Getting stuff from city to Catskills

seeker

Sat, Jun 18 2016, 11:46 pm

Have any of you used a service to get your stuff from home to bungalow? I was planning to do it myself, taking an extra pilot trip to set up before bringing the family but timewise it's looking less practical. A lot of schlepping and the only day readily available is too soon to really prepare. Wondering how much it would cost to have someone else do the schlepping and whether I'm crazy to bring the family without going earlier to check it out and set up.

I don't expect to have a ton of stuff. We're just a few people and I like to keep things simple. A bike or two, a suitcase or two of clothes (the rest I can take myself) and maybe two boxes of housewares. Where could I find someone to do this and what would I probably have to pay?

the world's best mom

Sun, Jun 19 2016, 7:11 pm

I don't know how much these things tend to cost, but my sister used to have someone drive her family and stuff all to the country because they didn't have a car at all, and I think they paid around $300 per trip. But that was a van with seats and just their stuff and their family. Most vans will take multiple families' stuff at once, so maybe it's cheaper?

I just wanted to add that I don't know how much you can fit in your car, but I think you may be underestimating the amount of stuff you will be bringing. Kitchen stuff takes up around 3 boxes for me, between pots, silverware, washing cups, challah board... and then there are more boxes for food and medicines. A box of toys and a box of books. Art supplies and shoes and boots and umbrellas and jackets and towels and linen and a laundry basket and seforim take up a lot more. There is always TONS of stuff. It may be easier to plan for more and end up taking less than expected rather than the other way around.

seeker

Sun, Jun 19 2016, 10:01 pm

Well, I'm only one adult and two small children. DH will be bringing whatever he needs for the weekend one weekend at a time. I don't think I'll need to bring up much food, Shop Rite is around the corner and I drive. If there's a good sale on meat in the city before I leave then maybe I'll freeze some and ice pack it over because I assume that gets more expensive. I intend to use a lot of disposables. Things like laundry basket that are obnoxiously bulky I'm planning to just buy there rather than shlep, I'll take whatever garbage they have in dollar tree or the like, it's just a basket anyway.

So figure one largish box or suitcase can fit all the kids' clothes, and one can fit mine. Plus a hanging bag for hanging things. One box should be able to do linens and towels, pillows we'll pack in around ourselves in the car like we used to do when I was a kid. I have a big trunk - if the main things go with a van, I can handle the frozen meat, umbrellas, pillows, shoes, bulky odds and ends. If I make a pilot trip without the kids I'm pretty sure I can get everything up in my car alone (the big trunk is BIG, and I would have the whole backseat to fill with no kids) except maybe the bike/trike/scooter kind of bulk. But the only day I can think of that I'd be able to pull it off is THIS Tuesday, which is just too soon for me to be ready, and too unattractive to use up all my energy in one day like that making a trip both ways plus shlepping stuff- no DH because he'd be with the kids.

So... does anyone know a guy? Or gal?