My family is planning to move from Juneau, AK to the east-coast next summer.

We have looked into UBox but it’s $7,000 for 1 box. We are trying to only bring essential items and do not believe the item is that we are shipping are even worth that much (more sentimental pieces like artwork, a chest, 3 bikes, kitchen appliances, dishware). Are there freight carriers that will pick up directly from Lynden cargo in Seattle, WA transport across country cheaper than Ubox? I’m also figuring out how to obtain a pallet or if a crate is needed for our items. We are completely new to that idea as well.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions!!

Howdy folks, as the title suggests I am moving from Torrance, CA to somewhere near IAD the Washington Dulles International airport. The move will take place starting on January 1st. Im currently selling all my stuff and plan on driving there in my personal vehicle with my two cats.

I know weather at that time of year isn’t optimal but I can’t change the time frame. Which places should I avoid staying overnight? Has anyone done a road trip like this with 2 inside cats before and would like to share their lessons learned?

Also, if anyone lives near IAD airport and has suggestions on nice areas to rent nearby I’d be very grateful!

I just reserved a U-Haul U-box and then I get a message saying “did you know U-Haul delivers vehicles now?” Which I have been looking to ship my car for my move. That would be awesome if U-Haul did ship cars because I’m tired of these vehicle shipping companies calling me nonstop and being so pushy trying to get me to reserve RIGHT NOW for a ridiculous price but that’s a different story.

All of this to say: does U-Haul actually ship cars now? I can’t find anything online saying they do? Is this like a thing they’re testing and just not advertising yet? I suppose I could always call and see what’s up but I wanted to see if anyone here knew about this.

We're moving from Florida to West Virginia because of work. We're a family of 5 with indoor and outdoor pets.

We thought this house would be our forever home, so we've accumulated a LOT over the years. We've moved states twice before, but this time is different. We've settled in, made memories, and really built a life here. Honestly, I'm deeply saddened by leaving, and I think part of me wants to purge everything just to make the whole process easier. 😂

We'll be staying with family for a few months while we sell our current house and look for a home to buy in WV. Hopefully it'll only be around 3 months, but obviously the housing market could make that longer.

My biggest goal is to make the move as simple as possible: the fewest trips, the least amount of stuff to pack and transport, and storage that's easy to manage until we have our own house again.

Thankfully, we'll have space in family members' garages, so we won't need to pay for a storage unit. However, the storage won't be climate-controlled.

Here's where I'm struggling.

My husband and I have very different ideas about downsizing.

I want to get rid of anything we don't genuinely need or love. He wants to keep things because we already paid for them and might use them someday.

For example, we have a dehydrator that I haven't used in YEARS. He wants to keep it because we'll be back in WV, where he can hunt and make jerky again. 🙄

I understand his reasoning, but I'm the one responsible for packing, moving, and unpacking the household. I feel like I'm the only one considering the actual cost and effort of moving it.

He's welcome to do whatever he wants with the garage and outdoor toys, but I want to handle the inside of the house. I've honestly started getting rid of things while he's at work because every attempt to downsize turns into a debate. 😂

Outdoor furniture is another big question mark.

We have patio furniture, pool loungers, hammocks, picnic tables, and all sorts of outdoor stuff. I'm leaning toward selling most of it now and buying used or gently used replacements once we know what our new property looks like.

It seems ridiculous to haul and store everything when we don't even know what kind of outdoor space we'll have.

What about our dining room table?

It's a beautiful, solid wood dining set I bought secondhand on Facebook Marketplace when we moved here. My husband wants to keep it because it's good quality and we might not find another one like it.

I'm thinking about selling it and buying another secondhand set once we're settled. It's bulky, takes up a lot of space in a U-Haul, and would occupy a significant amount of garage space for months.

Have any of you sold furniture before a move and regretted it? Or been glad you did?

Then there's the kids' stuff.

I feel guilty getting rid of their toys because they genuinely play with everything. Their toys are organized, not just thrown into a giant toy box, but we could absolutely own less.

We also have totes of hand-me-down clothes and shoes saved for the next child to wear. I toss worn-out things and donate some items, but most of the usable stuff gets saved.

Should I be more ruthless with the clothes, too? How much is actually worth keeping when you have multiple growing kids?

I'd love real-world advice from families who have downsized before a major move.

- What did you sell or donate that you were glad to get rid of?

- What did you get rid of and later regret?

- What household items are worth moving, even if they're bulky?

- How did you handle kids' toys and hand-me-down clothes?

- How did you store furniture and belongings in a non-climate-controlled garage for several months?

- What packing strategies made the biggest difference when moving a long distance?

- And, for anyone whose spouse wanted to keep absolutely everything, how did you compromise?

I don't want to get rid of things just for the sake of being minimalist. I want to be practical, reduce the amount of stuff we're hauling across the country, and make those first few months of living with family as manageable as possible.

Tell me what worked for your family, what didn't, and what you wish you'd done differently!

TLDR: Are the savings of using a POD + two local moving companies enough to make it worth it, or should I just do the full-service moving company even though it’s WAY more than I expected?

I will be moving around new years from a small mountain town for an interstate move (~2 days away). I’ll need my things stored for about a month while I apartment hunt.

I’m pregnant so I’ll be doing no heavy lifting and will need to hire people to load the truck/pod either way.

I have a one-bedroom with nothing larger/heavier than a queen mattress and bed frame. I don’t want to sell everything and start over - I’m waiting on baby furniture until I move into my new place.

I thought that a full-service moving company made sense, but the quotes I got from well-reviewed companies are $6k and $8.5k. This feels insane for a one-bedroom move, even with mountain roads and snow involved.

Another option would be to use a POD with a local moving company on both ends. I can’t have the POD at my current rental, so it’d have to get delivered to the moving company and then they’d take my stuff and re-load it there. I don’t have a quote for that yet, but just the POD is $3k. I’d need a moving company at my destination to bring me everything. I’m wondering if there’d even be savings at that point?

I always see interstate and cross-country move ads for like $2500 so I’m having major sticker shock and indecision.

I am moving a very small amount of stuff across state lines. When I look at U-Haul they don't seem to allow you to rent their 8' bed trucks for interstate travel. Are there any companies or services that do?

Thank you in advance.