Moving can feel a little stressful sometimes, but it’s also extremely fun and rewarding. Get organized by using this weekly checklist to ensure you’re still on task for the big moving day.
8 Weeks Before
- Organize all of your paperwork and designate a special folder for important invoices and receipts
- Start making piles of all of your belongs: keep, discard, give away and donate
- Ask friends and family members for referrals for moving companies
- Research moving companies on your own. Cheap Movers DC (www.cheapmoversdc.com) suggests getting quotes from at least 3 cross country movers, so you can compare rates.
7 Weeks Before
- Begin accumulating boxes and packing materials; buy tape, bubble wrap, labels, markers and tissue paper
- Plan a lawn sale for your items in your “for sale” pile; post an ad on Craigslist, post fliers, tell all of your friends on Facebook
6 Weeks Before
- If you have kids, start getting ready to transfer them into a new school; contact their current school and new school; gather their records
- Start telling neighbors of your move; begin planning a going-away party if you have a lot of friends to say goodbye to
5 Weeks Before
- Decide on a moving company; go through all of your referrals and get a quote; tell the company of the date of your move; get the confirmation in writing
4 Weeks Before
- Begin packing everything that you don’t use on a daily or weekly basis; begin packing off-season clothing items; begin labeling boxes; place empty boxes in every room to remind yourself you need to get packing
- Schedule your utilities to be shut off; schedule your new utilities to be turned on
- If you have a month-to-month lease, tell your landlord your move-out date
- Confirm the date you’ll expect your deposit back
3 Weeks Before
- Try to use up all the food in your home—especially perishables
- Only buy food that you know you’ll use before your move; plan on using up frozen foods
- Donate foods that you know you won’t use
- Find out how to move your pets if you don’t plan on driving your pets yourself. Try contacting a pet transport service.
- Notify the post office of your move; change your address on your credit cards; change your address on your cellphone and other non-location specific utilities
- Call the cable and phone companies to schedule a transfer of services
- Cancel the insurance on your current home or apartment and contact companies about new insurance policies
- Take your car into the shop for a tune-up and oil change if you’re moving long distance; contact your car insurance company to change addresses
2 Weeks Before
- Begin packing everything that you won’t absolutely need in the last few weeks
- Pack your valuables and keep them in a safe place (but don’t label them “valuables”)
- Contact a house cleaner to schedule cleaning services
- Make a trip to the dump, schedule a bulk pickup and schedule a pickup for any hazardous items
1 Day Before
- Pack any remaining items
- Defrost your refrigerator and freezer
- Clean any remaining items
Moving Day
- Communicate with the movers where everything needs to go and what boxes have fragile items
- Confirm all items are loaded in the truck
- Complete a walkthrough of the home