The Ultimate Moving Checklist: 9 Things You Need to Do Before Your Move
Plan your move like a pro! Use our free and easy-to-follow moving checklist to find out what real moving pros put on their to-do lists and what you can do to ensure your move goes off without a hitch.
One of the biggest challenges of moving is to keep track of all the little things one needs to do before moving. Especially since many movers forget that moving is much more than just packing up boxes and bringing them to your new place.
To put it simple: imagine having to do everything you do on a regular basis somewhere else: drive to work, visit a doctor, or receive a cute holiday card from a friend – none of that is possible if you just move the things in your apartment.
What’s important is to see the bigger picture.
A good and complete moving checklist always takes into consideration that many different people are included within the entire moving process. And all of them have their own needs and expectations: there are landlords, owners, insurances, former and future neighbors, kids, your boss – the list goes on.
3, 2, 1.. The Moving Countdown is on!
To help you organize your move and find a way around these problems, we’ve assembled a neat moving checklist with activities you should strike off before moving day.
- Set the moving date and send a written notice to your landlord.
Make sure to let your landlord in on your plans as soon as possible. You should have a close look at the conditions that have been stipulated in your contract concerning the contract period, the cancelation period or any possible repair works they expect you to perform before leaving – if they do, add these tasks to your relocation checklist as well.
By doing this, you will avoid a) paying the rent for the next month(s) because you failed to inform your landlord in time and b) having problems concerning your deposit money.
Be sure to take care of this in time and set enough money aside for any occurring repair works. If you need more information about what is going to happen with your deposit money, check out this helpful guide for more information about the deposit process.
Once the date is set, don’t forget to take at least one day off from work!
- Decide which type of moving service best meets your needs and obtain estimates from several moving companies.
If you’re about to move yourself, you should start with organizing a moving van, helpers, and gather all supplies and tools you’ll need for your big day.
In case your schedule is rather tight, if you have a number of fragile things, or if you’re not a very experienced mover, you should definitely consider hiring a moving company.
Moving professionals now offer moving solutions for almost every budget. Meet up with them and let them give you an idea of how you could organize your move efficiently and how they could help with that.
There’s another reason this point should be at the top of your moving checklist: booking your move more than one month in advance might include a nice early bird discount!
- Sort out the things you don’t want or no longer need.
Why carry this large pile of unworn sweaters with you if they’d look perfect on your niece who’s a real shopping maniac? What about this old bookshelf that you probably won’t be able to use in your new apartment?
Give them to somebody who can use them! Charities for example are always grateful for warm shoes and clothing – and you’ll have fewer things to transport and more room for new things.
If donating is not an option, you could sell items you don’t need anymore and perk up your moving budget. Either way, win-win!
- Go through your personal accounts.
The key point of good pre-move checklists is to avoid unpleasant surprises afterwards. Such surprises may arise due to accounts that are connected to your old address, which will make it difficult for them to reach you.
So, another important thing to do before moving is to look through your accounts, such as insurance providers, bank and credit cards, professional organizations, memberships, magazine subscriptions, and similar organizations which need to be up to date regarding your change of address.
- Make sure your mail gets to the right address after moving.
Forwarding your mail to your new address has become quite simple: go to the website of the United States Postal Service and fill in the Change of Address form.
The changes will be valid from the date you enter, so as soon as you’ve determined the exact date, you’ll be able to enter your new address and cross this task off your moving checklist. Easy as pie!
- Schedule and organize renovations and repairs, and look for furniture for your new apartment.
As contractors often have very tight schedules and furniture sometimes needs several weeks to get to your address, marking both things as priority tasks of your moving checklist is highly recommended.
Get in touch with your landlord to see which kind of work you’re supposed to care of. This will give you enough time to buy the required equipment or to hire a professional to take care of it for you.
- Notify all relevant people and organizations about your change of address.
Informing all relevant persons and organizations is another vital point to take care of during the moving countdown.
The number of people and institutions you’ll have to inform varies from state to state, and from person to person. We recommend customizing and adjusting the list to your own environment and setting up a personal notification list as part of your moving checklist.
Here’s a suggestion of persons and institutions you should inform about your new address:
- Family members, close friends;
- Former neighbors;
- The registration office;
- Online shops you frequently use and which might ship something to the wrong address;
- The employment office;
- The tax office;
- Schools and colleges you or your family members go to;
- Phone and Internet providers;
- And most importantly: your bank and your insurance company. Underline, circle and highlight this task on your moving checklist, as this might cause serious problems!
- Include the needs of all family members in your moving checklist.
Don’t forget the little ones!
If you have kids, you should look for daycare centers or schools in time. Depending on the particular country/state you’re moving to, waiting lists can be very long.
- Clean up the big ones.
There’s not much you can pack up a few weeks before the moving, but every moving planner will agree with the fact that every kind of room used for storing should be cleared out as quickly as possible: empty your garden shed, basement, storage closets and other rooms used for storing.
You know what they say: A tidy house, a tidy mind!
And once you’ve crossed out all of the items on your moving checklist, it’s time to celebrate this joyful occasion: how about hosting a small housewarming party for your new neighbors? Check out how it’s done!