Moving

It's that time of year again - moving! I'm not sure how it is in other college towns, but in College Station they make you move out about two weeks before the next tenants move in so they have time to "clean"*. Makes sense from the apartment's viewpoint. But conveniently every apartment does this at the same exact time. Doesn't make so much sense from the student's viewpoint.

Every year before, I've packed up my things once the Spring semester ended and drove it all the way back to Colorado for a few months and then drove it all the way back to Texas before the Fall semester started.

Since my lease ran for a full year, this summer I went home for about five weeks before coming back to a 5-week summer course and left the majority of my things in the apartment. Luckily, I got a great deal on another apartment that just built a new complex, so I snagged early move-in (and a completely clean apartment!). I got one day to move all of my things from one place to the other.

Let me preface everything by saying that I actually enjoy packing and unpacking. I don't know what it is, maybe it's getting the chance to rearrange everything in a new way or going through each of my things and reminding myself of their value.

Previous room

I got a head start on packing so I didn't have to do it all the night before. I started with my winter clothes and decorations.

I actually took three trips: the first was to take all of the main stuff. I left the kitchen items for later so I had time to wash everything last minute and to make it easy to transfer my refrigerated food. I also left the cleaning supplies to clean the apartment once everything was out, as well as giveaway items.

My friend Miranda and her roommate kindly drove down three hours to help me unpack and keep me company. They were such saints, they willingly carried items up three flights of stairs!

I was easily able to fit all of my bathroom stuff in the medicine cabinet

The apartment I moved into has a bigger bathroom and kitchen but a smaller closet and living room. The bigger kitchen was much appreciated, but I'm not even using all of the cabinets in my bathroom! Also, the bedroom didn't come with a desk, and I didn't realize I had so many "desk items" until I lacked one. I took this as a good thing, because it made me think about what was so necessary about "desk items." I put the extra pen and pencil in my backpack, got rid of a paper divider, and put the rest on my side table. I was able to stack my books on the bottom shelf and fit my lamp on the top, but I have yet to determine where to put sticky notes. Can anyone tell me where they normally put their sticky notes? I'm at a loss.

To be honest, I had a freak out moment when I moved. I looked at all of the things around my room and didn't know where to start, and thought to myself, "Bex, you have so many things, why do you even have a blog on minimalism??" But then I stopped and thought about it, and I took this opportunity to take my own advice and really look at my things. I had to remind myself that even though I have more than, let's say, the Minimalists, I have way less than most people. I did end up getting rid of things, mostly small stuff that I had slowly accumulated and forgotten about. I also realized that I hadn't really bought a whole lot of anything in a long time. Sure, my mom and I went clothes shopping this summer where I bought five things (this is after a year of not going shopping with my mom), and I just bought some measuring cups because I forgot that the ones I had been using were my old roommate's and I needed them. Sometimes it feels like an endless cycle of buying and throwing out, but if you're not soon replacing the items that you're getting rid of, you're moving forward, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.

Moving is a great opportunity to clean things out, whether this is your first time becoming a minimalist or it's been a while since you've taken a good look at what you have. If you have time, pack everything slowly and ask yourself if it serves a purpose and brings you joy. For me, it's easier to go through everything as I unpack it and put it in its place. If it doesn't have a specific place, ask yourself if it's necessary to keep.

Do you have a big move ahead of you? Did you use it to purge some of your things? Comment below! 👇 And don't forget to subscribe! 👉



*When I first moved into my current apartment, my mom helped me clean the place before we moved things in. We went through a whole box of Swiffer wipes and dirt still came up from the floor.