No it's more than that even. When my neighbor moves a fridge it's like watching someone dance. When I move a fridge it's like watching someone wrestle.

+1 on the comments about being packed and organized. Nothing worse than showing up to find empty boxes and people scurrying around. Lack of respect for other people's time.

i'm the guy who helps everyone else move usually, but doesn't think to call in my 'favors' when i need one. anyone else that bright? :rolleyes:

Yep! I'm calling in my all favors in September though. I'm reshingling my roof.

That'll learn 'em!

Sounds exactly like me. My wife gets so pissed at me because I never ask anyone for help with anything. But I am the first one to run and helpout.

Absolutely! Money well spent.

Shinglers list? ;)

Since I moved to NJ 17 yrs ago, Ive been in 4 different houses. My friends have always helped out. Although the last move 2 yrs ago, they cringed when they heard I was buying a new house! Everyone of them said they where busy that day LOL. But when it came moving day, they all showed up bright and early.
Biggest pain was we had the contents of my house, and the contents of my wifes (fiance at the time) house. My wifes house was easy shes so anal she had her stuff boxed up a week before. Worst thing was moving all my car and boat machinery out of my garage into the new one.( I had 4 complete big block chevys and a bunch of other motors.)
After the move I took them out and bought them dinner and drinks.

Part of family lore, perpetuated by my uncles, is the time my dad asked them to help him move. They all showed up bright and early to put in a hard day, but dad had put his back out and couldn't lift anything.

The defining quote: "Hey guys, is that piano heavy?"

Put me on that list!

Last time I moved I did it with my pick-up (which really hurt, but that's another story). There ain't no way to move furniture in a pick-up without looking like a friggin' oakie.

The acquisition and hoarding of so much "stuff" for a modern family with 2.2 kids and a dog is overwhelming in both volume and (original purchase) value.

How did homo sapien sapien moderns americanus get to this point? What is the darwinian value of having literally tons of material goods - and maybe a few photographs and a watch might make it to your grandchildren?

The female of the species is the most guilty. Have they EVER pulled off a move with their BFFs and girl cousins?? I think not.

And another here, it's so lopsided that I try not to think about it. But like you I realize that it's my own fault as I simply don't ask.

Mmmm...we've shifted around a lot in the last 16 or so years. Happy to stay put now though for a while ;).

Only used the pro's a couple of times with varied results. The worst when I was 7 months pregnant and really couldn't lift much cos of the "bump". I was forced to sit on the stairs in our new home and watch the kid "wrestle" our belongings in the front door with a lot of apologies, while the older guy was poetry in motion to watch.

Mum and Dad were booked to move house a few years years ago. Dad was really ill at the time but the deal was done and they had to work to the timeline of their contract. So we booked the removalists to pack and shift them as Mike and I were flat out keeping things rolling at work (family biz). I spent a little time with these guys watching them pack...in horror! Half-filled boxes etc, loads of paper dumped in but nothing wrapped as such. They weren't going far (next suburb) so I figured that most things would survive the trip OK. Moving the furniture was another thing though...a couple of things got damaged but at least I took transit insurance for them through our own brokers. Worst thing? Dad passed away in hospital 5 hours before the removalists were due to arrive :(. At that point I have to say I couldn't have given a rats ass what they damaged as long as they got the job done and Mum was still in one piece so to speak. We did think about delaying the move, but with everything packed and ready to roll we couldn't see the point. Now this is when family and friends really show their worth! I put in a couple of calls to my aunts and close friends and we had the "army" arrive to help us unpack at Mum's new home. Mum didn't need to lift a finger and we all worked as a team with no fuss...and none of US damaged a damned thing! There was no way we could have got through that without asking for help...I took or made over 500 calls that day; I had always at least one mobile stuck to my ear; all on no sleep. It was one big week; one I'd prefer to forget frankly.

Since then we've used only one removalist firm or Mike and I do it ourselves. We have a LOT of stuff but we are well organised and manage our moves with a lot of thought. Sure it takes us longer and sometimes it take me a while to pysch up to lift the heavier stuff with him - but neither of us can afford to hurt ourselves so we are careful about how we do it. Took us a few days to move out of town this time around, but we set up the new house in stages so we weren't tripping over boxes everywhere.

As for helping others - well I only help those who are as organised as we are...we've been at everyone's beck and call over the years and I simply refuse to waste my time helping those who can't even help themselves. If they are systematic in their approach then I am happy to help. If I walk in and it's a bloody disaster zone then forget it! Sounds harsh I know...but we've moved entire workshops without professional help before so I have high shifting standards :D.

Red beard, that one is a classic LOL

The only time I was guilty of asking friends to help was for moving my pawn shop about ten blocks one Saturday. It was the end of August, non-working AC in the receiving building. Plenty of beer on ice when done, was open for business that Monday.
Jim

What Sammy said :)

And the Oakie comment...priceless, why I log in here:)