Apartment Packing Checklist

This list does NEED to be updated.

do they assume everyone is going to be rich going into college? because do you really need to steroes for your apartment? who uses a phone with an answering machine these days. it needs to be update just a bit. hopefully you can get a apartment with a fridge and stove. they would be a huge plus.

Holy crud, this isn't even that old and it needs a major update! The only credit I can give is for the whiteboard - essential, and fun!

And Cassandra, really, are you okay? Maybe thumping your bible on your head has left some damage...
Seriously, get some help, or perhaps you needn't have gone to college...

As for purchases... go thrifty. If you have a thrift/second-hand store or pawn shop in your new neighborhood, go there first. Take little alcohol swabs with you for everything you touch (avoid getting the flu/germies from the merch in the store). Make sure you are buying things you NEED, not things you WANT, when it comes to household supplies--they are called necessities for that reason.

Tips I've picked up after moving into dorms for 5 years and 2 apartment situations are below. (I'm now living at home with the 'rents, and I can't wait to move out again!)

1. You will need a kitchen trash bin that is about 3 feet tall to be reasonable, and suitable bags for that. However, I found that for the first day or two, you should try to use disposable grocery bags for your refuse--it gives you an excuse to go out to the dumpster or to the outside bin and 'get out of the house' to break the monotony of unpacking and rearranging your furniture.

2. Be sure that the first thing you do is set up and make your bed for the night. Set your bedside clock up and the alarm, and make sure you have a shower curtain and all the shower stuff you will need (basic toiletries for a hotel stay and towels). If you're planning ahead, you can put these items in the front seat of your car in a little box so you can get to it as soon as your bed is set up. Don't forget your Bible and a chick lit novel for the box. A girl has to get away from it all, even when she's moving into a new place.

3. Make financial plans to have pizza or chinese takeaway that first night. Have an apple for your first breakfast. You probably won't have milk yet for cereal.

4. Unload everything from the truck in one go. It's hard to make yourself go back out to the truck for another back-breaking session... just get it all done with some friends from church. Place the furniture directly into the appropriate rooms (label EVERYTHING with masking tape before you pack them up in there so everyone helping doesn't have to ask "where does this go?" all the time), but you can designate your spare bedroom or family room as a place for all the boxes that are unlabeled. Hint: I labeled my boxes with 3x2" computer print labels... just used them as stickers, and wrote on them with sky blue Sharpie because it's a unique color to read. Don't use these on your furniture pieces---use masking tape on the furniture, that comes off with some h20 easy enough in most cases.

5. If you can arrive about an hour before you actually start unpacking at your new place... you should go in with a vacuum, dust rag, and glass cleaner/paper towels and clean all the windows, mirrors, door frames, and closet shelves. Also, use bathroom foamy cleaner and paper towels to clean the counter tops in the kitchen--it's perfectly okay to use that product in the kitchen. Make sure the fridge is clean, and the oven, too.

6. Pack your kitchen stuff first at your old house. It's the hardest room to do. You will find stuff to throw out/donate to thrift stores in there, so it will be easier to do that in other rooms--'do I really want to unpack this' or 'will I be using this in the next three months?' is another good question, unless it's seasonal stuff for holidays or seasonal clothing items.

7. Plan to treat yourself to a good dinner once you finish unpacking your last box. I never unpacked my last box in the two years I lived at my last place because I never planned to reward myself for doing it that first week!

8. I always try to make sure my rooms in my new place are done in this order: my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living area, and then everything else. Oh, and of course, know where the fuse box/circuit breaker box is, as well as the water heater and thermostat.

9. For some reason, I didn't have enough light bulbs for my lamps for my apartment moves.