Ahhh, you’ve landed a place! Your apartment search was a success and you’re ready for the big move. You’re not in the clear quite yet and still have to deal with the 2^nd worst part of moving – the actual move. Where do you start?

Get rid of anything you don’t see yourself actually using in the new place

Purge, baby, purge. It’s so important and if you don’t do it you’ll end up with an apartment full of clutter and nowhere to put it in your new spot. I consigned a lot of my designer clothes that I hadn’t worn in the 2 years I spent in the apartment and didn’t see myself reviving in the near future. The Real Real is a great option if you have some brand name & designer pieces you can part with. I also donate the rest of the clothes I want to get rid of to a local mission or shelter. If you have the time and patience you can also use things like Poshmark and eBay to list clothes.

Leverage cheap transportation for donating clothes and lugging stuff across town

Most of the time you can hop in an UberPool or Via with very few people in them. They both offer $5 options anywhere in Manhattan during rush hour times. Use the code I7skh on UberPool or christineVF9 at Via for $10 credit!

Find boxes for free

I’ve moved 3 times now and only paid for a handful of boxes with each move. I worked at a huge company with a mailroom where our teams moved desks every 3 months. The boxes were endless and they were almost always tossed. I asked my mailroom guy to set aside some for me every week and borrowed a friend’s car to pick them up one day after work and take to my place. I saved probably $150-250 dollars in box costs that would’ve been completely sunk once I got to New York. If you do want to spend money on boxes, I recommend getting the Wardrobes with bars and boxes for your dishes and glasses. Those are worth the $ spent!

Create a checklist

Have you done it all? I always wake up in a panic the few nights before my move out just worried that I would’ve forgotten something. The standard checklist is along these lines:

1. Cancel your cable, utilities and return your box
2. Hire a cleaner to deep clean your bathroom and kitchen (or do the dirty work yourself) – try Handy (use this code for $35 off your first cleaning!) or Taskrabbit to find someone if you need help 
3. Get a small can of white paint, wall putty and a Mr. Eraser to get any bigger marks out of your walls and clean things up
4. Schedule your walk through with your current landlord or building
5. Return your keys and any other devices (cable boxes, etc.)

When you finally get to move out the most satisfying part of the process is making sure you get your deposit and moving deposit back. There’s no bigger bummer at the end of your lease more than getting snubbed a few hundred dollars because things weren’t cleaned well enough.

Get the essentials setup in your new place

Outside of the obvious, a few things that I always try to keep on my list right when I move in are:

1. Setup mail forwarding with USPS
2. Change all of your addresses in your billing accounts
3. Change your renter’s insurance – I’ve heard enough horror stories in New York City to know that renter’s insurance is not a nice to have, it’s essential. It’s much cheaper than car insurance and just consider it that extra protection against the crazy things that you never can predict.

Moving can be extra stressful, but taking an organized approach makes all of the difference in the world. What are your tips for the big move?