How I did it: After letting my loved ones know I had decided to move from Florida to North Carolina, I started to pack my things. I packed up my stuff bit by bit, a little at a time, while still working and finishing up my final exams to avoid stressing myself out. I took care of my doctors appointments the week following the end of summer semester and during those visits asked them to transfer my medical records. I also made sure to get their business cards just in case. I also took this weeks to finish packing, since I no longer had school or work to worry about. I drove up to North Carolina with my boyfriend because I wanted a travel buddy with me. We decided against getting a head start on the day's traffic in favor of getting a really good night's sleep, and didn't set any alarms. Once we woke up naturally refreshed we took caffeine pills, stocked up on water bottles and dry snacks and went to fill up our tanks on gas. We checked the pressure in our tires, put fresh batteries in our walkie talkies (these were VERY handy when double checking that our GPSs were telling us to take the same exit, chatting to stay alert, warning each other of retard drivers and officers, and changing lanes). Then we drove for 12 hours, unpacked the easy/expensive stuff, and left the pain-in-the-ass stuff for the following day.

Lessons & tips:

1. I intended to pack up my stuff over a longer period of time, so I first picked out two weeks worth of outfits and put them in a large 32-inch rolling duffel I purchased at Walmart for about $15. This helped me pack up all of my clothes in advance while still having enough left over for later.
2. Pack a large backpack with the things you intend to use on your travel day (tylenol, ibuprofen, caffeine, phones, laptops, notepads, pens, highlighters, lots of cash, icy hot, protection, flashlight, an emergency kit, chargers, maps, a jacket, sunglasses, keys, one outfit, sanitizing wipes, snacks, etc)
3. I then took apart my desktop computer and all of my electronics that were crowding my desk. I labeled all of my cords with electrical tape and Sharpie markers and stuffed all my cords and gadgets into a large tote, so that I knew all of my expensive stuff was in one place. I put my lcd monitor in one of my bins of clothing to make sure it didn't get banged or scratched up.
4. I took all of my school supplies (pens, pencils etc) and put them in plastic pencil boxes (sold for less than a dollar each during back-to-school season). I put all of my bulky desk decor (think pencil cups and index card holders) in collapsible white boxes I bought from walmart and stored both of these in a large plastic bin. I placed my textbooks and binders plastic milk crates and a large oldschool footlocker I bought at salvation army for $3 (these are usually much more expensive, but very sturdy and decorative).  I couldn't think of an easier way to pack these items, because collectively they would be much too heavy to carry on my own. So when I went to unpack these things from my car I just stuffed as much as I could in my backpack and carried it bit by bit on my back while unloading everything else from my car. This worked out quite well in my opinion. 
5. I saved my beach towels and old bedspreads to wrap around my disassembled glass desk and glass bookshelf to keep them from bang against each other or getting scratched.  

Resources:

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Aug 17, 2010, 07:15AM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer