Tips for a Successful Apartment Move: Part 2 - Downsizing

There are many reasons individuals choose to live in an apartment rather than a house. Bigger isn’t always better and depending on your individual needs and stage of life, apartment living may even be ideal for you. Perhaps you’re switching jobs and need to be closer to the city, or maybe you realized you don’t need as big of a home as you once did, or maybe you just want to live closer to family. Whatever the reason, many individuals will, at some point in their life, go through the downsizing process. While it may seem daunting, especially for first-timers, it’s important to keep in mind that there are a lot of great perks that come along with downsizing and trading in your house for an apartment. 

Firstly, there is the financial cushion that comes along with selling your old home. The money you made from selling should cover your rent for many, many years to come. Additionally, moving to an apartment is simpler than moving to a home quite simply because most apartments are smaller than homes and therefore, you don’t have to move as many things. The packing, moving and unpacking are all much easier. And of course, day-to-day apartment living is, in many ways, simpler than living in and maintaining a house. Renting (even owning) an apartment comes with many fewer responsibilities than owning a house. For apartment renters, utilities - or a significant portion of utilities - are often not your expense. Most of the maintenance responsibilities do not fall on you. While most homeowners need to maintain an “unexpected emergency fund” for the many things that can invariably require tending to in a house, apartment renters do not. For apartment renters, landscaping concerns are non-existent. And on a day-to-day level, keeping an apartment clean and tidy is much easier than keeping a house neat and clean. 

Yet, moving to a smaller space also has its challenges. First-time downsizers can easily get overwhelmed by the necessary purging that comes along with downsizing. They might be unsure as to how they will get used to the smaller spaces and fewer belongings. They might be nervous about the actual moving process. Will their furniture reach their new apartment (with all those stairs and sharp corners) in the same condition it left home in? Will their belongings stay safe while being moved from the truck into a city apartment?

 If you are a downsizer who has any of these concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to All Jersey Moving & Storage. More than simply a moving company, All Jersey Moving & Storage has many areas of expertise, including all aspects of apartment moving. Having moved thousands of apartments, All Jersey Moving & Storage is familiar with every step of the process. If you’re downsizing, we can help guide you to charities that will accept furniture donations and/or we can offer you secure, climate-controlled, secure containerized storage services if you’re not ready to part with your belongings just yet.  

Our movers know how to handle all the challenges unique to apartment moving such as stairs, city parking and the many rules and requirements of many residential hi-rise buildings. And despite charging a fair and affordable rate for smaller moves, All Jersey Moving & Storage still treats the small moves with the same care and professionalism as bigger, more profitable moves. 

If you are looking to downsize, All Jersey Moving & Storage is definitely your number one choice. We are ready to partner with you to make your apartment move as seamless as possible and we’re more than happy to guide you along the way as you get ready for your move. For first time-downsizers, here are some specific tips to help you with those downsizing challenges, as well as a review of the general packing tips featured in part I of this series (Tips for a Successful Apartment Move:Part I - Upsizing) to help you get started with the moving process.

Tips for Downsizers

Say Goodbye To Things You Don’t Need

• Items

Before any move, and especially if you’re downsizing, it’s extremely helpful to first assess what personal belongings you're keeping so that you only pack up what’s coming with you. Go through your belongings with an eye for what you don’t want or need anymore - whether it be furniture, clothes, electronics or smaller miscellaneous items that have just accumulated in your possession over the years - or for what simply won’t work in the reduced space of your new home. You definitely want to figure this out in advance so you don't pay to move things unnecessarily. For everything you don’t want, need or can’t fit, you have a few options. One, you can toss them or give them away to friends or family. Another option is to sell them. If you have a lot of stuff, you can organize a garage sale or, if you’re really planning in advance, you can sort and sell your items on designated platforms. For example, Craigslist is ideal for selling furniture, ebay is great for selling electronics and Poshmark is a good place to try your luck selling any sophisticated second hand clothing you may own. Alternatively, you can always donate your items. Not only are you helping those in need, you also don’t have to wait and hope for a buyer to come along and you receive a tax-deductible receipt for your donation. Contact a local charity to learn how you can donate your unwanted items. (Some charities even offer free pick-up services, which is a great option when you’re busy with so many other things before your move.)

• Paperwork

Bills, tax returns, significant receipts, work papers...somehow, they have a way of accumulating unnoticed throughout our homes. Set aside time to sort through them all - you’ll find that most of them can probably be thrown away. As for the ones you’d rather hold onto, you still can - but not literally.  In today’s times, there really is no need to hang onto hard copies. There are so many easy and efficient ways to electronically store your documents. You can do it yourself with a basic scanner, scanning the files and saving them onto a computer, tablet, or even your phone. There are also scanning and storage apps you can use or even companies that will do it all for you at an affordable rate.

Look Into Storage Options

Oftentimes, we may not be ready to part with something, but we still don’t have anywhere to put it in our new home. In situations like these, short or long term storage solutions are a great option. All Jersey Moving & Storage offers containerized storage solutions, with stable rental fees and close monitoring of all storage units to ensure that nothing dangerous or infested enters the facility.  

Take Stock Of What You Will Need In Your New Apartment

Just because you’re downsizing doesn’t mean you won’t have to buy anything new. In fact, you may find yourself needing to buy quite a bit of new furniture to replace the stuff you had to throw out because it wouldn’t work in your new space. 

While it’s always a good idea to wait a bit before buying so that you can get a sense of what you really need in your new home, there are often certain things you will need right away. Furniture like beds, a kitchen table and a sofa are living essentials and if you had to dispose of your old ones, you’re going to need new ones sooner rather than later.  As soon as you can, take measurements for the furniture you know you will definitely need- and start shopping. You’ll want the necessities in place as soon as possible. 

Be Smart With Your New Purchases

Another thing to keep in mind when furnishing a smaller space is the importance of choosing quality over quantity. Since many pieces in your new, smaller home may have to serve a few different purposes, you’ll want to buy durable, well-made items. You’ll want to choose items that are multi-purpose like an ottoman with storage space for extra throw blankets or a futon that doubles as a bed for the home office that is also your guest room. When every square foot counts, you want to make sure you furnish the space smartly.

General Moving and Packing Tips

In Part I of the Tips for a Successful Apartment Move series, we shared some general packing advice. Below is a review of those pointers. Whether you’re upsizing or downsizing, some tried and true packing tips and tricks are always helpful. 

Book Your Movers ASAP

As soon as you know your moving date, make sure we know it too. At All Jersey Moving & Storage, we’ll do our best to accommodate any date, but it’s always best to plan in advance, especially if you plan on moving in the spring and summer. Those months are the busiest time of year for moving companies, so make sure you call early if you plan on moving then. 

Start Packing Early

To help the moving process be as smooth and stress-free as possible, start packing as soon as you can, even if it’s just one box a day. Getting an early start will allow you to pack in a calm and orderly fashion, which will make unpacking a breeze when you settle into your new home. Try to start at least a month in advance of your moving date, and if you can, try to get family and friends on board to help. 

Have All Your Supplies On Hand

Having all your supplies at the ready will help the packing process go smoothly and efficiently. Make sure you are prepared with moving boxes - including wardrobe boxes, packing tape, labels, permanent markers, scissors or a boxcutter, packing paper and bubble wrap. All the supplies you need can be purchased at most home improvement stores or self-storage facilities. To help the packing process flow smoothly and without interruption, buy even more supplies than you think you’ll need - you can usually return any unopened products you didn’t end up using. 

Tackle One Room At A Time

Don’t try to tackle everything at once. If you do, you’re likely to get overwhelmed. Packing is a detailed, time-consuming and tedious process and is most manageable when broken down into smaller parts. Take it one room at a time. Create a to-do list of the rooms in your home and check them off as you go. Tackle them in whatever order you want; some people prefer to pack up the larger rooms first so that they can get them out of the way while others prefer to start with the smaller rooms first so that they can feel a sense of accomplishment when they’re done packing them up. Whichever order you choose, just focus on one small job at a time. 

Look Into Packing Services

For whatever reason, some individuals choose to skip the packing process entirely and hire a packing service instead. If you find the thought of packing up to be too overwhelming, contact All Jersey Moving & Storage to find out about our affordable packing and unpacking services. We have years of experience packing and unpacking all sorts of items - from dishes to antiques - in an orderly and professional manner and we offer a range of services, packing up as little or as much as you like.  

The Downsizer’s Pre-move Checklist

Go over this basic checklist before you start packing to make sure you’re ready to begin. 

• Have you identified items you no longer want/need and will not be taking with you?
• Have you decided on a means of getting rid of those items- selling, tossing, donating - and made the necessary arrangements?
• Have you sorted through and filed away all paperwork?
• Have you placed all relevant items in storage?
• Have you taken measurements for the new furniture that you will be buying?
• Have you booked your movers?
• Have you enlisted a few helping hands or looked into a packing service like All Jersey Moving & Storage?
• Have you made sure you have all the necessary supplies, including:
  • Boxes (all sizes, wardrobe boxes)
  • Tape
  • Permanent markers
  • scissors/boxcutter
  • Packing paper
  • Bubble wrap

After reviewing this checklist, you should feel confident that you’re prepared and ready to begin the packing process. Good Luck!

Choose All Jersey Moving & Storage For A Seamless Apartment Move

Downsizing, especially for first-timers, can seem overwhelming. Often, these individuals are forced to discard half (or more!) of the possessions they’ve accumulated over years, if not decades. They have to adjust to living in much smaller spaces and often, have to decorate and furnish entirely from scratch. While many of these challenges are simply part of the downsizing process and are unavoidable, just remember that once you’re settled, there are also numerous perks that come along with apartment living over house living. With so many fewer expenses and responsibilities, many downsizers come to love the apartment life. 

But you don’t have to wait until you’re settled to be able to enjoy the apartment life, stress-free. At All Jersey Moving & Storage, we’ll do everything we can to ensure that there’s as little stress as possible involved in your apartment move. We can help guide you to local charities who will accept donations of your no longer needed items and furniture. For the items you can’t part with yet but can’t take with you, we offer secure containerized storage services. And when you have decided exactly what is coming with you, we can help you pack it.

With our decades of experience in all kinds of moves, and specifically apartment moves, you can rest assured that your move is in good hands. We are adept at moving furniture - even pianos! - up staircases and around narrow turns, and busy city parking and unloading doesn’t faze us. We offer affordable rates and flexible packages for apartment moves, including two man crews and the loading and unloading of your own rental truck. We’re here to work with you and your needs to ensure that you have the smoothest and the least stressful move possible. 

There is no move too big or too small! Call All Jersey Moving & Storage today for your free, no-obligation consultation!