Girls, we’re so back. I missed you all summer! How are you?
This article will focus mainly on the second half of the moving process out of the dorm and into an apartment because most of my packing tips are already out there in Part 1 of this article and my Flying Solo article from Spring Break, but I highly recommend you go read both of those before this one for the fullest extent of my “big sister” advice :)
Storage Unit: I mentioned in my previous article that I would touch on how I organized my storage unit to make moving in as easy as possible, so here it is!
- I left all my winter / colder weather clothing in Buffalo because I had absolutely no business bringing a snow jacket to Texas summer. I personally used these blue tarp-like moving bags from Amazon that I found last year and completely recommend them (or something similar) because they are so much bigger and hold so much more than you expect. Unlike boxes or crates they can fold down into very small squares that are great for storage until they’re used again. Along with clothes, I packed blankets, pillows, towels, basically anything soft and compactable in these bags. I stacked these in the back of the storage unit like a Jenga tower, as I found that optimised the security of a tall stack and allowed me to continue to put lightweight items on top of the tower.Â
- Any furniture /Â more solid items went next. I used plastic Target drawers for under-the-bed storage in my dorm room, so in my case that is what went next. I highly recommend that if you have drawers that you are keeping to reuse next year to put them into the storage unit empty, and then fill them with every miscellaneous item you have. One, this gives your random, smaller items a safe home for the time being, and two, you are not wasting the space the drawers take up.
- Lastly, any open crates, carts and baskets – that are also filled with things to maximise space – get big heavy duty trash bags over them. This was more just about keeping dust from building up on any items in the crates, but also just added another layer of security when moving them in-and-out of rooms and cars and such.
Organizing my storage unit this way made move-in a lot easier in the long run, because we were reaching things exactly when we needed them…mostly. I will say I have a few tweeks from my own experience.
- Make sure to leave cleaning stuff in a crate at the FRONT of the storage shed. We realized way too late that we had just thrown the cleaning supplies in a miscellaneous drawer somewhere and that delayed the move-in process back at the apartment because while my parents would make trips to get stuff from the storage unit, I would clean, making sure everything was wiped down by the time we had everything we needed to put away. However, that did not really work out. So yeah, leave it at the front.
- Similarly, make sure any tools, ladders, step stools, and other practical items are in the first trip, or the first things out of the car. We managed to place those at the front of the storage unit for ease and accessibility, but it got packed away in the car somewhere in one of the trips and right when we needed these items they were nowhere to be found.
Move In: For context, my apartment came fully furnished, so all of my move-in advice will be coming from the assumption that there is already furniture there.
If you have read enough of my articles, you would know that I am a sucker for a checklist. I love a To-Do list or a plan to follow, however I hate to break it to you, there was no real plan coming into move-in. I mean there kind of was, but it was a very rough idea and not a checklist (cue the audience boo-ing sound effect). I know, I know, that’s kind of my whole thing, but really I think allowing things to just get done out of necessity in the moment made it so much smoother. Plus, as you literally just read above, we had some small mistakes in the few plans we made. So instead of a checklist, I am going to give you some of my random move-in thoughts and opinions.
- I have heard the advice that when you are moving somewhere new, the first thing you should do is set up your bed, so you can sleep whenever you need to no matter what has been unpacked. To some extent I agree, however if you are like me and like to use the bed as a place to unpack so you do not have to be bent over on the floor the whole time, you might not want to put all your freshly washed sheets and pillows on the mattress yet, as to not get them dirty with dirt and dust while you unpack. My advice, yes, pull out all your bedding and blankets, put pillow cases on your pillows, but do not lay down the sheets quite yet. Instead, wait until you are at a point where you do not need the bed as storage, then lay the sheets down and make the bed. However, if you really just want to get the bed made so you crash whenever you feel like it, but still want to preserve the freshness of the sheets, lay a big bath towel down over the area of the bed you want to use for unpacking. Again, this is very specific to people who really hate the idea of their sheets being dirty, but also like the ease of using the bed to unpack, but I find it helpful.
- Unpack your bathroom first. I have STRONG feelings about this one. This also includes the caveat that before you even enter the apartment for move-in, you should have a small thing of hand soap and toilet paper in the car, so you do not have to run out and get that in order to function – another example of our little mishaps. Also, similar to why people say to make your bed first, you are going to want to shower, brush your teeth, and feel clean after moving around boxes and organizing all day, so before anything else, clean and set up the necessities of your bathroom.
- Take. Your. Time. I was trying so hard to rush, get it all done, organized perfectly as soon as possible, and I believe that is why I am still organizing now as I am writing this. My room is becoming a very comfy, organized, and decorated space that feels true to me, but it cannot get there immediately. Relax. The more you allow yourself to just get things done as it feels right, the easier it will be.
That is really it! Moving into an apartment with a roommate is very different than moving into a triple sized dorm, which like duh, but it does not really sink in how different everything will be until you are there. If you have any other checklists, advice pieces or big sister talks you’d want me to go over, DM me through the UBHC Instagram account @hcbuffalo or my Instagram @ainsurbanek.
Be safe, make good choices, and most of all have fun.
Until Next Time,
Your Eldest Daughter