So you’ve searched the apartment listings, found the one you
want and signed all the paperwork. The only thing left is to pick up all of
your stuff and take it to the new apartment. Sounds pretty straight forward,
right? Not quite. A move requires a lot of planning, careful organization and
perhaps even a little bit of luck to make sure the transition goes as smoothly
as possible.
Whether it’s your first time or you’re a seasoned
professional, here are seven tips to help make your move a little easier.
Be Organized
A move isn’t something you can simply prepare for over a
weekend. Always plan ahead and never, ever, start packing the day before, as
you’ll find that you have a lot more stuff than you initially thought. Make
sure all of your boxes are labelled appropriately – it will save you a lot of
hassle when you’re unpacking if you know what box goes in what room.
Donate Your Old Junk
In the process of packing, you might discover that you no
longer need, like, or have room for old clothes, furniture and knick-knacks.
Don’t toss that stuff away, though – donate it to a worthy cause, such as
Goodwill, the Salvation Army or the Canadian Diabetes Association. It’s a
win-win situation – you’ll have fewer things to haul over to your new apartment
and you get to help a charitable organization in the process. Plus, you might
get a receipt for your donation, which you can use to lower the amount of
taxable income you have to claim on your next tax return.
Van and Truck Rentals
A nice, empty apartment awaits you, but there’s just one
problem – you still have to get all of your stuff over there. Unless you have
friends or family with large vans or trucks who are willing to help out,
chances are you’re going to have to rent one from a company such as U-Haul.
Demand for these vehicles is always high, especially between April and October,
so it’s always a good idea to book out a van or truck several weeks in advance.
Wait until the last minute and you might discover they don’t have any trucks
available, and if they do, they might not be available during the time you had
hoped to make the move.
Get Some Help
Ideally, you should recruit a personal army of friends and
family to help you move, as the only cost you’ll have to pay might be pitching
in for a pizza after everything is done. However, what do you do if all of your
friends are busy or out of town? Unless your idea of a fun weekend is hauling
box after box into your new apartment all by yourself, perhaps it’s best to
hire the services of a moving company. Whether you need them to do the entire
move for you, or you just need them to help you load up the truck, a moving
company has well-trained staff and all of the necessary equipment that will
keep your valuables intact and make your move fast and hassle-free. Be sure to
check the insurance policies of the moving company you hire – some offer
different levels of coverage than others. You may want to invest in some form
of moving insurance, especially if you have lots of rare and breakable items
that could get damaged during a move.
Hold That Elevator!
Regardless of what floor you’re moving into to, getting all
of your items up to your new apartment – especially those big pieces of
furniture – isn’t going to be easy. Luckily, most apartments have large service
elevators that can be used specifically for this purpose. However, during the
busy times of the year, a lot of people are going to want to use those
elevators at the same time. That’s why it’s wise to get those elevators booked
in your name as far in advance as possible – some apartments will let you
reserve an elevator a few months in advance. If you don’t, it might be a long
night of waiting in the apartment lobby, waiting for an elevator to be free. Be
sure to always check with the apartment manager to see when you can use the
elevators, as some buildings have restrictions about what times of the day the
service elevator can actually be used. Get all of the information you can, as
far in advance as you can, and plan your move accordingly.
Forward Your Mail
Try as you might, there’s bound to be somebody that you
forgot to tell about your change of address. Luckily, you can register your
change of address with Canada Post, and for a small fee ($36 for six months),
they can redirect any mail sent to your old address to your new one. That will
give you plenty of time to make sure all of your contacts are up-to-date
regarding your whereabouts without having to worry about whether an important
package will arrive at your new place or on the other side of town.
Transfer Your
Services
Apart from your mail, it’s important to have any monthly
services, such as existing cable, phone, Internet, gas and hydro accounts,
transferred over to your new address (or cancelled at your old place, if you
won’t need them anymore). This can be extremely important, especially if you’re
the type that depends on things such as the Internet for work or school.
These tips should help your move go as smoothly as possible
– but like anything in life, you should always expect for the unexpected. But
as long you’ve prepared as much as you can in advance, you should be resting
comfortably in your new apartment.
Looking for an apartment in Ottawa? Paramount Properties is Ottawa’s second largest residential property management company. With more than 4,500
Ottawa apartments for rent in some of the city’s finest locations, we’re your #1 choice for apartment rentals in Ottawa.
