Moving Checklist

If you need a smooth relocation process, you must have a moving checklist. Whether its office relocation or a local home move, only a checklist will help you stay organized. It will also help you get everything done under a budget and on time. Before a moving company shows up at your doorstep on the moving day, you need to organize a hundred little details for the relocation to be smooth. Below are some tips to plan and prepare for a move:

1. Should you hire a moving company or move yourself?

If you want a simple solution for your moving needs, then it’s worth to hire a professional moving company. Rather than getting stressed on how you’ll take your possessions from point A to B, let a mover take care of it. Book the movers early in advance to avoid last minute rush. Finding a professional moving company isn’t something you’ll just wake up and decide who to take. The process requires time to analyze a company’s experience, reputation, insurance among other things.

2. Set a moving budget

Lack of money is a common stress factor during the relocation process. However, you must calculate and estimate all the costs involved in the move so that you can have enough cash. Sum up the cost charged by the moving company, packing boxes and tape, utility connection fees, emergency fees, etc. In case you have a dog or cat, you’ll need to house them in a cattery and kennel during the moving process. Add these costs to your budget.

3. Gather moving supplies

You need moving supplies in order to start packing your possessions. These supplies include packing boxes, packing tape, newspaper, sticky labels, bubble wrap, marker pen among others. It’s also wise to get a wardrobe box to fold your clothes well in there for the move and unpack and rehang them in the new home. You can also borrow from friends or relatives, but it’s much efficient to order whatever you need online or physical stores.

4. Change your address before moving

Before you start packing, take your notebook and put down all important utilities, companies, and people whom you may require to contact before moving. This includes setting up address changes via your postal service, setting up telephone lines, electricity, cables, etc. and also forwarding mails. Ensure you update your address with your insurance company, the motor vehicles department and any other organization that sends you bills. Also, make sure you update your dentists, doctors, etc. before leaving especially if you’re going to another state. These professionals might refer you to other professionals in the new location.

5. Ask your friends and relatives for help

Apart from employing the services of professional movers, having friends available before the moving day is key. Make a plan in advance on how they can help you whether in packing your possessions, lifting and arranging furniture among others. However, planning to move on a weekend would be the perfect option because many people tend to be off work. Ensure you plan ahead of time so that everything is in order on the moving date.

6. Inspect your new home before moving in

Before you move, make sure you visit your new home and inspect everything. It’s a daunting task to move in a new home that requires cleaning, painting and fixing up other issues. Create time to inspect your new and empty home so that you can assess the improvements and upgrades required before shifting. By doing this, you’ll be able to fix all potential problems before your new is cluttered with furniture and boxes. You’ll also alleviate unwanted stress because all rooms will be ready for settling and unpacking your belongings.

7. Label all boxes for easy unpacking

You should label all boxes and large items for you to stay organized and help the movers and your friends when loading and offloading your belongings. Packing your belongings in unlabeled boxes will give you a hard time trying to figure out where you packed bathroom supplies, kitchen supplies, bedroom items among other items.
Make sure you know exactly where every item is during your relocation. You won’t spend a lot of time and energy trying to find something you need urgently.

8. Change your locks

Before you move to your home, make sure you change the existing locks. This is because you never know who is in possession of the existing keys for the doors. In most cases, old tenants and previous homeowners might have spare keys belonging to the place you’re about to move in as your new home. It’s essential to replace the locks you find on the day you move-in to avoid theft of your belongings and secure your privacy.

9. Measure the new home

When preparing to relocate, one may assume that his furniture will perfectly fit the new home which sometimes isn’t the case. It may not be practical to measure up the spaces in the new home, although it’s a good idea. In case you find that the spaces are too small for your furniture, you can sell them and order new ones online which will be less stressful in handling.

10. Pack all essentials last

When packing up your belongings in boxes, make sure you place items like books and other non-essentials at the bottom and more important ones at the top. If you think that your slow cooker won’t be used in the first week after relocation, you can place it at the bottom of a box and more useful items such as utensils on top. By doing this, you won’t have to get stressed trying to retrieve an item required for use.

In conclusion, these are the top tips that will help you to plan and prepare for relocation. You also need to dispose of all junk items properly such as hazardous chemicals. Don’t forget to unplug your appliances properly to avoid damaging them. Large appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, and dryers need to be handled with a lot of care especially when lifting them to the transportation tracks.