Moving soon? Here are 14 epic ways to slash hundreds off your move.

Book 3–4 weeks ahead and start packing a room at a time. Last-minute packing is the #1 reason crews arrive to half-filled boxes, and you’re paying $154/hr while you finish.

Two hours of “we’re nearly ready” on a Monday costs $308. Planning early costs nothing.

Our rate is $154/hr Monday to Thursday, $165/hr Friday and Saturday, and $184/hr on Sunday. Same crew, same truck, same care.

On a 6-hour move, choosing a Tuesday over a Sunday saves you $180. Mid-month dates are also easier to secure than the end-of-month lease rush.

Every item you don’t move is time you don’t pay for. Cut 20% of your load on a 5-hour move and you’ve saved an hour: $154.

Sell good pieces on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree, and donate the rest to Vinnies or the Salvation Army. You save on the move and walk away with cash.

Most councils offer free kerbside collection for bulky items. Book it before you move, so you’re not paying movers about $40 a piece (15 minutes each) to carry an old mattress or broken couch to your new place.

Cardboard boxes cost around $6 each, so $60 for every 10. In Sydney, we lend our 55L heavy-duty plastic crates free: pick them up and drop them off at our Bondi Junction storage and borrow as many as you need.

For an average home that’s up to $360 saved, and the crates stack faster and safer than cardboard, so loading is quicker too. They go fast, so ask early.

Movers can carry one box of 30 things in one trip, or 30 loose things in 30 trips. Shoes, cables, pot plants, bathroom bottles: put everything in a box, bag or basket.

Loose items can easily add an hour to a move. That’s $154 for things that could have fitted in three crates.

In apartment buildings, waiting for a shared lift is pure lost time. Ask your building manager to lock a lift for your movers for a couple of hours at both ends.

On a busy morning, that can save up to an hour: $154.

If you’re handy, take apart simple pieces like bed frames, tables and shelves before we arrive, and keep the screws taped to each piece.

One rule: if you take it apart, plan to put it back together yourself. Rebuilding someone else’s half-dismantled furniture takes us longer than doing it from scratch. Not confident? Our crew does it for you, included in the rate.

Crews spend real time wrapping furniture in blankets and bubble wrap. Wrap your fragile pieces, mirrors and frames the night before and you take that time off the clock: about 45 minutes, or $115.

Rather we do it? Our bubble wrap and biodegradable packing materials are free during the move.

Nothing slows a move like parking a long walk away. Reserve your building’s loading dock, or keep a spot clear outside, at both addresses.

Send us photos or a Google Maps pin, and wait outside to wave the truck in. Good parking can make a job up to twice as fast, which can easily be two hours or $308 saved.

Ready means boxes taped, labelled with the room, and stacked near the door; appliances emptied, defrosted and unplugged; and nothing left to pack.

Use our free Moving-Day Guide (get it below) to tick it all off. Being properly ready routinely saves 30–60 minutes.

Carry small boxes, bags and plants to the truck while the crew handles the heavy pieces. Just don’t load the truck yourself: our team packs it in a specific order to keep everything safe.

Thirty minutes of help is $77 back in your pocket.

When the crew arrives, show them what’s going, what’s staying and anything fragile. Clear answers mean no stop-start, and we bill in 15-minute blocks, so every block you save is $38.50.

This one is advice for everything in life, and it goes a long way on moving day. Our crews always do their best, but a crew working for a client who treats them well and trusts them to do their job works with a clear, happy mind instead of a stressed and uncomfortable one.

Skip the micromanaging, say hello, offer a glass of water on a hot day, and let them do what they do best. The job gets easier, smoother and stress-free for you and for our team, and a relaxed crew is a fast crew. That saves you money at the end of the day.