Hey there. First off, congrats! A new place is seriously exciting. But let’s be real for a second—moving can also feel like a special kind of torture if you’re not prepared. I’ve helped enough friends (and customers) through their first moves that I’ve seen the same panic-stricken looks over and over again.

It usually hits around the time they find out they own seventeen thousand more things than they thought they did.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Most of the chaos comes from a few simple, totally avoidable blunders. Avoid these, and you’ll be the smug one telling your friends how “it wasn’t that bad” later.

Mistake #1: The Great Underestimation

You look at your bedroom. “It’s just a bed, a dresser, and some clothes. Easy.” Oh, my friend. You are forgetting the Drawer of Unknown Things. The closet floor has become a graveyard for single shoes. The bookshelf that holds more random trinkets than books.

The stuff expands to fill the space available. It’s a scientific law.

Do this instead:

Start a month out. No, really. Pick a drawer and empty it today. Be ruthless. Haven’t worn that shirt since 2019? Thank it and donate it. That weird kitchen gadget still in the box? You’re not suddenly going to become a person who makes their own pasta. Let it go. The less you have, the less you have to pack. This is the golden rule.

Mistake #2: The Cardboard Betrayal

Listen, I know the siren song of the free grocery store box. It’s right there! It’s free! But I am telling you, those things are traps. They are flimsy, they smell vaguely of banana, and they will give out the second you put anything heavier than a pillow in them. And using black trash bags for your clothes? You will 100% accidentally throw out your entire wardrobe.

Do this instead:

Bite the bullet and buy a few packs of small and medium boxes. The uniform sizes make stacking the truck a puzzle instead of a nightmare. While you’re at it, grab a roll of packing tape and the cheap kind of bubble wrap. Wrapping your plates in your bath towels is a classic move, but that one special mug deserves the bubble wrap. Trust me.

Mistake #3: The “Mystery Box” Game

You will pack in a frenzy. You will throw things into boxes willy-nilly. You will get to your new place, exhausted, and you will need a phone charger. And you will open Box #23 to find a single sneaker, a spatula, and a picture frame. This is how moving-day arguments are born.

Do this instead:

Two words: LABEL. EVERYTHING.
But don’t just write “Kitchen.” That’s useless. Write “KITCHEN – Coffee Mugs & Bowls” or “BEDROOM – Winter Sweaters.” Be ridiculously specific.

And most importantly, pack a “Day One” box. This is your survival kit. Put in it:

• Toilet paper (I cannot stress this enough).
• Your phone charger.
• A roll of trash bags.
• Scissors or a box cutter.
• Basic tools—a screwdriver and a wrench.
• Snacks and water bottles.
• Your toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant.
• A change of clothes.
• Your coffee maker and coffee.

Keep this box with you in your car. It is your lifeline.

Mistake #4: The Furniture That Won’t Fit

You know that scene in every comedy where the couch gets stuck in the doorway? It’s funny because it’s true. You will fall in love with a bookshelf and assume it will magically fit through your new front door. It will not.

Do this instead:

Get a tape measure. Measure the big stuff—the width and height of your dresser, the diagonal depth of your couch. Then, go to your new place and measure the doorways and hallways. It seems so simple, but almost no one does it. Be the smart one who does.

A Secret Weapon You Might Not Have Considered

Here’s a little insider tip that saves so many of our customers: use a storage unit during the move.

Maybe your new lease starts a week before your old one ends. Instead of doing a brutal, exhausting 24-hour marathon move, you can move all your boxes into a storage unit over a few relaxed days. Then, you can clean your old place properly and move into your new one at your own pace, without boxes towering over you.

It’s like a pause button for your move. It gives you room to breathe. We see people do this all the time, and they always say it was the best decision they made. We offer units by the month, so it’s perfect for just this kind of short-term, life-in-transition moment.

Moving is a huge pain, but it’s also a fresh start. A little bit of planning saves you a whole lot of stress. You’ve got this. And if you need a little breathing room to make it happen, you know where to find us.

Now, go start on that junk drawer. I’ll wait.