What’s the Cheapest Way to Move Furniture to Another State?

Shipping furniture across the country is a very tough task, and you should do the right thing—rely on experienced helpers, either professional furniture movers or reliable friends with some furniture-moving experience.

The best way to ship furniture cross country is to first decide on what type of moving services you need, and then find good ways to reduce the furniture-shipping costs.

What’s the cheapest way to move furniture to another state?

Most furniture pieces are both large and heavy, and this alone makes their physical transportation to a new place not only difficult to handle but also expensive to manage.

To make an informed decision about how to move your furniture, you need to be aware of the furniture-shipping options you have. Bear in mind that picking the right option to move your furniture to a new state can help you save big in the end.

Option 1. Don’t move your furniture at all

As strange as it may sound, the cheapest way to ship furniture across the country is to not ship it at all.

Due to the weight and large size of most furniture pieces, it seldom makes sense to pay for their transportation hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Unless, of course, some of those pieces have high sentimental value for you and there’s no question in your mind that they are coming with you.

To make things easier for everybody, especially for your fledgling moving budget, it’s time to think about whether there are some pieces that you can sell online or at a garage sale.

Oftentimes, you will realize that, from a financial standpoint, it can be much better to sell some or all furniture before the move and then purchase new ones after the relocation is over than to pay big money for their transportation.

Option 2. Hire low-cost furniture movers

Not all furniture moving companies will charge you the same amount of money for packing and transporting your furniture.

How much does it cost to ship furniture across the country? The only reasonable way to get an estimated price for the furniture shipping cost is to get in contact with a few reputable moving companies and ask them for free moving quotes.

The recommended 31.5 steps of finding a great mover will map out the road ahead of you but it’s the in-home survey that will have the last word in your case.

Request such on-site surveys from at least 3 furniture moving companies, show the moving experts all the furniture pieces you’ve decided to move, voice any specific requirements you may have, and then ask for an accurate price calculation.

Cheap furniture shipping options are not always as straightforward as you want them to be. Moving antique furniture, for instance, is a special job that only highly-trained specialists can do.

Option 3. Use a portable storage container

Another option to move furniture across the country cheaply is to rent a portable storage container.

Depending on your specific move parameters, it may be the cheapest way to ship furniture to another state.

But what is a moving container and how does it work?

• You look for and find an affordable moving container company. Research their rates and terms carefully before you book any of them.
• You reserve a date for the delivery of a portable container to your home.
• The storage container company drops off the portable container in front of your house (or apartment building) and leaves it for a pre-determined period of time.
• You protect your furniture items adequately and load them inside the moving container at your own comfortable pace. You can ask friends to help you with the loading task or hire professional moving labor.
• You contact the company when you’re done loading the portable storage container and they send a moving truck and a driver to pick up the container and transport it to the new place in another state.
• You get the storage container delivered to the new address within a set time window according to the terms of the moving contract with the moving container company.

You may also like to read: Moving Containers: Everything You Need to Know. In this guide, we share all you need to know about choosing, hiring, and loading a container.

Option 4. Rent a moving truck

Depending on the move distance to your new home and the actual nature of the furniture, the dilemma of whether to

• hire professional furniture movers to take care of your big and heavy pieces for you, or
• try and gather up your muscular friends and go for a successful self-move
• hire local labor help to do all the hard work for you

will be far from a no-brainer for you.

In your endeavor to pay less money on your move, you may be even tempted to move your furniture by yourself – pack the bulky pieces, lift them and take them out to the waiting vehicle, load them up safely, secure them for transport, and drive the truck all the way to the new address.

But a DIY move involves greater risks of property damage and personal injuries.

In the case of moving across the country, you have to consider all the frequently forgotten costs of moving on your own (hidden DIY moving costs).

In order to resolve that tough dilemma, consult our Movers vs. DIY Guide and you will find out the indisputable pros and cons of each relocation option.

Often one of the home moving solutions when on a budget is to hire professional labor to take away also the hardship and stress of loading and unloading your truck or container.

Give us a call now at 1-800-909-8833 to arrange professional labor-only services or get free estimates from full-service movers.

You may also like to read: How to Move By Yourself: Complete Guide. In this guide, we share lots of vital information and tips for anybody who is planning a DIY home move.

How to prepare for moving furniture across the country

Moving furniture to another state is an expensive business.

Due to the distance, you’re likely to find out that it’s cheaper to just purchase new furniture upon arrival than to bother hauling the pieces you own hundreds or thousands of miles across the entire country.

Luckily, there are proven ways to lower the cost of moving furniture to another state.

Inventory your furniture pieces

You will have to make some very important decisions regarding your furniture.

In order to do that, you’re going to need a detailed list of all the pieces you own.

A detailed inventory will help you get a precise idea of what you’re dealing with:

• type – beds, mattresses, wardrobes, dressers, desks, sofas, couches, bookcases, tables, chairs, and so on,
• number and current condition – brand new, as new, slightly worn out, very worn out, completely worn out, and so on.

This furniture inventory will serve two main purposes: enable you to keep everything in total control and help your furniture shipping company prepare an even more accurate moving estimate.

Measure your furniture

It’s important to measure your furniture before packing it for a move and consequently moving it to its final destination. Why?

It may turn out that some of your furniture pieces won’t fit through the hallways or doorways of your new place or won’t sit well with the brand-new interior design of the new home.

In such cases, logic dictates that there’s absolutely no point in paying big money for the transportation of furniture only to wonder later what to do with them, or maybe even how to get rid of them.

Therefore, you’re advised to measure your large furniture beforehand and then, if possible, visit your new home and figure out if there will be enough room for all of it.

If it is impractical to visit your new home then obtain the floor plan of your new property either from the real estate agency or the owner.

You may also like to read: What to Do When Furniture Won’t Fit Through the Door: 7 Solutions. In this guide, we share professional movers’ tricks and tips to get furniture through seemingly impossible spaces.

Be careful which furniture pieces you move

The final moving price is greatly influenced by the total weight of your shipment. Together with the move distance and extra services, the combined weight of your household items will effectively determine how much you will pay.

This is an important piece of information that you must use to your advantage to save big on your move.

Ultimately, it won’t matter much whether you choose to take a couple of additional books or not, but that is not the case with your furniture.

Each decision to take an additional piece will automatically increase the relocation bill, and vice versa – each reasonable decision to leave a furniture piece behind will let you save money when moving across the country.

Do a complete inventory of your furniture and sit down to make a few important decisions about what to take and what not to take.

Are you serious about moving your bed too? How much does your bed weigh?

The average spring mattress will weigh between 100-150 pounds, the headboard will be anywhere between 80-180 pounds, the wooden bed frame can range from 60-200 pounds, and the queen-sized box spring will weigh an average of 60-100 pounds.

Add any decorative pieces your bed may have and you will understand why choosing carefully which furniture pieces to take with you will contribute greatly to finding the cheapest way to move furniture to another state.

Get rid of your old furniture

If you do find furniture that either won’t fit into your new house or apartment or won’t match the different interior design, then the next question is what to do with those pieces.

• Sell your used furniture. As discussed above, you can try to sell at a moving sale or online the pieces you won’t need anymore but are still worth something. Alternatively, maybe a friend of yours is interested in any of your furniture? Finally, you can test your luck at a furniture dealer. Whatever option you choose, make sure you are familiar with the immediate positive or negative outcome of each solution.

• Give it away to friends or family. It takes time to organize a moving sale or even sell things online, and if you are in a hurry to move, then it’s probably best to just give away to friends or family the furniture that you have decided not to take with you.
• Donate your old furniture to charity. Donating to charitable organizations is the most honorable thing you can do with the furniture you won’t be moving to another state. The satisfying thought alone that you’re helping another person in need should be a reason enough to consider furniture donation.

How to protect your furniture for moving

The final advice on how to move furniture across the country cheaply is connected to the cost-saving idea of packing and protecting whatever furniture you can by yourself.

You can leave any specialty items to the pro packers, but take care of the furniture pieces that are relatively easy to pack up for moving yourself.

Whilst you will have a hard time handling your huge dresser or work desk made of solid wood, you can still wrap up your chairs and smaller tables in moving blankets so that you don’t get charged for tasks you can easily do on your own.

Before protecting your furniture pieces, however, let’s say a few words about possible partial or full furniture disassembly.

Partial disassembly of furniture

A good way to lower your overall moving expenses is to partially disassemble the furniture you have decided to take with you. This is so because you’ll be paying more if you leave the entire furniture disassembling job to your local or cross-country furniture movers.

So, grab your reliable toolbox and get to work.

• Check to see if your big bedroom bed can be taken apart into smaller elements. Do the same with your wardrobe, dresser, bookcase, etc.
• Consult their respective construction manuals to remove any detachable and protruding parts, such as drawers, shelves, doors, legs, frames, mirrors, and so on.
• Don’t do any risky experiments with your favorite furniture. If you’re not sure how to do something if you do know but lack the experience or equipment to dismantle it, then just either ask a skillful friend to give you a hand or leave that task to your professional packers and movers.
• Make sure you keep the big elements together with the furniture piece they came from.
• Safeguard the small elements (bolts, nuts, screws, nails, etc.) you have removed inside safe re-sealable bags.

You may also like to read: How to Disassemble Furniture When Moving: Step-By-Step Guide. In this guide, we explain how to dismantle various items of furniture.

Adequate furniture protection

When moving furniture cross country, you must understand that avoiding furniture damage and preventing property damage are two different yet closely related aspects when preparing furniture for a move across the state or across the country.

These two precautionary measures have to be taken at the same time to ensure safety during the move.

• Moving equipment. If you have decided to perform a DIY move, then you’re going to need proper moving equipment to ensure your safety, the safety of the people around you, as well as the well-being of your furniture and the property you’re about to leave for good. In this case, a dolly and furniture lifting straps are a must.
• Furniture blankets. Moving blankets provide the ultimate double protection for your furniture AND your property, so make sure you use them during your self-move. Wrap the padding blankets securely around the furniture piece with packing or stretch tape, and you’re good to go.
• Furniture sliders. Just place them underneath the heavy furniture and it will slide effortlessly and safely across the room floor without any long-lasting damage on the floor surface.
• Bubble wrap®. It provides excellent protection for your small furniture pieces during a move. If your bubble wrap® supply happens to be insufficient, you can always use old towels or thick pieces of clothing instead.
• Corner guards. They are easy to mount and will protect the furniture edges and the walls from accidental chips and dents.

For the best furniture packing tips, refer to our specialized guide on How to Protect Furniture When Moving. In it, you will find all the steps required to pack up safely all of your pieces by yourself.

Be sure to visit our home moving blog which is packed with tips to make aspect of your home move easier, cheaper, and safer.