It’s important to begin preparing for your move as soon as possible. When you start thinking about moving, start thinning out your excess possessions. Refrain from purchasing items in bulk that you might need to leave behind, like pool chemicals and propane gas. If you can begin your moving process three months before moving, you can remain ahead of the game until you’re successfully relocated.
One essential tool for a successful move is your Moving Checklist. Include all your pre-move tasks on your list, leaving room for additions because new duties always arise. We’ve prepared a three-month moving checklist for you on our website. Your Moving Checklist helps you remain on schedule and reminds you of tasks you might forget. Use our checklist as a template to build a checklist that fits your own move.
It’s nice to know you’re moving three months before your relocation date. If you’re granted that luxury, use the first month to prepare your home and possessions for travel. People with shorter time frames might have to rush through this stage. The second month is devoted to planning your move, boxing things you use infrequently, and preparing your home for sale or transfer to the owner. The final month is for finishing your packing, preparing for travel and cleaning your home.
12 weeks Before You Move: Decide How You’re Moving and Declutter
Your first task is to decide on your relocation method. If you’re using professional movers, get on it right away. Prices from commercial relocation services begin to rise in April when kids get out of school. Summer is the prime moving season. If you can wait until the offseason, say between October and April, you can save 15% or more.
Once your thoughts turn to packing, first check your mover’s prohibited item list for items you can’t move. Use or get rid of things that aren’t allowed on moving vehicles, cleaning solvents and ammunition. Get used to buying necessities in smaller sizes until you relocate and can buy in bulk again. Try to hold a yard sale as soon as possible. If it doesn’t sell or isn’t worth donating, toss it in the trash. By the end of this four-week period, you should have:
- Established your moving schedule
- Chosen your relocation method
- Decluttered your home.
Eight Weeks Before You Move: Pack First the Things You Use the Least
Sometimes eight weeks is all the notice you get, and you’re happy for it. If you’ve decided to pack yourself, collect boxes early in the endeavor. Don’t put it off because it will just leave you scrambling. Purchase specialty boxes like TV boxes, wardrobe boxes, and dishpack boxes to protect valuable items you don’t want to replace. You only need one TV box for each widescreen, one wardrobe for dry-cleaned clothes, and dishpacks for your most valuable china and glassware.
Don’t pack boxes that are difficult to lift or carry. Heavy stuff, like books, goes in smaller boxes. The largest boxes are set aside for pillows, sheets, and blankets. Stuff crumpled newspaper or packing paper inside the cardboard boxes to protect anything fragile. Write each box’s destination (but not its contents because nobody needs to know) in black marker on the outside of the box. By the end of this period, you should have:
- Collect your moving supplies.
- Decide which items you’re moving
- Begun boxing your goods.
Four Weeks Before You Move: Disconnect the Old and Connect the New
Hopefully, you can finish boxing your goods with a month to go before you move. There are plenty of last-minute issues to concentrate on, so it’s best to be packed early. But we won’t judge you if you’re running behind because we know how it goes. Leave your marked boxes in the rooms in which they were packed, and create an easy pathway for your movers to work.
It’s time to connect the power at your new home while you schedule your old place for disconnections. Change your address with the people and places that matter, figure out how to renew your license and vehicle if you’re moving out of state, and deal with new doctors, schools, and professional contacts. There’s lots to do in the final month, so get the packing started as early as possible. With one week left before you move, the only tasks that remain should be:
- Defrost the refrigerator
- Pack your travel bags
- Turn off the electricity as you exit.
Your Moving Checklist Reminds You of Tasks and Keeps You on Schedule
Whether you’re hiring a professional moving company or relocating yourselves, you’ll need to follow a schedule so you don’t fall behind. Create a Moving Checklist that contains all the tasks you need to perform and the dates by which they must be completed. You can adjust your checklist as your move progresses, but it’s important to write everything down so you don’t miss anything.
Leave room on your checklist to add items and tasks you forgot initially. It’s a working document that should contains scratch outs and write overs. Write down important phone numbers and dates on your checklist so you have all the information you need in one place. Find a secure place for your list so it doesn’t go wandering off in the heat of the move.
Don’t you find that you remember things better once you write them down? That’s another reason for maintaining an up-to-date Moving Checklist: to keep things straight in your head. If done properly, your checklist actually represents the move itself. Once all your tasks are checked off your list, you’ll be safely ensconced in your new home.
