Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Back to College: Moving Tips

Hi everyone!

As a recent college grad, I know what a pain it is to move and also what a joy it is (hello, freedom!). Over the past four years, my family and I have discovered some really great tips for moving that I think would be helpful to know if you are in college or simply if you are making a move!


My moving tips:  

Pack like things with like things.

This one is kind of obvious. Put together like items (beauty products, kitchen ware) with other like items... or things you will use together. Pack school supplies and desk accessories together, all of your decorative accents in one box, laundry and cleaning supplies in another. You can unpack strategically and task your moving buddies with a certain area as well! If you are moving by yourself, you can unpack the items you need immediately first without digging through all of your boxes - you're going to need bedding and beauty supplies more than you will need the entirety of your kitchen supplies!

Pack using plastic boxes, not cardboard. 


Buy these boxes here 
Something my dad has always been insistent on is packing things in plastic boxes. His rationale is a bit convoluted for me, but here's what I've come up with after packing in plastic for the past few years.

  • Plastic boxes have handles, which allow you to grab and grip your boxes better. They also don't require tape, which means you have one less thing to pack and keep track of. 
  • Plastic boxes will keep your items protected from the elements (rain) and freak accidents (flooding, leakage, animals getting hungry) if you decide to store things for a long period of time.
  • Speaking of storage, plastic boxes are fab for storage for the same reasons listed above. Plus, if you use them for moving, it's one less thing you need to worry about when you're storing something! Bonus: buy lots of the same box and they will all fit into one another and take up more vertical space than horizontal/floor space! My dad picked up a bunch of boxes for $5 each at Home Depot. 
  • Plastic boxes just stack really nicely and often have little "lips" on the edge that keep things from sliding off. 
Buy or rent a dolly cart.  

My dad rented one of these when I moved into my apartment this year and he bought one to keep because it was so handy. My sister still has three years of college ahead of her and I'm sure I will be moving again too so it will save us a lot of literal hurt. We can stack 3 boxes on it, plus some oddly shaped things on top, with a lot less physical strain.

Here are some options: one (this is the one my dad has and it's great!) // two // three

Use a garment rack to move clothing.


If you have the space, buy a collapsible wheeling garment rack. I used this last year when I moved my stuff into a short-term storage unit to easily transfer all of my clothes and keep them hanging and wrinkle free in the unit, plus it made transferring them to my new apartment so easy and fast! We could have fit the rack into the cargo van with all of my clothes on it, but my dad was afraid we wouldn't have enough room when we first started packing up the van. There are also bars that will hang across the backseat of a vehicle (I couldn't find it online my my dad has one! I swear they exist!) so if you have an elevator, it makes it super easy to move your clothes and then pop them on the hang bar. Plus, if you need a little bit of time to get things put back together once you're in your new place, all of your clothes will be hanging and ready to wear, not crumpled up in a box!

Make sure to pack wrapping paper, newspaper, or wrapping material for your fragile items!


We seriously forget this every year. Fail. We also don't get newspapers in our apartment, so I don't have a stash of those laying around. I used dishtowels, regular towels, and paper towels to wrap my items in this year since we forgot (again). Also - go somewhere and buy a cheapo box of sandwich baggies! They are seriously handy for keeping things like hair ties/bobby pins, push pins, magnets, etc., together in boxes!

Finally, when you are packing - pack way less than you think you need! 

Obviously, you are going to need a "lot" more than you think you will need: needle and thread for broken buttons, all sorts of medicine that your Mom has whenever you get sick, a hand mixer (okay, maybe that last one is just me...). But you will probably need a lot less clothes and other "stuff" than you think you might need. You don't need a new towel for every day of the week, or a dozen coffee mugs, or an assortment of dishes. You probably need like one or two of each dish you "need" and probably don't need a dozen pairs of jeans. My advice is to underpack now, think about what you need while you're actually living at school, and have it shipped to you, buy it, or pick it up from home later. Believe me, you will survive without it!

Hopefully some of these tips will be helpful for you! I know they have come in handy for my family.

xx, Amy

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