Moving Day: Tips To Make Moving More Bearable
Whew! May is flying by! That means at the end of this month G, the pups, and I will be moving to our new home … err apartment. We are all really excited for this change and looking forward to having the extra space … two bedrooms say whaaat!?. Despite our excitement we are definitely dreading the actual moving part, lugging around furniture up and down two flights of stairs is not going to be very fun. Lucky for us I started packing up months ago. Although, I would suggest not going too overboard and would encourage more waiting until moving day gets a little bit closer. We are up to our ears in boxes in this tiny little apartment, and I think it might just be driving us a little bit nuts. I may just be a little too excited about moving. Throughout this moving and planning process I’ve learned a few things that I think will help make this transition a little bit easier. We are also hoping to get more of our deposit back so deep cleaning before we turn in our keys is a must! Here are some tips to get your moving process started.
2 Months Before
- donate/throw out unused and outdated items
If we haven't used the item in over a year that's when we know it's time to let it go. The same goes for our home decor. My style changes constantly and I tend to hang on to things thinking I will eventually like them again.
- light packing of non-essential items
I would only recommend this if you have the extra storage space. It's nice to get a small head start but it's also a pain in the butt to have moving boxes everywhere. Currently ours are in our bedroom...its super romantic! ;)
- finalize move-out & move-in dates
I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but we made this mistake and thought we only had to turn in a 30 days notice which actually turned out to be a 60 day notice. Luckily our new place has been flexible with our move in date so it hasn't been too much of a headache.
1 Month Before
- submit 30 days notice
Disregard if you have a 60 day notice like us!
- repair any nail/tack holes.
I once came across a Pinterest pin that said to use plain white toothpaste to fill in any holes in the wall. While that worked for my first apartment in college, it took forever to dry and I managed to get it everywhere. I would recommend using this stuff ... it's easy to use and dries quickly!
- start deep cleaning
I know, the last thing you want to do is clean your old apartment when you have a shiny new one waiting for you, but it will be so worth it when you get your deposit back. We're waiting until about two weeks before our move out date to start seriously cleaning just because we have two big dogs who play in the river everyday.
- paint walls to original or neutral color
Our apartment complex allows us to paint the walls as long as we paint them back to their original color when we leave. If you can leave your walls painted, then I'm a little jealous because painting is not a favorite of mine.
Deep Cleaning
We have about a week or so once we move into our new space to move out completely and super clean the old apartment. We'll be using this time to clean behind things like the fridge, stove, etc. Some key areas to clean before you hand in your keys are:
-toilets -fridge -carpet/floors -light fixtures
-sinks -shower/tub -windows -behind stove, washer, dryer
-oven -walls -baseboards
