A Final Checklist Before Moving
The day has come and you are heading out the door to start anew at your new home. Before you climb aboard the moving truck, it's a good idea to take a moment and make sure that you've managed to collect everything that belongs in your new place. If not, there are some things you can do at this point.
First, make sure that your luggage is packed. That doesn't mean that it's full, but you need to make sure that you've got something to carry these things with. Next, take a moment and make a final trip through your old apartments. You don't need to go over everything to find important belongings, but this time should be spent in case there are items that you missed during previous moves. If possible, get a third opinion: ask an inspector for an opinion on the condition of the unit's walls inside and outside.
When you are done with the inspection, take the newly moved furniture from storage and put those first, before unpacking the rest of your belongings. The last thing you want is for something to move around, bump into things or fall over after all this work.
Finally, go through your old apartment one last time and make sure that you have every item. There should be nothing left behind because you've been moving it or using it up until now.
The above information is a general checklist to help you get started in moving. Your own move is different and there are many things to consider and plenty of things that are at your discretion. Following these steps should help you ensure that everything goes smoothly.
©CopyRight 2013. All rights reserved.
The following article was provided by the Apartment Therapy Blog and highly recommended! Check out their site for more helpful tips on apartment living!
I have worked in condos for about 5 years, my university residence for 2 years and now I am a landlord in a triplex that is the first one owned by the company I work for. This post is mainly just something to run through before moving day, since it can be quite daunting knowing what to do-especially since I live in a condo as well.
I am going to try and break it down into a list, but I also included some helpful links and pictures as well. I will write this as if you are moving into a condo or apartment you own or rent, since that would be my main area of knowledge; however, most of the steps (or at least the basics) should be applicable to any move.
First, you need to figure out what is in your unit. This is important because not all storage units are the same size, but they will all have their size listed in square feet. This is how many square feet you have in the unit and it can range from 120-500+. It depends on how much furniture you have as well as other items. Many people are moving into condo units, so you are probably moving into a new rental unit which will have the same number of square feet. This can range from 600-800.
This is actually a great measurement tool to use because when you get to the moving company, they will let you know what is in your unit and if any item needs to be moved before they start-like the fridge and stove. They will also tell you how much room you have for your furniture, but I would still measure it myself. I feel that if you know exactly how much stuff you are moving in, then the movers will do their job better.
Before you ever get moving, make a list of what needs to be moved from the storage unit. This is so easy to forget...but once it is packed up and sitting in a truck or waiting in a hallway, it is really hard to find those things again!
Okay, so now we need to go through your place one last time and get everything else out of either your place or the condo. In the picture below, you can see what I have done in each room.
In the kitchen I have all my dishes, pots, pans (whatever they are called), plates, silverware, glasses and a cutting board. In the living room area I have my magazines (or books if you do not read magazines), TV, gaming console and accessories.
You may want to classify your things into different "categories" as we all do when we start to pack; however, it is really important that all of your things are out of either your place or the unit before you even bring in any boxes or furniture.
This means that all the essentials that you need to live should be moved into a temporary storage area. For example, when I was moving, I had to fit my bed frame in with my things because the mattress and box spring went into the unit first. That is an essential thing I needed to have on moving day! You may want to move your fridge and stove in second if they are not already at your new place/unit, but it depends on if you are paying for them or not-if they are not included then it is best to move those in last. If you are paying for them, then ask the movers how to move them first!
This can be quite a time consuming process, but it is required; and that is the reason you should plan ahead!
The next thing you should do is get your things ready. While I recommend having everything packed in boxes and then piled into bins in your unit, if you have a lot of stuff or if there are a lot of random things that you are moving-then it may not be necessary. There may be things that will be an inconvenience if they are taken out of boxes before being moved into the unit; assuming that these would not fit anyways. This is where you have to make a call.
You should definitely have all your dishes packed away in boxes, as well as your silverware, glasses, etc. If you have a lot of cups you can put these into a bin and tape it shut; but obviously if you do not then there is no way to keep it all together in one box so just leave it the way it is. Just make sure that everything is wrapped up in towels or something...to ensure that nothing gets damaged!
If you are moving into a new place with appliances, then this should be done before bringing anything else in.
Conclusion: Basically all you are doing is getting everything ready. You need to know how much room you have left and work with that. If you are close to being out of room, then it might not be best to pack everything up because it takes up a lot of space.
If you are only moving the bare essentials, then make sure that they are packed and sealed off so they do not get damaged in the process.
Step 3: Load your stuff!
This is the part where movers come in (or friends if you did not hire movers).