9 Tips for Moving Into an Apartment

Downsizing? Getting your first place? Either way, moving into an apartment has its unique logistical challenge. These tips will help you ensure that the challenge of moving into an apartment doesn't turn into a nightmare by offering guidance, warnings and advice on how to move your belongings into your new home.

1. Prepare to Downsize

Fitting everything you own into such a small place can prove to be quite difficult. It is even impossible for some people. Most people will need to consider donating, tossing or selling a lot of their beloved items. If you can't part with your stuff, you can always consider the option of a self storage unit. 

2. Renting self storage

If you are going to rent a self storage unit, make sure you do so in advanced. This gives you the time to shop around for different self storage units that have the price and quality that agrees with your needs. It also ensures that you don't end up moving items all the way up to your apartment only to have to move them to self storage later. 

3. Measure What will Fit

If you have a bunch of large furniture, you should measure the furniture to make sure you know that it will actually be able to fit into the elevator and through your apartment door. That huge couch from your old house may fit in your apartment, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to get it up the elevator. 

4. Measure Floor Space of the Apartment

It is important to measure out the floor space of an apartment, so you can see around how much can fit. Sketch out where you put things. This way you don't end up moving furniture and other items up to your apartment that just won't fit. 

5. Put Everything in Moving Boxes 

This is more of a safety tip that you can disregard, but many apartments get high traffic of mixed strangers. Do you want to be showing off all your fancy electronics, expensive paintings, etc. when you are moving in to whoever just happens to be walking by? By boxing as many items as possible you give yourself extra privacy, and you can perhaps prevent attracting random theft. You can find a variety of boxes and their prices here.

6. Label Moving Boxes Clearly 

Even in a small moving space, labeling the boxes will save you time. After moving who wants to spend time shuffling random boxes all over the place. Also, in an apartment there is less room to sprawl everything out, so you can figure out things like exactly where do you put that stupid spatula anyways!  

7. Reserve the Elevator 

In order to ensure you aren't waiting for the elevator every time you make a trip up to your apartment, it is important to talk with the front desk or manager about renting the elevator for the time and day you plan on moving into your apartment. This will also ensure you aren't competing with another tenet who just happens to moving in at the same time and day. 

8. Tell Your Movers about the Elevator Time

If you are hiring movers, make sure they know when you reserved the elevator. Or even ask them when the best time to rent the elevator would be on moving day. This will help things go over smoothly on moving day, but as usual, there still is always the chance movers will get stuck in traffic or be late.       

9. Be Prepared to End Up with Too Much Stuff

If you feel at the end of putting everything in its place that there is still a lot of stuff room for in your apartment, get rid of the extra stuff. Clutter in a small space such as apartment will get in your way every time you walk past it, and with apartments you spend a lot of time noticing extra clutter.