Should You Move Your Old Furniture or Buy New?

If your furniture is worn out, then it may not be worth the cost to move. Older furniture is more likely to get damaged during the move. You may end up having to buy new furniture quickly to replace broken items while taking the damaged items to the local dump. 

Will your old furniture fit in your new home? Make sure that you have a good idea of room layouts and where your old pieces will go. Take measurements and think through how you will arrange old pieces in the new space. Also, take personal value into consideration. If you have a family heirloom that is a bit shabby, it may still be worth it to you to bring it along. 

How Much is Your Old Furniture Worth? 

If you have high-quality, expensive furniture that will last you a long time, then it’s worth moving it. You’ve made a significant investment. If you are keeping a designer couch just because it cost you a fortune, moving it to a new home may not ensure that you will love it in its new space. Weighing the cost of the move with what you truly want in your new house is the only way to a positive outcome. 

Comparing Old Furniture to New Furniture  

Assuming the furniture has no personal value, get the following numbers to make the best estimation of whether or not old vs new furniture will make a difference in your moving cost. 

Create a shopping list of new furniture. This will give you a price range if you were to buy new. Also, with new furniture be sure to include additional costs such as delivery and assembly. 

Look at your new house and decide how much of the old furniture fits in. Some pieces will while others will not. This preview will give you a better idea of how much furniture you need to move and how much you need to buy. 

If working with a professional mover, ask for two estimates. A mover can give you one estimate with all of your old furniture included and one without the furniture. You can then more easily compare the cost of moving your old furniture to the cost of brand new furniture.  

If moving yourself, look at estimates for two different size moving trucks. Again, compare those numbers with the cost of new furniture and see if it’s worth it. Take into account your own physical labor required to move the old furniture. 

Other Considerations 

What else should you have in mind when making your decision? 

• Is your move local or long-distance? 
• If you’re doing a local move or a short-distance move, you’ll save money by moving your furniture instead of buying new. 
• If your move is cross-country, this is where you should be considering the alternative. 

Will You Require Storage? 

Storage isn’t very expensive but think about how you will be transporting your items to and from the storage unit. You may be able to avoid storing large furniture pieces by downsizing and buying new furniture. Understand the ins and outs of storage before making a decision based on it for your move.  

However, this is all relative to your unique situation. Get a moving estimate and price out new furniture. This will ensure that you have all of the information for you to make the move that’s best for you.