So now that you have successfully rented the apartment, it is time to actually move in. When I first moved out of my parents’ house, I had a few questions but the biggest one was: what do I pack to take with me?
The answer certainly depends on the duration you’re renting the place. I only have experience renting for a year or less, so that is what I’m going to base these tips on.
First you need to ask yourself a few more questions:
How frequently am I going to visit my parents?
My hometown was only an hour away from my school, so I visited every weekend. Granted, I did not take my laundry with me, but I did bring back a whole bunch of food that I could live on for a few days. Now, if you do this, and you get food that would last you the whole week (in the freezer), I wouldn’t recommend packing too many kitchen appliances. They are heavy, and if you’re not gonna use them it’s not worth the hassle. Which leads into the next question:
Am I going to cook for myself, and if yes, what?
Pretty self-explanatory. Whatever you like to cook, I would recommend one large pot, two smaller pots, a frying pan and a baking sheet(unless there is already some in the oven. Be sure to check ahead of time!). In terms of utensils, two wooden spoons, a few pieces of cutlery and a good, sharp knife is a good way to start. If you love pasta, have a big sifter to drain it with (or drain pretty much anything. Also, you can use it so sift stuff for baking! Who’d have thunk). In terms of beverages, I only have one plastic cup (the stronger kind) I use every day. It’s durable, it’s light, it’s easy to clean. Win. If you prefer glass, you can take glass, but they can and will probably break (mine did anyways).
How much clothes do I need?
Well, how much do you in your closet right now? Is it overflowing, or just enough? I never had too many clothing items, so I took all of them, which still turned out too much. Take the ones you wear the most, and some extra. Keep in mind that you’ll probably have to do your own laundry. Before the season changes, you can always go home for extra clothes, or to change up your wardrobe to clothes that actually fit the season. If you for some reason cannot visit home that often, you’ll just have to take everything you’d need all year round (or buy more clothes, I mean, you probably will anyways).
I am not going to a summer camp. I need stuff that are necessary for normal living conditions!
And your great-grandmother’s china is not one of those things, so put that down. Along with that, you can probably put all 7 books of Harry Potter back on the shelf, with all your high school mementos and your miscellaneous gizmos. Think to yourself: when I move out of here, I have to pack all of this stuff up again. Do I want to deal with that? Chances are, you don’t. I learned it the hard way, after paying extra for the movers who had to run at least 5 or 6 rounds with all my boxes. And we are on a budget, people! I’d much rather have saved that money on something useful, not the movers’ pizza they enjoyed on their “lunch break” they had at 5 pm… What I’d pack instead, are some bedclothes, at least two sets for when you’re washing one of them.
Things you might need in your apartment, but you can just buy at the store
- Cleaning supplies
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels, napkins, tissues
- Toiletries
- Spices
- Coffee
- etc.
Everything else you need depends on your lifestyle
I myself work out every day, so I have my shaker and protein powder and workout clothes with me. Do you prefer to dry your hair? Pack a hairdryer. How about beauty products? Bring them on! Make a mental list (or better, a physical one) of the things you use every day and pack them. This should be the first thing you do, to be honest, but the this is so obvious I only felt the need to mention it at the end.
So there, you’ve packed up, ready to move. Good luck! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below. Also, I’m open to suggestions about new blog posts as well as on ways of improvement. Next one will be about types of roomies you need to be prepared for!
Thank you for reading.
Eomma out.
Photos credited to:
https://pixabay.com/en/users/stux-12364/
https://pixabay.com/en/users/JamesDeMers-3416/
https://pixabay.com/en/users/WerbeFabrik-1161770/
https://pixabay.com/en/users/Gellinger-201217/
https://pixabay.com/en/users/skeeze-272447/
https://pixabay.com/en/users/congerdesign-509903/