Seriously... we have 2 adults 2 children living in 860 ish square feet. 2 bedrooms. For the last 5 years and finally building.
Super excited that you are building...
I think you will be fine!

Totes are great to store in. You can pack them full and stack them to the ceiling in a room if need be.
Moving is a great time to dump unused stuff :)

Tips from a friend: bring spices and a printer.

I'd probably want some minimal holiday decor-- not tons of stuff, but enough so that I wouldn't be depressed Christmas morning (if you celebrate Christmas).

We're figuring this out too, right now. I plan to bring my mixer and crockpot, because I like to cook. We're going to try to get by without a lot of clothes, because we won't have space to store tons.

You might want to spend a week paying attention to what in your house you actually use, and then be sure to bring that? I should try that too. :P

Good luck!

We are in a very similar situation in terms of house and apartment size; we're two adults, etc. We have been in this apartment since mid Feb, hope to be in our house by the end of October.

I hate to say it, but although I tried to plan carefully, I couldn't possibly anticipate everything. A frequent answer here is almost becoming a joke - whatever we need is in a box!....if you are still tweaking your floor plan/interior, don't forget to keep a couple of tape measures handy. Also solid shoes and heavy jeans, etc for wearing when you visit your building site. We have kept more dishes out, mostly because I do cook sometimes, but a lot are in storage. What I don't have (like the masher the other night for mashing strawberries), I just make do...I packed most of our clothes; if a special occasion comes up (I doubt it will), I'll either make a run to the thrift store or just wear what I have available and not stress about it!..we're trying to view this time as an adventure and to consider the annoying things ("where IS that big box of cold medicine?") as part of the adventure of building. :-)

Oh - before we left, I tried to spend a week thinking about what I used during that week, but there have been so many unexpecteds. For instance, I never knew that I would find myself sanding and staining all 21 interior doors for our house - so supplies for that project are in a box (go figure). Also, some of the things I thought I'd use, like hiking clothes - I've been too doggoned busy to hike.

I *am* freezing stuff for next winter, not that I want to move it this fall, but because I want a full freezer! So today I found myself freezing four flats of strawberries (we have our freezer in our apartment garage/storage unit). Raspberries and blueberries are next - and I'll have to load them all up this fall.

This post was edited by gladys1924 on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 23:36

We just moved Monday from exactly your new situation although we were in the rental house for 8 long months. Our new home took a little longer than we thought. Don't they all?
My suggestion is keep one nice platter or casserole dish with you. It seemed whenever we went to a party or cookout where I needed to take a dish, I was going to my daughter's house to borrow something to use. Just something you take for granted until it's not available.

This is what I had in my "Minimalist Apartment." It's not the perfect list for everyone, but it might help you think of something you'd otherwise forget.
===== THE KITCHEN =====
----- UPPER CABINETS -----
dinner plates (4)
bread plates (4) [alternatively, +2 dinner plates]
soup bowls (4)
cereal bowls (4) [alternatively, +2 soup bowls]
serving bowls (2) [alternatively, use mixing bowls]
serving platter
highball glasses (4)
lowball glasses (4) [alternatively, +4 highball glasses]
wine glasses that work for both reds & whites (4)
coffee mugs (2)
individual condiment dishes (for liquid condiments like soy sauce) (2)
mixing bowls (2) [alternatively, use serving bowls]
colander
liquid measuring cup (2-cup, 4- or 8-cup)
French coffee press
travel coffee mug
Tupperware containers (2 - 4, square sandwich-sized)
plain medium floral vase
salt and pepper combo
ice cube trays
blender (the âÂÂMagic Bulletâ is a compact option)
filtering pitcher
----- LOWER CABINETS -----
large sauté pan with lid (approx 10â - 12â or 3 -5 quart)
small saucepan with lid (approx 3 quart)
open skillet (approx 10â - 12âÂÂ)
large/medium rectangular glass baking dish
small rectangular glass baking dish
cookie sheet
cutting board
garbage bin
----- COUNTERTOP -----
toaster, toaster oven, microwave (whatever combo works for you)
dish drying rack
standard knife block
----- DRAWERS -----
silverware set
measuring cups
measuring spoons
corkscrew / bottle opener
scissors
whisk
flat serving spatula
rubber scraping spatula
cooking spoon
serving spoon
pasta serving spoon
pizza cutter
can opener
soup ladle
oven mitt
potholder
dishtowels (2)
----- CONSUMABLES -----
paper towels
paper napkins [alternatively, use paper towels]
aluminum foil
saran wrap
Ziplock bags (sandwich size, quart size)
garbage bags
all-purpose kitchen cleaner
dish soap (if dishwasher, dishwasher detergent)
===== THE BATHROOM =====
shower curtain
bath rug(s)
bath towels (2)
bath mat (1)
hand towels (2)
wash cloths (2)
toilet brush
toilet plunger
garbage bin
----- CONSUMABLES -----
Kleenex
toilet paper
toilet cleaner
all-purpose bathroom cleaner
rubber gloves
air freshener
Windex
scouring sponge
===== OTHER =====
vacuum
Swiffer sweeper
dryer balls
small garbage bin for laundry
basket/bin to store cleaning supplies
----- CONSUMABLES -----
Swiffer dry pads
Swiffer wet pads
laundry detergent

Thanks for your input everyone, and Minneapolisite -- that's quite an inventory list -- THANK YOU!

I'm putting together my list as we speak :)

Is your house plan complete? If not, before you put your stuff in storage take pictures of every large piece of furniture and measure it. This will help so you know you have a space for everything in the new house.

You might want to do the same thing with clothes and things you plan on putting in closets so you know the closets will be large enough to store everything.

This can also be helpful if the plan is set but something needs to be tweaked during construction.

If you plan on buying stuff for the new house yourself and storing it until the builder needs it, you might want to consider bringing along any of those plastic or metal shelving systems you have. That way you can turn a bedroom in the rental into a useful storage room because you will be able to use more than just the floor space.

Oh lucky you. We have our home on the market and are still waiting for it to sell. In the meantime, we just got off the phone with our design builder about our first floor plans. We are hoping to do the same thing... sell first and move before building. Our builder has a slot for us next Spring. So hopefully this home will sell soon and we can move on.

I am going to follow this discussion bc I may be in your same shoes and will need to know what to bring and what to store.

When we went into a two bedroom apartment for 8 months, most of our furniture was in storage with a moving company. We also rented a storage locker for about $40 month. Out of season clothing and assorted items that we might have wanted to access went there. It beats living among boxes.

I'm actually looking at this from a different perspective- you're going to have to move everything twice, no matter what. I would take all of the everyday plates, so that you're not stuck constantly doing dishes. A silverware tray takes up the same amount of space in a drawer whether it has one fork or 12 in it (same with plates), and more importantly, it all ends up in one box at the new house, rather than two. This isn't the stuff that's difficult to pack, but it is the stuff that could grate on your nerves on a day to day basis.

I'm not saying bring your everyday plates, formal china and Christmas china, but there should be room for a full set of basics. None of my apartments have been 1200sf, but there was at least a cabinet for dishes and a cabinet for cookware, usually more.

It is only for six months- but that's a really long time to camp.

Biggest Tip: sign a lease at your rental for AT LEAST 4 MONTHS LONGER than whatever time frame your builder gives you! I added 2 months onto our supposed 7 month build, and guess what? I'm about to move two more times before my house is done at the end of July! I thought I was being very smart and conservative adding on two months, and it wasn't enough. There's always, always something: weather, change orders, etc.