Moving into a student apartment can be stressful. It may also stir many emotions all at once. You may feel excitement for the new place you are moving to, but also sadness for leaving behind your old place and all of the memories you made there.
The moving process can also be a bit chaotic. You have to somehow pack up all of your life, get it to a different location and unpack it over there. It can be hard to know where to start and it is easy to forget something.
Are you a college student ready to move into your bachelor apartment? Check out these seven apartment moving tips that will save you time and money:
Tip #1: Prep for the moving day
Preparation is one of the most important apartment moving tips. Think about what you have and how you are going to pack it. Do this before moving day. It doesn’t need to be something that you sit down and make a list, just spend some time in your apartment making a visual account of what you have and how you plan on packing it. This will help you to determine how many boxes, bags, tape, etc… you will need to get before you start packing.
It’s also a good idea to have a plan about what you will put together so that you start your packing in an organised and efficient manner. While you’re at it, try to think about how you will put all of your furniture, boxes and bags into that moving van. That way you’ll be ready on moving day.
Tip #2: Book a moving van ahead of time
It might be a good idea to go over step number 2 in order to determine this. Many rental companies will also be able to tell you what size van you will need based on how many rooms there are in your apartment. Make sure to do this well before your move. These vans can rent out quickly, especially around popular moving dates.
Tip #3: Find moving help
You might also want to find some friends to help you out. Moving furniture can be difficult and sometimes impossible solo. It’s also a good idea to have somebody watching the van while you carry out boxes. You wouldn’t want any of your stuff to get stolen during the moving process. It might also be a good idea to find a way to motivate those helping you – pizza, beer and cookies are common option.
Tip #4: Pack the moving boxes well
Keep things that go together together. Clothing with clothing. Books with books. Dishes with dishes. Dismantle your furniture as much as you can. If you remove any screws and bolts place these in a zipper seal bag, make sure to label them and keep them somewhere you will remember! When packing your boxes and the van, try to place things as tightly together as you can.
This reduces the space that everything takes: making your move quicker and easier. Tightly packed things are also more secure, they won’t jiggle around as you drive to your new place and this will prevent items from breaking.
Tip #5: Don’t expect the packing process to be done in a day
As already mentioned, it’s important to plan your move ahead of time. Meaning that it’s impossible to do the whole thing in one day. It’s also most likely that the actual process of physically packing and unpacking things will take more than one day as well. This doesn’t mean that you need to rent your moving van for longer, just that the packing and unpacking processes are gradual ones.
You should start by packing some of the larger items that you use less frequently ahead of time and as your moving date approaches pack daily use items. This will help to tame some of that packing-day chaos. The same goes for unpacking. When you get to your new apartment you may want to unpack everything immediately, and you should definitely take advantage of that motivation!
Just remember that if you need to clean or paint your new place this is a lot easier to do before unpacking. If this isn’t an issue, you may still find that you need a few days to get a feel for the place and where you would really prefer each of your things to be.
Tip #6: Pack a bag as if you were going on a trip
You may not have the time to get everything unpacked as soon as you move in. Packing a bag much like you would before going on vacation: with a few changes of clothes, toiletries, laptop, etc… means that you will have access to everything that you need on a daily basis (for a few days at least) regardless of which boxes you unpack first. It also helps along the moving process. Getting an early start can be easier if you pack up everything the night before, and this bag will help you do that.
Tip #7: Do one last walk around before leaving
You may feel a bit nostalgic about your place. Or not. It’s still a good idea to do one last walk around and open every door and every drawer in the process. Packing up your life is a chaotic process and it is incredibly easy to forget something. Even something really important. So just do this.