Move Your Apartment Yourself - Save a Little Money!

One good strategy to spend less money is to keep from using a moving company. Depending on the overall size of your apartment, a moving company can charge anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars. Despite the fact that you probably can't keep from renting a moving truck, you can certainly pack your stuff and load and unload yourself. Here are a handful of tips on how to pack when you are moving to a new apartment.

The correct way to Pack Household furniture:

Take apart household furniture if possible and cover
Cover table legs separately
Lay out padding between your pieces of furniture and the floor of the moving truck
Position tables together with legs assembled top down on floor with legs up
Stack chairs seat to seat

Packing Dishes:

Work with special "dishpak" packing containers
Cover plates, saucers, and bowls separately using several sheets of paper each
Begin from the corner, wrapping diagonally, continually tucking in tips
After covering individually, encapsulate 4-6 items in a pack with a dual covering of newspapers
Place extra padding material inside bottom of carton
Position level, larger pieces such as platters, plates on bottom
Place bundled pieces in a carton in a strip on border.
Encompass every bundle with crushed paper, being careful to leave no unfilled spots.
Cups and glasses should be wrapped in a double covering of papers and inserted upside down on rims in a row on an upper layer inside the container with all the handles facing the same direction.

Packing Garments:

Shoes can be left in shoe boxes and inserted into sizeable packages.
Or, wrap each shoe individually, then in pairs.
Shoes ought to be cushioned to prevent damage occurring to high heals or decorations.
Don't pack weighty items on footwear.
Clothes may be left on hangers and moved inside clothes cartons.
Light and portable garments such as hose, lingerie and sweaters can remain inside dresser drawers.

Lamps:

Take out the light bulb.
Wrap the base, harp and bulb separately in newspaper, and place alongside one another in a box, filling up spaces with crushed paper.
Do not ever wrap the lamp shade in newspaper.
Diligently wrap each shade in 3-4 sheets of fresh tissue papers, a pillow case or large lightweight soft towel.

Pictures and Glass:

Make use of a standard picture box or protect both sides of the picture with card board.
Place packaging paper along the side panels and edges of the photograph to stop it from moving inside the box.
Insert not more than 3 or 4 photographs in one container.
Keep the box right side up all the time.

What NOT to Pack:

Warmth from sunshine can raise temperatures inside a closed moving van to more than 150 degrees. Even in the middle of cold months, heat accumulates inside. A lot of common products, such as aerosol hair spray or cleaning solutions, can set off an explosion or fire that could destroy your possessions when packed inside a van.
For your personal safety, make certain that no member of your household packs these products in a box to be moved in the back of the moving truck. Replacing a can of hair spray is less difficult than replacing all of your possessions.
We want you to have a gratifying move. For the safety of your possessions, evaluate the list below and get rid of all hazardous items before packing:

Hairspray
Cleaning solutions
Shaving cream
Spray starch
Deodorants
Insecticides
Spray paint
Oil-based paints
Bleach
Gasoline
Muriatic acid
Oil
Auto batteries
Naptha
Gas in tanks*
Tar cleaner
Oxygen in tanks
Paint thinners
Lighting fluid
Turpentine
Matches
Lacquer cleaner
Ammunition
Mineral spirits
Chlorine granules or powder
Any other type of combustible