In the course of preparing to transition from one home to the next, I went through a lot of phases. And I learned some things to remember next time. If there is a next time... I rather like this place, and don't know if I want to leave it any time soon...
In no particularly important order, they are:
- Start saving months in advance. Moving is expensive and rarely comes as a surprise. There's the moving truck, security deposits for your apartment/house and utilities, and a million little things that you will need that you didn't before. Plus, you will surely want some new things for your new home, such as a new broom, curtain rods, shower curtain... Most of these things are inexpensive, but they add up quickly. Have enough money put aside so you can get them without having to live on Ramen for the first three months after you move while you try to figure out what you can afford to live without.
- Go buy good boxes. A lot of them. I went to Home Depot and got the "small" moving boxes. They are a little over one cubic foot. With the smaller boxes, I was able to keep anything from being extremely heavy. Having my boxes be roughly the same size made things easier when it came to playing moving-truck tetris. Don't get me wrong... You can totally stalk the local liquor store/grocery store/fast food joint to beg for free boxes. Those do tend to be pretty strong, but I found that after making the investment in boxes intended for moving, I could be sure that all my boxes were strong and intact. I had about 40-50 boxes and spent about $.75/box.
- Start packing early. I started almost six weeks before the planned moving date. Pack everything you know you aren't going to absolutely need in the immediate future. I started with my books and most of my yarn. I got my Christmas decorations together. If you wait till the week before, you're going to feel rushed and stressed out. It you wait till the day before the move, you are going to hate yourself and everything you own very quickly.
- THROW SHIT AWAY! I know this sounds silly, but really... Why are you saving that? Is it actually important? If so, pack it. But if it seemed important once, but you can't remember why...maybe it's time to let it go. There is no reason to transport clutter from one place to another. One of the great things about moving (even if the move itself is for crummy reasons) is that you're starting over. Make it a conscious decision to carry only positive things with you.
- Label your boxes. It will make unpacking so much easier when you know what will be in the box when you open it. Your labels can be as simple as "books" "pantry" "movies". Whatever makes sense. But try to pack boxes so that whatever is inside should go together in the new place. Try avoiding having boxes labelled "stuff". You'll probably end up with one or two boxes of things that don't really match in any category. Mark them for what room they will belong in.
- Use really visible marking for different spaces. Are you moving to a one room shack or a place with multiple rooms. They make duct tape in lots of fancy colors for some reason. Take advantage of this to use different colors to mark what room boxes will go in. And stay consistent. Think how much easier unpacking will be if all the boxes for the bedroom are in the bedroom, and not the living room.
- Assemble your team. About a month before your move, start asking friends who you want to help you. Give them time to plan, so you aren't springing this on them at the last minute. Your friends have lives, too, and you're asking a lot of them. Be prepared to pay them back. Pizza and beer is the traditional fee for friends helping you move, but sometimes cold, hard cash might be a better offer. Don't forget that you will be obligated to help them in return someday. It's one of the rules of friendship, unless you're a total jerk. Or maybe hiring professional movers might be the best bet. Whether it's because you don't have any strong friends or just because you just don't want the hassle. I planned to do this, but I wasn't able to save enough money. Fortunately, I have more awesome friends than I realized, and acquired a small army that made my move happen really fast!
- Plan, plan, and over-plan. What time are you starting? Who is driving the UHaul? What is the worst thing that could happen on moving day, and how are you going to deal with it? If you plan for the worst, it is less likely to happen. And even if it does, you're ready for it. By the time moving day comes, you're going to feel stressed. If you have plans in place to deal with the things that will bother you, at least it won't kill you.
- Have an idea where you want your furniture. Chances are, you've seen your apartment at least once before moving day. Take a few moments to sketch out a basic floor plan with your furnishings where you want them. When you're unloading your truck at the end of the day, getting the big stuff into place before bringing in the boxes is infinitely easier than trying to arrange it around the boxes. It will also help you to feel "at home" sooner when your new place actually looks like a home, rather than a random pile of stuff.
- Appoint a Second In Command. Who do you really trust to keep a level head? On moving day, you will have a lot happening at once. Having another person who knows what you want done will help to eliminate confusion as you direct your team on what needs to go into the truck next, or where to put things at the new place. Share your floor plan with them, so that one of you can direct things from inside the house, and the other from outside.
- Eats! As I said earlier, if you're having friends help you, you should probably feed them. I've never had anyone complain about pizza and beer. If possible, pick up a case or two of beer a day in advance and put it in the refrigerator. Shop around for pizza deals in the neighborhood of your new place. Get people's topping preferences in advance, and have it written down. If you're going with a national chain restaurant, store your order in their mobile app. Then, you can place the order for pickup, and grab it on your way back from returning the moving truck! No matter how tempting it is, don't take a beer-break until the truck is empty. A pleasant break makes it hard to get motivated again.
