I don't own a vehicle, so that added a small complication. If I had a car I could have fit everything I have in it for my move (500+ miles). I don't own many possessions, but I have enough to prevent me from just walking on a plane with my things or hitchhiking. A rental car was an option. Unfortunately, after some research it turns out rental car companies won't rent a car to someone without a credit card or a credit score (essentially, anyone who has their own money and doesn't need to borrow someone else's money). That's okay, I don't like them anyways.
Then I looked into the normal option, which was a moving van/truck. Those companies don't care about credit, but for some strange reason the trucks could only be rented for a minimum of four days. It would have taken me one day. I quickly did The Maths and it turns out the truck would have cost more than my possessions. So that was out also.
The final (and overall best) option was public transportation. As I mentioned the airlines were a no go. I could have taken my things, but the baggage surcharges would have been exorbitant. A train was a pretty good option (lots of luggage allowed), but it was a bit difficult to get to the station. And that left Greyhound. I do not particularly like Greyhound (although I love buses), but the bus station was two blocks from my apartment in the Big City. The baggage allowance was acceptable. Greyhound it is.
I still had too much stuff though, so I had to sell everything that could be sold, give away what couldn't be sold, and recycle what couldn't be given to others. And the poorest, saddest last things would need to be thrown away. It was my goal to make sure that group would be very small (which is also an everyday goal). I have never had luck with selling things on Craigslist, but this time I ended up making enough money to cover the cost of the bus ride and extra baggage fees. I was able to give away a few things also. It was surprising how many things I had to recycle by the end, but they made it happily back into the system also.
In preparation I also needed to make sure I didn't buy bottles (boxes/whatever) of anything bigger than I could use before leaving. Not buying things is not a problem. Through some sort of providence (great planning?) everything ran out right at the end or a bit before. This was achieved in part by using similar things for similar purposes. The philosophy being: soap, is soap, is soap.
Example: My dish soap officially sanctioned dual use as hand soap, so I used it for both purposes, but the rest I needed to take liberties with. I ran out of laundry detergent two washes too soon. I wasn't about to buy 50 washes worth of detergent that would then be wasted, so I improvised. What I did was take the detergent bottle with essence of detergent and added some shampoo and body wash. I used that in my next wash. It turns out it makes a good detergent. Just as good as the real stuff. And my clothes where silky smooth to boot!
Finally, I didn't have enough luggage for my things. I needed at least two large bags (checked) and two as carry on. I only had one large bag though. I wasn't about to buy another bag for just one move. So I did what any wise man would do: improvise. I just happened to be visiting my bike (sold) in the garage and noticed that there was one of those fancy roller bags in the trash room. The problem was this bag was not large enough for my purposes. However, I did have a large plastic container from my previous move. I wasn't able to use it alone since it would be hard to drag a large, heavy plastic box at the same time as my other bags. What I could do though, was create a Franken-container that would give me some leverage to drag my things up to the bus station. Wisdom prevails.
Now I don't mind looking like a poor/homeless person, so I was okay with my contraption. I did get some interesting comments on it though. My final problem was that one of the wheels was broken on my improvised luggage, so I had to drag the 50+ pound bag for the two blocks. The bag's handle made it easier to manage. After all, if an ant can carry ten times its weight, I should be able to drag one times my weight.
Salvaged bag
Cut off the lid and sides and inserted plastic box.
Duct taped to bond and secure. Rope for stabilization.
Journey completed!
