Tips For Moving Season: City Edition

Moving season in the city can be extremely chaotic or smooth sailing, depending on your moving style. As I live in Chicago, our busiest moving “season” typically starts from May to early August. My partner and I, had the pleasure (not) of moving at the beginning of moving season here in the city. We knew we wanted to find a nice sized apartment or condo. Luckily, we found a great spot in a bit of a crunch time period. As I’ve moved throughout the city numerous times, I’d like to share some things you should keep in mind during the busy moving season.

City Streets Are Not Made For Moving

One thing you will learn very quickly moving in the city is that you will need to find parking. You can also take the chance using your hazard lights especially during moving season in the city. I moved into my first apartment using my partner’s truck and let me tell you — never again. There was nowhere to park, which is usually expected in the city. The amount of trips we made back and forth to the truck and from the apartment we were moving from was insane, to say the least.

Hiring Professionals Movers During Moving Season

My partner and I ended up moving about a month and a half ago and decided to go with a professional moving service. This was by far the best decision we made as the movers were ridiculously fast and got everything over to our new place in one trip. Hiring movers are definitely worth the cost and peace of mind. I’d recommend try using your local movers as they know the area better than an outsourced company.

Time Sensitive

When you’re moving out of an apartment in the city, there is relatively a short time span for you to get all of our things out. It is definitely possible to move out of your apartment and into your new one within one day. Of course, it will be a bit of a crunch with time, but it’s better to knock out moving as soon as you can because the unpacking can be a bit a of a time suck.

Moving Boxes

Moving boxes are honestly a huge part of the moving experience. I know what some people are thinking, “Why would I buy so many moving boxes when I won’t have a complete use for them”. Using moving boxes makes moving extremely hassle free. You can correctly label the boxes with what room you wan them placed in. Also, I’d recommend using a mixture of heavy duty boxes and regular. I used the heavy duty boxes for my fragile items so that they’d have a bit more protective care. I bought my moving boxes from Lowe’s for a decent price.

Moving in the city can definitely get a bit overwhelming. Remember, if you plan correctly and do most of the work before hand, you should have a relatively easy move. One last tip – throw out the things you haven’t used in the past year! Declutterring is also a very important part of the moving process. I believe every time you move (at the moment I’m an every two years type of guy) it’s like a refresh. A chance to create a whole new vibe in an entire new space.

Moving can be extremely stressful, but the feeling of being in your new place makes it all worth it.