How to Estimate How Many Pounds You're Moving

Make sure you have a system to calculate the weight of your moving boxes

Moving can be stressful as well as expensive, regardless of whether you are moving across town or across the country. While there are many different moving companies, each with its own method of calculating cost per move, one of the most common is by the pound. Before you just accept the estimates given to you by the moving companies, there are a few things that you should know.

Instructions

1. Check out online resources for weight estimation. There are several of these listed as moving weight calculators. While they are usually listed as part of a moving company's web site, you can use these as a rough estimate of how the moving companies come up with their numbers.

2. Use your calculations to compare estimates from companies. Once you have finished your own weight calculations, you can compare your numbers against the estimates that you get from the moving companies.

3. 

   Cut down costs by preparing for your move

   Consider ways to reduce the cost of your move. After receiving the estimates, you will need to decide whether you really want to pay the additional money to move a few cans of green beans and books you have never read since you bought them.

4. Hire a reputable moving company. Once you have found the right estimate, you can hire the moving company. There should be a legally binding contract to sign that includes not only the estimate of the cost of the move but the amount that the estimate can increase.

5. Check the weight tickets on the day of the move. When the movers arrive on your site, they should have a ticket that will show you how much the unloaded truck weighs. They will have a second ticket which will be the weight of the truck with everything that you are moving loaded and ready to go. The estimate should not be off by more than a few hundred pounds for a full load.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are moving locally, you can save some of the cost of the move by having the appliances serviced and then moved to the new location by the repair company rather than the moving company.

• Sell or give away small items that you do not use or that you can cheaply and easily replace when you arrive at your destination.

• You can mail packages of your smaller items to your new destination instead of packing them in the truck.

• Not all weight estimating calculators are created equally, which makes it vital to make sure that you are looking at more than one.

Resources

• moving weight calculators
• moving company