moving tips

Okay Okay so I know that May is almost over but I wanted to talk about moving for a second and this seemed like a great photo. (Also available as a desktop background, along with a bagillion other great designs from the fox is black)

One year ago I moved into my apartment.

It was SUCH a crazy time. I had just broken it off with my boyfriend of 4 years and to be honest I was scared as shit. I had no idea how it would turn out.

The biggest risks often lead to the biggest rewards.

I'm not really known for staying in one place for very long. I think I've moved something like 8 times in the last 7 years so I consider myself a craigslist and viewit.ca expert.

As much work as moving is, it has so many rewards. I love going through everything you own, purging items you don't need and remembering items that are in the back of the cupboards. There is so much excitement around a new furniture arrangement, a new neighborhood to explore, and a fresh new start.

Moving excites me.

Here are some of the things I've learned in my many many moves

-Invest in uniform boxes. Yes the ones from the LCBO are free but they aren't all the same size and this can actually end up taking up more room in the moving van. and if your a visual person like me, a stack of five brown boxes in the corner is much less annoying then a bunch of muticoloured boxes that look like a jenga stack

-try to get your internet and cable hooked up before you move in. it will inevitably take them longer then you want, so you might was well get a head start

-Water/redbull/beer/pizza....happy energetic people are less likely to break your stuff
oh and research ahead of time where the nearest LCBO or beer store is to your new place. your internet might not be hooked up yet ^^^ and you'll be glad you did. Made that mistake once.

-put plants in your car..not the moving van. moving can take a toll on many plants and the excessive heat or darkness of a moving van won't help.
-part two of that point is, if you plants don't seem to be doing well in their new location don't fret. they take some adjusting. just try and match the same amount of sunlight and water they got in their last home.

-LABEL THE BOXES THOROUGHLY. you will, without a doubt, need one misc. item, you might as well know where you packed it. ie. KITCHEN vs. Cutlery drawer/magic bullet/salad bowls/tea towels

- pack a weeks worth of clothes and toiletries like your going on a vacation. it will save you from tearing open boxes to look for your deodorant

-if you know your new closet is around the same size as your old closet, keep your clothes on the hangers. it will save you a bunch of time taking them off the hangers, folding them, unfolding them and re putting them on hangers. they even have nifty boxes specifically for this.

-kind of an obvious one but try to eat as much of your pantry as possible before the move so your not lugging dry goods around.

-DEEP CLEAN before you move in. don't worry about the floors because they will get dirty anyway but everything else can and should be scrubbed down.

Oh and here are some things to look for/do before even signing the lease:
Check for bed bugs in the bedbug registry, check the water pressure of the shower, stop and listen to see if you can hear neighbors/loud streets/animals, make sure you know where the nearest laundry mat is if you don't have it included in the building, and subletting for a few months is a good idea if your new to the area and don't know exactly where the good neighborhoods are.

Let me know if you have any good moving tips, I'm always looking for more!