Packing My Life Into A Hyundai Elantra

As I grow older, I’ve been finding it easier and easier to minimize my belongings. I’ve learned to limit the number of physical things that hold sentimental value, and now recognize when it’s time to donate or throw out older pieces of clothing, furniture, and other home goods.

That being said, this move has really put my condensing skills to the test. In less than a week, I will attempt to fit most of my personal belongings into a four door sedan. Since my mom is making the trip down with me, she’ll be taking up the front seat, and we’ll need room for her suitcase. So it’s more like 3/4 of a sedan…. eek.

Here’s what I’m working with:

My clothes

To maximize the amount of clothing I can take with me, I’ve been packing my clothes into these storage bags. In past moves, I’ve even taken cues from Jersey Shore’s Angelina and shoved my clothing right into kitchen-sized garbage bags. Don’t knock the garbage bag method till you’ve tried it! You may look like a crazy person moving into your apartment, but the soft bags allow you to smush more clothes into your car than boxes ever would and are easy to pick up and carry (or drag) up flights of stairs. Large storage bags are another great option if you’re looking for something more aesthetically pleasing and re-usable. I found the storage bags I’ll be using for my move to Austin from the local dollar store!

My “assorted stuff pile”

Ahh, nothing like a pile of random hard objects that you have to jigsaw perfectly together to fit into a confined space. My parents claim they are experts at this task from moving me into various dorms and college apartments, so I guess this move will really put their skills to the test. One piece of advice: when choosing what to bring with you, try to pack harder objects that can pull double duty. For example, I’m bringing a small suitcase that I can use on the airplane the next time I visit home and filled it with most of my breakable dishes and mixing bowls. This way the dishes are protected and my suitcase is not taking up precious space. My mom also had the great idea of utilizing space under my passenger side seat to shove some extra pots and pans. When moving across the country, every ounce of extra space counts. Hmmm.. maybe she is good at this moving thing?

My car

I love my car, but no matter how many I downsized my belongings for this move, I still had a few things left over that would just not fit. I decided that clothing would be the personal belonging to take the fall, and packed up two extra boxes full of colder weather clothes that my parents will ship to me when it starts to get cooler in Austin. So…. December? Haha.  I would definitely recommend packing your heaviest necessities first when making a move like this. It will be far cheaper for me ship some jeans and heavy sweaters than it would be to ship all of my pots and pans.

Have any of you moved across country in a small vehicle? I’d love to hear any of your packing tips before I hit the road on Saturday.