out of – probably pass out from dehydration at this rate.

However, what I will do is share with you 4 lessons we have learnt in moving places which I hope can assist you in the future.
Take Inventory.
It wasn’t until we started packing that we realised exactly how much “stuff” we have. I mean do you need a dozen pairs of jeans? Most times you might only be wearing the same 2 or 3.
In fact we grossly underestimated how many boxes and packing containers were required to do the job.
You might not notice it day by day or week by week, but those little purchases do add up both in your bank balance and your wardrobe.
Moving out to a new place is a great opportunity to take inventory of what you currently own (and what to chuck out).

Lesson: We’re trying to limit our spending on what we have now. By we I mean she…
Pack Early.
So obvious but so true, unfortunately MrsFrugalSamurai-to-be and I aren’t the most proactive of individuals when it comes to packing boxes.
We both had a very busy work schedule during the week, which explains why we were up at 3 am on Saturday morning still trying to dismantle the bed. Like a kick in the face when you’re down.

Looking back, I wonder how much simpler it would have been if we had both been motivated enough to pack a couple of items here and there throughout the week – instead of one last all-nighter binge reminiscent of cramming for end of year final exams.
Lesson: Pack the non-essentials away early guys, will save a lot of headache and heartache.
“A” class Removalists.
We thought that we would save time by hiring professional removalists who are yknow… professionals.
Unfortunately we were caught out by not researching online properly. The removal company who had 4+ stars in reviews, was good value and were quick to reply with our emails, well on the day they didn’t… show… up.
You see, at the beginning we thought that it was a standard delay – we waited, then waited, then waited some more – all the while speaking with the company who assured us that the removal team were on their way.
We canned them in the end – long story short, a phone call was made, voices were raised and words were said.

Luckily, I happen to get a kick out of making formal complaints against businesses to relevant government departments – I’m so glad they gave me an excuse to go through the process again.
Thank goodness we live in the age of disruptors for we managed to hire a 2nd removalist firm via Airtasker pronto.
Lesson: Always double or triple confirm whether online reviews are valid and credible. There’s also great disruptor websites these days like Airtasker, Fiverr and Freelancer.com which you can use if you’re going to be hiring people to get the job done.
Ask for help.
Seriously, I still don’t know why we didn’t just ask for our friends and family to help us move. It would have been a much more enjoyable experience (quicker too) in hindsight.
At the time, I spose we thought hiring professionals would be much easier.
Honestly though – hire a truck, grab a bunch of mates over, pay them in beer and away you go.
Lesson: Not even a lesson, just common sense TheFrugalSamurai – let’s never go through this experience again.
Sigh – life is hard…
What do you think? Did you enjoy this post? Please help me out if you enjoyed this and click on the little “follow” button at the bottom right and be a follower. This way, you’ll never miss my words of awesomeness!
P.S. I’m drinking water from a wok.. how the mighty have fallen.
8 Comments
Hugzy
U shouldve asked me… having moved thrice in last 2 years, i have more experience than most chumps when it comes to making lur.. i mean… moving houses.
3 things Ive learnt to do when moving:
1. Airtask a guy with attention to detail or a girl with masculine decisiveness to help u pack everything in 1 day
Cost: $120 to $150
2. Airtask a guy named dimitri from kgb removalist to help u move. This guy doesnt fk around
Cost: $270 for 3 hours
3. Airtask a guy with attention to detail or a girl with masculine decisiveness to help u unpack everything in 1 day
Cost: $120 to $150
Total cost: $500 to $600 (1 days work)
Total time SAVED: 1 to 2 days ($1000 to $2000, plus now u have more time “to do you”)
Total stress avoided: priceless
Anytime StreetSmart
Innocent Bystander
Hi Hugzy, thanks for sharing your experience. Reading the above, it feels like you’ve truly learned one thing – how to effectively use Airtasker. But what really caught my eyes were the fact that you earn $500-$600 a day in the pocket, which is a pretty impressive $130K after tax. Which is made even more impressive by the fact that you can secure those Airtaskers for relatively cheap quid as they will probably have to spend days moving your mansions.
The Frugal Samurai
That…that’s actually very insightful.
Hugzy
Sht SHT… KNEW i shouldve used my alias Bugzy
movingmrs
I move often as well. It is a great tip to begin packing ASAP. It is also very humbling because you go from having all of your things to literally nothing.
The Frugal Samurai
Hey that’s very true! But don’t you think it’s refreshing also to look around and have so much empty space? Then you unpack and all that space is gone… sigh
movingmrs
I agree! It is very refreshing to have the empty space. The empty space gets filled so quickly and then I think wow I can’t believe I had all this stuff!
The Frugal Samurai
Hahaha – I know the feeling, we used to have too little space and too much stuff at our old apartment, but now MrsFrugalSamurai-to-be reckons there’s not enough stuff and too much space… sigh