Avoid the Moving Blues

Moving is always SUCH a hassle. There are very few people who don't get stressed or overwhelmed by the thought of moving; having to pack up all your things, boxes everywhere, time crunches, will the movers charge me more? The list could go on.

My roommates and I recently moved into a bigger apartment, so I thought I'd share some of the tricks I uncovered along the way.

Don't pay for moving boxes This hack is a game changer. I'm not being dramatic or facetious here. There is no need for you to go to the hardware store, post office, or department stores to buy packing boxes. Meet your new best friend: The liquor store. Okay, well, some of you may already be acquainted, but now you're going to get to know another side of one another. Liquor stores get so many cases in, they usually end up recycling them. Some may use their boxes, but many don't! And the boxes surprisingly fit a really good amount of stuff, so even if you have to get more of them, at least you're not paying for it! Another perk, they're surprisingly sturdy. Our boxes survived the liquor store transport and disassembly, my move and disassembly, and my third roommate's move and disassembly. So 10/10 would recommend.

Our living room waiting for the movers to come!

Understand Net vs Gross rent This is really more a when you're looking for an apartment tip, but it's still useful information looking back! These are terms we encountered a lot when searching and negotiating for our apartment. What you see advertised is usually the gross rent or the full price per month. Sometimes what you negotiate on and what you hear thrown around is the Net rent. What this net-effective rent is ultimately is if they're offering you a free month, the Net rent reflects the price of rent per month with that free month factored in. Also important when you're negotiating and signing - make sure you're clear on if you're being expected to pay Net vs Gross rent. When figuring out what the Net or Gross rent you want for your apartment is, I found these sites really helpful: Net Effective to Gross Rent Calculator Gross Rent to Net Effective Calculator Also here's a Salary Calculator we used too when negotiating in case it's helpful! (PLEASE NOTE: This is in no way an ad or promotion, I'm not being paid or gaining anything by sharing these with you, nor was I asked to share these. These were just really helpful resources for me when we were doing our apartment hunt, so I wanted to share them with you!)

Pack in stages Rome wasn't built in a day, and your apartment might not get packed (or unpacked for that matter) in a day either. And that's OK. Do it in stages! Start with one room you really won't need to use the things in before you move (for us that was the kitchen and living room). Or, you could start with packing up all your clothes, just leaving out what you'll need until moving day. The goal is to start manageable, this way a few hours go by and you look up and you've actually gotten way more done than you thought you would.

Use movers you trust, but don't overpay Get estimates, get estimates, get estimates. Always good to play the price comparison game. Many movers will give you the same price whether you're moving out of a whole apartment or just a room in a sublet. So you want to make sure you're not paying an unreasonable amount. That being said, it's always better to go with movers you or someone you know has used. And if you don't have that, make sure they have good reviews because unfortunately, moving horror stories are all too real. And no one wants broken furniture or plates if it can be avoided. Which also leads me to my next hack: if it's something you care about BRING IT OVER YOURSELF. Valuables and sentimental items should remain in the hands of the person you can always count on, you.

Night before moving means take out, move in day means pizza This one is pretty self explanatory, but I'm going to explain it anyways. The night before you move, all your plates, pots/pans, and silverware are packed up. Do yourself a favor and just order take out. Easy clean up, no leftovers, you'll thank yourself for it. Also, packing is exhausting! Why add the stress of cooking on top of it. And when you move in, chances are you don't have too many things in the fridge. You spent all day waiting on the movers to do their thing and then starting to get things in order, pizza is practically calling your name. And if you're like us and live in a city, you probably can't go more than a block or two without bumping into a new one, so you might as well support your local pizzeria, get them knowing your face and become a regular so you have your pizza spot for Friday nights.

Unpacking isn't rocket science, and you don't have to do it all the first day Let's be real, depending on how much you have to move and what time the movers come, it will probably take an hour and a half to two hours at least for them to load up the van. Then there's traveling to the new apartment, and then there's unloading the van - another 2 hours most likely. By the time you tip the movers and they drive off, you're probably tired and hungry, and still need to do some sorting and cleaning before you can put everything in it's proper spot. That's okay. It doesn't all have to be done that day, because...

If you have a place to sleep, you'll be fine Ultimately, after a long day, as long as your bed is set up and clear, you can always just go to bed, wake up early and then do the bulk of unpacking and organizing the next day. You're in your new apartment, you should be excited and celebrating! No need to add even more stress to a move.

Not pictured: literally all my stuff still in bags on the opposite wall.

Get your internet set up in advance! Most people wait until they're all moved in to have their internet get set up, but honestly why? We had the luxury of being able to get our keys a few days early, so we were able to get our self-set up kit in advance! We ultimately needed a technician to come and help still due to a connectivity problem, but because we got in sooner and figured that out, we could schedule it so they came the day we moved in to fix it! Honestly, even if you don't have the luxury of getting your keys early, you still know your move-in day in advance and could schedule the appointment. It was really nice to be able to sit down, eat pizza on the couch, and put on the TV that first night. Despite still having boxes everywhere, we were able to feel even just the slightest bit more settled and normal by doing that.

Give yourself the time you need to feel settled In case I haven't made this point enough, it is okay and unrealistic to expect you'll have the whole place set up in a day. You can do a lot in a day, but you shouldn't feel the pressure to have it all perfect like that *insert snap*. If you need to take another day off to settle in, that's okay. If you need to spread out the unpacking throughout a week or more to accommodate your schedule, that's okay too. Get whatever you need to done and do it on your own timeline because honestly, it's about time we made moving fun and not stressful!