Wouldn’t it be great if all of your belongings could just magically appear in your new home when you decide to move? Sadly, that’s not the case. In fact, there is a lot of preparation that goes into moving, which is why it can be such a stressful process. We’ve been in the moving business long enough to know some tricks of the trade, so if you’re in the process of planning a move to a new city, consider this your moving checklist so you know exactly what to do when moving to a new home.
Before You Move
1. Decide on your moving company
This should be at the top of your to-do list when you finalize your move. Make a list of several different movers to get quotes, make sure your moving date is available, check if they have the right size moving truck, and know which services are going to be taken care of on moving day.
2. Send out notices to change your address
There are a few people and organizations you’ll need to notify of your move to a new home ahead of time to avoid mail being posted to your old home and for legal reasons:
- The post office – they can redirect your mail to your new address
- Tax agencies
- Social security agency
- Gas and electric company
- Phone, cable, internet companies
- Home or renter’s insurance
- Your employer
- Your credit card provider
- All mail subscriptions going to your current home
3. Don’t throw everything away
It’s great to declutter your old home before moving so you’re not spending time and money moving items that you never use. But you don’t need to throw these into the landfill. Instead, hold a garage sale and make some extra cash to put towards the move.
Anything that can’t be sold, consider donating or giving it away if it’s still in good condition. This will minimize the amount of stuff that needs to go in the trash unnecessarily.
4. Arrange for Additional Help on Moving Day
If you’ve never moved to a new home before, you’ll be shocked how much time and effort it takes on moving day, even with an extensive checklist. You have an entire life to pack up and move to your new place. So rope in anyone you can to give you a hand on moving day. You’ll be glad of the physical help moving boxes as well as the emotional support on such a stressful day.
5. Stock up on Packing Supplies
We can’t emphasize this one enough. You can never have too many packing supplies. Moving boxes fill up quickly, packing tape runs out quickly, and the last thing you want is to be caught short on moving day at the last minute.
Get started now and start storing moving boxes from your local stores. They usually have tons of empty boxes and packing material they will let you take for free.
6. Plan your Groceries
Make sure you have enough food for moving day and for the first day in your new home. You and your family will be starving after a long distance move, so it’s good to have snacks to have on hand ahead of time, as well as a few meals ready to go as soon as you get to your new home.
Packing Tips
1. Keep small items together
It’s easy to lose track of phone chargers, tv remotes, headphones, and any other small items. They get packed in big boxes, fall to the bottom, and are lost for days in your new home.
Instead, dedicate a couple of boxes to all your small items, that way you’ll know exactly where to look when you get to your new home.
2. No cardboard boxes? No problem
There’s really no need to start packing all your items in new cardboard boxes. If you’ve got suitcases, hampers, or plastic storage containers, make sure to put them to work and fill them with belongings. You’ll have less cardboard to deal with at your new house and you’ll save money.
3. Make sure to pay attention to box weight
We’ve all done it. Packed a box perfectly to the very top with our collection of books. Then tried to pick it up only to find that it weighs more than a small elephant.
Whenever you’re packing your boxes, keep testing the weight to make sure you don’t overfill it and make it impossible to carry safely during the moving process.
4. Protect fragile items
If you have any delicate items made from glass or family treasures, make sure they are triple wrapped in packing paper or bubble wrap ahead of time. It may seem overly cautious, but you don’t want to risk any important items getting cracked or broken during the move.
5. Label everything
We always advise packing by room and then giving each room its own color label so you know exactly where to put each box in your new home. You can also then tell your moving company or friends that all the blue labels go in the living room, all the yellow go in the kitchen, etc. Make sure to make a checklist of this system so everyone involved can follow it.
This will make unpacking so much easier when you get around to it.
6. Prepare your electronics for your new home
Before unplugging anything electronic, take photos of how the wires look while plugged in. It’s very easy to forget how wires are connected and you’ll waste a lot of time trying to get electronics up and running again in your new home.
7. Use plastic wrap to avoid leaks
If you’re packing anything liquid or even plants when moving, make sure to use plastic wrap to avoid anything spilling or leaking during the move.
Need Help With Your Move?
We know how stressful moving to a new home can be. From decluttering and packing up your house to sending out notices and getting everything ready for moving day, the whole moving process is a lot to take on. If you want some professional help to make sure your move to a new city is as quick and stress-free as possible, contact us today. We are professional movers and can talk you through our extensive range of moving services and give you a free quote for your move in a day.
FAQs
What is the first thing to do when moving?
It can be overwhelming knowing where to start when you’re planning a move to a new home. There are a million things to do and keeping track of it all is stressful. If you’re feeling anxious, make a checklist with everything you need to remember, do, contact numbers, and all important documents.
By dumping all of this important information into one safe place, you can stop worrying about forgetting everything and make your way through the checklist more systematically so move in day is much easier.
What should you not do when moving?
The number one thing you should not do when moving is attempt to do it all yourself, especially during a pandemic. You might think you’re saving money, but the time and energy you’ll use packing, labeling, hiring a moving truck, getting the right insurance, organizing your family is going to take its toll.
Instead, get as many people to help as possible. Make arrangements for family and friends to help as well as a professional moving company who can take a huge chunk of the responsibility off your shoulders and give you peace of mind that moving day is going smoothly.
How do you get rid of things when you move?
It’s a great idea to declutter before you move to save money and energy moving stuff you no longer use. But how do you get rid of items when you move to a new home? We suggest holding a garage sale ahead of time. This will help raise some funds to go towards the move. Anything that can’t be sold, donate, give away or recycle if all else fails.