Moving Timeline: MoveOut.com’s Moving Guide

MoveOut.com understands that moving can be stressful. Therefore, we provide professional, industry-strength cardboard moving boxes, a variety of moving supplies online, and a comprehensive moving guide to help our clients when preparing for a move. Clients can refer to this extensive moving timeline to help organize and prepare for the transition.

Preparing for a Move: Two Months Prior

• When preparing for a move, decide whether you are going to move on your own, or whether you will utilize professional movers. If you decide to use professional movers, be sure that they are reputable. You can do this by contacting the American Moving and Storage Association to see if your movers are members of www.moving.org, or by visiting the Better Business Bureau to perform a free search on a moving company at www.bbb.org. You can also use other organizations, such as “Angie’s List,” that provide peer reviews on most local and long-distance moving companies.
• Our moving guide also suggests that if you intend to move without the assistance of professional movers, you should compare the prices of a number of reputable truck rental companies.
• Consider using a portable storage unit from a company like PODS if you would prefer to pack your own moving boxes and storage unit. This is a great option for moving.
• When you are getting ready to move, you will want to begin planning everything you will need to complete your move. Purchase all of your supplies from a reputable source of discounted moving boxes and packing supplies, like Moveout.com. This will help you save both time and money.
• Measure and map out the possible location of large home items such as couches, chairs, and cabinets to ensure that all of these items will fit through doors, both in your moving vehicle and in your next home.

Guide To Moving: Six Weeks Prior

• MoveOut.com’s guide to moving suggests dropping off belongings that you no longer use at Salvation Army and Goodwill. This will also limit the amount of trash you are forced to throw out at the end of your move. The additional benefit of donating unwanted items is that, in most cases, the IRS allows you to take a tax deduction for the value of your goods donated. For more information, visit the IRS’s website.
• When preparing for a move, determine when to schedule the shut-off or transfer of household utilities and services such as electricity, gas, cable/satellite TV, newspapers, lawn care or snow removal. Different providers have varying lead times and it is important to know in advance when to call.
• Schedule the cancelation of your security system and begin planning the system for your new residence. Our moving guide suggests that if your new home is already equipped with an alarm system or if you want to install an alarm system, you should use companies such as SafeMart, which offers huge discounts for alarm systems, compared to better-known alarm companies such as ADT, Brinks, First Alert, Broadview and Protection One.
• When getting ready to move, make sure important documents including kids’ school forms, medical records, and other important filings are transferred to your new location.
• File a change of address with the postal service and contact important service providers directly to update billing records, including:
  • Credit card companies
  • Loan providers
  • Mobile phone companies
  • Insurance companies (Auto, Home, Life)
  • Travel clubs – Airlines, Hotels, Car Rentals Auto Clubs
  • Magazine/Newspaper subscriptions

Moving Guide Countdown: One Month

• Our moving guide suggests that you limit the amount of groceries that you purchase during the last month of your move. Be careful of the bulk sizes that Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club sell, because you may end up having to dispose of perishable items.
• Determine how you will package the items that have special meaning to you, such as pictures, memorabilia, and other sentimental belongings. Sometimes, it might be better to move these specific items yourself to ensure their safety. Packing paper and bubble wrap are useful tools for ensuring that important possessions are not broken during your move.
• When preparing for a move, keep all of your moving documents in a large envelope to help keep you organized.
• You can begin packing the items that you do not immediately need to save time.

Moving Guide Countdown: Two Weeks

• As the moving timeline gets closer to your move, arrange for utilities to be shut off a few days after you have left your premises. Additionally, make sure that the utilities at your new location are ready to be used.
• Begin packing room by room. Create a list of what you are putting in each box and then number and label the box. This will make it much easier to find the things you need when you unpack. Make sure that you use strong moving boxes and adequate packing supplies to minimize the potential for any damage.
• Planning your moving strategy for pets and plants is an important aspect to consider when getting ready to move. Moving is often stressful for animals, and Petco has an excellent article with tips about moving a dog that can be found here.
• Our moving guide emphasizes backing up your electronic files, just in case any damage is inflicted to your technological devices.

Moving Guide Final Countdown: One Week

• When preparing for a move, hire a cleaning service to clean your new residence before you move in. Your new place will be much easier to clean before you unpack all of your belongings.
• Our moving guide suggests that you take more time than you think you will need off of work in order to complete your move. You might think that you can complete your move in two days -- but why stress yourself out and rush the process? A little time off will help you re-focus after a lot of hard work.
• Defrost the refrigerator and disable all appliances.
• This phase is critical when preparing for a move -- make sure that you have all the things you will need for short-term living, including clothes, medication, eyeglasses/contacts, a toothbrush and toothpaste.

MoveOut.com: Preparing for the Day of Your Move

• Supervise the move and make sure everything gets on the truck.
• Make one final search of the house to make certain that everything is collected.
• Finally, GOOD LUCK! Our moving guide emphasizes advanced planning and organization, to ensure that moving is as least stressful as possible.

©Moveout.com 2011