How to Handle Moving from House to Apartment – Best Tips for Downsizing

The Best Reason for Moving from House to Apartment – You Get to Save Money

Downsizing from house to apartment can seem impossible at first, but as soon as you find out that the costs are lower, you may have more reasons to move. Of course, it depends on the area where you’d like to move, but apartments are cheaper, and there’s less maintenance involved. A house that’s all yours requires lots of work around it, but an apartment wouldn’t ask that much of you. Some useful moving tips can help you use the extra money you’ll save from downsizing for getting ready for your first apartment.

Check the Market for Apartments With Rent That Fits Your Budget

Of course, not all apartments can save you money or allow for downsizing, which depends a lot on your desires and budget. Most of the time, those two things don’t go together when people try to relocate, so we’d recommend you do a thorough sweep of the market for an apartment that can fit your budget and give you everything necessary to survive. Your desire may be to have lots of bedrooms but consider whether you really need them.

Other things that clash when looking for an apartment are what’s necessary and what’s desired. Some people, fortunately, do understand how much space is enough for them, but some definitely want more than what’s essential, which is a disadvantage before even starting an apartment hunt. Our relocation hack for you is to draw an apartment plan that has only the basics and then look for something similar out on the market.

When You Downsize, Space-Saving Hacks Work A Lot Better

To answer the question “Should I move from a house to an apartment,” we’d give a resounding “yes” for a few reasons. We’ve already listed money saving as one, but another good reason is to get creative with storage space. Getting more creative cuts costs of moving, and just because there doesn’t seem to be enough room in a smaller apartment doesn’t mean you couldn’t fit anything important. Nowadays, many stores sell multipurpose furniture with loads of extra storage space. You could get way more creative and imaginative in a small area.

Don’t Bring All Your Furniture Items When Moving from a House to an Apartment

Not only is downsizing by leaving bulky furniture behind the cheapest way to move out, but it’s also the easiest way to pack for moving. Typically, long-distance movers charge you for loading, unloading, disassembling, and assembling furniture, so the fewer items you have, the lower your relocation costs will be. When you start packing, forget about the massive couch that can fit your extended family, and find a multipurpose sofa that turns into a bed when necessary, for example. You can check out other decoration and storage ideas in the video below.

Relocating to A Smaller Home Means You’ll Declutter and Get Creative

Whether you’re last-minute moving or planning it months ahead, decluttering is a vital part. Take out a day or two to prioritize what to bring and what to leave behind. There are loads of things you shouldn’t pack for moving, and that would be everything you haven’t used or looked at in the last six months (a year, the most.) This means clothes, shoes, books, furniture, kitchenware, everything in your house. If you’re wondering, “How do I move my house into an apartment,” decluttering is the answer to that. You should either donate unwanted items, sell or recycle them, all of which can make moving easier and make you feel better about it.

An Opportunity to Downsize Can Bring Positive Things

When we downsize, we learn how to prioritize and become better organized in our personal space. Getting more creative in smaller areas is easier because there’s less to decorate, and when that happens, you get to make your decor pop and feel more like you. Whenever the decor and environment match your personality, the living space will feel more comfortable and reduce stress.

When you start relocating to an apartment, address the unfinished things you have at home, too. Maybe you’ve started building a table and chairs or painted a beautiful picture that’s sitting in a storeroom. Whatever your hobbies are, you can bring them to your new home and finally proudly show your work off. It’s been proven that people get encouraged to get into their hobbies more often when they can see the fruits of their work. Express yourself by making your downsized area more personal.

Maybe the Area of Your New Apartment Is More Suited to Your Needs

We know that suburban areas can get boring, quiet, and generic very often, while that’s pretty rare for an apartment. There are always vivid tenants who can either annoy you or become your friends, but you won’t lack the chance to meet new neighbors. That situation can make moving away from friends a little more tolerable since separation from people you like and love tends to cause the most relocation-related stress.

If you’re moving to an apartment with a family, there are better chances of finding an apartment that’s closer to the children’s schools, for example. Houses are usually in suburban areas that tend to be separated from city areas with schools, shops, and alike, while with apartments, you could get fortunate and find a place that’s close to everyone’s needs. If you’re relocating from a small town to a big city or perhaps moving out alone, getting an apartment will kickstart your opportunities to socialize and discover the charms of big city life.

What Do You Need When Relocating from a House to an Apartment?

The essential things to bring depends on how well the apartment you’re going to live in is equipped. If you want to move efficiently, you should know the ins and outs of your new place in detail. Good planning makes it possible to pack as much as it’s necessary, rather than under or overpack. Does the apartment come with furniture and appliances? Are they in good condition or need replacing? You have to know the answers to these questions if you want to know how to pack.

Stripping the house of furniture and appliances will make relocation longer, more difficult, and expensive. If the apartment is a much smaller space than your previous residence, the old furniture likely won’t be able to fit, and you don’t want to bother with packing the couch just to see it take over the entire space. Consider the fact that you’ll be staying at the apartment for a while; even if you don’t like everything that’s there initially, you can always save up over time and upgrade when a good time comes.

How and What to Pack When Downsizing

For the best kind of relocation on a budget, you should pack only the essentials. You can define essential things to yourself by answering a few simple questions, such as:

• Have I used this in the last three to six months?
• How often will I use this if I bring it with me?
• Does this have sentimental value?
• Do I have this at the new apartment?
• Will this fit into my new home?

These questions can help you get organized to move easier, but also to get rid of things you definitely won’t need once you’re settled into the other residence. One of the most common relocation mistakes people make is not itemizing and choosing a priority for each of the things they plan to bring. This way, we often get stuck with extra stuff taking up usable storage space. So, what can you pack when you downsize? Here’s an essentials list:

• Documents and paperwork are essential items you need to pack and keep with you in every residence,
• Electronics like computers, laptops, and alike are essential for many things nowadays,
• Kitchenware, dishes, and glasses are important because the kitchen will probably be empty, and you’ll need the basics for food and drinks,
• Linens and towels which are in good condition are pretty important to pack. Any of these that are old or torn can be thrown out or donated, but you’ll need bedding and towels for the other residence,
• Clothes and shoes are vital as long as you’ve decluttered the closet and gotten rid of the unnecessary pieces before packing,
• Expensive and sentimental items are, of course, an essential part of your packing process because those are what makes a place feel like home.

Think about everything that’s replaceable in some ways. For example, you should definitely pack toothbrushes for the whole family, but is it really necessary to pack the half-spent bottle of shampoo sitting in the shower? If you plan on washing your hair as soon as you move in, sure, but we doubt it’ll be that quick. Everything that gets spent is replaceable, so you should downsize by throwing that type of stuff out.

Professional Cross-Country Movers Can Save You Time and Energy When Moving Into a New Home

In the case of cross-country moving, you may not always know what to do on relocation day, there may be things you forget to pack, or you might simply be preoccupied with planning how to say goodbye to friends before leaving the old house and relocating to another city or state. You can get many benefits from booking long-distance moving services, and the best of those are the professional packing service. Not only will it save you time and money, but it’ll spare you from stress.

Do You Need Your Car Shipped to the New Apartment? You Can Hire Movers for That, Too

In essence, every long-distance moving company is also an auto transport company because you can book car shipping services, too. There are different ways in which your vehicle can be shipped and delivered, but have you considered whether you need a car at the new apartment? If you rent a place that has a garage space, that’s pretty much a jackpot. You can contact a car shipping company to deliver your vehicle across the country. If there isn’t room for all of your things when you first move in, consider booking storage services for safe-keeping.

With the help of professional movers, downsizing can be an easier feat. Hopefully, the moving process goes smoothly because there will be a period when you’ll have a hard time getting used to a smaller space. However, as soon as you become accustomed to it all, you’ll see how many benefits there are to living in a smaller space that has all your personal touches.