I find moving to be very stressful. I’m the kind of girl who likes everything to be in its right place. In the process of moving, having all the comforting items that make me feel at home shoved in boxes makes me feel extremely anxious.
I envy the adventurous souls full of wanderlust, who seem to be able to pack up and head anywhere at any time without a second thought. I also envy those who don’t get attached to certain things like I do.
While I do consider myself to be a very minimalistic person when it comes to my wardrobe, my makeup, and most other areas of my life, I do have to have beautiful art and nice furniture around me in order to be comfortable. So even though I wish I could just sell everything and move on with just a car-load of items, I’ve accepted that I’m the kind of person who needs a moving truck. Womp womp.
This is the living room from my old house, circa 2012, filled with beautiful things that make me happy.
So as I got ready to make a big move from the Midwest to the South this summer, I put together a list of moving tips that helped me make it to my new home without freaking out. I hope it can help you too! (Sponsored by UPack.com. All opinions are my own.)
1. Get organized. Make a checklist of things you need to do before/during and after your move – or just use the one I created for you below! Checking things off as you accomplish them will be satisfying and having everything on paper makes it measurable and reduces stress.
Free moving checklist printable from me to you!
2. Assess your moving options. For my move, I chose U-Pack’s modular storage unit service. It was the most cost-effective option I could find for my long-distance move, and I was really pleased with how easy it was to arrange.
You use their online form to choose the date for the units to be dropped off at your current home and agree to a flat rate to be charged at the time of the move. When the units are delivered, you fill them at your own pace and call U-Pack when you are ready for them to pick it up. U-Pack delivers the unit to your new home within a few days.
3. But before you can fill the moving units, ya gotta pack. I like to start packing slowly, beginning about 30 days before my move. This go-round, I didn’t have the opportunity to do that because I had a bodybuilding competition that I wanted to be able to focus on without extra stress. Post-competition, I packed up in about two weeks.
Packing up my old apartment, aka my own personal hell.
4. Once you’re packed, it’s time to transport all of your worldly belongings. As I mentioned, I used U-Pack modular storage pods.
The pods being delivered to my apartment.
The forklift came on the truck along with the pods, and the driver unloaded them with it.
The pods were delivered to my apartment on a Monday and I loaded them on Tuesday. Once they were loaded, I called U-Pack to have them picked up and sent on their way from Ohio to my new home state, North Carolina. They picked the pods up within hours of me calling to say they were ready!
Two pods fit neatly into my parking space. It could have even fit two more!
Two containers can probably fit a three bedroom apartment. My two-bedroom filled 1.5 containers.
The day after the pods had been picked up was when I left town with my cat and a carload of immediately-needed items. It was nice not to have to worry about driving a moving truck with hella blindspots – the drive was BRUTAL as it was.
https://instagram.com/p/5buK4zCAtM/?taken-by=chanmeleon
I’m really impressed with how simple U-Pack was to use. I’d definitely use them for moving again. But…with that said, I’m done moving for a while. It takes a lot out of a girl who thrives on peace and order!
I hope that you find my moving checklist printable helpful, and I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have about moving with U-Pack. You can also find them directly at www.upack.com and on Facebook and Instagram.
