We officially have the keys to our first place! We couldn’t be more excited to take this next step together and finally have a place of our own. Upon our college graduation on May 21, we’ll be living in our new apartment in Indianapolis. I’m so excited to have a place to call my own and decorate it! I’ve included some packing tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along the way that have really made the moving process much easier!

PACKING 101: TIPS + TRICKS

Pack by room/category. Go room to room, cabinet to cabinet, and pack items together that are going to be kept in the same place when you move. For instance, pack all your toiletries together in one box/bag, label it, and put it with all of your bathroom supplies when you move. This will help keep you organized and make the transition much smoother.

Keep, donate, or toss. When packing, ask yourself these questions: Do I need this? When was the last time I used this? Will I use this in the future? I donated two HUGE trash bags full of stuff and I’m so glad I did! Before going through my stuff, I had no idea that I had so many things I hadn’t used or worn in over a year. It felt so good to get rid of that extra, unnecessary stuff.

Don’t overwhelm yourself. Take on one, small task at a time. For me, I like to start at least a week or two in advance and focus on one category at a time. For instance, I’ll bag up all of my shoes that I don’t plan on wearing before I move. Then I’ll pack up extra toiletries and medicines that I won’t be using. This helps me to remember what exactly I’ve packed and helps me to not lose anything throughout the packing process. Each time you go to drive your car throughout this 1-2 week period, take a bag/box with you and toss it in your vehicle. This is a simple way to incorporate a bit of packing into your daily routine and keeps you moving forward.

Unpacking: Tackle one location at a time. This will help you feel accomplished as you’re setting your belongs up in your new space because you’ll see results faster. This will cut the clutter (and stress) in half!

Treat yourself. Delicious moving day treats certainly don’t hurt! Allow yourself to take breaks and reward yourself when you get stressed. I enjoyed these yummy cupcakes below with my mom from The Flying Cupcake!

Be sure to follow our packing, moving, unpacking, and decorating adventures on snapchat! I’m going to try to document as much of the process as I can.

Thanks for reading and following along with us! I’ll be posting before and after pictures of our new place once everything is set up.

Happy moving!