Let’s Move! – Tips for Moving During a Pandemic!

M / L

Maybe the price of living is too high. Maybe you need a new chapter in your life. Maybe you're just tired of your revolving door apartment of abhorrent bottom dwelling roommates who drunkenly perform late night amazon purchases for orders of soap meant to look like poop (true story). Whatever the case may be, it's time to move. 

Moving is difficult, period. Moving during a pandemic? It's almost easier to pay me to punch you in the head. "Don't pack sober.  :) This one is coming from personal experience.  I've been pregnant and sober/packing for our last 2 moves...and I can confirm that packing without a cocktail or a nice glass of wine is sure to make the experience 10x worse.  Stock up now. " Sage advice from Tara, our veteran blogger, wine aficionado and momma extraordinaire, who channels her inner Winston Churchill by treating a move like going to war; “As a military family, we have become avid movers over the years.  As our family has grown, each move seems to get a bit more complicated.  And now we face our biggest challenge of all, moving to a new state with two toddlers, a newborn, and a dog during a global pandemic.  Prayers welcome.” Godspeed Tara.

We recently reached out to some good friends on the Lane, and asked for any tips, tricks or bits of advice other than 'don't do it.'

One Laner recommends making your move an actual journey: 

"I weighed a lot of options on how to move (by cost, time, efficiency, and personal preference) and ended up renting a minivan to drive across the country with my cat Rosie.  This is NOT for everyone, but I love driving and it was actually very cathartic after being stuck in one place for so long; there is so much of America that you would never otherwise see and if you can stomach being in the car that long, I’d highly recommend it.  I’d also recommend: 

  • fairly-thoroughly planning your daily routes so you’ll have an idea of how long your day will be (making sure to allow extra time for traffic or taking a wrong exit, stretching/potty/fuel breaks for humans and animals, and knowing where you’re landing for the night)
  • any pandemic related precautions, closures, or avoidances you may need to factor in and a big ol’ flyering tote full of PPE and sanitizer (my personal choice was Showtime)
  • and if there are any fun stops you can check out along the way!  Having a cat didn’t allow for many of the bigger side ventures like National Parks, but I DID go out of my way to see the world’s largest rocking chair. 

Good call Beth. Oversized rocking chairs or not, being stuck in steel tubes underground all day doesn't really give you the chance to 'check in' with yourself on your way home to an apartment filled with adult sized babies who purchase ‘poop-soap.’. Getting your own private steel tube to chariot yourself across the good ol' US of A on the way to your new chapter sounds pretty revelatory. 

And speaking of private steel tubes, what do you do if you move to a city and don't have a car? Here's what Annette has to say:

"In terms of getting around, if you’ve been relying on public transit in your current city, and will need a vehicle to get around once you move, renting a car for a few days is the best bet. You don’t want to show up to a car dealer in an Uber, unless you want to appear in desperate need of a vehicle. And although purchasing your car before you leave your city may be convenient, remember, more populated cities have higher sales taxes. Doing your research on whether buying or leasing is best for you, and which cars you have in mind negotiating, will save you time. " - Annette

And thanks to Annette, I now will never be able to shake the image of hungry car salesmen sitting in their break room, sharpening their teeth like vampires waiting for some poor innocent and unsuspecting fool to pull up in a Uber. “Dinner time.”

OK.  So I’m obviously a big boy since I’m moving to my own place and leaving my parents sweet rent free basement and free lavender scented laundry service behind (Thanks mom) BUT what do I do with all this STUFF? What do I do if I’m finally ready to give up my collection of Cheers memorabilia including a collectors edition beer stein signed by the one and only Shelley Long - what do I do with all this STUFF? MARIE KONDO HELP ME!

“...My main piece of advice is to find your local Buy Nothing/Sell Nothing group on Facebook. This is a group to join to get rid of ANYTHING you’re trying to get rid of before you move without any expectation of monetary compensation. Once you’re approved in your local group (they do about 10 block radius groups here in NYC), you post photos of your stuff ranging from furniture to clothing to random bibs and bobs and artwork you are trying to get rid of rather than throw in the trash. There is something special knowing that your beloved items that you’ve maybe outgrown are going to a new place to be loved and used.“ (Julia)

Julia may have only moved a few blocks down, but she knew that moving is a chance to PURGE. (This is a great time to play that Purge movie sound effect of sirens blaring - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLuNy8qfK9Q)

“MINIMIZE.  Moving is a great time to reorganize and prioritize!  Think of it as giving your stuff a new home and donate everything you can!  The less you have the easier the move.” (Tara). 

“And, downsizing your belongings and selling those you are willing to part with, can help pay for some of the costs.” (Annette)

Moving can be a daunting task that can either take months or a couple of horrible weeks. Tara says to “Start now.  Yes, we aren't moving till May...but boxes are already being packed....Anything you can do preemptively is going to help you tremendously during crunch time.” 

So whether you are in the planning phase where your brow is permanently furrowed reinforcing your newfound ‘What next?’-face… to that phase where you’ve just lost all faith in humanity: "Once you’ve reserved your moving method, don’t forget to check your city’s permit costs and regulations for parking your moving vehicle. " Thank you Annette for simultaneously saving me the stress of losing sleep and money over PARKING MY MOVING VEHICLE  and also destroying my faith in this 'fair city.' 

We hope these moving tips will help you on your metaphysical journey to releasing your inner Marie Kondo onto your neglected apartment closet, as well as on your literal journey to the World’s Largest Rocking chair and more importantly - a beautiful new chapter in your life.