Moving does not have to feel like the most daunting activity that you have ever had to complete. While all the planning and logistics could spread across several months or, if you are lucky, a few rushed weeks, when done the right way and with professional help, any move can run smoothly and free of incidents. Experienced movers could easily tell you that one of the most common mistakes people who are getting ready to move tend to make is that they do not use any moving checklists. This means they are, often times, one step away from chaos. To come to your help, here is a detailed moving checklist that should help you cope better with your planning and tackle everything with more ease.
What To Do Two Months Before The Big Move
Approximately 8 weeks prior to the big move, you should start your planning. It would be helpful if you would create a moving file in Google Drive and make sure you store all the vital information concerning all the moving logistics, price quotes, moving dates, packing details, temporary storage solutions, how much they cost and so on.
This is also a good time to start scheduling all the meetings with the movers you plan on hiring. See what moving quotes they can offer you, any extra perks, freebies and discounts.
Set up the budget for your move and decide if you should also have some of your items moved in tour personal car. Talk to friends and family and see if they can assist you with some of your stuff, or at least help you pack. If you have small children, see if they can babysit them while you are busy packing your stuff during the weekends.
Make sure you get a day off work before the large move, provided you will continue to work in the same place. If you can plan your move on a Friday, you will get to have the entire weekend to handle the relocation, and this should make things easier on you. This is also a good time to find a new school for the children and make all the necessary arrangements for the transfer, including preparing all the papers, transcripts and so on.
What To Do 6 Weeks Before The Move
Organize a big garage sale and ask all your neighbors to come over and help you or plan an online auction and sell all the items, clothes, electronics, books or plants you no longer wish to transfer to your new home. You can also choose to donate them or at least the items that you were not able to sell during the garage sale.
Talk to the movers and make sure they will come prepared to pack and carry your bulkiest furniture items, any musical instruments such as pianos, expensive chandeliers and the list goes on. It can never hurt to double-check and make sure all the details of your move are well discussed from an early stage.
This is also the right time to start collecting cardboard or wooden boxes for your packing needs, provided you plan on doing some partial packing on your own. We warmly advise you to leave your most important items that you know you will be having trouble wrapping and padding yourself to the hands of professional movers. Bookstores, restaurants and clothing stores should provide you with free boxes, but, of course, if you do not have the time to go hunting for packing supplies or do any of the packing yourself, you can rest assured you will benefit from high-quality packing services. The best long distance movers rely on top-quality wrapping and padding solutions that should ensure zero damages to your valuable electronics, cupboards, closets, Chinaware, cookware and anything else you might need help with.
If you want to move some or all of your boxes on your own, or whether you wish to work with expert movers, make sure to carefully label all the boxes using different colors. Also, create an inventory of all the items before loading them into the truck, even though the movers may also provide you with their own. It can also be useful to take photos of your electronics prior to unplugging them so you can know for a fact how to reconnect them once you arrive at your new address.
What To Do One Month Before The Move
Get moving insurance and make sure you start looking for parking spots for the movers. At times, this may mean you will need to file for a parking permit, which could take time, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do it. Take care of all the rest of your papers, including any financial documents and passports and remember to run any final errands such as picking any laundry you may still have at the dry cleaner or compiling all the medical records for all the members of the household.
Two weeks before the move, you could prepare some meals and freeze them, organize all your receipts and recycle any items that are too dangerous and cannot be moved. Also, make sure you have a list with emergency numbers for various services and find a babysitter for your kids at the new address. Start saying goodbye to friends and neighbors and get ready to change your address ten days before the move.