Too much stuff for my car, too little for everything else.

August 11, 2010 4:57 AM

Can you suggest a mover for a (very) small amount of stuff? I have to move to a new apartment in the next 2 weeks, but I have very little stuff : one bedroom's worth of furniture, a sofa, and a folding table with some chairs. I only have 2 boxes of books. I called some moving companies, but the smallest load they will take is still way more than I have. I live in the Maryland suburbs of DC. Thanks.

Also, please don't suggest I just get a couple friends. I had them help me with my last move < 1 year ago. It was exhausting. I have moved an entire apartment's worth of stuff before with movers, and it was much, much easier. I'm just not sure of what to do with such a small move. I am nervous about just calling a random "guy with a truck" on Craigslist.

posted by bluefly to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

Best answer: Have you tried calling Two Marines and a Truck?? My husband had a similar sized move last year and they took the job. I believe that they have an hourly rate with a minimum of one hour.
posted by statsgirl at 5:40 AM on August 11, 2010

Best answer: I found enormous success with the terms "hourly mover" or "apartment mover" on Google. It was disproportionately expensive (about 1/7th of the cost of my parent's 2500 square foot home move; all I had them take was 5 pieces of furniture and my bicycle,) but it worked. This was yesterday, in Ohio.

Our Two Men and a Truck was the most expensive option in town; I don't know if that would apply to the Marines service mentioned above.
posted by SMPA at 6:49 AM on August 11, 2010

This has gotten a lot easier in the past few years.

Uhaul has a linked service that has moving helpers. There are ratings and everything, and they pretty clearly state what their minimum hours are and their fees and all that. You don't have to rent a truck from uhaul to use the service. I forget the name of the service, but it was on the front page of uhaul. We used them for labor on both ends of our move to Buffalo three years ago and it worked out great.

So, find someone who seems good to you, hire them, and rent a small truck or cargo van on the day.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:03 AM on August 11, 2010

We used some "guy[s] with a truck" from Craigslist in DC (moving a house of 4 within the city), and they were solid - on-time, quick, not too expensive, and really nice. I'll memail the name/number if you're interested.
posted by quadrilaterals at 8:36 AM on August 11, 2010

Best answer: If you hire an independent mover (eg, "two guys with a truck") from Craigslist, check references. Also, agree on a rate at the start of the move, and write it down, preferably to make it look like a quote. Once your stuff is in their truck, make sure you have their license-plate number and cellphone number.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:42 AM on August 11, 2010

i've used craigslist over and over for little odds and ends kind of stuff. someone helped me load boxes onto a truck; unload flooring from an elevator etc.

i put up an ad saying need someone near X & Y street to help unload a truck for about an hour. $10. within minutes, i have 10 people calling & choose.
posted by UltraD at 8:50 AM on August 11, 2010

I used Beltway movers to move a one bedroom apartment from NW DC to just over the Maryland DC border with a little bit more stuff than that. They did a great job, but it was about $1,000
posted by akabobo at 9:06 AM on August 11, 2010

When I moved last year (within Arlington, and with about the same amount of stuff), I used Elite Moving Labor, Inc. You rent a truck yourself, and they just come and do the heavy lifting and packing/unpacking. It took less than three hours, and they were fantastic. Here is my Yelp review. It was well worth the cost, for me.
posted by gemmy at 9:37 AM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I didn't end up using the Two Marines and a Truck guys (although I did call them, and they were nice and reasonable). But Googling for reviews on The Marines and "hourly mover" in general led me to Great Scott Movers who were awesome. They even put up with me rescheduling last minute. It was only $250 for the move. Well worth the cost considering I only had to take a couple hours off of work.

Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction. Before this all the other people I was calling were quoting me $1000, way too much for my small move.
posted by bluefly at 10:26 AM on August 17, 2010