Moving out: Any tips and advice I should get?

[Nitsuki]

Well, regarding that, I have everything I need in my room currently. This is regarding TV, bed, pretty much everything, that's why the TV can wait i'm in no hurry atm. Furniture is what i'm really worried about but thanks to you guys i never thought of looking through craigslist and i found some nice stuff locally.

A few friends of mine and my fiance's have been generous enough to contribute some chairs and a dining table. More like they wanted to get rid of them lol.

[Vigilia]

Ikea is nice yeah but even their stuff comes in different categories, you always get what you pay for.

I'd suggest before you move out spend a week or two while in your parents' home thinking about the things you need a lot as well. So many people move out, buy a toaster, and then realise they never actually eat toast. Same with crap like egg poachers and wok pans and slow cookers and blenders and such... focus on getting the items (it's kitchen utensils and small electricals where this is most obvious) that you actually USE and not the ones that advertising has made you believe that a kitchen needs. If you move into a small apartment you want as little extra clutter around as possible.

I don't know if you have them in the States or not but recycling centres in wealthy neighborhoods are a goldmine. The ones around here put aside all non-broken furniture and sell it at low prices to cover some of the cost of running the recycling center. And when I say low prices I mean it, I've gotten a big mahogany chest of drawers and a solid oak chest from recycling centers for £5 and 8 respectively. The one near me did wardrobes for about £30 and everything smaller than that for even less and because it was in a rich neighborhood it was not some plywood crap but real furniture. Sadly of course every student/young person knew about it and you had to get lucky when you went there because good items were snapped up the second they were left there. If you have any DIY tendencies older furniture is good also because you can repaint/revarnish it very easily to match each other. I suppose Craigslist and garage sales are your equivalent of recycling centers.

[Lucienne]

Don't rush it. Get things you really like and if you can't find any, just wait. Don't settle for second best unless it's really cheap and easily replacable, because you'll regret it later on. I don't know about US, but in Sweden IKEA is kind of the mainstream of furniture, it's what everyone gets when they move out, it's good for basic things, but I wouldn't buy all my stuff there. Go out of your way to find small odd stores, you might be surprised. My old kitchen table came from a cafe and it was amazing.

Also, you might want to invest in a good bed. After all it is the furniture you'll spend most of your time in and it really pays off.

[Xerlic]

Make sure that whatever furniture you have/buy can fit into your apartment. Find out how you can get your stuff into the apartment and measure to make sure whatever you're bringing in will fit through that space. Don't assume that your stuff is small enough to make it through elevators and hallways.

I made this mistake and my fiancee and I ended up having to share 1 recliner in the living room for a week until we could get a new couch delivered because the original one we ordered was too big for the elevator.

As other have already said, don't buy from Wal-Mart. We bought a bookshelf from there, and when putting it together, I found that the back of the shelf was actually a piece of white cardboard that you nail onto the back frame to make it look like a solid panel. If you got a Bob's Furniture nearby, check that out. They're pretty cheap and fairly decent quality.

[izembo]

seriously craigslist, when i bought my house i found someone who got a condo that had a brand new sofa/loveseat that they just didnt like the color of, and i bought both for $150, you just have to look and you have the time till you move in which is plenty to find a deal

[wyrmtung]

Dunno how much you have already but budget at least $200 for miscellaneous knickknacks. A toilet plunger, shower curtain, floor mats, trash cans, salt/pepper, spices, cleaners, napkins, can opener, etc, etc, etc. Shit adds up. I remember when I moved from an apartment with roommates to my own place, I spent over $500 on stuff like this in Target alone.

[Amelya]

Dunno how much you have already but budget at least $200 for miscellaneous knickknacks. A toilet plunger, shower curtain, floor mats, trash cans, salt/pepper, spices, cleaners, napkins, can opener, etc, etc, etc. Shit adds up. I remember when I moved from an apartment with roommates to my own place, I spent over $500 on stuff like this in Target alone.

^^ This

For me at least the big items are easy to budget for, it's the little things that tend to add up a lot faster than anticipated. This is assuming you're starting mostly from scratch (i.e. just the stuff in your bedroom).

For example, the bathroom: plunger, toilet brush, curtain, liner, trash can, toothbrush holder, soap dish, bath mats, bath towels, hand towels... When I moved from a one bath house to 2.5 baths I think I spent like $200 just on stuff for the bathrooms lol.

Cleaning supplies are another big one if you're starting from scratch. You can easily blow quite a bit of cash on just random windex, pledge, toilet bowl cleaner, lysol, dish soap, swiffers, mop, broom, dustpan, etc.

I personally wouldn't buy anything you expect to last from walmart. Target, Ikea, West Elm, CB2, are pretty decent for starting out IMO. I personally can't stand craigslist because I've had to deal with way too many nut jobs on there, but there are definitely some good deals.

[Talint]

Having just done this myself...

If you're hiring movers: Most movers drive gigantic trailer trucks, make sure you accommodate parking for them, on both moving out and moving in. Sometimes this means calling your local municipality and reserving a section of the street for a few hours, especially if you're moving into an apartment complex in a busy city (this also costs money).

Be aware of your banking situation. I had to open up a new account, as my local back to where I was has zero branches where I am now. I only mention this since you mentioned getting married, and there might be name/legal issues that come up (or something).

If you're anything like me, you're going to be exhausted as shit and won't want to cook for yourself for the first few days. Make sure to allot yourself some extra bucks in the food budget for the first month to get some fast, easy and crappy food.

Don't forget to setup utilities and make appointments for TV/internet ahead of time so you don't have to wait.

I'll also recommend looking into renter's insurance. Mine doesn't cost more than ~$15 a month, and it covers all of my belongings and possessions should something happen.

[tyven]

MOTHERFUCKING CRAIGSLIST YOU MOTHERFUCKER

[Vuitton]

craigslist = bed bugs and lice infected furniture.

[Meresgi]

And when you get a plunger don't get one of those dinky fucking things,

http://brusselsplumber.info/wp-conte.../Plunger11.jpg


get one of those super plungers that will actually work well and not piss you off.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

[Nitsuki]

True lol, like i said, i have A LOT of things at home that are mine that i'm taking, and so does the gf, so as far as kitchen stuff, there's not much, thanks for reminding me of the plunger, lol. We're not hiring movers, i have friends helping me out and they just want me to treat them to a lunch and some super street fighter 4 matches in the new place. lol

[wagon]

like others have mentioned, you should really just buy a new mattress from sleepy giants or a retail store than from craiglist, bed bugs and discomfort are just not worth the tiny savings you will get from buying a used mattress. Bed frame or other furniture you can just get them from anywhere, though I would recommend IKEA to start right at your new crib.

[Mojo]

craigslist = bed bugs and lice infected furniture.

cause if it's not brand new it's going to have lice, of course!

Seriously though, Craigslist and thrift shops are the way to go. You can often find very unique furniture you'd never find new in a store and usually at great prices. Aged furniture is also much more charming if you have good taste when picking everything out. I wouldn't buy a mattress from Craiglist, but that's only one thing on the list. Ikea also isn't a bad place to go to pick up all of the knick nacks you'll need as well as some cheap furniture, just don't turn into one of those "IKEA IS SO GREAT OMG" people because most of their stuff is very mediocre.