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Moving Tips and Apartment Advice

As I’m packing up for the 10th move of my life I’ve realized that I definitely have a system in place and things that I do to help make the process a little easier. Here are some things that I have done over the years:

1. Ask your job, or local grocery/hardware stores if they have boxes you can have: For me and my anxiety levels it is much easier for me to ask my job to save shipment boxes for me to use for my move (be sure to take them home immediately or they may be thrown out the next morning), but I can remember driving around with my Dad to pick up shipment boxes from grocery stores. Usually they were happy to give them to us, because they were going to be thrown out anyway, but sometimes they’d turn is down- which is fine. Always remember to show your appreciation and thank them.

2. Use clothes to cushion fragile items: Bubblewrap is surprisingly expensive, so I use my clothes instead. If it’s summertime I will use my fall wardrobe for this, and vise-a-versa (obviously do not use clothes with zippers or other hardware). This way you’ve packed up the part of your wardrobe you’re not currently wearing and your valuables/fragiles are protected.

3. Garbage bag your clothes: Speaking of clothes, the best way to pack up your closet is by leaving the items on the hanger (trust me, it’s a pain to un-hang them, pack, and re-hang when you have an entire apartment to unpack), take a large garbage bag and slide it over your clothes while they’re still hanging on the rack. Make sure the hanger hooks are outside the top of the bag and tie it tightly- this way you can hold the bag by the hanger hooks and they won’t fall into the bag. Then when you get to your new place you just place the hanger hooks on your new closet rack, untie the bag -and wala!- your clothes are hung and you’re done (doing this also saves boxes for other things)

4. Save junk mail the month before your move: It will take over your coffee table/desk, but old newspaper and magazines come in handy when it comes to packing up your kitchenware. 

Apartment Advice

1. Observe the surrounding area and make visits: This is something I should have done, but I was in such a rush to move in that I didn’t. Drive around the block and take note of your surroundings- what businesses are nearby? Are you near a school? A police station? Maybe a church? Are there stoplights nearby? This is important and could impact the noise level of your living space (For example: after I moved in I realized that there’s a fire station across the street from us on one side, a college campus on the other, and there isn’t a stoplight for a good mile- which means I hear loud sirens at all hours of the day and night, there are a lot of college kids here so there are obnoxious parties/fights every weekend and hardly any parking when school is in session, and people love to race down my street engines blaring). Visit the apartment complex in the middle of the afternoon or at night to see what the atmosphere is like- are people being crazy? Are there security guards patrolling? This is something you need to know and see for yourself- after all, you will be living there for the next 6 months-year.

2. Be SURE to read and understand your lease: This is an obvious one, but it’s so important. They can be tricky with how they word things, so be sure that you ask plenty of questions whenever you don’t understand something (the landlord/manager should go over the lease with you, and if they don’t then you should ask them to). Especially pay attention to anything involving deposits, break-lease fees, terminations, and maintenance. IMPORTANT: when it’s time for a lease renewal, revisit your lease paperwork a month or two in advance to see if you need to give 30 days notice of renewal or termination. Sometimes if you’re moving out and you fail to give 30 days notice you may be charged a half-month/months rent even though you won’t be living in the facility (i am currently going through this.. it’s not fun).

3. Document EVERYTHING: After moving in make a list of all of the things that are wrong with the apartment (burn on the counter, carpet stains, broken blinds, bent vents, crack in the wall, etc) and photograph them if you can (with a picture date). Make a copy of the list and give it to your landlord- make sure to date and sign it. This way, when you move out, they can’t take these things out of your deposit because you didn’t cause that damage- and if they try, show them the list and remind them of the copy in your file. In addition, save all paperwork that you receive, especially if it pertains to scheduled maintenance on your unit (very helpful if they never show up and try to use your deposit to repair things that would have been in working order if they kept up with maintenance).

I hope that you found this information helpful! Moving is so difficult as it is, so any tips and tricks help. I wish you the best on your move and that your new living space is all that you need it to be and more : )

Zero Waste Moving Tips!

Moving into a dorm informed me of all the waste I generated! Not super cool. So here are some tips I came up with to help eliminate a lot of waste that comes with starting a new chapter of your life!

1) Don’t buy new furniture. Furniture generates a ton of waste! With plastic bags, cardboard pieces, styrofoam pieces, it all adds up quick with new furniture! Instead of buying new furniture, buy second-hand or refurbish some! Whether it be from a thrift store or from craigs list, this will reduce the waste that comes with new furniture while still feeling new! Changing the fabric or the color of furniture can make it feel new instead of used.

2) Don’t buy new clothes. Moving to a new place can lead to your wardrobe being outdated/not suitable for your new environment. Buying new clothes generates a lot of waste! Go to the second-hand clothing stores around! These stores will have the clothing suitable for that environment without the hefty price of new clothes and the hefty amount of waste created!

3) Pack Lighter. Requiring huge moving trucks or multiple trips can lead to a huge pollution problem. The more things you have to move, the more energy it requires to move it. So discard any old furniture, clothes, trinkets, or utilities that won’t serve you a purpose in the future. Not only will you generate less waste this way, you will feel a sense of relief getting rid of the old!

4) Leave the waste lifestyle behind. You’re moving into a new place, where it will be easier to leave those wasteful things you do behind. Don’t bring all those toiletries that have intense packaging, don’t bring all of those throw-away napkins or boxes of cereal. A new place is a new chapter in your life, and the more you bring from the last place, the more likely this chapter will be similar to the past one. A new place can lead to a new lifestyle, so take full advantage of it.

some stuff to know about moving to high altitude places

1. food takes longer to cook/ water boils faster??? but also the water is cooler when it hits a boiling point hence why food takes longer to cook. idk man science is weird

2. ALL OF THE LIQUID THINGS YOU BRING WILL EXPLODE WHEN YOU OPEN THEM. i am not kidding. soap, concealer, food, EVERYTHING. open all your shit over the sink the first time you open it bc it WILL get all over you

For real, if you're moving into a new place, try your best to get something up on the walls to decorate. If it's a rental place, use blue tack or something else that isn't permanent.

When I moved out of my family's house and into an apartment ten hours away, the thing that started my path out of some pretty severe homesickness was getting my posters and prints on the walls. It didn't look like my place until I did that.

Anytime I move, my favourite prints are coming with me. I don't care if I only have room for one; that one will go up, wherever I can find room.

Making Your Apartment Move Easy!

Moving into a new apartment can be a very stressful situation for both novices and people more experienced with moving. If you do not have a solid plan heading into the big move, you can become confused and important things may be overlooked. Whether you’re leaving your childhood home for the first time to live on your own or you’re looking to upgrade and move to a new apartment, here are four tips that will help minimize the stress and confusion of moving.

It is a real estate cliché but, “Location, location, location,” is immensely important when choosing a new apartment. It is imperative to figure out your needs and see if the area of your new apartment fits those needs. Do you have kids? If so, a neighborhood with good schools is important. Do you need to use public transportation? An area near buses and trains would be optimal for those without a car. Where you choose to live has a major impact on your future, so be sure it is somewhere you are comfortable living and can suit your living needs.

The second tip is to test everything in the apartment. When you finally find an apartment you are interested in and get to have a look around, there are a few things you should remember to try before making any decisions. Flip all of the light switches and bring a portable phone charger to make sure the electrical outlets are in working order. Flush the toilet, light the stove and check inside the oven. Leave no stone unturned. If this is the apartment where you will be living, you do not want to be surprised later to find out something isn’t working properly.

Once you decide on an apartment and know this is where you want to live, the next tip is to make sure you measure everything. Measure where your couch will go. Measure your bed frame and all dressers and bookshelves. Other important measurements that often go overlooked are the hallways, doorframes and window frames. Measuring all of these places will help avoid any mix-ups in fitting furniture into your new place. You don’t want to buy a new piece of furniture just to get it back to your apartment and find out that it doesn’t fit in the space you allotted for it.

The most important tip to know when moving into a new apartment is to properly budget yourself. There is no worse feeling than finally getting your new place up and running, and then not being able to afford the essentials. Make a list of all your income for one month. Make a separate list of all expenses you have during that same month, then subtract the expenses from the incomes to make sure you have enough money to pay your bills and some extra left over to live on.

Remembering these tips will help turn your move from a confusing and hectic time, to a more organized and easy one. The more you plan ahead the better off you will be.

How to Move

I’ve moved quite a few times in my life both when I lived with my mom and on my own, so here are my expert moving tips for a less stressful move. Enjoy!

Before packing:

1. Scout out the place you’re moving to. Is it smaller or larger than where you currently live? 

  • If it’s smaller, go through your items as you pack and try to organize items you don’t want or need anymore into items to sell, donate, and throw away. You can do this for knickknacks, clothes, shoes, anything. For the donate and throw away items, you can put them into large trash bags and take them to their respective places. TIP: If you don’t sell your items by the time it’s about two days before you’re going to move to your new place, go ahead and donate them. You don’t want the added stress of moving those items later and trying to find a place for them. 
  • If the new place is larger, as you’re packing, think of what you’ll need (if anything) for the new place. Will you finally have a dining room? Then you’ll need a table with at least two chairs. Does the new place have a place for a washer and dryer? Well doggone you’ll need a washer and dryer. As you’re packing, make a list of what you’ll need and if you need it immediately or if it can wait and roughly how much it’ll cost so you’ll know how much you need to save and account for in your budget.

2. While looking at your new place, note any work that needs to be done.

  • Do any of the rooms, counters, floors, windows, appliances need to be cleaned/removed? If any of this needs to be done, I would let your landlord know right away. They should get it taken care of. However, some places don’t do that and they’ll usually even knock off some of the total deposit or first month’s rent if you do it yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, make sure you have all of the cleaners and supplies you’ll need such as window cleaner, wood cleaner/polisher, a vacuum, broom, dustpan, mop, paper towels, floor cleaner, disinfectant wipes, and trash bags/boxes. Also take note if your windows need blinds or curtains and remember to budget for that if you don’t already have blinds or curtains.

3. Ask your landlord if you can start to bring items and boxes by before you move in. If it’s allowed, this’ll be a great help for when you start to move stuff over.

4. Make sure you have everything you need to start packing. You’ll need boxes and/or totes, trash bags, packing tape, and newspaper or any other items you could use to wrap any of your breakables in (or maybe no newspaper if you choose to wrap your breakables in clothes and blankets that you already own).

Packing:

1. Do it by room, Start, within that room, with the things you won’t need for the next week or so.

2. If you’re using cardboard boxes, use packing tape on the bottom.

3. When you’re finished packing each box, label the room and items in the box. i.e kitchen, cooking bowls. This will be a life saver when you’re unpacking.

4. As you pack, clean. Dust and wipe down the surfaces, sweep, mop, wipe down the windows, etc. so you won’t have to do it later. Doing it room by room is so much easier.

5. If you can take items over to your new place beforehand, go ahead and do that. Don’t stack your boxes and items all over the place. If your box says kitchen, go ahead and put it in the kitchen. It’s going to make unpacking way better.

6. When moving big items like furniture, see if you have a friend who’s willing to help with a truck or trailer. You can always offer to take them out to lunch as thanks for their help.

7. Like six, if you decide you want someone to help you move, you can take them out for lunch or order some delivery and have some snacks and a beverage like a little get together. I personally don’t like when other people try to help me move because they don’t do things the way I like but hey, whatever works for you bud.

8. Once you’ve got everything moved out of your old place, go through every drawer, closet, and cabinet one last time to make sure you didn’t leave anything crucial or sentimental behind. Some things people commonly forget are their shower heads, ceiling fans, and light switch covers. If you installed any of these things, remember to take them with you and to replace the originals if there were any.

Unpacking:

1. Again, start by rooms. Depending on the room, if may be easier to start with the smaller items or the furniture first. For the kitchen and bathrooms I’d start with smaller items. For the living room and dining area, start with the furniture and bigger items.

2. You can also do like seven above and have a moving party to help unpack.

Miscellaneous

1. Remember to check your fridge and pantry to see what foods you do and don’t have and go to the grocer’s for food that you’ll need for the week.

2. On the same not, depending on how well you stock your fridge, for the week or two before you’re going to move, try not to buy any food for your old place. Eat and use what you have if you can so you won’t stress about any food ruining in the moving process.

3. Remember to change your address for sites like amazon, and for magazine subscriptions, news, etc.

4. Leave your new address to your previous landlord/post office so he/she can forward any mail that you accidentally receive at the old address.

5. If you’re moving counties/states, remember to check in with the DMV, your healthcare provider, optometrist, and dentist.

6. If at all possible, try to call and have your lights, water, cable, etc. set up a few days before you move in so you won’t be bored in the dark on your first night there. Keep in mind when scheduling that you’ll most likely have to be present for the cable/internet.

I hope this helps anyone who’s moving in the future and may be stressing and feeling overwhelmed.

a handy list of random household items I’ve figured out along the way of first 4 years of living in my apartment so you don’t have to:

- a large container of anti-bacterial wipes so you can wipe down every surface when you first move in... just to be on the safe side.

- a laundry basket that is both sturdy and won’t hurt your hands when you’re bringing it to and from the laundry room.

- mesh bags for washing delicates and socks (so the washer won’t eat them and cause sock divorces).

- extra blankets and rugs for cold months. also for extra padding around the corners of your bed so you don’t bump your thighs like I constantly do in my small-ish space.

- white noise machine or alarm clock/radio/media player with white noise/nature sounds to block out traffic sounds and the distance noisy neighbors you can’t quite pinpoint the location of and therefore can’t report to your landlord.

- magic erasers. for the kitchen to the bathtub. they are wonderful. careful though as they may scratch some surfaces.

- a bunch of bag clips for snacks, produce, frozen foods, etc.

- plants. for overall relaxation and happiness. for succulents, a spray bottle of some sort.

- snacks on hand in case you have company (tea, store-brand flavored seltzer water, popcorn, pretzels, cookies).

- ingredients for a big pot of soup in case the weather is miserable and you don’t want to go grocery shopping for a week (broth, veggies (canned, frozen or fresh if you have some on hand*, dry beans, barley and/or soup mix, seasoning).

- *a chart to put on your fridge of produce shelf life and storage... a real life-saver and pretty easy to find on the Internet.

- ceramic spoon holder to hold your spoon when you’re making a big pot of soup.

happy moving/home establishing/adulting! feel free to add to this.

packing tips from ky

hey all so in a while I’m moving again, so I thought I’d share some things that have made moving easier for me. some of these may be suitable to help those of us with low energy. these are all tips if you AREN’T having someone pack for you - I’ve used moving/loading companies, which are a lifesaver, but have never had a packing co, so can’t talk about them

  • throw things away before you move/while packing, it’s way harder after - while you’re packing, have throw-away/donate boxes/bags
  • corollary: don’t get hung up on you HAVE to donate things rather than throw away if you’re low energy or prone to putting things off due to how many spoons it takes to get things to a donation center. just toss it, it’s ok
  • have lots of washcloths/towels/other linens? use them to help pack plates rather than worrying about newspaper. two things packed at once! a pillowcase folded around/between them can pack about three or four plates!
  • no boxes? check at your workplace - especially if you’re a place that regularly has shipments in. I used our IT dept, they were always getting boxes in, they actually had a mailing list for it
  • put everything in a box, even if the box doesn’t get all the way full. loose items are the hardest to move and keep track of. if you’re concerned about shifting or damage, put it in a smaller box inside the box. shoeboxes are the best for this
  • in general try to get smaller boxes inside of bigger boxes. I had a box that was nothing but boxes of my shoes, it’s much easier to carry one box than 20 little ones
  • LABEL EVERYTHING at least by room I don’t care if it just says “kitchen and stuff” the act of labeling helps you remember the box
  • rent a dolly. it’s a lil more expensive, but if you fatigue easily, and/or it’s hot, they will save your life. using straps, you can even get them up and down stairs
  • clothes? pack them in your duffles/suitcases/backpacks, by type of item, but leave a few outfits in their own backpack that you keep with you. trash bags are ok, but be careful not to overfill
  • for essential cords like computer/TV, remotes, mouse, tablet parts, other things that all need to stay together, use ziplocs. I put all of my peripherals/remotes into a ziploc
  • be very careful of how much weight you’re putting into boxes! I run into this problem a lot, of making boxes that are too heavy to move. and, heavy boxes go onto the bottom of the stack! similarly, unload your drawers if needed
  • tape drawers shut! nothing sucks more than a drawer falling out and down the stairs, onto your foot, etc
  • take the batteries out of your sex toys and/or vibrating controllers, and really just anything electronic. something WILL shift to turn them on, and they WILL vibrate until the batteries run out, which sucks
  • corollary: if you have moving help from a company, don’t worry, they have probably seen it all - if your vibe falls on the ground, it’s not the end of the world, promise, and if you’re harassed about it, it’s something to bring up to the company, not something to be ashamed of. nobody is entitled to shame or judge you
  • are you afraid to drive the truck? if you’re using a company, ask them if they’ll drive it for you. it’s the same amount of time, them driving the truck or you. I had a great experience having them bring the truck to my apt, load it, unload, and return it for me
  • it’s really easy to forget to eat or drink while packing/moving, remember to do it, especially since it can get hectic and be a lot more activity/heat than you may have done in a while, so you need to take care of yourself
Anonymous asked:

Hello! I'm thinking of moving and was wondering: where do I find boxes to pack my things in?? Is there a place that gives out moving boxes?? I'd like medium-large boxes and I have no idea where to get them. -a Canadian

Check grocery stores and hardware stores, particularly the big ones! Normally, though, you have to buy them. Try buying from Amazon, Staples or another office supply store, or a hardware store like Home Depot!– Mimi

Need Advice: Cross-Country Move

Hey y’all! Hope you’re having an amazing morning!

So, I know this isn’t RDR2 related, but I do need some advice and/or tips. I’ve recently decided that I physically cannot take the way my life is heading right now, and I’ve also decided to actually do something about it. 

My current city is way too expensive for me to even have a hope of surviving on my own. That being said, I’m looking to move across the country--literally. I’m in California right now, and I want to move to Boston, Massachusetts. Now, I know that’s a big move--trust me, I know. But from what I can tell, cost of living is slightly cheaper, and there’s more job opportunities. 

That being said, does anyone have advice and/or tips for moving long-distance? I’ve done some googling, but I’m afraid I don’t even know where to start. I know I need to save up money, but exactly how much is a pretty good question. 

Any advice is much appreciated!

im moving soon!

found out today I'll be able to move out of my mom's house in less than a year !

im gonna be moving closer to my grandma. I currently live about 45 minutes away from her and I found an apartment complex basically down the street!

if anyone has any minimalist tips for moving from a room to 450sqft apartment let me know lmao !