Boxes Everywhere

I've told y'all that I'm moving soon and have to pack right? Well I recently started doing just that and, since I live in the internet era I can't do anything without looking up tips online to make it easier.  I know a lot of my friends are moving soon also, its that time of year for college students, so I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and my packing/moving system with you!

First, packing is frustrating!!! Start EARLY by packing up all your decorations, it'll make the place you live in feel less like a home, and while this is slightly depressing for your remaining time there, it also helps you become detached from the space so you can pack up the rest of your stuff and move out easier (without becoming emotional - This was a problem for me when I realized that I'm moving out of my first apartment!!! I feel so old!!)

Also, the earlier you start, the more organized you can pack, which means the more organized your stuff will be when you unpack, and you can move in faster/easier.  This is important!!! You know your move in date long in advance (at least you normally do) and have time to do this.  Moving out, you want to make your old place look less like a home, but when you move in, you want to make it feel like a home as quickly as possible.  If you were organized in your packing, you can unpack faster and feel at home in your new place!!!

So, when you start packing, how do you do it? Start with decorations and other things that you won't need before you move.  Since you are starting so early, you will still be living in this space for a while (in my case a little over a month) and still need it to be functional.

As you are packing, pack by room and label all of the boxes.  It will be easier for you to move in if everything's labeled and you can find what you need.  It also helps by allowing you to leave the decor boxes for last and get the essential things in place first.  Since I will be having lots of people help me move, I have color coded all my boxes so that each color is a different room.  I put a post-it on each box in the color of the room it goes in and write a brief description of what's inside.  For my fragile items, I grabbed a larger post-it in the room's color and wrote "fragile" along with the description.  I am a huge fan of color coding! I will probably be putting a piece of paper in each room which is the color on the boxes that belong there so that its easier for others to put boxes in the correct rooms without having to ask me!

Pink Labels

Yellow Label (See the description?)

Signs for each room and a sign with all the colors for the doorway 

While packing, don't work on one room for too long! You will get frustrated and overwhelmed! Start with one room and pack a box (always finish a box before moving to the next) then go to a different room and pack a box in there. If you are in an apartment that you share, start in your bedroom, then go to a shared room, back to your bedroom, etc.  You will have the most to pack in your bedroom and should pack in there every other box. If you can't keep up this pattern, (run out of stuff in other rooms) do something between packing each box (read my blog, check your facebook, etc). You don't want to burn yourself out on packing, especially as you just start so mix it up and take it slow!

Mark the boxes you want to unpack first! I have another color post-it and these boxes will get this color along with their room sticker.  These boxes will have toilet paper, pjs, bedding, and other things I want to have the first night in my apartment.

Touch every item you pack.  Do not just grab a bunch of stuff and throw it in a box, choose to pack each item separately. Moving is a great chance to purge yourself of things you don't need/want anymore.  Always have a box/bag available for things to donate and another for trash.  You don't want to bring trash/things you don't want any more into your new home, start with a clean plate. Plus, the more you get rid of, the less you have to move (but don't get rid of stuff you need/use you'll regret it later and probably end up spending money replacing it).

Use towels/t-shirts to wrap your breakables in, don't spend money on fancy paper or bubble wrap because stuff you already have and want to move will work just as well. Some people suggest using plastic shopping bags, but I don't like this idea because they will just need to be thrown out as soon as you get there.  I want to avoid trash as much as possible in my new home.

Also, if you know you will be moving a lot (are in college and move every year or so) consider getting a few rubbermaid totes rather than finding boxes everytime.  It’s a onetime cost, but walmart and target have decent prices on them and you can use them for every move plus to store out of season stuff now and in the future.

For electronics, tie up all of the cords.  Also, any cords that aren't permanently attached to the electronic should be labeled to say what electronic they go with.  This will help when you are setting up in not having to guess what goes with what.

Don't pack your tools too deep! You will want them when you get to your new place to put your bed together, so make sure you can get to them easily.

I'm also taking the chance to throw out any food that's bad/I don't want.  Apparently I often forget about food I've bought and will have enough to fill my apartment when I get there.

Get a floorplan of your new space, including dimensions, and plan how the furniture will go before the day you move.  I plan on taping up a copy of my plan for each room on the wall in that room when I move in so those helping me can see where I want everything without asking me, and by checking the dimensions, I know my plan will work when I get there (this was almost a disaster last time I moved because I didn't do this...) This saves time/energy in rearranging furniture when you get there. You should also put a color label on each piece of furniture where it isn't painfully obvious where it belongs (bed = painfully obvious, random bookshelf = not). General rule is when in doubt, label it!!!

Finished Floorplan!!!