Can I state one universal truth real quick? Moving freaking sucks and truly may have been created by the devil himself. You cannot convince me otherwise. There are approximately zero things fun or exciting about packing up all your sh*t, then putting said sh*t into a moving truck, and then unloading it all. I am emotionally and physically spent just thinking about it. Being in a new place of course is something to look forward to, but the whole process of getting there? Believe me, if I could just click my heels together three times and teleport myself and all my things, you'd be calling me Dorothy.
But since cosplaying as a little girl from Kansas was unfortunately not an option when it came time for me to move from Harlem to Brooklyn this summer, I tapped on the folks that I've seen in countless influencer pages and Instagram ads: Piece of Cake Moving & Storage. By now, you've seen at least six content creators and 50 million celebs (like Cosmo cover girl Ashley Park) on your timeline sing the praises of New York-based moving company, and if you haven't, you've maybe seen their signature hot pink moving trucks parked along your block. I've had friends and colleagues use the company, and like every other trending thing on social media I just had to know, Is it really all that great?
From the outside in, it sure as hell seemed like it. Girls talked about how they didn't have to pack a damn thing (from their clothes to their dishes), how quick movers were, and so much more. Needless to say, all of this sounded very appealing to me. So if you're at the point in your life where bribing your friends with pizza and beer to help you move is way out of the question, then keep on reading for my full review on Piece of Cake.
GET A MOVING QUOTE FROM PIECE OF CAKE
Pros
You get a personal concierge.
At the start of my moving process, I was assigned a "moving consultant," aka a person who basically guided me through the move every step of the way. At the very start of my process, I got a call from my consultant and we went through all of the logistics together, like tallying all of my big furniture items, how many packing crates I would need, and a move date and time. He was regularly in touch throughout the whole process, from sending regular reminder emails to even tutorial videos on questions I had. Every customer gets one of these and it was so lovely to have this personal, human touch-point along the way.
The movers wrap and pack everything.
When the three movers got to my apartment, my room looked like I was staying another two years. Aside from neatly organizing a few bags of items before the movers arrived to make sure I didn't forget anything (I lived in an apartment with three other girls so I packed up the stuff I had in shared spaces), I didn't touch a thing before they got there, especially in my bedroom. The movers came in, assessed my items, brought up crates and boxes, then got going.
Every single thing was packed so incredibly fast and thoughtful, especially those small annoying things like, earrings, makeup, toiletries, perfumes, clothes and accessories, photo frames, shoes, umbrella, liquor bottles, linens—they quite literally handled it all! On top of that, every single delicate piece was carefully wrapped in paper before being put into a box or crate. I had so many breakables get transferred in this move and not one thing was even slightly dinged or dented when I unpacked. Oh, and the movers even unmounted my TV (and took the hardware off the wall!) and put in a suitable packing box too.
You can get crates delivered to you beforehand if you want to do some pre-packing, but honestly having the movers do it all gave me an unreal sense of relief. I didn't have to spend the whole week before the move strategically putting things in boxes, so I was able to mostly carry-on about my life business as usual. This element was an enormous game changer and didn't feel like the move was taking over my life and capacity.
The movers unpack your wardrobe and set up your bed.
This was something I absolutely didn't know I needed and actually made my first night in my apartment that much easier. I didn't have to take the extra time to put a bed frame together or dig through crates to find clothes for the next day. Just another way this company made my life stress-free.
They're flexible.
Can I be transparent? I grossly underestimated how many crates I would need...like, you-need-at-least-40-more underestimated. I felt so bad for this, but the movers didn't even flinch and finished packing the rest of my things in standard moving boxes. They don't bring extra crates, so you should absolutely overestimate how many you think you'd need—there is no added cost for having some left over, but there is for having to use more boxes than initially determined.
They come back and pick up those crates.
Before the move even happened, my concierge was coordinating with me on when another set of Piece of Cake movers could come pick up all those pink crates. It's typically exactly one week after your move date, but because I traveled for a week literally the day after my move (yes, life was crazy lol), they worked with me to find a time for when I was back. After finding the date, I was given a two-hour time range and the movers arrived around the earliest part. They came in, scooped the crates, and were out. It was so convenient and quick, and actually made me not procrastinate my unpacking.
They do local and long-distance.
When I first moved to NYC about 3 years ago, I settled in my dream neighborhood Harlem. But this summer, I moved to Brooklyn's Ditmas Park neighborhood, which is quite literally the exact opposite direction and at least an hour train ride from Upper Manhattan, and about a 45 minute drive. So, for NYC standards, this was a long-distance move. In reality though, it absolutely was considered local (but a far local!), and if you actually *were* moving across state lines (not just to a different borough lol), Piece of Cake would handle it no problem.
Cons
The unloading isn't strategic.
This honestly isn't even a con, but more so an inevitable. When the movers brought all the boxes and crates into my new spot, they mostly put everything in the living room. The crates were clearly labeled, but the boxes had labels on the top, so when they were stacked up, I didn't know what was what. This made for a fun surprise every time I opened something—especially since I didn't pack anything—but it also put me in that weird digging-through-everything-for-weeks state before I fully got through unloading everything.
It can be expensive.
Moving in general costs you a good grip, so this isn't a surprise. My move, which was the equivalent of a small studio—bedroom, bathroom, couch, and some kitchen things—would have cost around $2,000, not to mention the extra boxes that I didn't originally account for. That price includes having movers pack my items, crate use (only using boxes is a bit cheaper), and a longer-distance move from Harlem to Brooklyn (shorter distances cost a little less). I lived on a fifth floor walkup and moved into a fifth floor elevator building (yes, my quality of life has increased, thank you for asking), so all those stairs during the move out also played a factor into pricing. The best part about it though is that Piece of Cake literally *always* offers flat rate moving, so unlike other companies, there aren't any hidden fees and you know your exact cost up front.
The Bottom Line
What I truly loved about this experience is that I didn't have that usual pre-move anxiety or stress, which was an actual life saver. Again, aside from neatly organizing a few things that were in shared spaces before the movers arrived, I really didn't do too much. The entire moving process was such a breeze, and made the nightmare that is moving a million times more bearable. I'd literally do it all again with Piece of Cake seeing me through.
