Philadelphia movers’ survival guide

Getting ready to move into a new Philadelphia apartment? Finding your new place and arranging your move-in date are actually the fun parts of the process, it turns out. Now you have to actually move, which is not exactly party city.

If you’ve strategically planned your move from start to finish, you’ll probably have no hiccups to contend with on moving day. But just in case, be prepared with these easy solutions to the most common moving problems.

“I’m out of boxes!” You have two options. Send one of your moving helpers to the nearest shopping center to scavenge some from behind the stores, or slack off and call for delivery from Box Dollar. Their boxes will be higher quality and you can’t beat having them right to your door. You will have to pay for them, though, and they’re more than a dollar per box if you’re buying less than 1000 boxes. (By the way, if it takes you 1000 boxes to pack up your apartment, you have waaaayyyyyy too much stuff.)

“No more masking tape!” If you can’t salvage some tape from an extra roll of duct tape or painting tape that you have around the house, borrow some tape from a neighbor. You can return the roll with a new one when you’re back at your old apartment for a walk-through or to pick up your last load of stuff. No sense wasting time running out just for tape.

I forgot about packing materials! Yes, you have some fragile things in your home. And you probably don’t want them to break on the way to your new place. No popcorn or bubble wrap on hand? No big deal. Use soft things like dish towels, old newspapers, direct mail ads or even old soft clothing to wrap your breakable items.

“The friend with a truck flaked out!” Uh oh. This is in fact a serious problem, especially if you’re supposed to be out of your place that very same day. Call your nearest U-Haul or van rental agency and see if they have any last minute reservations or cancellations you can take advantage of.  If not, two fallback options are trucks/vans by the hour from your local big box home improvement store, or renting a truck or van from a car rental agency. The hardware rental option will probably be cheaper and easier, so try that first.

“So, so, hungry!” A necessity for move day in Philadelphia: speed dial of your favorite local pizza place. Not sure where the best pie shop is in your new hood? Ask your landlord, or better yet, knock on the door of a new neighbor, make a new friend, and get the 411.

Happy moving!