Things to Remember When Planning for Your Move

Like many complex projects, moving to a new apartment can be a lot more manageable if you do some planning first. Here are some tips on what to keep in mind as you plan your next move.

What’s changed since your last move?

You may be expecting this move to go much like the last one — but if you’ve acquired a few more possessions in the meantime, it might take that much longer. If you’ve got a pet, you’ll need to factor in keeping the pet occupied and comfortable during the move, and getting him or her used to the new apartment. Or you might find this move easier, if, for example, your new apartment is in a community with storage facilities that your previous place lacked.

What’s your moving budget?

If your moving budget is small, and you’ll be relying on friends’ help and driving the moving truck yourself, then moving is probably going to take more time than if you’re able to hire professional helpers.

Do you have to move anything not already at your current location?

That would include new furniture you’re buying, renting, or borrowing, or anything that’s held in storage for you, either off-site or in storage space at your current community. Retrieving these items will add time and extra trips to your moving timeline.

What shape do you have to leave your current place in?If you’re leaving an apartment, don’t forget to build in time (or money, if you’re commissioning a cleaner) to clean up the apartment enough to get your security deposit back. You may also need to schedule a walkthrough with your soon-to-be-ex-landlord.

What needs to be done at the new place?

See if the layout of the new apartment community will mean you need extra help when moving in. If your apartment is very far from the elevator or stairs, renting a dolly can make moving your heavy items much easier and speed up your move.

The best time to start planning your move is as soon you decide to move, or at least as soon as you’ve signed the lease at your new place and given notice at your old place.

A couple hours’ worth of planning before you’re up against the moving deadline

can help make the apartment move easier later on.

Tips for Moving Belongings Into Storage

Have too much stuff and not enough space to hold it all? Don’t sweat it — get a storage unit.

Rentable for short-term (or longer term) contracts, self-storage units can be lifesavers when your living arrangements won’t allow you the room you need to house all your belongings.

To get the most out of your storage space and safeguard your belongings while they’re in it, follow these handy self-storage tips.

Moving belongings into storage

While you may not be able to control Mother Nature and her critters, there is one aspect of your self-storage unit that you have complete dominion over, and that’s access. Avoid the frustration of not being able to find what you need by doing some strategic packing.

Creating easy access to items in self-storage starts with packing properly. Before you move anything, determine which items you won’t need to access. Move those items into your unit first, being careful to place heavy objects on the floor and lighter items on top.

If space is tight, maximize your storage unit by loading small boxes and loose items into larger pieces of furniture like armoires or side tables. You can also use a heavy item like a mattress to block off your “won’t need it” area and keep items from shifting if they fall.

Storage unit tips
Beyond packing your unit properly, there are a few other precautions you can take to protect items in self-storage:

•Place a moisture-reducing product like Damp Rid in your storage unit and replace it every three months.

•Label all sides of a box so you can locate its contents easily.

•Wrap all paper objects in plastic to protect them from rain during transit and moisture in storage.

•Add mothballs to boxes containing clothes.

•Wax wooden furniture with a varnish to protect against moisture.

•Store CDs and DVDs in sleeves or storage boxes — not plastic wrap, which can melt and ruin discs in extreme heat.

Self-storage insurance

Sometimes, despite all your best efforts at protecting belongings in a storage unit, disaster strikes anyway. Unforeseen disasters like fires, earthquakes, vandalism, or burglary can happen at any time, leaving your items vulnerable.

The best way to safeguard against these unfortunate circumstances is to make sure your belongings are covered by insurance. Rental or homeowner’s insurance policies may cover belongings in storage. (Read your policy or call your agent to be sure.) Your storage company may also offer insurance against these circumstances; in many cases, this coverage is cheap. That’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Moving in with a Significant Other

Moving in with a significant other is a big commitment. With this decision, you decide to share space with your partner, as well as all the many details that constitute a shared life.
Safeguard your relationship and foster success by talking about the realities of cohabitating before you move in together.

Why are you doing it?
You may already have had a serious talk about where each of you feels your relationship is heading: Marriage? An extended courtship? If you have not had this discussion, then the time to communicate your reasons and expectations for moving in together is now. Whatever the status of your relationship, staying on the proverbial “same page” with your partner is essential to the success of living together.

Talk about money
Money concerns constitute a squeamish conversation for most of us. We’d like to be magnanimous and not worry about where the finances comes from, but the fact is that anxiety over money is a major sticking point for couples and can cause incredible tension in a relationship.

Make a date with your significant other to talk about the facts, such as how much each of you can afford for an apartment, and what your monthly incomes and expenses are. Will you split expenses equally, or does a disparity in your incomes or debt mean that a different balance makes more sense, at least for a period of time? Will you each have a formal rental responsibility in the lease, legally sharing the burden for paying rent to your landlord, or will one partner be ultimately responsible? These are important decisions to agree on up front.

Determine an exit strategy
It may not sound that romantic, but planning for possibilities — not matter how unlikely they might seem — is smart. Both partners should be interested in protecting themselves, just in case living circumstances change. Agree in advance how you will separate assets, such as shared furniture, appliances, or the custody of your beloved pet, in the event you decide to split up as a couple.

Also consider that cohabitation law can sometimes view property disputes between unmarried couples as if they were married. Figuring basic terms out before you move in together is good planning. And, as a lawyer would advise, “get everything in writing!”

Be adaptable
No matter how head-over-heels in love you might be, consider the reality of two personalities living under one roof. Try to be flexible in finding the natural rhythm of your strengths and weaknesses. Maybe one of you prefers cleaning to cooking, or grocery shopping to handling the recycling. Ideally, you’ll parse out the jobs equitably, but if that’s not happening, sit down and talk about solutions so that neither of you feels he or she is shouldering too much of the apartment work.

Moving in together is exciting and perhaps a little scary. It represents a “next step” in your relationship, and it also means you will get to spend a lot of living time together. When you share a home, you are truly sharing a life, so hold on and prepare for a new adventure!