Need help: moving & storage by myself! Yikes!!!

[Orchidflower]

Has anyone taken the goods they wish to keep and put them in storage for, possibly, a longer time like 3 months to maybe even 3 years? I am talking two bedrooms worth of stuff, plus living room, kitchen..well, you get the idea. It's alot. I have a small house or a 2 bedroom condo's worth of things I want to keep.
Here is my problem: I have no help at all to do this!!! It is just me by myself.
So, how do I find workers if I use, say a POD? Or do storage places have people who will pack your things for their storage facility? Or do you use someone like United Van to pack you up and they will store it for anywhere from 3 months to a couple years?
I will have alot of breakable expensive things, like cut glass, and so cannot afford a sloppy crew. What is the safest way to go about this so my things survive intact if I am gone 3 years?
How do I find help that will pack up my stuff--without scratching antiques or breaking them--and get the things into a storage facility for moving them interstate at some much later date?
The things I don't care to keep, I know I can have an estate sale and get rid of. But how do I store the things I do want to keep while I explore what alternative I want to do about living, which means alot of travel to other cities/States/countries?
I realllly have no idea how to even handle this, so your help will be much appreciated. I figured come to this board as I am tired of worrying about this for the day my parent passes, and I have to move.

[crazy connie]

If you can afford it... Hire professionals. I might suggest doing the small & fragile items yourself. If there are wooden antiques exercise caution to get climate controlled storage. POD's are great but NOT good for longer term or wood antique items. Start reading in the local paper and check around with realtors or neighbors for references. Of course if you are close by holler and I will come over! Sometimes you can get a social group to help out for a nice charitable contribution! Also, eliminate everything you do not want or need in the future first. Why pay to pack & store what you truly will not use in the future! Are there younger relatives just starting out that might help for some of the spoils?

[Want2retire]

Originally Posted by Orchidflower

Has anyone taken the goods they wish to keep and put them in storage for, possibly, a longer time like 3 months to maybe even 3 years? I am talking two bedrooms worth of stuff, plus living room, kitchen..well, you get the idea. It's alot. I have a small house or a 2 bedroom condo's worth of things I want to keep.
Here is my problem: I have no help at all to do this!!! It is just me by myself.
So, how do I find workers if I use, say a POD? Or do storage places have people who will pack your things for their storage facility? Or do you use someone like United Van to pack you up and they will store it for anywhere from 3 months to a couple years?
I will have alot of breakable expensive things, like cut glass, and so cannot afford a sloppy crew. What is the safest way to go about this so my things survive intact if I am gone 3 years?
How do I find help that will pack up my stuff--without scratching antiques or breaking them--and get the things into a storage facility for moving them interstate at some much later date?
The things I don't care to keep, I know I can have an estate sale and get rid of. But how do I store the things I do want to keep while I explore what alternative I want to do about living, which means alot of travel to other cities/States/countries?
I realllly have no idea how to even handle this, so your help will be much appreciated. I figured come to this board as I am tired of worrying about this for the day my parent passes, and I have to move.

I don't know the answers to all of your questions, but in the past I have managed to hire "warm bodies" with moving experience at an hourly rate by calling a local moving company. Make sure that they are insured, and so on. They can provide a truck too, if you decide to go with a storage facility instead of a pod.

National movers like United Van are probably going to be more expensive than local movers.

Pack the fragile stuff yourself, as the previous poster suggested. Oversee the moving of your antiques.

Good luck and I look forward to reading the answers, here.

[JustCurious]

Be careful of moving company scams, they are popular.

http://www.movingscam.com/

[TromboneAl]

Related recommendation: Sell, sell, sell! Have a yard sale, and keep the prices low. Unless something has clear emotional value, compare how much it will cost to store it for three years with how much you could replace it for at a garage sale. Remember to include the cost and bother of moving things twice.

I know of people paying to store, say, a desk that they won't use for four years. They don't realize they could sell the desk for $50 on craigslist, and replace it for $50 the same way.

[JPatrick]

Ditto what Al says!
If you use pros, get as many estimates as you can as they will vary greatly.
We moved last summer and used a national company to haul the heavy stuff.
Estimates (rounded) 6000, 4000, and 3000. All major companies none with BBB issues. Needlesstosay, 3000 sounded best and it worked out fine. You may be able to store with your moving company, but we found this is the most expensive storage option. We stored in one of those self storage places. If there are many in town they will negotiate rates. At one point we had 5 areas including one for cars. They cut about 30% off our monthly bill. If you use self storage for your stuff that the pros move, make sure you get an easy access spot or your movers will possibly want more $$ for the job.
One other thing, packing your own stuff is sometimes prudent, but check with your movers, they may not insure self packed boxes. The moving insurance itself is a another issue---read carefully--it is a borderline scam IMO.

[Orchidflower]

Does anyone have experience with local moving companies allowing you to hire people to actually pack some of your things? And was that experience positive? I can pack the Lenox, the cut glass, the crystal and all, but need help with clothes, bedding, just household things. It really is too much for me to do alone. (And, no, I have no relatives or friends in this area to help. I am not from here.)
This is going to be an overwhelming job, and, with an eye to the future, have started lifting weights to get in shape.

[simple girl]

Originally Posted by Orchidflower

Does anyone have experience with local moving companies allowing you to hire people to actually pack some of your things? And was that experience positive? I can pack the Lenox, the cut glass, the crystal and all, but need help with clothes, bedding, just household things. It really is too much for me to do alone. (And, no, I have no relatives or friends in this area to help. I am not from here.)
This is going to be an overwhelming job, and, with an eye to the future, have started lifting weights to get in shape.

You could try emove.com. We only used them for moving our boxes, etc. though. Had one good experience and one bad (no-show). Or, just call local moving companies and see what they charge to pack. Check their BBB record. Sometimes when I am new to an area, I just ask the locals who they recommend. When I get several of the same recommendations, that helps me know who is most reputable.

OH, and make sure you negotiate with local storage places. They'll discount when they know you are storing for a longer time period.

[haha]

Pack the stuff, get dollies, hand trucks, etc. Rent a big enough truck from U-Haul or similar, and stop by and pick up some Mexican laborers. Take 2 young strong looking guys, shouldn't cost more than $10/hr each. Write down your starting time and show them what you have written

Start early, get done before dark.

Ha

[Peter]

Not that it helps (sorry) but I remember that in Australia they used to have 'taxi trucks'. This was basically a guy and his truck, or van. You hired the package and then worked together to load and unload your stuff.

I've often wondered why similar services aren't available here.

Peter

[KB]

Twice, I had movers pack the majority of my things and move them. All the glassware was packed very well, nothing broke. They do charge by the hour with extras for materials used in packing as part of the total moving costs.

For my last move, I packed everything and had the movers move all my boxes and the furniture and appliances. They probably told me they would not insure any breakage in my packed boxes which was fine with me. This move was a minimum of 4 hours and mileage. Nothing broke, so I did a good job packing.

[Orchidflower]

You guys are going to think I'm an idiot, but I didn't even think of using a local movers to pack. Never used one before, so just was not thinking clearly.
I've been under alot of stress lately with elder parent going down, literally, with a fall. Been rough.
Obviously, the answer when I have no help available (as in relatives, friends) is to hire a local reputable mover to move this stuff to storage. I'm hoping our strong and every trustworthy housekeeper will allow me to hire her to help me pack the good stuff, too, but, if not, I'll do the best I can with the packers help.
OK...thanks for all your help and kickstarting me on the right track. Taken alot of my mind lately. Again, thanks for everything, people! You're wonderful....

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I didnt use these guys, who were recommended to me by another forum member, but they looked promising...

http://www.emove.com/

Lets you specify exactly what you need, supplies local companies that'll do exactly that, how much it costs and customer reviews of their performance.

[Orchidflower]

CuteFuzzyBunny, that is ALOT of help to me...thanks so much!!

Orchidflower

[cnb46]

If you have valuable antiques and art works, you might contact a local museum or art gallery for a recommendation of a specialized "art mover, handler or packer". Probably more expensive, but they will know exactly how to handle specific types of materials.

[Orchidflower]

That's a great idea, too.
By the way, for those who have a piece of art and want to see if it is worth anything: I found a piece of art in a junk store in Chicago that looked good to me with my college minor in art. Anyway, I called the Art Institute, and they actually look up the artist for you, as well as some of the bigger auction houses will do that, and tell you if that is a known artist or not. Unfortunately, I did not hit the jackpot. I sold it for $35 at my antique booth in Chicago, but I paid $5 for it...so, I did make a profit. Ahhh...yes...I am such a highroller now, baby...