The Ultimate Moving Checklist: Planning Ahead

From buying your dream home to accepting a job opportunity in another city and from local moves to treks across the country, moving is often an exciting yet stressful adventure. Whatever your reason for moving is, packing everything you own and sticking it on a truck is a massive undertaking

With so many things to keep track of, moving takes dedication and attention, and keeping up with every important task and deadline isn’t easy. This is where a good checklist comes in handy!

Using a moving checklist to keep track of what needs to be done at each stage of your move is an effective way to keep the process organized and make sure everything is done and accounted for as the big day approaches. The last thing you want is to be in a packing frenzy when the movers arrive, so we’ve designed our comprehensive moving checklist to begin six weeks out.

If you’re moving in two weeks (or sooner), don’t panic! You can still use our checklist, but you probably have a few late nights ahead of you. Take things one step at a time, and plan something fun and relaxing for when the move is over.

Ready to get started? Keep reading! You can also print this checklist for later use or skip ahead to Part 2: Getting Ready.

6 Weeks Before Moving

Take care of practicalities

• If you’re renting, inform your landlord of your move.

NOTE: Read your lease carefully to determine when and how you need to give notice of your intention to move. In most cases, verbal notification is not sufficient.

• Contact your insurance providers about transferring coverage, and find out whether your belongings will be insured during the move.
• If you have children who will be switching schools, keep in contact with the new school’s administrators and make sure there will be no issues with transferring any necessary paperwork or records.
• Look over your more valuable and expensive belongings and assess their condition before you transport them. Take pictures and make notes of any preexisting scratches or other defects; this way, you’ll be able to tell whether anything was damaged during the move.
• Measure the rooms of your new home and make sure that your furniture will fit where you want it to go.
• Call ahead to order and arrange for the future delivery of any new furniture, carpets, or fixtures.
• Interview and get quotes from several moving companies.

NOTE: Make your life easier by hiring a Best Pick mover. They’re experienced, licensed, and insured, and we guarantee that you’ll have a great experience.

Pare down and consolidate

• Get rid of anything you’re not taking with you. Go through rooms and closets and divide items into groups: keep, sell, and donate.
• Start grocery shopping from your freezer to use up any perishable items that you won’t be able to move.
• Begin packing items that you don’t use very often or that you likely won’t be using before the move, such as things normally stored in an attic or closet.

Begin storing and packing

• Start gathering boxes and packing/moving supplies like markers, wrapping material, padding, and tape.
• If you need to, shop around for storage options and make plans to store your items for as long as necessary.

5 Weeks Before Moving

Finalize your packing plan

• Finish gathering up all necessary packing supplies, such as tape, markers, labels, and cushioned wrapping materials.
• If necessary, remember to order dish boxes, mattress bags, and any other specialty moving items you’ll need.
• Come up with a labeling system for your boxes. A good starting point is marking each box with a bulleted list of what it contains and where it belongs.

Start cleaning

• Commit to getting rid of any items you don’t want to keep but haven’t yet thrown away or donated. If you have the time, consider holding a garage sale.
• Make sure your house is cleaned before the move—you might want to hire a housecleaning service if you don’t want to tackle this by yourself. This is also a good opportunity to make an appointment to have your carpets and curtains cleaned.

4 Weeks Before Moving

Make the move official

• Now is the perfect time to stop by the post office and fill out a change of address form.
• Provide your updated address and information to any professional services you use and any organizations you belong to, such as doctors and pharmacists, banks and accountants, insurance companies, clubs, and even magazines you subscribe to.
• Contact your utility companies to schedule service disconnection (or transfer, if possible).
• If you’re moving to a new state or out of the service area of your current utility companies, contact your new utility providers and schedule service hookup appointments.
• Moving out of state? Look over the requirements for a driver’s license in your new state, as well as the information you’ll need to register your vehicle.

Keep everyone healthy and happy

• Finding new doctors or dentists close to your new home may take time and research, so consider taking this opportunity to schedule any last-minute checkups or medical appointments that you want to take care of.
• If necessary, make arrangements for young children to be taken care of on moving day—you may want to schedule daycare or hire a babysitter.
• Do you have a pet? If so, you may want to schedule an appointment with your vet and take care of any paperwork or shots you’ll need to have done before the move.

Communicate with your movers

• Call your moving company and confirm the date and details of your move.

You’re Almost There!

Congrats! You’re a month away from being settled in your new place, and most of the important details have been taken care of. There’s still a lot to do, but when you start feeling overwhelmed, try to remember that this process does have an end point—you won’t be moving forever.

Moving week will be here before you know it, but in the meantime, keep the momentum going and take a look at our checklist to get you through the next three weeks!