There is so much to unpack, especially if you have a moving truck full of your belongings! It can quickly become overwhelming trying to figure out where to start, but I have some tips and tricks to help get you through it! I moved from home to home during my childhood (always in the same area) and would help pack up my room for the next best thing. If you know me, I despise unpacking more than packing so it is always a long day in my mind. In college, I moved each year to a new place. I started in a dorm, then to a 2 bedroom apartment, then into a sorority house, back into a 2-bedroom apartment, and finally into a 1 bedroom apartment all to myself. That’s a lot of packing and unpacking! I feel like the master of moving at this point.
1. Label boxes by room
It is always a great idea to organize all your boxes by room, rather than by purpose or category. Each box can be assembled and placed into each room so that it is clear which box to use. For example, build a box and place it next to your closet only placing your closet items into that particular box. This way your items will be easy to find when you are looking for them after your move. To keep track of each box, I like to label them by room and then by key items. For my closet, I ended up having 4 boxes so I divided them into the following categories:
- Closet: Long-hang items
- Closet: Short-hang items
- Closet: Folded Items
- Closet: Shoes
2. Wrap all fragile items
For fragile items, it is best to wrap in packing paper before placing it into any kind of box. See below for simple wrapping steps I follow to make sure nothing breaks. First, place the item on the corner of the paper. Then wrap the paper over the item vertically. After this, fold the other two sides over and roll until covered.
This is one of the most simple parts of packing, but can easily be the most time-consuming. I recommend allowing for 2 full days of packing up your things for an apartment-sized home. I also find it much easier when there are two people wrapping at the same time. Put on your favorite Fall movie & you’ll be just fine!
3. Pack & Load
Packing up your car or UHaul can be tricky depending on how much stuff you are moving with you. If you are packing furniture and live in a place that is either more than 1 story or if you are high up in an apartment building, I highly recommend hiring professional movers. I did for my most recent move and was beyond happy that I did. They took apart my bedframe, wrapped everything with moving blankets, and got everything down 7 floors to our cars!
4. Drive & Move
I think this is pretty self-explanatory 🙂
5. Unloading the car
Moving in is much easier than moving out. Praise be! Once all the boxes are out of your car and in your garage or front porch, start bringing them inside by the room labeled on the boxes. I told you labeling your boxes comes in handy! Once all your boxes are in their designated rooms, get lots of trash bags ready for all the packing paper & get to unwrapping! Bonus Tip: Find out when your trash day is at your new home, and where you can dump any leftover recycling. Many recycling companies will come out for a second time in the week if you call and request it!
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