How to figure out if my stuff is gonna fit in a UBox, bad at spatial
December 30, 2022 3:57 PM Subscribe
The guidelines for what will fit in one UBox at UHaul are basically "a one-bedroom apartment." I'm moving my half of a two-bedroom apartment and am not good at mental tetris and don't want to have to figure out what to do if I've got too much stuff.
When it actually gets packed, it's going to be by people who are good at that, so I don't have to do the actual figuring, but if my stuff doesn't fit, they're not magicians...
The UBox site also has a picture of some furniture, but then it doesn't show like 25 banker boxes of books and records. I think my stuff probably will fit, probably, except possibly for a large heavy musical instrument. How can I figure this out so I won't be screamingly anxious until it's all packed?
Thanks for any tips.
When it actually gets packed, it's going to be by people who are good at that, so I don't have to do the actual figuring, but if my stuff doesn't fit, they're not magicians...
The UBox site also has a picture of some furniture, but then it doesn't show like 25 banker boxes of books and records. I think my stuff probably will fit, probably, except possibly for a large heavy musical instrument. How can I figure this out so I won't be screamingly anxious until it's all packed?
Thanks for any tips.
Can you estimate the total volume of your stuff and the UBox? Approximate your stuff that isn't rectangular with rectangles. Maybe the packers can save some volume on that, maybe they'll fill it with protection.
posted by clew at 4:16 PM on December 30, 2022
posted by clew at 4:16 PM on December 30, 2022
A U-Box will fit more than 200 banker's boxes. Furniture is the bigger issue. Can you share a list here of what you have for furniture?
posted by ssg at 4:18 PM on December 30, 2022
posted by ssg at 4:18 PM on December 30, 2022
... and when I say "estimate" I mean "walk around with a measuring tape and make a spreadsheet to add it up", because I also am bad at spatial.
Not a terrible time to leave a removable-tape sticker on everything you're planning to take, maybe categories "I would pay for a second UBox to hold this" and "I would like to have this". Useful but not personal stuff, it can cost more to move than to re-buy.
posted by clew at 4:19 PM on December 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Not a terrible time to leave a removable-tape sticker on everything you're planning to take, maybe categories "I would pay for a second UBox to hold this" and "I would like to have this". Useful but not personal stuff, it can cost more to move than to re-buy.
posted by clew at 4:19 PM on December 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I agree with the suggestions above.
I'll add that generally, there's less stuff in half of a two-bedroom apartment than in a one-bedroom, since the two-bedroom might only have one kitchen table, one couch, etc.
posted by MangoNews at 4:28 PM on December 30, 2022
I'll add that generally, there's less stuff in half of a two-bedroom apartment than in a one-bedroom, since the two-bedroom might only have one kitchen table, one couch, etc.
posted by MangoNews at 4:28 PM on December 30, 2022
Response by poster: Ok hopefully one response does not a threadsit make but...the banker's boxes alone don't worry me too much and the furniture doesn't either, per se, but I don't know how they fit in with each other. Basically I have:
-two ikea bookshelves, a 4x8 and 2 of the 4x4 shelf (not the dimensions, it's those ones with square holes)
-two armchairs
-a dining room table that the legs come off so I'm not super worried about it
-a 6' tall corner cabinet
-a standing lamp
-two dressers
-a wood framed (light, mid century) sofa about 5.5' long
-some small musical instruments like a banjo and a viola and a guitar and an electric piano on a stand that folds
-two small coffee tables one of which is deconstructed
-a step table nightstand
-let's say 30 banker boxes and a few larger boxes of blankets and clothes
aaaaand a very heavy harpsichord that is cheap and not well made and I'm deciding whether to just get rid of it and find another once I've moved but FWIW the legs do come off so it might go on its side or something.
That's most of it. Much of the furniture is vintage and when I've gotten advice like "just get rid of it and buy new stuff" I've been bitey.
posted by less-of-course at 4:34 PM on December 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
-two ikea bookshelves, a 4x8 and 2 of the 4x4 shelf (not the dimensions, it's those ones with square holes)
-two armchairs
-a dining room table that the legs come off so I'm not super worried about it
-a 6' tall corner cabinet
-a standing lamp
-two dressers
-a wood framed (light, mid century) sofa about 5.5' long
-some small musical instruments like a banjo and a viola and a guitar and an electric piano on a stand that folds
-two small coffee tables one of which is deconstructed
-a step table nightstand
-let's say 30 banker boxes and a few larger boxes of blankets and clothes
aaaaand a very heavy harpsichord that is cheap and not well made and I'm deciding whether to just get rid of it and find another once I've moved but FWIW the legs do come off so it might go on its side or something.
That's most of it. Much of the furniture is vintage and when I've gotten advice like "just get rid of it and buy new stuff" I've been bitey.
posted by less-of-course at 4:34 PM on December 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh and a couple of mirror/tv/picture sized boxes with, yeah, pictures and a large clock.
posted by less-of-course at 4:35 PM on December 30, 2022
posted by less-of-course at 4:35 PM on December 30, 2022
Try it in advance. Mark off a corner of your home with the same footprint as the U-Box, and stack all the stuff you want to move in it.
posted by the Real Dan at 4:38 PM on December 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by the Real Dan at 4:38 PM on December 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
If the boxes of books add too much volume you can send them by US Post Office Media Mail very reasonably, assuming you're moving from somewhere in the US to somewhere else in the US.
And seconding move everything to the corner of one room and see how much space it takes up.
posted by mareli at 4:47 PM on December 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
And seconding move everything to the corner of one room and see how much space it takes up.
posted by mareli at 4:47 PM on December 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
No bed, no mattress/box?
Harpsichord is a wildcard. They're, like, small pianos yes?
The dressers, shelves, and armchairs are going to take up the most space. I think you're gonna have about 200 cubic ft to play with after your boxes. If you're having professionals do the actual packing of the cube, I don't think you'll have any problem with your non-harpsichord stuff. They're going to use the negative space in the couch and chairs and will make it work. If the people who are "good at this sort of thing" aren't professionals but just more spatially aware friends, then I think you all should be careful about planning before you actually start taking things out of your apartment.
How far are you moving? If it's an in-city kind of thing, your best bet with the harpsichord may be to rent a truck from uhaul for a few hours, throw a few blankets down, and have people help you get it into the back. Put your hazards on and then drive at like 5mph to your new place.
posted by phunniemee at 4:49 PM on December 30, 2022
Harpsichord is a wildcard. They're, like, small pianos yes?
The dressers, shelves, and armchairs are going to take up the most space. I think you're gonna have about 200 cubic ft to play with after your boxes. If you're having professionals do the actual packing of the cube, I don't think you'll have any problem with your non-harpsichord stuff. They're going to use the negative space in the couch and chairs and will make it work. If the people who are "good at this sort of thing" aren't professionals but just more spatially aware friends, then I think you all should be careful about planning before you actually start taking things out of your apartment.
How far are you moving? If it's an in-city kind of thing, your best bet with the harpsichord may be to rent a truck from uhaul for a few hours, throw a few blankets down, and have people help you get it into the back. Put your hazards on and then drive at like 5mph to your new place.
posted by phunniemee at 4:49 PM on December 30, 2022
Put the blankets and clothes into the dresser drawers.
Take the Ikea Kallax apart - unless you have boxes that fit into the cubicles perfectly to take up space.
posted by dum spiro spero at 4:51 PM on December 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Take the Ikea Kallax apart - unless you have boxes that fit into the cubicles perfectly to take up space.
posted by dum spiro spero at 4:51 PM on December 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have an older version of that bookshelf type and each hole fits a bankers box almost perfectly, which may help your densification.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 4:54 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 4:54 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have moved with a U-box and I think it will be tight, but manageable if the sofa can stand on its side (so that it's tall, not long) and maybe if the armchairs can nest on each other at all. The loaders will be very good at Belongings Tetris so I don't think you have to worry much.
Anything squishy and not fragile (blankets, throw pillows, rugs, clothes) can be smashed in between the cracks of other objects. Depending on the shape of your furniture, there may be a lot of weird empty space you can fill, either by putting a box there or putting something non-fragile there. It makes it harder to pack and unpack, and you have to wash everything on the other end, BUT it will make it. It's also best if the stuff in the box doesn't rattle around, so anything that fills gaps is good. Where possible, make it so you can unbox anything squishy like this at load-in if you have to.
It would also be good to know what boxes you can ship via Greyhound or USPS if you had to. So I think what I'm saying is, know for sure what is in every box and have a rough plan on what can go vs. stay.
ABSOLUTELY tape off the Ubox floor size in your apartment to game it out. This is also a good way if you've not taking everything from an apartment...you can point to the cube and tell the loaders "only the stuff inside the tape lines." ETA: I assumed you were also hiring loaders, but maybe you're doing it yourself. I recommend loaders if you can afford it.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2022
Anything squishy and not fragile (blankets, throw pillows, rugs, clothes) can be smashed in between the cracks of other objects. Depending on the shape of your furniture, there may be a lot of weird empty space you can fill, either by putting a box there or putting something non-fragile there. It makes it harder to pack and unpack, and you have to wash everything on the other end, BUT it will make it. It's also best if the stuff in the box doesn't rattle around, so anything that fills gaps is good. Where possible, make it so you can unbox anything squishy like this at load-in if you have to.
It would also be good to know what boxes you can ship via Greyhound or USPS if you had to. So I think what I'm saying is, know for sure what is in every box and have a rough plan on what can go vs. stay.
ABSOLUTELY tape off the Ubox floor size in your apartment to game it out. This is also a good way if you've not taking everything from an apartment...you can point to the cube and tell the loaders "only the stuff inside the tape lines." ETA: I assumed you were also hiring loaders, but maybe you're doing it yourself. I recommend loaders if you can afford it.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:08 PM on December 30, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks, I'm feeling better about this.
(In response to various things: I'm buying a mattress when I get there; I'm hiring loaders; I'm moving halfway across the country; the banker boxes do fit into the bookshelf so that's great, that's 16 boxes; last time I moved I was told NOT to leave anything in drawers but I'll ask; and yes, I guess I'll tape off the area of the UBox though the thought of it is making me feel a bit faint.)
posted by less-of-course at 5:54 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
(In response to various things: I'm buying a mattress when I get there; I'm hiring loaders; I'm moving halfway across the country; the banker boxes do fit into the bookshelf so that's great, that's 16 boxes; last time I moved I was told NOT to leave anything in drawers but I'll ask; and yes, I guess I'll tape off the area of the UBox though the thought of it is making me feel a bit faint.)
posted by less-of-course at 5:54 PM on December 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
There is this stuff that is very useful when moving things with drawers that is like giant saran wrap called "stretch wrap" or "movers wrap" and you can get it at hardware stores. It sticks to itself but not other things. You wrap it around a dresser from front to back a few times and those drawers will stay put. If you don't wrap the dresser, you should not put anything in the drawers.
posted by soelo at 6:30 PM on December 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by soelo at 6:30 PM on December 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
'Stuff in drawers' is often down to heavy stuff in drawers (because making the furniture heavier is bad, and drawer bottoms are not generally engineered for hours of heavy stuff bouncing around in them). Ask if they mind if you put fleece throws, pillows and comforters in there, things that are all air and no weight.
Also, and maybe obvious, but clothes are cheaper than bubble wrap when it comes to packing crockery and fragiles, and that also saves some space.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:43 PM on December 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
Also, and maybe obvious, but clothes are cheaper than bubble wrap when it comes to packing crockery and fragiles, and that also saves some space.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 6:43 PM on December 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
I’m not so sure I would recommend trying to take apart IKEA particleboard furniture if you can get away with moving it intact. It’s not really designed to tolerate disassembly and reassembly and tends to break or degrade, IME.
posted by staggernation at 8:06 PM on December 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by staggernation at 8:06 PM on December 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
When I did my last move with UBoxes I just ordered one more box than I estimated that I’d need. I did not need it and UHaul did not charge me for it. (This was last summer, policies may have changed.)
posted by Ookseer at 5:22 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Ookseer at 5:22 AM on December 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Long long ago I moved a virginals a couple of times and that was anxiety-producing enough that I donated it to my college. Because the frame is fairly light, I worried about racking or skewing forces whenever it wasn’t on the floor of the vehicle. But they also aren’t meant to be load-bearing!
You can put one on the floor, stack strong heavy stuff around it, and put cross boards on top of the heavy as a second floor for the lighter stuff. The virginals was light enough to be the upper layer once.
Also, check the movers/packers fine print for any mention of instruments- sometimes they’re already afraid of moving them.
posted by clew at 11:39 AM on January 1, 2023
You can put one on the floor, stack strong heavy stuff around it, and put cross boards on top of the heavy as a second floor for the lighter stuff. The virginals was light enough to be the upper layer once.
Also, check the movers/packers fine print for any mention of instruments- sometimes they’re already afraid of moving them.
posted by clew at 11:39 AM on January 1, 2023
While I'd agree that flat pack furniture isn't really meant to be disassembled, I have definitely moved with disassembled flat pack and it's generally been okay. In the worst case, flat pack stuff tends to be the easiest and cheapest to replace anyway. So that's an option if you can't get things to work.
Also, I see on the Uhaul site that you can order extra UBoxes and they won't charge for the ones you don't use. Maybe get a second one just in case?
posted by Aleyn at 12:58 PM on January 1, 2023
Also, I see on the Uhaul site that you can order extra UBoxes and they won't charge for the ones you don't use. Maybe get a second one just in case?
posted by Aleyn at 12:58 PM on January 1, 2023
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This thread is closed to new comments.
and
What kind of furniture do you have, how many boxes of stuff, and how big are those boxes
?
There is a huge amount of difference if you're a, for instance, Ikea malm kind of person vs if you're a my great aunt Doris left me this antique hand carved cherry bedroom set when she died and if any harm befalls it I will bring shame on the family kind of person.
No one can hazard any kind of estimate here without some basic details.
posted by phunniemee at 4:15 PM on December 30, 2022