How to organize a move to a new apartment without chaos and unnecessary nerves

Moving is always a stressful event, even if it's triggered by a joyful occasion like buying a new apartment. What can we say about sad reasons such as an unpleasant landlord who forced him to look for a new home. But stress can and should be minimized. Lifehacker tells how.

Prepare in advance

In most cases, you will know about the move not the day before, but at least one or two weeks in advance. Use this time to get ready.

Take things apart

Even ascetics and minimalists tend to get overgrown with rubbish. This means that you definitely have things that you do not want to transport to a new home. In order not to urgently take them to the trash on the night before the move, take an inventory in advance. Then you will have time to sell unnecessary furniture on free classified sites, and take clothes that have no place in your new life to a charity. However, you will most likely have to throw out a lot too.

At the same time, such preparation will help to more accurately assess how much property you have in general and what kind of car you need to move. Spoiler alert: There will be a lot more things than you think.

Decide how you will move

The easiest way is to delegate everything to specially trained employees of the moving company. For your money, they will fulfill almost any whim of transportation. You can even order a "turnkey" move, when specialists will pack, transport and unpack everything. If this is your case, in general, you can stop reading the text and go to prepare money.

At the other extreme, the most free move: ask for help from a friend with a car and friends with strong arms and backs. If you have little money and a lot of friends who are not too sorry, you can also try.

Finally, there is always a golden mean: you collect things yourself, and professionals load and transport them.

Find someone who will transport you

There are many moving firms. There are even more vague offices that disguise themselves as decent companies, but in fact simply mediate between employers and freelance loaders. By the way, there are no guarantees that the former provide excellent quality service, while the latter do not. It may be the other way around. Therefore, it is better to read reviews in advance, and not on the company page. Ideal if someone you know has recently moved and can provide recommendations.

To be safe, you need to know in advance:

• Is the contract concluded? Well if yes. This indicates the good faith of the company and gives you the opportunity to make claims later, even in court.
• How the price is formed. It can be fixed or hourly.
• What is the payment procedure. Prepayment should be alarming.

Compare several offers to choose the best one. Book a car and movers in advance: an urgent call can be more expensive. Think about how you and they will get from the old apartment to the new one: everyone will not fit in a truck.

By the way, it's cheaper to move at night. But don't forget about the law of silence. You hardly want to start a relationship with new neighbors with claims against you.

Prepare packaging

Which one depends on your things. Here's what you might need.

• Boxes. The easiest way is to buy them at a hardware store: they will at least be clean. But you can try other options, for example, ask around at retail outlets near your home.
• Wide tape. Will help pack everything that needs it. And keep in mind that one roll will most likely not be enough for you.
• Air bubble wrapalso known as bumpy for particularly fragile items.
• Packing tape. Food is also suitable, but it's better to take a special one. It is stronger.

Do a general cleaning of your new apartment

On the eve of the move, it would be good to clean everything up in the new home. This is much easier to do while the room is empty. Then the apartment will be filled with boxes and furniture, so you won't have a second such opportunity.

Think about what to do with children and animals

Anyone who will interfere more than help should be sent to grandmothers or friends on the day of the move.

Eat perishable food

This will kill two birds with one stone: you don't have to throw out the food and you can defrost the refrigerator.

Pack your things

It is better to start collecting in advance. First, pack those things that you definitely won't need in the near future. For example, it's easy to go without sweaters in July or swimwear in January.

It is convenient to collect things by room and by category. So you take care of the future: it will be easier to disassemble them too.

Seal the boxes with tape and sign what's inside. This will help you immediately understand what's what after the move, and not play a guessing game.

Make notes, if necessary: ​​indicate where fragile things lie, which, in principle, cannot be turned over. And the boxes need to be numbered so that you can quickly check that all your things have reached their destination. Ideally, keep a catalog in a notebook or electronic note-book, and write what is in which box.

Resist the temptation to stack as many as possible in one box. Otherwise, you run the risk of making it heavy. Check the weight of the filled container periodically to know when to stop. Place fragile items with a bubble wrap. However, textiles can also be used, such as protecting the plates with tea towels. Collect cables, consoles and the like in a separate bag, which you take care of like the apple of your eye.

Furniture is usually disassembled so that it takes up less space in the car. It is better to decide in advance who will do this. If you cannot do it yourself, hire a specialist or ask the shipping company to include this in the services of movers. Wrap the furniture with plastic wrap. This primarily concerns sofas and armchairs. However, the surface of cabinets or shelves may not be resistant to damage. Corners and surfaces that will be in contact with the body can be additionally wrapped in cardboard. Store fittings, as well as bolts and screws for each type of furniture in a separate container and keep them safe.

Moderate loading

It's not at all about getting in the way of the loaders underfoot. They have a lot more experience, so let them do their job. But some of your participation will be required. For example, arrange the boxes in such a way that the essentials get into the body first. Then they'll be unloaded last. They will be on the edge and you can easily access them. Show the loaders which boxes are fragile so that they are more delicate with them.

Watch out for unloading

Before moving things from the car body through the rooms, you need to decide what and where to carry. It is more convenient to assemble furniture directly on the places on which it will stand. For the rest, do as you feel comfortable. For example, you can temporarily make a warehouse out of one room. But it is important that in the process of unloading the necessary things become freely available. You will be the first to disassemble them.

Check immediately if everything is in order with your belongings. If you approached the choice of a carrier company responsibly and entered into an agreement, then you must sign an acceptance certificate for the work performed. It is better to detect cracks in the mirror or the loss of family silver before that. Then you can claim compensation - including through the court.

Do you have life hacks for a comfortable move? Share in the comments.