Moving into a new apartment is no, doubt stressful. However, if you plan well and in advance, you could make this a pleasant, learning and a rewarding experience. The key, I repeat again, is planning well and smartly. Here is how you plan your move if you are going to move within 20-30 days:

1. Total up all your belongings. Make an inventory of large items and furniture. The large items would be things like washing machines, vacuum cleaners, floor lamps, and mirrors. Find out how many boxes you will need to pack

2. Find out what will work best for you: renting a truck and moving yourself or hiring a professional mover. Think about the time constraints, your budget limitations and how many helping hands you would get to lift heavy items.

3. Figure out if you would need a storage facility. You might consider renting storage space under two circumstances. One of them will be if your new apartment is too small for all your belongings. In that case, you will have to make use of the storage unit to store some items. You will also need to use the storage unit to temporarily store your belongings, before you can move into a new apartment.

4. Research storage companies. When you probe these companies decide on the storage space and the length of time you will need to store your belongings. If you have a way to pile your items cleverly and save space, you will also be able to go for a storing facility with a smaller space and lesser cost.

5. After you decide on which moving option, you will take; you have to research for the best moving trucks rentals or the professional movers in the business. Make sure that you research for more than one company in your area of interest. Contact the Better Business Bureau to check if the companies you are interested in, have good records and can handle customer grievances, apart from giving good customer service. Look out for proficiency factor and the affordability factor.

6. If you have your friends to help you move, you can consider yourself lucky. They can keep a watch on the goods being packed and moved. They can help you with loading and unloading of heavy appliances and furniture. Most of all, they will keep you in splits and cheer you up. What more can you ask for? The only thing is that you should notify them about your move in advance so they can plan their schedule accordingly.

7. Research the best moving times. There are some apartments and neighborhood which restrict moving to certain hours. Make sure you plan and co-ordinate the movers or truck rental hours within these requirements. Also try to avoid moving during the periods of heavy traffic or peak hours.

8. Schedule the moving day with the truck rental or moving company. Once you have planned your work-off, coordinated with your friends and decided on the apartment’s moving hours, you could call up the truck rental or moving company and schedule a time to pick up the truck, or for the movers to turn up.

9. Start packing. In fact the packing should be done a week in advance. If you are on a busy schedule, you should pack even more in advance. Packing can be too stress-ridden and time-consuming to put off till the last minute.

10. You can take your day off on the day prior to moving and on the same day to make some last minute changes and do a bit of cleaning. Before you leave your apartment, you should clean your floors, ceilings, counters, bathrooms etc and fill up the cracks in the wall, so that the landlord does not play havoc with your security deposit just before moving, alleging that the apartment condition is not in order.

11. Get the condition of your apartment checked by your landlord or his representative. This is to make sure that both of your mutually agree on the condition of your apartment that you are taking leave of, and you get your security deposit back.

12. Moving Day. Voila!! Do some last minute packing and take a deep breath. Mingle with your friends, have a good chat and reminisce sweet and not so sweet memories as you wait for the movers to arrive or load your goods up the rental truck. Go through your old apartment once again and then lock the door and hand over the key to your landlord.