Ready to leave the suburban sprawl and experience hip city living in the Big Apple? Do you need to know how to move from a house to a NYC apartment? If so, prepare with these tips from movers NYC. From hiring moving companies to downsizing your possessions, we have you covered with every step.
Embrace Minimalism
There are few things more well-known about NYC than the small size of the apartments. Perhaps you are fortunate and find yourself moving to a 7,000 square foot Manhattan penthouse so reducing your belongings isn’t a concern. Lucky you! Your job is to just call the best movers in NYC and get ready to live the high life, right? But if this isn’t your case, figuring out how to move from a house to an apartment in NYC certainly means figuring out where to scale down your belongings.
Fortunately, one of the biggest movements these days is something called “minimalism.” This is the idea that less is more. Why have ten towels when you only need four? Do you need shelves of books when the library has them for free? How many plates, pans, and glasses go unused in your cabinets? Start to look at your things with this new eye and have an open mind about letting go.
Divide and Conquer
As you are go through your home, for each item you come across decide whether you should Toss It, Keep It, Donate It, or Sell It. Remember your “big picture” goal – moving to an apartment in NYC – to keep your focus and help you make difficult decisions.
Anything that is damaged, unusable, has lost it’s match, or is just taking up space should be tossed. If you have clothes you haven’t worn in years, that don’t fit, or aren’t your style anymore, donate them to a Goodwill, Salvation Army, shelter, or another nonprofit organization.
Other places you can donate items to are VA hospitals, retirement homes, daycares and schools, pet shelters, art programs, churches, or camps. Consider things like magazines, music CDs, books, newspapers, towels, sheets, kitchen utensils, and decorations. A local community theater might have good use for a broken lamp or torn recliner as part of the set decor for their next big play. A dog pound might be able to use couch cushions for pet beds. Try to find places and organizations where your items can go on to do some good.
Selling To Make Space
For the items you decide to sell, the best way is with a garage sale over a Friday and Saturday. Yard sales allow you to get rid of a lot of stuff quickly and without too much headache. However, you have to be a good organizer and thoroughly plan for the sale to avoid potential problems. Follow these steps to make the most money for your sale, which you can then use to help with your move to NYC.
Top 5 Yard Sale Steps Before Your Move
- Price every item individually. Use secure stickers on hard items, and tags with safety pins for fabric items. Price everything with just a little bit of wiggle room to allow for hagglers. People always want to feel like they are getting a good deal.
- Advertise your sale in the local paper and also on online yard sale sites.
- Make effective directional signs. Be sure the writing on your signs is large enough to see from passing cars. Make sure all of your signs match each other as there can sometimes be competing signs. You want to help your potential visitors get to your home as easily as possible. Use a balloon, a giant star, or other object to help your signs stand out. Use large arrows for turns coming up. Drive the routes to your home yourself after you place your signs to make sure your directions and signage are clear.
- Have lots of change on hand. Get plenty of dollars and change for the days of your sale. You don’t want to have to turn away a sale because you don’t have change.
- Collect grocery bags in advance. It will help you to stay organized on the garage sale day if you have bags for your customers. Some of your visitors will have several items and the bags makes the “checking out” process easier to manage.
Another selling option is to use a site like Craigslist. A lot of communities now have safe spaces for buyers and sellers to meet to exchange moneys for goods. If not, use the parking lot of a nearby police station. You can also use selling apps like LetGo which only shows your items to buyers in your immediate area who also have the app. Just be sure you are never alone when someone comes over to pick up something like a table or couch. Get their payment before they start moving out your items.
Finally, anything you can’t bear to get rid of, but can’t move to NYC with you, consider getting a storage unit. This way you can still have access to your things when you need them.
Once you have purged the unnecessary, you will be surrounded by the just the things that truly mean the most to you. Now it’s time to get it all to your new pad by vetting moving companies in NYC.
Get Started with a Free Quote
When you’re ready to make your move to NYC, get to know us first! We’re the top-rated mover in New York City on Yelp. We will make your move as stress and hassle-free as possible. While no move is simple, we have the experience and know-how to help you focus on the excitement of your move, rather than worrying about what could go wrong. Let us help! Get started with a free moving quote today!
