apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hiring movers is definately the way to go, unless all you have is a suitcase.

Last minute packing is never fun so don't leave it too late. Also it seems to always take 6 boxes more than you think you need so buy or rent a few extra. I used plastic moving crates and they were great - about the same cost as buying boxes, they delivered and picked up so I did not have any boxes to deal with after the move.

Pack up a "moving day box" the day you move. Put your sheets and bedding in it, along with any essential toiletries and breakfast supplies.

You'll want to sleep well your first night in a new place and wake up to a fresh pot of coffee and your favorite mug.

As you pack each box, number it on several sides (so that you can quickly see the # without having to turn the box around, especially when its the bottom box in a stack of 4). Then create a list with each box # and generally what's in it. That way when you move, and you realize that you really should have put at least one pot/pan into your "moving day box" so that you can eat that mac & cheese for dinner, you can refer to the list and quickly figure out which box its in -- rather than rummaging through 5 boxes marked "kitchen".

Also reallly good for making sure you keep track of all boxes, especially with movers. As in "i packed 24 boxes, and there are only 23 here. You are missing box #9, which has my DVD player in it. Please pay up". :)

I moved just over a year ago after 18 years in the same apartment building to my own new little co-op I bought (in those 18 years, had one small interior move of apartments that my roommates and I did one flight up piecemeal). EVERYONE I know who'd moved like a real adult in the last decade recommended I hire the kind of movers who pack up for you as well. BEST DECISION EVER! I only did a couple boxes of valuables ahead of time on my own, but they had everything packed up and set down in my new pad nearby within about 6 hours. If I hadn't needed to finish weeding out possessions on the receiving end which I did over time, I would have had them UNPACK me as well the same day. I'll never go back.

If I am not shipping boxes in the mail, I love to use bankers boxes. These are also known as file boxes. They are cheap - much cheaper than regular packing boxes; you can buy them at Staples or another similar store and generally come six to a pack; they are small enough that you cannot overload them, particularly with books; and they have lids, which make it so much easier, since I find that I am always needing to open up a couple of boxes that I've already packed. I have used them many times, and they've always worked.

Good luck with you move!

I totally agree with mh330. My senior year in college, I moved 5 times in about 13 months and this method was what saved me from unpacking everything when I wasn't going to need things because I was now sharing a kitchen. I did get shingles about 10 weeks before from the psycho room mate, but moved into an apt 1.5 blocks from my freshman year and that roomie and I have stayed friends since 1983.

She is the one who gave me the idea for KAANSWFM as my name, too--the last part of which stands for "Not Some Weirdo from Match.com" in case you were wondering.

good luck, sarah. we were so last minute with the packing this time that it took me two weeks to discover which box had our robes. i was pretty good about labeling the boxes, but there were a few that were so completely random, like:
board games and robes (unlabeled). so when i opened it, all i saw were board games and just left them in there. the robes were at the bottom.

ridiculous!!

I would never pay someone to move me. Weird to me.