Thursday, August 02, 2007

PODS vs. Storage Units

Lindsay at Enjoy The Journey has some big news. She can't spill the beans yet, but she's debating PODS versus storage units. Here's my advice:

PODS are good...
*if you have at least a week or two to load at your convenience.
*if there will be a delay between closings, so you don't have to load and unload twice or pay for more than 2 days' truck rental.
*if you can park the POD somewhere near the door (street parking will mean a lot of extra carrying).
*if you are creative about stacking to the top, which you will need to do to get the most for your money. Think Tetris, but with heavy stuff!


Storage units are good...
*if you have your own truck or can borrow a truck, making several smaller trips instead of renting a U-Haul.
*if you have to get out in a hurry, because some things can be left unboxed.
*if you can find one close to your home, so you can make multiple trips or even fill it all in one night.
*if you can sign a month-to-month contract only.

Moving? Here's how to make your own furniture dolly using 2 two-by-fours!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

My sister and her husband used a Pod unit when they moved last time. Actually it was 2 units they needed. They filled the units and left them stored at the Pod company for 45 days or so. This is because they were closing on a house and there were some problems etc. It was expensive, but on move in day it was pretty easy. They just called the Pod people and they delivered the units to the door of the new house. We just unloaded the pods and they were picked up the next afternoon...so it worked well, it was just not cheap. But what is cheap? If they had used a storage unit they would have had more moving and loading to do...Roxie

Leah Ingram said...

We recently moved ourselves by using PODS. I loved it because we could put stuff in storage at our own pace and we didn't have to put everything in a truck, drive to a storage place, unload everything and then do it all over again when we were ready to move. When we were ready to move, we had the PODS delivered to our new home and we just unloaded them over time. I was really pleased with the PODS service. Even better, PODS were no more expensive than a storage unit and they saved us the cost of hiring movers. Good luck with your decision.

Leah Ingram
http://suddenlyfrugal.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I found that the price of storage units varies wildly according to location. In my mom's rural area, storage units cost as little as $50 a month. Our POD, the smallest, cost about $200 for one month's rent (a few years ago). PODS cost more if they are stored on-site, too.

But as Roxie said, at what cost, work? The storage unit was twice the loading and unloading.

Patty said...

I vote for not having too much stuff : ) We have moved 6 times in 30 years and its just hard work no matter what way you do it. If we ever have to move again, I am taking what fits in the back of our taurus station wagon only and giving everything else to my children !
In all seriousness, minimalize before you have to move and then go with what is most cost effective.

TheNormalMiddle said...

:) Hey Meredith! Thanks for answering my question. I knew you'd give good advice.

PODS must vary in location, because for us to use one for one month (you have to rent by the month) it will be over $600. A strorage bldg is MUCH cheaper. Even a climate-controlled one is about $100 a month.

Now, there is Pack-rat, an alternative to PODS. It is the same thing and I've found their rates cheaper.

We have to move out in 3 weeks and we're going to a rent house short term, then to our final destination. I liked the idea of a pod because we're moving twice.

However, I think frugality is going to get me in the end and we'll end up doing it the old fashioned way; borrowing Dad's truck and renting a storage building. Yes, time exhaustive, but alot cheaper. Right now I've got more TIME than CASH! :)

Thanks again!!!

Laura said...

I recently used PODS for our move and although it wasn't the most cost effective route, it was certainly easier than if we had rented a storage unit. We were in a temporary living situation, which ended up being six months, but the whole PODS thing was well worth the extra money. And, the customer service was exceptional. Note: I have rented Penske trucks and Uhaul. DO NOT RENT FROM UHAUL. They do not guarantee their trucks, which can leave you high and dry when you need a truck. They may be the cheapest, but they are by far the worst to deal with. I've known several people who were stuck in a jam because of Uhaul not following through.

Unknown said...

There are other alternatives to PODS & PackRat. There are companies that have the same type of service but whose portable units are smaller. I researched a few and ended up using SmartBox. Just as convenient as PODS but much cheaper. And with the smaller units, you can organize your things much, much more. I have kids and a lot of kids stuff so it came in really handy! Once we had to go to the warehouse to find a lost stuffed animal - it was so nice to be able to go to the box we knew it was probably in without having to possibly crawl to the back of a big POD. Portable storage is definitely the way to go!

Anonymous said...

When we packed a POD for our cross town move, we filled it mostly with boxes and moved the furniture in a moving truck. We packed the POD completely full floor to ceiling and when it came time to have it moved, it was extremely hard for the truck to get it out of our yard. Big heavy, solid boxes weigh a lot. The guy with the truck had to inch the POD onto the truck and I feared for a bit that it wasn't going to budge. So keep in mind when filling one up that there are weight limits to the things.

Also, we rented a Mobile Attic instead of a POD. Same idea, but a little cheaper.

Anonymous said...

U PACK has the cheapest rate almost HALF.