Nobody enjoys moving – As far as we know, the song “I like to move it move it” isn’t exactly referring to a home relocation.
But lug it or loathe it, moving season is currently in full swing. These 20 apps and services make the act of schlepping all your stuff from point A to point B miraculously less of a headache. Now if you could only get “I like to move it move it” out of your head.
Click any of the links below to jump to a specific section:
Home Hunting
Prep
Heavy Lifting
Errands
Settling In
Home Hunting
1. Snag the perfect new home with Zumper
Searching for an apartment can feel like a marathon and a sprint at the same time, especially in a big city. If you take too much time to gather paperwork or weigh your options, you could lose out on the apartment of your dreams. Pace yourself with Zumper.
With over a million listings, you can get real-time alerts about new apartments before they hit other popular rental sites. Plus, they provide landlords with digital credit reports and instant rental applications so that you’re closer to the finish line without the extra stress or effort.
Hit your stride with Zumper, and find a place that’s your new personal best.
2. Take the “ugh” out of apartment hunting with PadMapper
You think finding a new place to live should be a safe, easy, and straightforward process? It’s not crazy talk, after all! Padmapper plots all available apartments on a map, then lets you filter out the $5,000-a-month rentals (yeah, right), the long-term leases (just in case), the 2 bedrooms (no roommates, please), and the places that don’t take dogs (Mr. Bojangles is practically your child).
Apartment hunting doesn’t have to be a series of unanswered emails and landlords that give off a creepy vibe. PadMapper makes sure of it.
3. Find your dream NYC apartment with StreetEasy
Moving to the Big Apple? Or within it? Either way, the road to leases is paved with questionable brokers and wild goose commutes. StreetEasy lives up to its name – by making moving much, well, easier.
Free Bonus: 41 Easy Moving And Packing Tips That Will Make Your Move Dead Simple
Peruse and filter pads by desired amenities, target price range, and neighborhood. If you and your rescue pooch are looking into park-side accommodation, you can turn on alerts and get notified of relevant listing updates, in real time.
4. Swipe right on your ideal housemate with Roomi
What do you do when your brand-new housemate steals all your belongings, then flees? If you’re Ajay Yadav, you invent an entire app designed to ease the plight of finding urban housing.
Unlike traditional niche outlets (Craigslist fails to identify more than half of scam rental listings on its sites), Roomi is refreshingly transparent. You sign up with your Facebook or email account, pen your bio, and answer five simple-yet-potential-deal-breaker Qs (smoker? morning bird? cat fanatic?). Then you’re free to swipe through potential homes and homies, and coordinate viewings using the built-in chat feature.
5. Take stock of your home-buying needs with TripleMint
TripleMint’s software-powered approach remedies these situations and more. Using predictive analytics, they can anticipate the future of the market. You receive data on when sellers are most likely to transact and which buyers are most likely to buy, giving you more choices and a better way to decide between them.
A process that makes every transaction faster, smarter, and more successful? Triple check.
Prep
6. Label and locate every box with Sortly
When popping open a bottle of red to celebrate the first leg of your big move, which of the following best describes your hunt for the bottle opener?
Option A: Somewhere underneath a mountain of half-sorted, scattered cardboard boxes.
Option B: Not sure. Let’s just push the cork in.
Option C: Found it! I simply typed “bottle opener” into my Sortly app, and located the tagged, QR-labeled box in seconds.
Yeah, we’d opt for C, too.
Using customizable tags, off-the-shelf QR tags, and searchable labels, the Sortly app takes the guesswork out of unpacking. Cheers to that!
Available for iOS
7. Sell and recycle items with OfferUp
There’s nothing quite like moving to make you reevaluate an item’s presence in your life. Like the food processor you used for one epic pesto night – and then totally forgot about. Or the bulky speakers you stopped using when Alexa entered your life.
Enter OfferUp: Like a garage sale, it’s a quick and efficient way to make moolah off your gently used goods. Unlike a garage sale, you don’t have to sit around haggling with neighbors in the heat.
8. Chipolo. Because remembering where you left your keys is hard.
If losing your phone in a couch cushion incites a similar panic to when it’s really, actually, not-in-your-house lost, you need Chipolo.
Attach Chipolo to your keys, wallet, phone, bag, or anything else that would put a damper on your day if it went missing. If you’re having trouble finding an item, you can ring it via the app, and the melody will play at an impossible-to-ignore 100 decibels until it’s been located.
You can even seek the help of other Chipolo users if your item is on the loose. Simply tap the “Notify When Found” button in the Chipolo app, and the whole community anonymously joins in on the search. Convenience and camaraderie in the palm of your hand.
9. Overlook nothing with Updater
Even in the most organized move, tiny details have a tendency to fly under the radar. Did you remember to send your new address to your alumni newsletter?
Then there’s all the DMV paperwork. And are you switching cable companies or what?
If you find yourself repeatedly on hold while transferring services, hang up. Get an invite (here’s how) from Updater. Then let them do the rest.
Like your personal “dashboard for moving,” the site handles everything from mail forwarding to digital moving announcements. You can also compare and book one of their pre-screened, pre-vetted moving companies (known as “Updater Verified Movers”), directly via the app.
You’re now free to carpe your moving diem: Updater estimates they’ve saved their users over 4.7 million hours.
Heavy Lifting
10. Actually look forward to moving day with Unpakt
We’re not going to sugarcoat it: Moving Day and a vacation have zero in common. However, the way you book your movers will have it feeling close.
Just as you would compare flight and hotel prices before booking, Unpakt helps you determine the best moving company for your needs. Simply enter your starting and final destination addresses, create an inventory list of what’s being moved, then view instant prices from pre-screened, full-service, licensed, and insured moving companies.
Prices can be viewed per item and are guaranteed not to change. On average, customers save 45% on moving costs, plus seven hours of time that can be dedicated to re-hanging the gallery wall their girlfriend would actually like shifted ¾ of an inch to the left.
11. Step up your moving game with HireAHelper
Paying your friends in pizza and beer to help you move was no problem in college, but you’ve upgraded from worn-out futon to a beautiful suede couch. Your moving labor should get an upgrade, too.
HireAHelper lets you search through straightforward hourly rates, equipment lists, business credentials, and unfiltered customer reviews to find the best local help for the job. You won’t have to worry about scams or price gouging, and booking through HireAHelper gets you complimentary insurance on every helper’s service, covering $.60/lb up to $10k in the event of accidental damages.
You’ll get peace of mind and a few extra pieces of pizza all to yourself. Now that’s an upgrade.
12. Get truck and muscle, anytime you need it with Dolly
So you finally snagged the perfect bed for your new digs. The only hitch? Between picking up apartment keys, installing floating shelves, and unpacking your wardrobe, you’re short on the time and muscle to move it.
With a couple clicks, you can simply outsource both. Pick a time and place, and Dolly will match you with a truck-driving, item-wrangling Helper. Want to say “Hello, Dolly?” You can also chat about your upcoming appointment directly via the app. Get a quote upfront – no surprises!
13. GoShare is your friend with a big truck
GoShare is the Mr. Rogers of local services sharing: Their drivers want to help their communities by collaborating on pickup and delivery tasks. They’re happy to lend a hand when you need to get a huge dresser from one place to another, so won’t you be their neighbor?
You can select 1-2 delivery professionals, choose the vehicle that’s right for the job (small pickup truck, large pickup truck, or cargo van), and request items such as a furniture dolly or trailer. All scheduling can be done on demand or in advance, and can cover quick delivery from a retail store to your home to a long-distance move, up to 250 miles.
You’ve always wanted to have a neighbor just like these drivers, and with GoShare, you finally do.
14. Bellhops provides moving services minus the stress
If you yelled out, “Trust fall!” who is the first person you imagine catching you before you fall to the ground? Is it your movers? No? Let’s change that.
Bellhops are more than just guys who can lift a couch. Their commitment to professionalism, friendliness, and above-and-beyond service is a welcome change from the stressful big-box moving experience.
You can schedule a full-service local move that includes the truck, dolly, and moving blankets, or a labor-only move with just a few easygoing Bellhops. You can also schedule an in-home move for when you need help reconfiguring your living room furniture or moving things around after a remodel.
Your Bellhops come prepared and dedicated to providing the best service imaginable. You’ll probably fall for their expertise, but don’t worry, they’ve got you.
Errands Assistance
15. Download local help with Takl
Maybe you need a personal Hercules to unload all your patio furniture. Or someone to install your flat-screen TV, surround-sound speakers, and set up your cable. Hey, maybe things got a bit rowdy during your housewarming, and the last thing you want to do is mop.
Help can be on the way in about an hour, thanks to Takl. Enter the chore you’d like completed – or create your own “odd-job” – and choose from six or so independent, background-checked providers. Each task is priced upfront, so there’s no guesswork (though there is an option to tip). Just don’t blame us when your kids start outsourcing their chores on the reg.
16. Keep your wardrobe fresh with Rinse
Spending the day at the laundromat is the exact opposite of what you want to do after you’re done moving. Free up your afternoon with Rinse’s easy laundry pickup and delivery. Their reliable schedule (7 days a week between 8pm and 10pm) paired with high quality dry cleaning, wash and fold, hang dry, repair, and leather cleaning services make laundry day something you might even look forward to.
A little anxious about someone else handling your clothes? Totally understandable. Rinse works with only the best cleaners and has built in multiple layers of inspection to ensure highest-quality care. Should you have any questions, you can communicate with their customer service team via text message and a real person will respond.
If you’re ready to declutter your closet, Rinse will pick up clothes and donate them to a local charity on your behalf. So fresh, so clean, so compassionate.
17. Outsource your To-Dos with TaskRabbit
It’s usually around the second column of the “Things to Take Care Of Around the House” list that people realize they might need some help. Luckily, TaskRabbit is more than prepared for that column and beyond. Search through their wide variety of home services to find your project, then choose the qualified Tasker you’d like to get the job done.
The Tasker shows up on the selected date and mounts your TV, repairs your broken chair leg, builds a bookshelf, and will even move your things from one apartment to another. Secure payment goes through the app, so all you’re left to do is cross it all off of your list and get on with your day.
Settling In
18. Master your new ride with the Transit App
With a new home comes a new commute. And if you’re living in an urban area, that daily ride is often accompanied by the frantic realization that you’ve literally just missed the bus.
Transit, a sleek and functional transportation app that operates in over 135 cities worldwide, aims to eliminate those morning mishaps.
Its “Go” feature nudges you when it’s time to leave, and tracks your motions to make sure you’re literally up to speed. The app also piloted a crowdsourcing feature (currently operating in New York City’s MTA), which provides real-time information for other commuters down the line.
The best way to befriend your brand-new neighbors? Make their own commutes a lot easier.
19. Get dinner (and dessert) delivered with DoorDash
One of the greatest parts of relocating is discovering all the eateries in your new hood. During the actual move, though, sweatpants and chill usually trump the urge for fancy rezzies.
During that interim period when you’re unpacking quite an appetite but have no idea where your cutlery is, DoorDash just may become your culinary BFF. Each of its service areas features an appetizing roster of local hotspots and national restaurants including places like Taco Bell, The Cheesecake Factory, and P.F. Chang’s.
20. Let MakeSpace pick up and store your stuff
A little extra help in the moving process is always welcome, and these apps and services make it go as smoothly as possible.
Of course, MakeSpace has your back, too. Whether you want to store your old sofa or the out-of-season clothes you don’t need in your new home right now, schedule a MakeSpace pickup and leave the rest to us.
Ready to start cooking again? You’ve already gotten used to the simple life – don’t waste the day sifting through a self-storage unit for pots and lids. Simply log into your MakeSpace account, select the items’ photos, and we’ll deliver them to you.
You expect your moving day to be a breeze. Why should storage be any different? Go easy on yourself:
Available for iOS
