One of the first things that you need to decide is whether you will do your own packing, or whether you will have the mover pack for you instead. Of course, there are advantages both ways. If you choose to do the packing yourself, then you have full control over how your items were packed and know that the job was done right. You also can usually save quite a bit of money by packing yourself. On the other hand, professional movers undoubtedly have more packing experience than you do, but you'll have to pay extra for the benefit of this service.

One thing to keep in mind though, is that you can choose to just do some of the packing if you want, and let the movers do the rest. For instance, a solution that many people use to take advantage of the professional mover's packing expertise and yet not spend too much money, is to pack books, clothes, and most of the unbreakable items on their own. And then let the movers that do more fragile and breakable items instead. Also keep in mind that there is no need to remove clothes from a dresser drawers in order to pack them as long as the dresser is not too heavy to safely carry.

Another packing consideration has to do with the kind of liability coverage that's offered by most professional movers. You want to be sure to have adequate insurance protection against breakage while in transit for all of your important belongings. And moving companies generally offer three types of coverage including a very basic coverage that costs little if anything extra, a more advanced cash value coverage, and a full replacement coverage. It's important to understand each of these in order to know best which type of coverage to select.

The most basic coverage essentially offers payment of so much per pound for each particular article that is being moved. For instance, if the mover agrees to pay $.50 per pound per article for any item that is damaged during transportation, you would receive about $50 for a 100 lb. item, regardless of how much it actually costs.

Cash value coverage on the other hand, will pay for the cost of each item minus depreciation. So if you have a $500 stereo system that you have had for three years, you will be paid for what that particular stereo system would be worth now that it is three years old, not what it was worth when it was new.

Full replacement coverage is the most comprehensive as it will pay enough to fully replace each article that is damaged with a brand new item. Of course, you can expect to pay a little extra for both cash value coverage and full replacement coverage, but in many situations they can be well worth it.

Hopefully these packing suggestions and tips can help you save money the next time you relocate or use a moving company.