Moving is a lot of work with many tasks involved, and you don’t want to forget about any of them! It can be easy to overlook some of the important aspects of moving because bigger tasks like packing take up all your attention, not to mention still dealing with the day-to-day life tasks like going to work and caring for your kids. We put together this pre-move checklist to make your life easier so you can stay organized and less stressed during your move! There are many extensive lists out there, but we wanted to keep ours shorter and less overwhelming. Check it out!

Two-Three Months Before Moving

1. Create a Moving Information Center

Whether you have an electronic folder on your computer or a physical file (or set of files), you want to keep all information about moving in one place. This makes everything easy to find and keep organized. You know what kind of systems work best for you, so go with whatever method brings you success. Setting up this information center right at the start of your moving process will enable you to stay on top of all information from the get-go. This pre-move checklist goes here!

2. Choose a Moving Company

If you are planning on using a moving company (which we highly recommend!), now is the time to research which company you would like to use. Keep in mind your particular needs such as the date or range of dates in which you’d like to move, your budget, your packing needs, and whether or not you will need to put items into storage. Not all moving companies are the same, so it’s important to do research and get at least three quotes from prospective companies before making your decision.

3.  Create a Moving Budget

Buying a new home is expensive, and so are many home improvement projects you may want to do before (or right after) your move. But don’t forget to allocate money towards the actual move! Aside from paying your movers, you may need to purchase moving supplies like boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape.

One Month Before Moving

1. Gather Medical and School Records

Depending on how far you are moving, you may be switching medical practices and your kids may be switching schools. You want to leave yourself enough time to get copies of these records to bring to your new providers and your kids’ new school in time for them to start. It can take institutions some time to put together records after you make a request. You definitely don’t want to be scrambling for these items at the last minute!

2. Get Rid of Items Your Are Not Bringing With You

Now is the time to sell or donate any items that are not coming with you to your new home. Yard sales are fun and excellent ways to get rid of some of these items, and you can put any cash you make towards your move or your new home. Items in good condition that you don’t want to sell or that don’t sell in a yard sale can get donated or given away to friends and family. Purging your home of these items will make your packing job significantly easier, and means you won’t bring clutter with you to your new home.

3. Start Packing

The more time you give yourself to pack, the easier packing will be. Go slow and make sure to stay organized with whatever packing system works for you. Some ideas for staying organized are to keep a list of the items in each box, label or color code each box based on which room it should get unloaded into, and take a picture of the contents of each box before closing it. Check out our other packing tips to make packing easier and less stressful for you! You can also have your moving company pack for you (Big John’s Moving will do this!), which definitely takes away a lot of the stress!

One-Two Weeks Before Moving

1. Transfer Your Home Insurance

Make sure your homeowner’s insurance is transferred to your new address. This is something easy to forget, but it’s important! (Thank goodness it’s on your pre-move checklist!)

2. Update Your Address With the Post Office and Others

Make sure all your mail is being sent to your new address. This can take some time, which is why we suggest doing it before moving day. You also want to update your address with your credit card company, bank, the IRS, and anyone else who needs to know.

3. Change Over Your Utilities

As soon as you move, you want your electric bill, water bill, gas bill, and any other utilities to be in your name, not the previous owner’s name. You also want your name to be off the utilities in your old home. This is an easily-overlooked yet vitally important part of moving!

On Moving Day

1. Take Out Cash

You’re going to want some cash on you during your actual move for things like tipping movers and any rest stops along the way.

2. Do An Inspection of Your Old Home

Check every corner, inside cabinets, and under or on top of appliances to make sure you didn’t leave anything behind. Make sure the fridge and freezer are cleared out and that garbage cans are empty.

3. Load Up the Car and Breathe

With your pre-move checklist, you should have taken care of all important moving tasks and can now focus on getting to your new home. Take a deep breath and enjoy your move! This is an exciting day!