Sometimes you are about to relocate, but you don't have enough money at disposal to do it properly. Don't worry, be happy, all you actually need is a bunch of good friends and the emergency tips below.

Friends are for good and for worse
Before you dive in the action, go around and ask all your friends for help. Friends of friends may have just what you need. And also, since you can't afford professional movers, you are going to need a lot of volunteers to help you pack, load, transport, discharge, place and unpack.

Finding moving boxes
You don't need to buy brand-new moving boxes. You can get some used ones, sold per Internet or advertisements in local newspapers. Or you can go even cheaper, and just get the boxes for free! Just ask at the local hypermarket for some of the boxes they usually throw away. I know from personal experience, that the so-called "banana boxes", in which usually tropical fruits are transported to the hypermarkets are very handy to use as moving boxes. They even have those oval cuts for better grip! Warning: sometimes these boxes are wet or dirty. Check them thoroughly before you take them home.

Wardrobe boxes
Well, let's say it straight - you don't really need any wardrobe boxes. They are luxury you cannot have right now. Fold the clothes and put them in the biggest boxes you can find. Or you can transport them in plastic sacks. Big black garbage bags are suitable and cheap! Don't take wrinkled clothes so personally - some ironing and everything is back to normal. If you have, despite of what I just said, some clothes you really want to keep in order, just take them with the hanger. Cover every single peace with a plastic cover. If you don't have such covers, the garbage bags will jump in again - turn the sack upside down, slip it on the hanger and the clothes, and cut a hole for the hook. Then transport the covered clothes placed on top of the boxes.

Wrapping tissue and bubble wrapping
Those are very useful, and can be easily replaced by some, or loads of, old newspapers. Ask all the neighbours for some, because you really are going to need lots of them. Warning: the ink can stain the wrapped items, so avoid wrapping clothes or bedding. It's not too bad for glassware and porcelain ware - you just wash them before you put them in the shelves, and the ink stains fall off.  

Transportation
If you fail to find a van or truck from a friend for free, then you don't have a choice but hire a van from a moving company. In that case, hire it on an hourly basis, make a strict time schedule and stick to it! It is a good idea, if the whether allows so, to get all the big furniture pieces outside in the yard first, before the van arrives, so you can spare time and directly start loading them. At your destination, you also can discharge them just outside the building, release the vehicle, and then start bringing the items in and distributing them in the rooms.

Storage
First of all, consider if you actually need to store some things. If you are certain about that, don't spend money on storage service. Go to your friends (again! I told you so!) and don't give up until someone agrees on giving you access to their garage or garden shed or basement. To avoid any future disagreements, best this space is empty or almost empty for the moment. When I did that, in order to use S.'s garage, I had to arrange all the stuff inside to be taken out and stored in the unused for the time being aunt F.'s firewood shed, and later put them back in. And guess what, it worked!