Residential Home Moving Checklist
Without a dependable home moving checklist, your house moving can rapidly degenerate into a logistic nightmare. Take the first step to a quick and painless move with our free moving checklist.
What You Should Know Before Using Our Moving House Checklist
Uprooting yourself and replanting your family members, personal belongings and even way of life in a new spot is a mammoth task - First time home movers often have this pet phrase, " How come no one ever warned me that there's so much to do!"
That's why our house moving checklist has been sliced into 3 digestible parts - what to do 1 month before, 1 week before and on the moving date itself. This home moving checklist allows you to be fully prepared without eating up too much time.
Even if you live alone, it's always a good idea to rope in your family and friends to help you out with the physical packing (bribing them with a good meal usually works wonders). Our moving house checklist will walk you through the other must-do chores one by one.
Home Moving Checklist
1 MONTH BEFORE MOVING DAY
[ ] Shop around for a moving company or book a rental truck in advance if you are taking the do-it-yourself route. For cheaper rates, it's often a good idea to book them during off-peak periods (weekdays and non-public holidays).
[ ] If you are not hiring professional movers, contact your friends and family to confirm who will be free to give you a hand on the move date.
[ ] Sort and sift through all your furniture, appliances and personal belongings. Split them into three piles: 1. Items you want to keep and move, 2. Items that you wish to donate or give away, and 3. Items that you should be tossing away. Be ruthless - Any excess items that you choose to keep "just in case" will do nothing but add to your transport cost later on.
[ ] Dump all the items that you have to decided to dispose. This will remove the clutter and simplify the entire moving process.
[ ] Contact your service providers to inform them of the address change. This includes your fixed phone line, internet, electricity and gas company. In some cases, you may have to send a written notice or turn up in person to disconnect a service.
[ ] Update your address records with your employer, bank, insurer and critical government agencies such as the post office, local town council and inland revenue service IRS.
1 WEEK BEFORE MOVING DAY
[ ] Start packing all the items that you want to move (as mentioned earlier in this home moving checklist) into boxes. To make unpacking a breeze, make sure that you label every box with its contents and the room it should go into.
[ ] All electronics and appliances should be unplugged and emptied of any fluids such as water or fuel. All fragile items should also be cushioned with newspaper or padding before they packed into boxes.
[ ] Stash all your valuables and important documents such as passports and driving licenses in a secure bag or container so that you can personally carry them during the move.
[ ] Take a bag (or two) and fill it with basic necessities such as towels, toilet rolls, soap, tooth brush, tooth paste, prescription medicine and an extra change of clothes. In case the unpacking at the new home takes longer than expected, you can rest easy knowing that you have all your daily conveniences close at hand.
[ ] Contact the moving company and your helping hands (friends and family) again to reconfirm and remind them of the moving day.
[ ] Transfer all your newspaper and magazine subscriptions to your new home address.
[ ] If you have babies or young children, make arrangements for them to be taken care on the actual moving date so that they will be out of harm's way. This can mean hiring a nanny for an afternoon or dropping them off at the grandparent's home.
ON THE MOVING DAY ITSELF
[ ] Have a good sleep the night before so that you can wake up early to take off and pack the bedding. If you have been following this home moving checklist closely, everything else should have already been packed and tagged.
[ ] Once your movers arrive, give them clear instructions on which boxes are fragile and which ones should be loaded first. If you have enough manpower, you should supervising them full time and not get too involved in the manual loading.
[ ] If you hired a moving company, make sure that the crew leader and truck driver have your phone number. The crew leader will need to reach you in case he has questions and the truck driver has to do the same in case he finds himself hopelessly lost.
[ ] Take a slow and careful walk around your home for the last time to make sure you haven't missed out anything - You wouldn't want to leave your two hundred year old family heirloom lying around in some dusty corner (In other hands, go through your home moving checklist again).
[ ] After your final walk through, switch everything off and be sure to lock up all the doors and windows. Remember as commander-in-chief of the entire moving operation, you should be the first one at the moving scene and the last one to leave.
[ ] Leave a friendly note with your name, new address and contact number for the people who will be taking over your former home. This little note will come in real handy if they need to forward any mail to you or redirect any long-lost friends to your new home.
