Top Ways to Feel At Home in Your New Chicago Apartment

Sometimes apartment living can leave you longing for something that feels more like your own. Living in an apartment means that you are renting the unit from someone else, paying a monthly rent in exchange for a place to live that isn’t truly yours.

You have to follow the rules of living there, such as restrictions on decorating, no say on the finishes used throughout, and rules on areas like pet ownership and parking. It can get tiring to play by someone else’s rules, but luckily, there are hundreds of ways to make your Chicago apartment feel like you are right at home.

You won’t remember you are living in someone else’s building when you bring these touches into your space while overlooking downtown from your balcony. Take a look at these easy ways to feel right at home in your new apartment.

Start unpacking

The best way to start is to begin unpacking the larger items, including furniture, lamps, plants, and artwork. Getting these items approximately where you envision them living will help to start put the room together. You’ll feel less like you’re in someone else’s house and more like this blank slate is starting to look like home. Choose a place for all of the big items so that the little items can start to be unpacked next.

Put on some music

What better way to bring some joy into the unpacking process than to put on some of your favorite songs that you listen to no matter where you are each day? Putting on familiar music will not only make this feel like home, but it will reduce stress while you unpack all of your belongings.

Choose a room to unpack first

You may get overwhelmed with all of the packing that needs to be done, but starting with one room at a time will make it a breeze. You may find it easiest to have your kitchen unpacked so that you can begin cooking and bringing in familiar scents to your home, or you may find that it’s easiest to have an unpacked bathroom where you can start your day off right before exploring your new city.

For others, having the bedroom unpacked will allow for total relaxation while the rest of the apartment will all fall into place. Choose one room to completely setup and you’ll find that it’s easier to handle the rest while feeling at home and at peace in the room that’s done.

Bring out an item from home

What items makes you feel at home the most? Perhaps it’s a family photo, a piece of art, a favorite lamp, or jewelry box that was given to you as a gift. Whichever items come from home, choose one to setup first. Sometimes seeing a cherished, familiar item on display will allow you to feel more comfortable and reminisce in this new apartment.

Setup the bathroom and make the bed

Even if you’ve only set up your kitchen, you’ll want to make sure your bathroom is mostly put together and your bed is made. You’ll feel more setup for success knowing that your bed is ready to sleep in and you’ll be able to take a shower in the morning.

Locate that shower curtain, bathroom towels, soaps, hair dryer, and bath mats to setup your bathroom, and then make your bed right away. Having this all ready to go will allow you to get back to your routine while you continue to unpack slowly but surely.

Host a party and relax

Now it’s time to bring friends and family into the new home so that you can start to feel like it’s yours and the place where friends and family will start picturing you at. Have a dinner party and your friends are likely to bring you a housewarming gift to enjoy in the new place. Then after the party, relax on your couch with a favorite movie and enjoy a glass of wine while you get used to your new, beautiful home.

Use these tips to make sure you feel at home in your new Chicago apartment.

May is National Moving Month

It’s May in Chicago, which means beautiful weather, baseball season has begun, and everyone is moving. This is the perfect time of year to move being not too hot and not too cold like a move in the summer, fall, or winter would be. It’s also a great time of year because the kids have finished up the school season but summer camps haven’t quite begun yet.

Since everyone is moving in Chicago right now, what are some ways to move efficiently with the extra traffic, moving trucks, and busy streets of moving crews? Take a look at these tips for moving that may help you in Chicago during this national moving month.

Why move in May?

May has become the National Moving Month everywhere, but especially for Chicago, where the weather has finally warmed up after a long winter, but it’s not so hot like the upcoming summer months that bring on the sweat.

This is a great time to count on great weather that is less likely to dehydrate you or make you think twice about packing your jacket, and the sun is out after a spring full of rain showers. Just make sure you’ve gotten all of your packing supplies and movers hired well before May since everyone is going to be booking their move for this month.

Tips for your upcoming Chicago move

When you’re preparing for your move, make sure you find a company to work with that can give you an in-home estimate and has a BBB accreditation to ensure they are licensed and valid. Those that have a BBB accreditation are required to keep up with their licenses, which will be easy for you to confirm through some online research.

Then be sure to give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the move, especially with all of the costs involved and time needed to get one of the great area companies to help you or to start the packing yourself.

Your in-home estimate should be free and allow you to discuss everything that you’ll need moved, like the storage items in your basement or specific appliances, and ask questions about anything you don’t understand, along with asking about the insured value of your belongings and when additional fees may come up. Get a written estimate with a few companies and compare costs, reviews, and your experience with each before making your decision.

Once you’ve chosen your professional movers, get the contract signed and have all of your questions answered in writing before the move. Make sure you have a plan in place for the moving day, a truck secured, and your new house is prepped for move-in.

You’ll need to setup utilities in your new home so that you can use the lights, water, and air conditioning on moving day, and be sure you’ve secured with the new building or neighborhood that a moving truck will have access and a place to park for unloading. Find out if there will be other moves happening on that street that day so that you can strategize where your truck will go and what time of day to have everything happen.

What’s going on in Chicago this month?

Now that you’ve settled into your new place, you’re likely going to be ready to enjoy some of the excitement of the city going on this month. This is the perfect time to arrive as baseball season has just started and the weather is feeling great. You can unpack those summer clothes and get ready for more time outside, enjoying the fun of the Navy Pier, relaxing at the beach, or doing some shopping at the Magnificent Mile.

This is the month for Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekends which means you’ll find activities celebrating these fun holidays like Mother’s Day brunch and a huge Memorial Day parade in the Loop. Be sure to also make time for the Lincoln Park Wine Fest on the 20th, Beer Under Glass on the 18th, Bike the Drive on the 28th, and Mayfest on the 19th which will offer an outdoor beer garden, pretzels, music, and fun in a giant heated tent on the street.

It’s National Moving month right now and the perfect time for your arrival to Chicago. Make sure you’ve hired a professional moving company to properly handle your belongings and household memories, and once you’re settled in, start enjoying some of the exciting things going on around this incredible city.

What Should You Do with All The Bubble Wrap After Moving?

When the move has come to an end and you’re left with cardboard boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap everywhere, what in the world do you do with all of this stuff? You may find it easy to throw out the packing tape and recycle your cardboard boxes to a friend or recycling program, but what about that bubble wrap?

Some people simply throw it away, but it does feel awfully wasteful. There are actually a lot of great ideas to avoid wasting all of that bubble wrap and it will allow you to buy it for the move with the peace of mind that you’ll have reasons to use it later. Take a look at these ideas for reusing your bubble wrap after your move.

Give it away or recycle

Do you have a friend that is getting ready to move after you? Perhaps a neighbor has a moving sign in their yard and may be the perfect person to offer your once used bubble wrap. Giving it away to someone that could use it will not only reduce your waste, but will allow them to save money on buying it brand new. Put up a listing on Craigslist under the “free” category to let people know that they can collect your once used packing supplies so that it doesn’t go to waste.

On the other hand, recycle centers can take your bubble wrap if you don’t have any takers. While you can’t recycle it from your own curb, you can take it to a local recycling center and donate it just as you would grocery bags or dry-cleaning bags.

Go shopping

Do you ever buy something at the grocery store that you wish you had a way to protect it getting it home? Sometimes the simplest of items would be much easier to transport with some bubble wrap, such as produce and food in glass jars.

Start taking bubble wrap to the grocery store to protect your glass condiment jars, your mason jars for canning, your fruits and vegetables, and items that you don’t want to spill onto others. You may even find that protecting your fruits and vegetables at the store, in the car, and in the fridge at home will allow your food to stay cold, avoiding bruising one another, and even stay fresher for longer.

Around the house

There are some great uses for the bubble wrap to be used around the house when you are done unpacking from the move. During the winter months, you’ll find that your outdoor potted plants can’t stay well-protected from the freezing cold air.

When you use your bubble wrap to line the sides of the pot before planting your soil and flowers, the plant is less likely to freeze and die. Just leave a hole at the bottom to allow the plant to drain, and feel good about the smart reusability of your bubble wrap.

You’ll also find it handy for mailing packages to friends on birthdays or lining your windows in the winter for some extra insulation. Simply store the bubble wrap in an extra closet and when the perfect occasion comes up, you’ll be glad you saved it.

Sometimes a home renovation or special project will give you the perfect reason to pull some out. You may want to even use some of it as a fun stress-reliever as you unpack your new home, since studies show that popping bubble wrap releases muscle tension and nerves.

Don’t allow that bubble wrap to go to waste after the move. Use these tips to reuse or recycle your bubble wrap.

Step-by-Step Guide to Packing Books

One of the trickier parts in moving your stuff to a new house is figuring out how to lug all of those heavy books from one house to another. They are heavy, bulky, and not used very often, but for many, their book collection means the world to them.

How do you pack and move those classics from your bookshelf without breaking your back? This is where many are making the switch from cardboard moving boxes to green boxes knowing that it makes moving these heavier items so much easier. Take a look at this step-by-step guide to moving your books during your upcoming move.

Start sorting and narrowing down

Unless you feel that you really need to take every book you own, now is the time to sort through that collection once and for all to see which books you really want to keep permanently in the collection compared to those that could be donated to someone else.

Since many books are meant to be read once and passed on to someone else, it may be a great time to look at your collection to see if there are some you’ve never looked at more than once. Other books might be ones that you pick up and read over and over again. Keep the ones you read often and then ones you are currently reading while letting go of the rest. Now is the time to sort through your collection and narrow things down for the new house.

Not only are you going to love having fewer books to carry around, but you’ll find sorting through the remainder much simpler for your move. Once you’ve separated the keep pile from the donate pie, look into places to recycle, sell, or donate the ones you are done with. You may find that there are friends that would love to read these books.

Pick up green boxes and packing supplies

If you’ve ever moved before, you know that cardboard boxes and heavy items don’t mix well. Not only does cardboard tend to be flimsier, but there are no handles or easy ways to carry those heavy books. Making the switch to plastic containers from Chicago Green Box for your move will not only help with transporting your book collection, but it will make the whole house easier to move.

They offer handles for carrying, they are easily stackable, and they are much more durable.  Just rent them from your local professional moving company and pick up packing supplies such as newspaper, packing paper, and a marker for labeling.

Packing the boxes

Now that you’re ready to pack, it’s important that you choose an efficient packing method. Place a level of packing material on the bottom of your bins before placing books inside. Make sure you’ve wrapped valuable books individually while arranging the rest of the books upright or flat into the box.

Avoid packing with the spines down because you’ll risk damage. Don’t pack too tightly and be sure to place a couple of sheets over a finished row of books before starting another row. The be sure to add another level of paper before securing and labeling the box, being sure to label which room these books are meant for. Make sure you haven’t exceeded 40 pounds in one box and choose smaller boxes for these heavier items.

Packing boxes for a move can be challenging with the weight of the item and the number of books you own. Use these tips to make your book moving more efficient.

A 7-Step Plan for Hiring a Professional Moving Company

Have you started looking at professional moving companies? This is a big decision for your family’s upcoming move which means you need to your due diligence before making a decision. Along with asking around for referrals and getting estimates from your top contenders, you’ll need to research their credentials and make sure they don’t have any complaints against their brand. Take a look at this 7-step guide that will make it easy for you to hire a professional moving company.

Research and get referrals

Begin by doing your research for local moving companies and talking to friends, real estate agents, coworkers, and relatives about their recommendation for moving companies in the area. You can check online listings or the phone book near your home to find out who might be able to help in the area.

Since you’ll need them to come to the home in the near future to give you an estimate, you won’t want to work with someone too far away. It may surprise you that some of the well-known brands or big-name companies are not always going to be the best option and that local businesses are often a better choice.

Talk to Moving Companies

Now that you have some names that you’ve been referred to or had good reviews online, it’s time to start talking to these companies and do your initial screening. Talk to each of your recommended movers and look at their reviews online to see what others have to say about their experience.

Call the Better Business Bureau for your final choices to see if there is anything you need to be aware of. You may want to check websites like movingscam.com to see if any companies have been blacklisted from consumer complaints.

Get an estimate from the final choices

Now that you’ve narrowed it down to a couple of choices, you’ll want to collect estimates from your top choices. For moves out of state, you’ll need to find out if the company will give you a written offer with a capped amount that they promise not to exceed. That way you can at least count on a capped amount that you won’t go over in paying for your move. The final costs of a move are typically more than the estimate and non-binding estimates are legal, but a binding not-to-exceed cap is better.

How the estimate should go

Once you have your estimates, you’ll want to understand how the process works. You’ll need to make sure you have everything from the closets to the attic that you’ll need to be handled on moving day. On moving day, if the movers believe you have more than what was on the estimate, they may try to challenge the estimate and have you to pay more unless you can prove that your estimate covered the correct amount.

This would also be the time to discuss if there will be elevators, stairs, a long distance from the curb, or other details that will affect the move. Make sure to collect the company information, references, and license numbers at this time.

Research final choices

Now you’ll want to compare the bids, and you’ll want to do some research on your final choices from there. While one may be offering a better rate, they may not have been in business as long as another company. Make sure they are incorporated in your state and look through searchable databases of business on the internet. Make sure you review their moving credentials and reviews!

Choose your moving crew

Now it’s time to make your selection. Select a mover that you feel confident about and confirm the details of the move once you’ve called.

Make sure you have an inventory

Lastly, you’ll want to get a written copy of the inventory list on moving day. Make sure they have directions to your home and a good phone number to reach them.

These are the 7 steps you’ll need to hire a professional moving company for your upcoming move. Contact The Professionals Moving Specialists for your Chicago move!