Moving. One of those things most of us will do at least one in our lives. The first step is finding a place to live. This can be easy or hard depending on the area and what you're looking at. It's a good idea to keep your options open if you can. There's many options available. If you're a college student, there are places that are for students only that will often give better prices or be closer to your University's campus. You need to decide between houses, apartments, and townhouses. You have to think about if you're renting or buying your home. Most young people are going to be renting as it takes time to save up enough to purchase your own home.

I've moved a few times. I lived in my parents house until I was 18 my whole life. I moved from there into my first dorm, then back to their house, then into my second dorm, then back to their house again. After that, I moved from their into my first apartment for almost two years. After that lease was up, I moved back in with my parents for 2 months before moving into my current apartment. This month, I am moving again into a townhouse. I'm excited and anxious. Moving fills me with energy in a way nothing else does. I'm full of excitement and worry as I pack up boxes and bags organizing all of my things and thoughts.

Boy do I have a lot of things! I live with my significant other and so there's many things we both have. 3 guitars, 6 computer monitors, a guitar amp, a sewing machine, so many board games, books, magic the gathering cards, and the list goes on. How do you pack it all up in an effective manor without feeling overwhelmed?

I first go towards organizing everything. Putting like items together and going through it all. What needs to go to the thrift store. Yeah that weird sweater my aunt gave me can get donated. Stuff like that. The less stuff to move the better. Putting like things together makes it easier to find things upon moving. I know where all the dvds and nintendo games are for example. Boxes and bags are both great options to store stuff in. I like using a mix because some things work better in one vs the other.

A great thing to get is the vacuum sealing bags. You can fill them with clothing or stuffed animals and then vacuum them shut to get rid of all of the air within them. This makes them take up a lot less room than they otherwise would! You can buy these types of bags at Walmart and Dollar Tree.

For the month leading up to a move, I like to save every single piece of junk paper I get. Those papers can be used as packing materials. My parents always have newspaper because my dad reads the paper, but I don't have that around. Instead, I've been keeping junk mail and the bubble wrap from inside of Amazon packages to use in the upcoming move. I may still need to buy some more packing material on top of that, but we'll see!