My Best Tips for Moving to a New State

This week marks six months since we packed up our car and moved 1,314 miles away, all the way from Edmond, Oklahoma to Arlington, VA. Moving to a new state was no. joke. All in all, it was a pretty smooth move and we didn’t spend a ton of money unnecessarily. Thinking back, there were definitely some things I’m glad we did and that I wish we would have done differently, so I compiled my best tips for moving to a new state. 

Most of these tips are geared more toward people who are in a similar life circumstance as Charles and myself when we moved. We didn’t hire movers, didn’t have a ton of money, and since we’re newly married and don’t have kids yet, don’t have a ton of stuff. Although we did have a lot more than I realized. 

First, a little bit about our move

We had to be out of our apartment in Oklahoma by December 31st but couldn’t move into our apartment in Arlington, VA until January 6. Charles had to be at orientation the next day and I had to work the day after that. This gave us a little bit too much time in-between apartments and not enough time unpacking, but thanks to our family we were able to make it work. We were able to stay with two different family members on our road trip out there and had a relaxing and fun time driving all 1,300 miles. 

We knew that a lot of our furniture was going to be a bit too big for most apartments in the DC area. Since we bought all of it used anyways, we sold all of it before we left Oklahoma. Since we didn’t have any furniture, I figured we could get away with not renting a moving truck and paying tons of money for the rental and gas. Charles’ parents generously drove to Oklahoma to pick up a load of our stuff in their minivan and then drove all the way to DC with us. Whatever didn’t fit in their car had to fit in mine and Charles’. We got rid of a lot 😀 

I think we only got away with that because it was just the two of us and our needs are still pretty small. For future moves, we’ll definitely need to get a moving truck. 

Top Tips for Moving to a New State

Before the Move

If you have any furniture that you don’t absolutely love – sell it

Doing this is especially great if you’re going to a more highly populated area. Craigslist and Facebook Market offered a ton of affordable options for us furniture-wise In the D.C. area. I knew that whatever we sold we would be able to easily replace for the same amount of money or less. We were happy with all of our furniture, but none of it was anything that we couldn’t live without. Also, we were going from a two-bedroom 850 square foot apartment to a one-bedroom 600 square foot apartment. We had a bit too much furniture and much of it wasn’t the right size for our new spaces. 

Try your best to evaluate what will function well in your new home. We ended up selling all of our furniture because we suspected that it wouldn’t fit very well and we also knew the market for used furniture was good here. This ended up being cost-effective for us because the price to replace all the items we sold ended up being less than the amount we made in selling furniture. However, it was certainly not time effective. Not only does it take some time to contact sellers and work out a deal, but then you also have to actually navigate the new city. Thanks to my husband and father-in-law going out to pick up key items the day we moved in, this worked out just fine for us. But it can definitely add some stress to the move. 

We ditched our used 120+ year-old mattress in Oklahoma and ordered a new one for less than $300 off of Amazon and had it shipped to us for free! We’ve both been happy with it so far. It’s a HUGE improvement from our old mattress, but I realize that’s not saying much. 

Have an “Open First” box

This was seriously the most helpful advice I received before our move. Have one box that you have easy access to as soon as you open the door to your new home. This box should include everything that you’ll need or want right away. Ours had:

• basic cleaning supplies
• toilet paper
• paper towels
• coffee pot (a girl’s gotta have her priorities)
• coffee
• hand soap
• dish soap
• hand towels

You could also pack an “essentials” box for every room. The bedroom one could include bedding, your alarm clock, and a set of clothing. Since we had gotten rid of so much stuff, all of our essentials were fairly easy to find and we didn’t need an “essentials” box for every room. The Open First box was a lifesaver though. 

Pre-order grocery delivery

This is one less thing that you’ll have to do when you’re furiously unpacking everything you own. Unpacking always sounds like a relatively easy if not dull chore, but it can require some serious brain power. It’s like playing Tetris trying to organize all of your belongings in a new home. Nothing fits the same way it did in the last home. 

What I’m saying is that the less you have to think about when you’re trying to unpack, the better. While it sounds relatively simple to go to the grocery store or pick up some fast food, here are all of the decisions you’ll have to make:

• You’re in a new city and have to look up the nearest food options
• Your car is probably full of stuff you’re still trying to unpack
• If you’re going to the store, you have to make a list of things you can eat before all your kitchen items are unpacked
• You probably don’t have any utensils or dishes unpacked yet

While all of those are fairly easy things to overcome, your brain is already maxed out with your fun tetris game and whatever other fun things your move has surprised you with. Ordering a few things to be dropped off at your doorstep the day of the move will make your life so much easier and give you the much-needed sustenance to keep unpacking. It’s definitely well worth the average $10 delivery fee.

Here are a few things you might want to deliver: 

• plastic silverwear
• paper plates
• freezer meals you can microwave
• coffee
• easy breakfast food like cereal or bagels
• sandwich fixings
• cleaning supplies 
• toilet paper
• quick snacks
• bottled water (unless you unpacked your kitchen cups really fast) 

Keep a massive joint to-do list

If you’re moving with another person, keep a massive joint to do list. I used a google sheet that was (possibly) overly detailed, but it was so helpful to keep Charles and me on the same page. I used conditional formatting to color-code it so that when a task was finished, it would cross things off and change the color to a satisfying green. This motivated Charles far more than I expected it to. This motivated me exactly as much as I expected it to, which is to say a lot. I’m a big fan of grown-up sticker charts.

Your list can be as complicated or as simple as you like, whether it’s a spreasheet or an app like Trello or Evernote. The main thing is that you both have access to it so you both remember what needs to happen. Being able to access it on your phone is even better. This keeps things from falling through the cracks and arguments differences of opinion that start with “I thought YOU already did that.” Bonus points if you can assign tasks to each person. Clarity in assignment makes everything much smoother and eases the tension in a stressful time. 

Have a plan for what you’re going to do in your new home first

Start a list of things you need to do once you get there and prioritize them if possible. It’s overwhelming thinking about getting out of where you’re currently at, but the unknown future can be more overwhelming if you don’t have any idea what you’re stepping into. Having a plan can eliminate stress. If you’re moving to a new state, you might just have time to start writing a list when you’re riding in the car or if you have to stay somewhere overnight.

Here are a few things you might want to do before you start moving in boxes and furniture

1. Clean anything that looks like it might need it
2. Spray for bugs
3. Plan out what furniture will go where and label it
4. Locate the circuit breaker box and main water valve

This is another area where it’s helpful to divvy out tasks beforehand so each person knows what they’re responsible for. This makes it so you can jump into action and get settled as soon as possible. This was particularly helpful for Charles and me since we had such little time before we had to jump into work/school life. We got the most important things set up first and then slowly finished the rest as we had time and energy.

Don’t forget to take a picture before you leave

I know you’re probably sick of looking at or even thinking about the place right now, but someday you’ll be glad you got a picture with your family in front of your old place. I promise. 

After the Move

Unpack as quickly as possible

Moving is exhausting and it can be tempting to leave some unimportant boxes hidden in the closet or a spare room. Don’t do this. Those boxes will haunt you for the foreseeable future, and the longer you wait to unpack them the more you’ll dread discovering what’s inside. 

Have a give-away box

Chances are, you did what you thought was a thorough purging of your belongings before you even moved. You will inevitably find more things that you should have gotten rid of, whether it’s because they got put in the wrong piles or they didn’t work for the space like you thought they would. Having a box set-up that you can quickly toss items in to give away can make this much easier. Lucky for you, there should be tons of boxes around. 

Look up important locations before you arrive

• Post Office
• Grocery stores
• Donation center

Make space for being sad about what you had to leave

With all of the busyness and stress involved in moving, it can be easy to try and push your emotions under the rug to get everything done. But all change is hard, even if it’s good change. Also, all change means that there’s some kind of loss. Let yourself feel that and give yourself some grace to acclimate to the new changes. 

Don’t go crazy buying furniture or storage devices right away.

It can be really helpful to get to know a space before you start buying organization products which later become unnecessary. Again, unpacking is like Tetris, and it often takes several tries to get it right. The things that I thought I needed but couldn’t make it to the store right away to pick up I ended up not needing after all. It just took me a few days (or sometimes a couple weeks) to learn our needs in our new home.

But DO buy a plant

A few weeks after we moved I bought a palm from IKEA. It’s crazy how much homier it made our little apartment feel, especially in the dead of winter. If you’re wanting to make your apartment feel a little brighter and a little more like home, try adding a plant or two. I’ve been eyeing this one and this one on Amazon. 

Read this book about place-making

Lots of people were talking about This is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick earlier this year. Since we had just moved and knew almost no one, I decided to read the book for ideas. It’s a great book to get you excited and give you some ideas for feeling more at home after a big move. Some of my favorite ideas:

• Walk around the neighborhood
• Try to shop local
• Explore nature
• Volunteer
• Do fun stuff your town has to offer

Look for things that make you happy 

Just as important as letting yourself be sad about what you moved away from is recognizing the gifts that come with your new location. Whether your move was a dream-come-true or feels more like a tragedy, counting the happy things will make it all the sweeter. 

Take walks around the neighborhood to familiarize yourself

This is one of the quickest ways to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings. There’s a lot that you miss when you drive everywhere! Walking around your new city helps you acclimate SO much faster and is great exercise and stress-relief. 

Have you moved recently? Leave a comment with tips for moving to a new state that you would add to my list! 

Moving from Oklahoma to Arlington, VA was stressful and scary and exhausting, but we’re so glad we did it!