The moving itself went a lot smoother than I expected. This is my fourth move since graduating college and my first move since making the trek from Virginia last year. Using a freight service for a long distance move really changes your perspective on moving. Before last year, I always just used the "anything goes" method of packing. "Just throw it in the back seat!" "Don't wrap those pictures!" "A laundry basket and trash bag ARE acceptable packing materials!" When you have to use a freight service (like an Atlas or a Delta Van Lines), EVERYTHING has to be packed in boxes or they won't take it. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING -- including dirty clothes! If it's not wrapped correctly, then they will charge you extra to crate it or they simply won't take it. Originally I had the "oh I'll just take it in the car" mentality but quickly realized that my car was too small for, um, basically anything. Unless you're moving from a mansion, you have to share the tractor trailer with other people's stuff, so the moving company will tag it and then you hope it gets unloaded at your house (and not someone elses). Fortunately I grew up in a small (slightly redneck) town in Maryland, so I put neon duct tape on every single box so that there was no mistaking my stuff. Instead of hoping that I had made enough friends to help me move, I hired movers but I may have gotten over-zealous in this year's packing.
What resulted was a minor freak-out when I got to the new place and couldn't even see through the mountains of boxes. My new place is a few square feet smaller but with a much different layout so there was a lot of "OMG WHAT DID I DO?! ITS TOO SMALL!". I unpacked the bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom within the first 24 hours and then realized that it wasn't as small as I thought (and I'd be ok).
With all of my IKEA furniture, I figured I'd have a few fallen soldiers but I (surprisingly) had none! The only hiccup I had throughout the entire process was with the furry one. She has a new trick of opening cabinet doors from the front. Unfortunately she hasn't figured out how to prop them open or open them from the back so she sometimes gets stuck. On moving day, she got stuck in a bathroom cabinet for EIGHT hours at the old place. Whoops. Don't worry. She recovered quickly with lots of treats.
I had a pretty strict budget for this year's move and I stuck pretty closely to it for all the major things. I always forget though how much the little things add up. For instance, you have to tip the movers (usually in cash and at a per person rate). Also there's the household things like curtains. Usually curtains are the last thing I buy but my new blinds are flimsy (read: see through) so they jumped to the top of the list.
All in all, I think the move was a success. My new place has much more a 'neighborhood' feel and it's certainly quieter. But that's to be expected when there isn't a freight train 500 feet from your back door.
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