The Ultimate Moving Checklist

If you plan to move shortly, then there are certainly some things you need to plan for ahead of time. For things to go well with the move, you need to start taking steps a few months before the move to make it run smoothly. By following these steps, moving day will not be nearly as stressful.

Two Months Before the Move

Perform some research. Gather your records.

• Perform some research. While you may have picked out your house and signed the papers at this point, you will want to take time and become familiar with your new neighborhood.
• Gather your records. Dental and medical records need to be among some of the priorities on your list at this time. Much the same goes for children’s school records. Obtaining these records can take some time, so you need to request them as soon as possible.

Six Weeks before the Move

Take an inventory. Start packing

• Take an inventory. Instead of doing a mad dash to pack everything at once, you should take this time to start looking at how you will handle the more important items. After all, the last thing you want to do is misplace some of your more valuable items during a move.
• Start packing. Once your inventory and garage sale is finished, now would be the time to start packing. Organization is essential to keep this move as simple as possible. It will also keep the unpacking process at your new home easy. This process will also tell you if you need movers or not.

One Month before the Move

Place in a change of address form. Call the moving and storage company. Call your utility companies. Check your vehicle. Contact other important business connections. Make travel arrangements. Start removing perishable foods.

• Place in a change of address form. You need to make sure the post office has time to reroute your mail to your new address. An option exists to date the move to a specific date, so you can still receive mail at your current address until you move.
• Call the moving and storage company. In order to make sure you have the right truck available for the right amount of time, you need to call the moving company as soon as possible.
• Call your utility companies. Even if you are moving across the city, you need to notify all of your utility companies. This situation means you need to call them for both the home you will be leaving and the home you are moving into.
• Check your vehicle. No matter how far you plan on moving, you need to make sure your vehicle is good to go as well. Be sure to check tires, fluids, and so on. Doing this now will allow you the time to see a mechanic if need be.
• Contact other important business connections. Now is the time to make sure you start contacting your insurance companies, banks, health clubs, pharmacies, monthly memberships, and any other businesses with which you regularly interact with to make sure they are aware of your move.
• Make travel arrangements. Depending on how long your move is distance wise, you need to take care of planning travel arrangements. Parking tickets, planning meals, arranging for gas money, and scheduling hotel stays should be done at this point.
• Start removing perishable foods. Now is also the time to start streamlining the food in your current house. At the same time, you should start packing up non-perishable foods as well.

One Week before the Move

Look over your plans. Make necessary payments. Prepare an essentials tote.

• Look over your plans. You need to make sure everything is in place. Double check on your travel arrangements and contact the moving company to make certain they are in place. Also, make sure the movers plan to come early.
• Make necessary payments. If you have not paid any bills at this point, you need to do so. Also, you need to contact your credit card companies and your bank to make sure fraud alerts are in place, just in case something happens during the move with suspicious spending activity.
• Prepare an essentials tote. If you have not done so already, you need to pack a tote full of essentials that you might need as soon as you arrive at your new home. Such items should include the following:
  • First aid kit
  • Flashlight
  • Lightbulbs
  • Paper plates, towels, disposable utensils, and toilet paper
  • Small toolkit
  • Trash bags
  • Utility knife for opening boxes

Pack odds and ends for travel. Prep your appliances.

• Pack odds and ends for travel. Other than having that tote, you also need to make sure you have toiletries and prescriptions ready for travel, especially if moving to the new home lasts more than a day or so.
• Prep your appliances. Gas needs to be drained from lawn mowers and other lawn care equipment. The same goes with gas grills and heaters. Also, if you have not done so already, your refrigerator and freezer have been defrosted.

Moving Day Arrives

Pick up the truck or wait for it to arrive. Perform a final walkthrough.

• Pick up the truck or wait for it to arrive. If you do not plan on having a moving and storage company at the ready to help you out, then you need to go and pick it up yourself.
• Perform a final walkthrough. Once everything has been loaded up, you need to take a second or third chance to walk through the house and make sure you did not leave anything behind.

For more tips, follow our blog on Facebook. For details on how we can help you make your move to the DFW area easier and more cost effective, contact DFW Fireman Movers today.