Whether you’re moving into or out of your first apartment, keeping organized can help to take the headache out of the whole process. A disorganized mess will make moving into your new apartment a serious pain, while nicely packed and labeled boxes make moving in a breeze.
With that being said, how do you stay organized before moving? Read on below for some helpful tips and tricks.
Start early
The most common culprit of a chaotic moving experience is procrastination. Throwing things in boxes at the last minute, or even throwing random unboxed items in your car or moving truck, is a sure way to make the moving process more difficult.
Start packing your things as early as possible to avoid this. As soon as you know where you’re moving and have a general idea of what you’ll need, get started!
Organize your current apartment
It may seem counterintuitive, but spending time organizing and decluttering your current apartment is one of the best things you can do with your time when preparing to move. Keeping similar items grouped together will help you easily pack them in boxes together, and if all items in your apartment are in the correct room, it’ll be easy to know where they go when unpacking.
Pack essentials and non-essentials separately
What if you have a month or more before moving, and you want to get started, but you don’t want to pack away all your things yet? This is where “pre-packing” comes in. To get started, gather up items you know you won’t absolutely need for at least a few months after moving. This could be anything from non-functional decorations to out-of-season clothes.
By packing up these items first, you can make a serious dent in the amount of packing you’ll need to do in the weeks before the big move. If you’d like, you can even label these boxes with “non-essential” or something else to remind you not to unpack them until later.
Label boxes by contents and the room they’ll go in
Speaking of labeling, writing detailed labels on boxes is a great way to make your unpacking experience run smoother. Label each box by its contents, focusing especially on important items that you know you’ll be looking for within a few days or weeks of moving into your new apartment.
Additionally, you’ll want to label each box with the room that it’ll go in. Especially if you’ve hired movers or are having friends help you move in, this will help make sure all your things get to the correct place.
Don’t be afraid to throw away or donate things
Finally, don’t be afraid to get rid of things! If you haven’t used something once in the whole time you’ve lived in your current apartment, that’s a pretty good sign that it’s ready to go. The more things you can donate or dispose of, the easier it will be to unpack in your new apartment, so there’s no sense in holding onto things you won’t use.
