A last-minute move isn’t ideal but knowing how to pack up your apartment in a hurry is a skill anyone can master. With help from the right people and a good plan in place, you can make a week—or even a day—of packing look like an entire month of planning. When it comes down to it, the techniques are the same as any move—you just need to do them faster. Let this be your handbook to moving in a jiffy.
Check it out below.
Enlist Help
Whether you’re moving in a week or a day, you should hire movers or rent a moving truck as soon as you know you’ll need it. The best local moving companies book up quickly. In addition to movers and a truck, you may need help from friends if you are moving in a hurry. Put a request on social media to see who is available to help you pack and haul boxes to your new place.
Keep a Checklist
While you won’t have time to make a checklist of every last thing you need to do, you should make a list of important things to do after you move. It can be a running list of essential things to set up and take care of, including:
- Forwarding your mail
- Switching your utilities
- Updating your address with your bank, credit card, et al.
- Updating subscription
- Contacting your insurance
Find Your Nearest Donation Center
As you pack, decide what you can donate. Items that you haven’t touched in at least a year are potentially donatable. If the item is still in good enough condition to use or give away but you don’t have a use for it, donate it.
Pro Tip: See if any of your friends want your gently used items before you throw them into a donation bin.
Throw Away Things You Don’t Need
Don’t hesitate to throw away items that have become trash. If it’s broken, torn, outdated, or doesn’t work anymore, it goes in the trash. Pay attention to disposal instructions for some items, such as electronics, which you may be able to recycle.
Get More Boxes Than You Think You Need
Having more boxes than you need is better than not having enough. Packing in a hurry doesn’t leave you much time to run back and forth to the store for more supplies. You can ensure you are prepared by stocking up on boxes.
Pro Tip: If you do run out of boxes, use trash bags. Soft items like blankets, towels, and pillows will survive a move in a trash bag.
Get Extra Packing Supplies
You’ll need more than boxes to properly pack your items. Consider bubble wrap, markers, and tape as well. You want to have enough tape so that you can tape your boxes up like a package. Your movers won’t move boxes that might fall apart. In fact, movers may retape your boxes and charge you for the supplies.
Pro Tip: If you’re nervous you’ll forget something, buy a packing kit. Packing kits come with everything you need.
Use Your Suitcases and Bags
When you start packing, don’t just use your boxes. If you have suitcases, duffel bags, backpacks, or other bags around, begin with those. Fill each empty space with things that won’t break easily.
Pack One Room at a Time
Regardless of how long you must pack, the easiest way to do it is one room at a time. It will help you stay organized and get the job done quickly. Most likely, you will want the same items in the same rooms once you get them to your new place.
Protect Your Items
While packing glass, ceramic, and other fragile items, use bubble wrap, towels, newspaper, or some other padding to protect each piece. Especially when packing your kitchen, you’ll want to take extra care with cups and glasses.
Keep Clothes on Hangers
The quickest way to move your clothes is to keep items that are on hangers the way they are. Once you get them to your new place, you can put them right in your closet. Use a trash bag to help keep items from falling off their hangers.
Label Your Boxes
Whether you enlist movers or it’s just you and your friends moving boxes into your new place, you won’t know where anything goes unless you have a labeling system. The easiest thing to do is write the name of the room in which each box should go.
Pack a Separate Backpack
Since you may not settle in right away, you should pack a backpack with your essentials. Think about what you’ll need while the rest of your things are packed away. Important items to remember include:
- Laptop
- Chargers
- Clothing
- Food
- Toiletries
- Medicine
Leave Behind Cleaning Supplies
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they move is packing their cleaning supplies. You should leave a few behind so you can clean your apartment before handing it back to your landlord. Consider what you must clean and keep the right supplies to get the job done.
Pro Tip: You might consider hiring someone to clean your apartment if you don’t have time to do it yourself. Some landlords will withhold your deposit if you don’t return the place in the same condition you found it.
Let Movers Handle Specialty Items
When you’re in a hurry, you won’t have time to wrap your biggest items. Professional apartment moving services will come equipped with the right supplies to secure specialty items like exercise equipment, furniture, televisions, and artwork. Let your movers pack items that don’t fit in boxes.
No one wants to experience a last-minute move. In many cases, moving from one apartment to another is always last-minute. Figuring out how to pack up your apartment in a hurry is never ideal. Once you move from an apartment to another, you’ll learn from your mistakes and be ready for the next time you must change locations. Don’t let forgetting to call the moving company be one of your mistakes. Contact Simply Moving as soon as you know your move-in date to schedule your move and check an item off your list.
