Unless you live gypsy-style, acquiring only as many possessions as you can carry with you, moving house can be very expensive. It is one of the main reasons that people don't change houses more often - moving and storage can set you back by months in your savings plan! Fortunately, though there will be some big bills involved, there are plenty of ways to cut down the cost of your move. Today we look at how to arrange a mover, get short term storage and source boxes for packing for less.

1. Using short term storage

If you'll need to utilise short term self storage in the course of your move, look for facilities that use module storage. This avoids the cost of double-handling goods in and out of storage; a big reduction in work that means a big reduction in price.

2. Use boxes from the supermarket

new packing supplies can be incredibly expensive - yet most supermarkets have plenty of boxes available for free! Reinforce the joins with sticky tape, and ensure you don’t make them too heavy, and you have free boxes for packing that are close to the quality of bought ones.

3. Save on packaging materials

Even if you aren't able to source free boxes (some supermarkets refuse to give them out, or crush them as soon as they have been emptied), there are plenty of ways to save on packing materials. If you have your reasons for wanting to use new packaging materials, simply look around for quotes. Select boxes for packing that can be re-used - plastic containers are ideal. If you are trying to moveing cheaply, use newspaper and your own towels and linens as buffering for breakables inside boxes, rather than purchasing bubble wrap.

4. Use the inside of your furniture to pack things into

The average house has quite a few large items of furniture that go in and out of moving and storage empty. Things like wardrobes, fridges, freezers and filing drawers all add to your moving cost if you empty them out first. Instead, pack some of your lighter belongings into them, keeping the charge for truck space down, without making them too heavy to move.

5. Utilize long term storage

One thing that surprises many people about moving is how little they miss all of the things that are packed up, once they don’t have access to them. There might be a couple of things you pine for, like your own bed and the rest of your clothes. Yet, the vast majority of our 'stuff' isn't used on a daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly basis. You could be able to make significant savings on your real estate costs by leaving some of your things in storage. Module self storage units are much cheaper per square foot than real estate ... so save your money for something that will actually add to your quality of life!

6. Disassemble your furniture yourself

Tell your movers that you will have any applicable furniture disassembled, ready and waiting, at the time you ask for a quote. No matter what you’re logistical situation, less work for movers means a cheaper quote for you!

7. Save money by making money

Moving often brings to light all of those items that are just hanging around the house, not being used but taking up space. Selling those items will help make your move cheaper in two ways: adding to the funds you have available for moving, and reducing the amount of space you need in the truck and facility for moving and storage.

8. Insurance

Many home insurers also do moving insurance - ask your regular agent for a quote, they are more likely to want to keep existing customers happy!

9. Keep working

Many people will advise you to do more of the work yourself to save money on moving costs, ie, do your own packing, loading and unloading. However, you do need to balance the cost of not being able to work against that of outsourcing the loading work. When you can earn more money than you would save by doing it yourself, having the moving company load you is the smart choice.

10. Make it easy for your movers

If your movers are on an hourly rate, anything you can do to simplify their task will make your move cheaper. Gather everything that will be moved together in a single location (preferably the front room of the house). If you’re using storage units to save money, have the stored things taken away in advance to make moving day less complicated.