Why is moving so hard?

There are a number of valid reasons why moving out is so difficult:

• a house move can be rather expensive at times so your savings are likely to be at risk,
• a move takes plenty of time to plan and organize, thus intensifying the stress greatly when you have to move out quickly,
• a move usually means hard work for days on end, especially when you’ve decided to pack your things on your own, and
• a house move usually means a serious disruption of your life as you’re moving away from your friends, and sometimes your family as well.

And when you’re moving with your family, things can become even more complicated. Depending on the age of your child or children, you’ll have to face some major challenges that will increase the overall level of complexity of the upcoming relocation.

Don’t panic!

This family moving checklist will help you overcome the most common difficulties when moving out of state with a family. Beginning approximately 4 weeks before the day of the move, the family relocation timeline below will guide you throughout the preparation period, focusing on the specific tasks concerning your family members, including your pets.

Ready for the ultimate moving checklist for families?

4 weeks prior to Moving day

As long as you know how to achieve and maintain a high level of time management, you should have enough time to prepare fully for the house move in roughly 4 weeks.

• Hire movers or move by yourself. This is one of the very first puzzles to solve when moving with a family. It’s critical that you weigh the pros and cons of each house moving scenario and pick the option that’s best for everyone. Generally speaking, you could try to rent a truck and move by yourself when moving locally. However, when moving across the country, you’d be better off trusting a reputable state-to-state moving company. [Movers or DIY]
• Request quotes from movers. When moving to a new state with a family, the best way to guarantee the safety of your possessions and the peace of mind of your family members is to use the services of a top-rated interstate moving company. Get free quotes from trustworthy movers in your area and pick the offer that best suits your budget and satisfies your needs. Research well the candidate movers before picking the best offer in terms of price and conditions.
• Discuss the move with your children. You just have to find the time to discuss the upcoming move with your children provided that they are old enough to understand what’s happening. Moving to a new city, oftentimes in a new state altogether, is a big deal for school-age children because they are about to change the school they go to and leave their school friends as well. Moving house can be tough for everyone, so focus on the positives in order to persuade your children to work with you and not against you when moving out of state. [Moving With Children]
• Arrange the school transfer. When moving with school-age children, one super-important task is to arrange the transfer of the schools. First of all, you have to find a good school for your son or daughter in the destination area – remember to schedule a school tour after the move for your final decision. And secondly, arrange for your children’s school records to be transferred directly to the new school. If impossible, obtain those records from the school and take them with you to the new place.
• Look for free moving boxes. Throughout your family moving checklist, you should have various ways to cut moving costs – from obtaining free packing supplies to moving only whatever’s necessary and packing your things by yourself. Consider lowering your packing expenses by getting free cardboard boxes from friends, neighbors, colleagues, large retail stores in your area, or online. The average number of boxes to pack up an entire home is 60, so each box you get for free will help you move more cheaply. [Free Moving Boxes]
• Declutter your home of any unwanted items. This family relocation timeline advises you to get rid of any items that you don’t need anymore and you don’t plan to use in the future, or the ones you have never liked anyway. Think about it – it doesn’t make any sense to waste valuable time packing useless things and then pay good money to transport them to the new house. Be pragmatic and purge your home of any unnecessary items before you initiate the packing task. [Declutter Your Home]
• Start the packing process without delay. Unless you’ve decided to use professional packing services, you must start packing up your stuff as soon as you can. Why? Packing for a move is the most time-consuming task of them all, so you should double the time you think you’ll need to protect your belongings. Naturally, you should start packing from the hardest rooms to sort and pack – in most cases, those are the storage areas in the home. [What to Pack First]

3 weeks prior to Moving day

Now that you have worked on your family moving calendar for a week, it’s time to keep marking those important moving tasks as DONE. You’ve got about 20 days left until the move-out date so it’s not the right time to let down your guard.

• Get your children to pack up their things. It’s a clever tactic to keep your children involved in the pre-move preparation so that they can feel that they are part of the team. Besides, during a move, you should welcome all the help you can get. So, encourage your children to sort out and then pack up their own things – if they are old enough to do so, of course. Give them a hand whenever necessary but give them some freedom to make decisions about the fate of their own stuff.
• Rent a moving truck. When moving only a short distance away, you may wish to try to organize a self-move for you and your family. In that case, you’re going to have to rent a truck from either one of the best nationwide truck rental companies (UHaul, Penske, Budget, Ryder) or from a smaller local truck rental agency. Make sure you’re renting a moving vehicle of the right size (storage capacity) to avoid trouble down the stretch. [Rent a Truck]
• Visit your family doctor. Moving your family to another state means you’ll have to register with another family physician in the destination place. And to be able to do that, you’re going to need your and your family’s medical records. So, pay a quick visit to your current doctor and get all the documentation needed to sign up with another family doctor in the new city. Also, remember to get your dental records from your current dentist as well.
• Decide how you’ll transport your pets. Moving away with your family also means that any pets you may happen to have are also coming with you. No matter if you own a dog, a cat, a bird, fish, or another type of pet animal, they are part of the family so you’ll need to figure out the best way to transport them safely as well. Bear in mind that professional moving companies are not allowed to move pets for safety reasons, so the most common way to move with pets is to move them in your own car. [Moving With Pets]
• Decide what you’ll do with your furniture. One of the trickiest moments when moving with a family is to come to a rational decision about what you should do with the furniture pieces you own. You may like some furniture items while your partner may hate them for some reason or another. Your children are likely to want to keep their beds too. Remember that moving large and heavy furniture across the country is seldom worth it due to the high transportation cost. So, do you move your furniture pieces or buy new ones after the move? [Move Furniture or Buy New]
• Organize a moving sale. Provided that you can find some free time in your busy family moving schedule, you should consider organizing a moving sale with the purpose of selling all the items you won’t be moving with you. That way, you’ll be able to get rid of unwanted items and earn some much-needed cash by doing so. A successful yard sale before moving takes time and proper organization so decide whether the extra effort will be worth it in the end. [Moving Sale]

2 weeks prior to Moving day

With approximately 2 weeks before you have to move away, you should check with your family moving checklist whether the progress you’ve made is satisfactory. Hopefully, you will be able to keep up with the myriad of moving tasks and not fall behind your personal planner.

• Hire a car shipper, if necessary. When moving with your family to another state that’s too far away from where you are now, you may not be too thrilled to drive across the country for days. In which case, you should hire a reputable car shipping company and fly to your destination instead. Also, if you own two cars, you’ll want to use reliable car shipping services for the second vehicle as well. [Car Shipping]
• Change your address. Moving to a new home automatically means that your postal address is about to change too. Ideally, you will initiate the change of address procedure roughly 2 weeks before moving away so that you don’t lose any important pieces of mail in the relocation process. Luckily, you’ve got 4 options to change your address with the USPS: 1) in person at the nearest post office, 2) online, 3) by phone, and 4) by mail. [Change Address]
• Transfer the home utilities. Imagine that you’ve just moved into the new place only to find that there’s neither electricity nor running water there. Oops! You wouldn’t like that, would you? So, be proactive and arrange the transfer of the major home utilities such as electricity, water, gas, phone, and cable TV to the new home. Get in touch with your current utility providers to schedule a date for disconnecting the utilities. Then, contact the new utility companies to ensure you won’t be unpacking in the dark. [Change Utilities]
• Cancel all delivery services and subscriptions. Make a detailed list of all the home delivery services and subscriptions to all other services. Then, cancel those services one by one simply because you won’t be there anymore. Also, discontinue your memberships at various clubs, gyms, organizations, or hobby groups. If applicable, get any deposits back to minimize the likely loss of money from canceling your membership cards.
• Make a decision about your house plants. When moving locally with your family, you should be able to transport some of your favorite house plants in your car. However, when moving long distance across the country, moving your plants becomes too risky for your leafy companions so you should seriously consider giving them away to friends or donating them, if possible. Professional movers are not allowed to transport plants for safety reasons. [Move Plants]

1 week prior to Moving day

Only 7 days until your scheduled move-out date. Hopefully, you’ll be able to keep things under control with the help of this moving checklist for family relocation.

• Assess whether you’ll need any packing help. Packing up your things for moving is the major task during a house move, so your principal focus should be on protecting your valuable possessions for safe transportation. It’s fairly easy to assume you’ve got the packing task under full control… only to realize a few days prior to moving day that you’re way behind your packing timeline. Assess the situation carefully and ask your best friends to help you finish the packing job, if necessary. [Friendly Help]
• Pack an essentials box for your children. When moving with children, you just have to pack a box full of essential items for them – things they will surely need during the relocation trip itself. What you pack in that box will depend primarily on the age of your kids: the essentials can vary from baby stuff (disposable diapers, baby food, clothes, toys, etc.) to teenagers’ items such as electronic devices and books. [Essentials Box]
• Prepare an essentials box for your pets. When moving with pets, either locally or long distance, you’ll also need to prepare a box full of essential pet items for your animal friends. The idea is to make sure they feel safe and comfortable during the relocation trip so consider packing pet food, special treats, bedding, favorite toys, and even their favorite blankets for extra comfort. Prepare the appropriate pet carrier for cats and birds for their own safety.
• Get your family car serviced. When you’ve decided to drive to the new destination, one thing you might forget to do is to ensure that your family car is ready for the trip. Don’t take any risks – unless your car is fairly new and in top condition, it’s a good idea to take your family car to a garage to be serviced properly prior to a road trip of hundreds or even thousands of miles.
• Plan your relocation trip. The car journey to the new home doesn’t have to be spent just driving the vehicle non-stop. If you happen to have more time to spare, then you can easily organize a fun relocation trip with exciting stops along the way. Such a plan should be particularly appealing to your children who would love to see new places and experience new adventures on their way to the new home.
• Consider organizing a farewell party. Luckily, your family moving checklist is not only work, work, and more work. Shortly before having to go away, do consider organizing a farewell party for family friends and relatives. After all, you’re moving out and you never know when you’re going to see your dear friends again. If your children are old enough, they can invite some of their friends over so that they can spend some time together before the move-out day. [Say Goodbye to Friends]

Must-read: Moving Checklist: Interactive & Printable Moving Checklist

Moving day

Move day has arrived!

Are you ready to handle the most physically demanding and mentally taxing day of the entire house move?

• Get up early. Moving day will be a (very) stressful day so you’d better get up early enough to give yourself more time in case you’ve forgotten to do something important. An early start is also a bonus when moving in the summer when temperatures can reach record values at noon and early afternoon. Do your best to persuade your family members to go to bed earlier the night before in order to have the required stamina on Moving day itself.
• Keep your valuables with you. You should have finished the house packing job by that moment and have only a few minor packing tasks to complete before your movers arrive or you start loading up the truck during a self-move. Remember to keep all valuable items with you at all times – documents, jewelry pieces, money, bank cards, portable electronic devices, and so on. Do not trust your movers with your valuables no matter how trustworthy they may seem.
• Ensure the safety of your children and pets. Moving with children can be dangerous, especially on Moving day when bulky furniture items and heavy boxes will be taken out of the home for an extended period of time. You must take precautionary steps before it’s too late – ask friends or relatives to come over and look after your children and pets in a room away from the packing and moving action.
• Dress appropriately for the occasion. One of the reasons why Moving day can be so dangerous is the probability of personal injuries – the worst thing that can happen during a house move. So, to protect yourself and those around you, remember to dress appropriately for the occasion: 1) wear your most comfortable pair of closed shoes that also have rubber anti-slip soles, and 2) don clothes that will not restrict your movements in any way. [What to Wear on Moving Day]
• Greet your movers. When you’ve hired a professional moving company, then you should be ready to greet the movers on the pre-arranged day and time. Show them around the house, give them any specific instructions, if any, and then just let them do what they do best. It’s best to hang around in case the pros have any questions for you. Also, be a good host and offer your hired workers cold bottled water when moving in the summer.
• Do a final security check. When the moving vehicle is loaded up and you’re about to leave the current place, do one final tour around the house to secure all doors and windows, and switch off all the power, water, and gas. Also, look around for any forgotten items before you lock up the place and start the family relocation trip.

Moving Day Checklist: How to Survive Moving Day in 20 Steps

The post Family Moving Checklist: Ultimate Moving Checklist for Families appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Follow your moving timeline and things will be quite alright.

When moving for the very first time, you’ll notice right away that the success of a house move hinges on impeccable organization. Strategic planning when moving to a new home proves to be critical since every hour of every day has to be used efficiently. If not, time often turns out to be insufficient, which in turn leads to a score of problems right before Moving day and on the Big day itself.

Without a doubt, one of the most difficult things to do when moving house is to organize the overwhelming number of tasks you have to complete before moving out.

And here’s the tricky part too – oftentimes, you won’t be sure which tasks to do first and which tasks to postpone for later. As a result, any confusion about the priority of those individual move-related jobs will only make the whole relocation much more complicated than it really is.

To simplify things considerably and to organize your pre-move time well, you’re going to need a moving timeline. In reality, a moving timeline for moving is a moving checklist that not only tells you WHAT to do but also WHEN you should do it so that there’s no confusion about which task comes next.

A moving timeline is practically a moving list of things to do that gives you a time reference for more clarity and increased efficiency.

Here’s your moving timeline checklist: a week-by-week moving list that will guide you through your move by helping you organize your time perfectly.

8 Weeks Before Moving Out

Our moving timeline checklist starts with 8 weeks before move-out day.

• Start searching for a house or apartment according to your needs and requirements, and of course – what type of property you can afford to rent or purchase. Explore not just the properties, but also the neighborhoods, crime rate, wages, costs of living, etc.
• Make a decision about whether you will hire a professional moving company or whether you will organize a self-move. This is a very important decision because it will determine how you prepare for the upcoming move. When unsure which way to go, follow this link to read the pros and cons of each house moving option.
• Get quotes from top-rated moving companies in order to get a good idea about how much your move will cost you. Estimates will help you determine what sort of move you can afford and what services you can hire.
• Request in-home surveys from professional movers so that you get accurate cost estimates that will reflect the final price you pay in the end. Home visits will also determine the risk involved in the move such as tight corridors and corners, small doorways, multiple flights of stairs, etc.
• Let movers know if you want any extra services such as packing, disassembly of large furniture, temporary storage (delayed delivery), and so on. They will calculate the price of the add-on services and include them in the moving cost estimates.
• Create a moving budget to not only learn how much money you will need to cover the moving costs but also to monitor your current expenses and do something if a task requires more money for its completion than you allocated originally.
• Inventory your home by creating a detailed list of all the household items found in your place. Then, take a closer look at that home inventory sheet to determine which items you will be moving with you and which items you will leave behind.

10 Tips for Hiring Movers

6 Weeks Before Moving Out

The moving checklist timeline continues approximately 6 weeks prior to the scheduled move-out date.

• Get rid of the items you won’t be moving to the new home. You’ve got plenty of options here depending on their current condition and sentimental value – you can try to sell them at a garage sale or online, or you can donate most of them. Donating lightly-used items to charity is always the noble thing to do before moving away.
• Gather the necessary packing supplies in advance so that you don’t interrupt the packing task once you’ve started it. You will need cardboard boxes of various sizes, plenty of bubble wrap to protect all fragile items you own, packing paper as the first layer of protection for breakable items, packing tape to secure bundles and boxes, and a set of color markers to label all containers.
• Lower your packing costs by using second-hand boxes for free. How do you do it? First of all, ask friends, neighbors, and colleagues if they have any cardboard boxes they don’t really need. Also, free moving boxes can be obtained from local businesses such as supermarkets, bookstores, home electronics stores, shopping centers, local produce stores, etc.
• Start packing up your home. Bear in mind that packing for a move is the most time-consuming task of them all, so the earlier you start boxing up your stuff, the better. Now that you have inventoried your house, you will know exactly what items you will take with you, which basically removes the guesswork from the house packing process.
• Book a rental truck if you have made the informed decision to move house without movers. Get in touch with the best truck rental companies in the country and see what they offer and at what prices.
• Start looking for top-rated auto shippers if you will need to have your vehicle shipped across the country. This is often the case when you plan to fly to the new home or when you own a second car that will need to be transported by a professional car shipping company.

Packing Timeline for Moving

4 Weeks Before Moving Out

The moving house timeline enters the 1-month period prior to moving out – that’s a fairly critical moment during the pre-move preparations.

• Continue packing up your things. The recommended path of packing is to begin the process from the hardest rooms to sort out and pack (storage areas such as the attic, basement, garage, spare rooms, walk-in closet, and kitchen) and then work your way towards the easiest rooms to pack (bedroom and living room).
• Pay a visit to your family physician and dentist and ask for your medical records and those of your family members. The idea here is that you’ll need those records in order to register with another doctor in the destination city or town.
• Take your pet or pets to the vet for a thorough checkup before you move away. Don’t wait until the last moment to do it as more important tasks will keep popping up as Moving day approaches and you may not find the time to do so. Once at the vet’s office, request your pet’s vaccination record as well.
• Contact your children’s school and ask for their academic records so that you can enroll your kids at a new school in the new city or town. If possible, arrange for those school records to be transferred directly to the new educational institution.
• Cancel any subscriptions, home delivery services, and memberships at various clubs or organizations.
• Take your car to be serviced if you plan to drive across the country to your destination. You have to be sure the vehicle is ready for the road trip to the new home.
• Contact your friends and ask them if they can help you pack and move if you’ve chosen not to hire professional movers. In reality, you’re giving your pals a month’s notice in the hope that you won’t ruin their own plans.

How to Get Friends to Help You Move

2 Weeks Before Moving Out

Your timeline for moving has guided you well until there are a couple of weeks left until the move-out date. With just 14 days left, things are about to get a bit stressful, so make sure you follow this moving organizer.

• Prepare Open First boxes as you’re packing up your things. These are essentials boxes that will contain essential items that you will need while your regular everyday stuff is in transit and you won’t have access to it. Also knows as survival kits, those boxes will stay with you at all times.
• Contact your current utility companies and schedule the disconnection of the home utilities you’re using at the moment. The truth is that you don’t want to be paying for any of the utility services when you’re already gone.
• Get in touch with the service providers in the new city or town and arrange for the connection of the main house utilities in the new home. Needless to say, you’ll want to have electricity and running water in the new place when you arrive there.
• Change your address with the USPS – you’re moving house and the address is moving with you. You can change your address in any of these 4 ways: 1) in person by visiting the nearest post office, 2) online by visiting the official USPS webpage, 3) by phone, or 4) by mail.
• Reserve the elevator when moving out of an apartment building. Contact the building management and reserve the elevator for the move-out date to avoid problems when your movers arrive. See if you’ll need to obtain a parking permit for the moving truck as well.
• Start thinking about organizing a farewell party and send out invitations to your best friends. You can keep it simple like an informal get-together – the important part is to see your pals one more time before you go away.

Moving Out of State Checklist

1 Week Before Moving Out

There are only 7 days left until Moving day and things can get a bit chaotic around the house. Remember to stick to this moving timeline to keep chaos away from your doorstep.

• Call your moving company to confirm that everything’s going according to plan and that they will be parking their truck in front of your home on the pre-arranged day and time.
• Assess your packing progress – by that moment, you should have packed up most of your belongings. You still have like 6 days left to pack up what’s remaining but the bulk of the task should have been completed. If you fail to see the end of the packing marathon in end, then you may have to ask for help.
• Check whether you have any outstanding bills and if you do, pay them up so that you can move out without any debts.
• Turn your attention to the large furniture items in your home. What have you decided to do with them? Keep in mind that when moving long distance, you’ll probably pay more for their transportation than what they are worth. Still, if you’re moving any furniture – dresser, bed, desk, couch, etc., then you can start disassembling them.
• Start using up your food supplies roughly a week prior to Moving day and don’t purchase any more food than you can eat up until it’s time to go.
• Defrost your fridge a couple of days before movers arrive. Clean it and let it dry up completely for at least 24 hours.
• Ask a neighbor or the new renters/owners to forward your mail to the new address in case your change of address request hasn’t been processed yet. Don’t forget to leave some cash with them for the favor.

What to Do With Food When Moving

Moving Day

Here’s your moving day timeline – all your preparation comes down to this one day. So, you’d better be ready for it.

• Get up early. There is always something extra to do on moving day which has not been initially planned. Or something may come up at the last minute, so you’d better be there, ready for anything and staying away from serious moving day mistakes that can ruin your chances of a successful move.
• Keep young children and pets safe. It’s best to arrange for a family member to look after your loved ones in a room away from the action so that you can concentrate fully on the tasks at hand.
• Greet the movers and show them what they have to move or maybe pack if you’ve opted for that extra service. In most cases, they will know exactly what to do without too much explanation.
• Keep the documents your movers have given you in a safe place. Don’t sign any papers that you don’t fully understand, and never ever sign a blank document no matter how trustworthy your movers may seem.
• Confirm that your movers have your destination address and your phone number in case of a problem.
• Take one final walk through the home to see whether everything looks like it should be. Check whether all windows and doors are closed and secured before you leave the place.

Moving Day Checklist: How to Survive Moving Day in 20 Steps

The post 8-Week Moving Timeline: Moving Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

If you’re about to move out of your parents’ house, then you’ll need to know what steps you’ll need to take in order to turn the whole relocation affair as stress-free and pain-free for everyone as possible.

The first rule you’ll need to remember is that independence brings about many responsibilities, and you may not be ready yet to be a responsible adult. Time will certainly help you in that regard, but right now, you’ll need to focus entirely on pulling off a successful move – the first tricky step toward a new life chapter away from your parents.

Read on to learn how to move out of your parents’ house without getting too stressed out, remaining calm and clear-thinking even if it turns out that your budget is insufficient to cover the moving expenses.

Reassess your reasons to move out of your parents’ house

Oftentimes, the big question is WHY – why do you want to move out of your parents’ house?

When you understand and accept the main reason for wanting to move out of your parents’ place, then everything will become a bit easier for you. However, it’s still a good idea to double-check your decision to make sure it’s the right one under the circumstances. Once you move away, you may not have the chance to undo it – that is, to move back with your parents at a later stage.

• Do you wish to move out because you have a serious conflict with your folks and you can’t seem to resolve the issue peacefully?
• Are you moving out of your parents’ home in order to move in with your significant other?
• Are you moving away so that you can continue your education at a college or university that’s located in another part of the country?
• Are you moving out because you’ve found a good job in another state?

Or you could be moving away from your parents to celebrate your independence – no more condescending instances of being treated like a child, right?

Why Do People Move House?

Tell your parents that you’re moving out

Once you’ve made up your mind to move out of your parents’ house, then it’s time to tell your parents about that important decision of yours. The thing is that unless you’re moving out due to a big fight with your folks, then you’re going to need their help throughout the house moving process.

You don’t have to worry too much about how they will take the news – in most cases, they will either suspect your intention to move out or will simply know about it even before you tell them.

Still, it’s best if you wait for the right moment to inform them of your intention to leave the family nest. You know your parents well enough so you should know what the best timing is for letting them know. You may need to think about the right setting too – will you do it at home or will it be better if you do it while taking a walk with them in the city park?

Whichever setting you pick for telling your parents that you’re moving out – private or public, your best bet is to convince your mom and dad that you’re ready to make that decisive, life-changing step.

Interactive & Printable Moving Checklist

Come up with a good move-out plan

Moving house can be a chaotic experience so make sure you’ve got a fool-proof plan for moving out.

You shouldn’t move out of your parents’ house until you have a good plan of how exactly you will do it. It would be disastrous for you if you just left without any concrete future plans.

All in all, there are several critical questions to answer even before you get to the point of telling your parents that you’re leaving soon.

• How will you fund the move? Do you happen to have enough money saved to cover the substantial moving expenses?
• Where will you live? Have you secured a place where you will be living once you move away from your childhood home?
• How will you survive the first several months after the relocation? Do you have a steady income that will help you get through the great deal of post-move expenses?

Even if your preliminary plan isn’t perfect, having a plan is a good start that will prove to your folks that you’re responsible and mature enough to start living on your own. Soon your desire to become totally independent will become a reality… but it’ll come with loads of responsibilities as well.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Mover?

Create a preliminary budget

Ideally, you’ll have your parents’ blessing for your decision to move out of your childhood house. Now, the next big step is to create a budget so that you can see whether you’re financially ready to be independent.

How much to save to move out of your parents’ house?

The right answer will depend on many factors, but a good rule of thumb is to have enough money to cover the first 3 months of living expenses (at least).

Moving costs. Your mom and dad may agree to cover your moving expenses as a farewell present. The final moving cost will depend on how far you’re going, how many items you choose to take with you, and whether you hire professional movers or organize a Do-It-Yourself move.

Monthly expenses. After the move, you’ll have the following monthly expenses to worry about:

• rent,
• deposit (one-time payment),
• utility bills (electricity, water, gas, Internet, phone, etc.),
• insurance,
• groceries,
• fuel and parking,
• pocket money.

Once you figure out your non-negotiable payments, then you’ll have a better idea of how much you can afford to spend on rent.

As far as the moving expenses go, get a free quote from professional movers to know what to expect in that regard.

Secure a steady income

Every beginning is tough so you shouldn’t get discouraged easily.

You want to move out of your parents’ house – that much is clear. So, the only way you can make this work is to find a job with a steady income so that you can pay up your bills and cover the rest of your monthly expenses while living away from your mom and dad.

Most young adults start their professional careers in entry-level positions and then begin their gradual ascent up the corporate ladder (if applicable). If that’s the case with you as well, then, hopefully, your salary will be enough to let you stay independent. Usually, things improve as time passes as you manage to create some financial stability.

In the best-case scenario, you’ll be moving out of your parents’ home because you’ve found a good job in another state or in another city in the same state. Either way, having a steady job is the key that will unlock the door to the independent life you wish to lead.

Find a good place you can afford

Pick a place to live according to your needs and budget.

One of the best tips for moving out of your parents’ house is to rent a good place to call your home.

That’s right – the initial calculations of your preliminary budget and a quick check of your needs should show you what type of residence you can afford at the beginning. It’s OK to move into a small starter apartment at first while you’re still new to that living-on-your-own experience, especially when you’re single and your paycheck is far from what you want it to be.

If you can’t afford to pay the rent, then do consider finding a roommate with whom to share the living space… and all the living expenses, of course. That way, you may not get the complete freedom and independence you’ve always wanted, but it can still be a good compromise, especially if you happen to find a person who will become a good friend of yours in the future.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the rental being close to your workplace – a long commute to work will not only waste much of your free time, but it will also burden your personal budget.

Moving Into an Apartment for the First Time

Ask your parents for help

Without a doubt, the best way to move out of your parents’ house is to get your folks’ assurance that they will help you with whatever they can. And, unless you’re moving out because of them, you should gladly accept their valuable assistance.

Thankfully, there are many ways caring parents can help their children during the tough house moving process.

• Don’t hesitate to accept your parents’ offer to cover the moving expenses. Depending on the move parameters, that could prove to be very generous of them.
• Ask your parents if you could loan some money from them until you get back on your feet. Needless to say, you should insist that you pay the money back as soon as you can. That’s especially relevant if you want to move out of your parents’ house with no money saved.
• See if your mom and dad will be willing to give you a hand with the moving preparations, mainly with sorting out and packing up your things.
• Ask your parents if they can provide you with any essential items for the new place so that you won’t need to buy those necessities after the move.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline for Moving

Decide between renting a truck or hiring movers

Do you know how to prepare to move out of your parents’ house? One of the very first preparation steps is to figure out how you’ll transport your things to the new place.

Will you rent a moving truck and drive it yourself, or ask your dad to drive the moving vehicle since he must be the more experienced driver?

Or will you hire a professional moving company to take care of all the move details for you so that you won’t have to lift a finger?

The truth is that the best relocation scenario for you will depend on a number of factors.

• 

  Organizing a self-move could work out well for you.

  Distance. If your destination town or city is located several states away from your parents’ home, then it makes sense to hire professionals to move your belongings as driving a moving truck across the country will be both risky and expensive.

• Number of items. If you’ve got too many items to pack and move, including some specialty items that require special packing techniques, then it’s clear that you’d be better off using a moving company to get the job done.
• Level of assistance. If you know that you can rely on timely help from your parents and some of your friends, then a DIY move may be worth it. But if you’re left to deal with it on your own, then you’ll have to hire experienced movers.

Hire Movers or Move by Yourself? What Should You Do?

Decide what items you’ll take with you

One of the most important steps to moving out of your parents’ house is to decide what items you’ll take with you and what items you’ll leave behind. In fact, this is a critical step because it will help you lower the moving expenses, sometimes by A LOT.

Since you’ll be moving house for the first time, you may not fully understand how the moving price is formed. Basically, it will depend on several factors such as move distance, weight of the shipment, extra services, and the movers you hire. What this means is that the more things you choose to move to your new place, the more money you’ll have to pay for their transportation simply because of the increased total weight of the shipment.

Go through your things carefully and decide whether moving each item is really worth it. Avoid moving large and heavy furniture items – oftentimes, the cost of moving furniture will be more than purchasing brand-new furniture items after the move. Don’t move too many books as books are heavier than you think – just take a few favorite volumes and leave the rest behind.

It’s always a good idea to donate some of the gently-used items to local charities – the very things you won’t ever plan on using again.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

Find free packing supplies

Moving out for the first time is always tough for a number of reasons, one of them being that you won’t likely have enough money to cover the future moving expenses. So, taking into account that your moving budget will be extremely limited, you must do all in your power to reduce the moving costs as much as you can.

One excellent way to cut moving costs is to use free packing materials (whenever possible) instead of purchasing brand-new packing supplies. That way, you should be able to save hundreds of dollars on moving boxes, bubble wrap, and even packing paper.

After all, why should you pay for something when you can get it for free, right?

Your priority goal should be to score as many free moving boxes as possible because those cardboard containers will be your biggest packing expense. So, where to get free cardboard boxes? Luckily, you’re got a variety of options to do just that.

• 

  Scoring free packing boxes will help you keep your moving expenses to a minimum.

  Friends and neighbors;

• Online: specialized websites such as Freecycle and Craigslist;
• Large supermarkets;
• Shopping centers;
• Home electronics stores;
• Furniture stores;
• Bookstores;
• Liquor stores;
• Recycling centers.

Don’t forget to make sure that the moving boxes you’ve managed to find for free are strong, dry, infestation-free, and have no visible signs of damage.

Where to Find Free Packing Materials

Ask your friends to help you pack (and move)

One of the best ways to move out of your parents’ house is to get your good friends to help you pack and possibly move your stuff to the rental truck in case you’ve opted for a Do-It-Yourself move.

On the other hand, if you’ve already hired professional movers to transport your stuff, you can still get friendly assistance during the packing process. That way, you won’t have to pay extra for professional packing services, which should save you a good deal of money in the end.

To have the best possible experience with your friends helping you pack and move, here are a few unwritten rules you are recommended to follow:

• Don’t bother your friends if you think that you’ll manage on your own, partly assisted by your parents and your siblings, if any.
• Reach out to your pals as early as you can to minimize the disruption of their own plans.
• Be honest with your buddies about what type of assistance you will need.
• Assure your good friends that there’ll be a nice party after the work is done, so it won’t be just work, work, and more work.
• Be prepared for the arrival of your helpers by securing in advance all the required packing supplies and the necessary moving equipment.

How to Get Friends to Help You Move

The post How to Move Out of Your Parents’ House: Moving Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Nevertheless, moving locally should not be underestimated as it requires the same amount of meticulous preparation and careful planning as moving long distance, if not more in some relocation cases.

Be aware that regardless of whether your breakable and fragile items will travel 100 miles or 1,000 miles, they still need to be well-padded and safely packed in strong boxes in order to reach the new home unscathed.

The same is true for a number of organizational tasks as well – no matter how close or far you’re moving, you still need to change your address with the USPS and transfer the home utilities on time.

And, of course, you should never forget the ultimate goal of lowering moving costs whenever possible.

Here are the top 10 local moving tips that should make your local move much easier.

1. Have a good local moving plan

The very first thing you need to do when you already know for a fact that you’ll be soon moving locally is to create some sort of a plan in your head.

Playing it by ear is a bad idea, especially if you’re moving out for the first time. So, instead of improvising, find a bit of time to create a master plan of how your local move is going to pan out.

However, if planning a local move is a luxury you can’t afford due to severe time constraints, then take advantage of a local moving checklist that will guide you throughout the in-state move.

Moving Checklist: Interactive & Printable

2. Make an informed decision: DIY or movers?

When moving locally (a move radius of roughly 100 miles), you’ll have a good opportunity to organize a self-move and potentially save some money in the process.

DIY moves are suitable when moving locally but a number of minimum requirements will have to be met so that brave attempts at self-moving can work out well in the end:

• Previous house moving experience;
• Reliable friends who are ready to give you a hand and who won’t back out at the last minute;
• No specialty items – a piano or a pool table, for example – that require special packing care that only professional packers can provide.

Hire Movers or Move by Yourself?

3. Know how much local movers charge

It’s important to remember that while cross-country movers charge a flat fee calculated on the basis of various factors such as shipment weight, move distance, and moving services, local moving companies charge by the hour.

On average, hiring 2 movers and a truck for a local move will cost you between $90 and $120 per hour. Of course, the exact charge will vary depending on where you live in the country (state, big city, small town, rural area) and the local moving company you pick as your partner.

When moving locally, time becomes the major factor that will determine how much your in-state moving company will charge you.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Movers?

4. Learn the price of your own local move

It can be useful to know the average cost of moving locally but it’s even more useful to know the cost of your own move. And the only way you can get that critical piece of information is to get cost estimates in writing from top-rated local moving companies.

The only way to learn the cost of your own local move is to get free moving quotes from several reputable local movers and compare those price estimates to pick the offer that fits your moving budget and satisfies your relocation needs.

5. Hire the best local movers near you

Don’t settle for less than the best local movers.

Once you have the moving cost estimates in your hands, it should be fairly straightforward to choose which local moving company to trust with your valuable possessions.

First of all, you should look at the final estimated costs and whether or not they include the extra moving services that you need or want.

And secondly, you just have to do your homework and research the moving companies so that there won’t be any unpleasant surprises later.

And what’s the first step of researching local moving companies?

Read genuine customer reviews about the short-distance movers, of course.

How to Find the Best Local Movers Near You

6. Decide who’s going to pack your things

Without a doubt, packing for a local move is one of the most important tasks in your moving checklist, if not the most crucial one. And here’s the question that you need to answer pretty early in your preparation:

Will you pack up your things by yourself or will you hire professional packers?

As is the case with most move-related decisions, there are pros and cons no matter which option you choose.

Professional packers will wrap up and box your prized possessions quickly and safely but professional packing services are not cheap. On the other hand, you should be able to pack up most of your own things but it’ll cost you plenty of time and effort.

Professional Packers Guide

7. Start packing for a local move TODAY

Once you make up your mind that you can manage the packing process without hiring professional packers, it’s time to get down to it without any delay.

One of the best local moving tips you’ll ever get is to start packing ASAP. The main reason for that sense of urgency is simple – packing for a move is the most time-consuming task in a moving checklist. And so, to make sure you’ll be done with packing before Moving day arrives, you just have to initiate the packing project right away.

Procrastination when packing for a local move is a really bad idea.

How to Motivate Yourself to Pack for Moving

8. Follow a packing timeline

At first, it can be rather confusing when you start packing up your things simply because you may not know where to start. Should you pack up the kitchen first, or should you start the packing task from the closet?

Also, if you’ve never packed for a local move before, you’re likely to lose loads of valuable time deciding what to do next once you’ve tackled a packing task.

The thing is that you simply can’t afford to lose precious time while wondering what you’re supposed to pack next. So, do yourself a favor and follow a detailed Packing Timeline to control the entire packing process from start to finish.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline for Moving

9. Get hold of the proper packing supplies

The thing is that you can’t pack by yourself if you don’t have the right packing materials, right? Not surprisingly, your packing checklist should remind you to find the right type and number of packing supplies beforehand so that you won’t have to interrupt the house packing process once you’ve started it.

Bear in mind that you surely don’t have to buy all packing supplies brand new, especially when it comes to cardboard boxes. Why should you pay hundreds of dollars for new moving boxes when you can get most of them for free?

Besides packing boxes, you’ll also need plenty of packing paper and bubble wrap to protect your fragile items. Packing tape and permanent markers are must-haves too.

Where to Find Free Packing Materials

10. Inventory your home

Inventory your entire home so that you know what you’re up against.

Creating a home inventory is one of those tasks that you somehow feel you can skip and still be ok in the end. Well, don’t skip it.

A detailed home inventory will give you valuable information about what household items you have under the roof. People often get surprised when they uncover things they have completely forgotten about when getting ready to move out. And you might feel that way too.

Go from room to room and write down on an inventory sheet all the things there. Later, you’ll use that inventory list to decide which items you’ll be moving to the new home and which ones you’ll be leaving behind.

How to Make a Home Inventory When Moving

11. Decide what to do with your furniture

One of the biggest questions when moving locally is whether you should move the furniture with you.

Now, moving furniture across the country is rarely worth it due to the high transportation costs. However, when moving locally, taking some furniture pieces with you could prove to be a good idea.

If you’ve got antique furniture or one that has sentimental value for you, then yes, moving it should make sense. On the other hand, paying for the haul of large and heavy furniture items, or ready-to-assembled ones such as IKEA furniture is often not worth the trouble at all.

Should You Move Your Furniture or Buy New After the Move?

12. Create a layout of the new home

A floor plan of the new place can definitely help you decide what items you should take with you and what items you’ll be better off just leaving behind. In fact, the idea of creating a layout of the new home is especially relevant when it comes to moving large furniture between the two locations.

If possible, create a floor plan to figure out the angles. You may find out that there just isn’t enough space in the new home for some of the larger items you intend to move. Or maybe their design and color will not really fit the décor of the destination place.

13. Lighten the load

Another thing you should do when moving locally within the same state is to declutter your home with the purpose of moving with you only the things you intend to use in the near future.

The thing is that the more items you take with you, the more money you will pay for their transportation. And besides, some of those things will have become useless, broken, and ultimately unwanted with time so there’s really no need to move all of them to the new place.

Sell at a garage sale, give away to friends, donate, or just throw away (recycle) the household items you no longer care about.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

14. Pack with safety in mind

Your decision to pack by yourself means that you must feel confident in your overall packing skills. And unless you have specialty items that require special packing and handling, you should trust yourself to complete the packing process without hiring professional packers.

And as you might suspect, one of the big challenges when packing on your own is safety.

• Double-tape the bottoms of your cardboard boxes, especially if you’re using second-hand containers.
• Use packing paper and bubble wrap generously throughout the packing task – these are the padding materials that will ensure your breakables reach the new home in one piece.
• Fill any gaps inside the boxes with paper to make sure the items inside will not shift during transport.

The 20 Best Packing Tips for Moving

15. Prepare an essentials box

Load your essentials boxes last in the car and unload them first when you reach your destination.

Even though you won’t be moving across the country, you’ll still face a period when you won’t have full access to your everyday items since they will be already packed up and possibly even in transit at the time.

One of the best packing tips for moving locally is to prepare an essentials box and keep it with you throughout the move.

All you have to do is pack up items of absolute necessity such as prescription medicines, important documents, personal hygiene items, an extra set of clothes for each family member, some essential kitchen items, some basic hand tools, children’s items, pets’ items, and so on.

How to Pack an Open First Box When Moving

16. Transfer the utilities

Even when you’re moving only a short distance away, you’re still going to have to take care of a number of organizational tasks that are directly connected to the process of moving house.

The first such task concerns the transfer of your home utilities – after all, you’re leaving the current place and you’ll no longer be using them. Therefore, contact the utility companies and schedule the disconnected of the utility services there – water, electricity, cable TV, gas, landline phone, and so on.

Also, get in touch with the utility providers in the destination town or city and arrange for reconnecting those house utilities shortly before you move into the new residence.

How to Change Utilities When Moving House

17. Change the address

One thing you may forget when moving locally is to change your address so that you keep receiving your important mail.

The idea is simple enough – you’re moving to another house or apartment so your postal address is changing too. And yet, in the midst of a whirlpool of moving tasks, you can easily forget about changing your address with the USPS prior to moving out.

The good news is that you’ve got plenty of options to change your address when moving locally:

1) online on the official USPS website,

2) in person at the nearest post office,

3) over the phone, and

4) by mail (of course!).

How to Do a Change of Address When Moving

18. Know how to pack your car

Since you’re moving within the same state within a move radius of roughly 100 miles, it’s almost certain that you’ll be driving your own car to the new home. Therefore, you have to be sure that you know how to pack your vehicle in a way that you can fit more items inside it and will not endanger the short car trip in any way.

Packing a car for a local move is not rocket science but you should still be careful what items you load into your own vehicle and how you arrange them so that you can maximize the storage space inside the car.

How to Pack a Car for Moving: 13 Car Packing Tips

19. Keep children and pets safe

The day of the actual move can be rather dangerous for young children and pets so you must stay proactive and avoid possible trouble by making sure your loved ones are as far away from the moving action as possible.

Moving day is definitely not the right time for small feet to be running around unchecked, so ask a trusted person to look after your kids and pets while you help your local movers or move heavy boxes around with your friends in the case of a Do-It-Yourself move.

Don’t forget that, throughout the local move, the health and wellbeing of your family members is your number one priority.

10 Mature Tips for Moving with Children

20. Reduce your local moving costs

Save money by packing by yourself. And yes, packing for a local move is a joint family effort.

You may happen to like some local moving tips and dislike others, but when it comes to advice that will help you reduce moving costs, then you’d better take it, for it’s your hard-earned money that will be at risk throughout your local move.

Luckily, there are numerous ways to lower local moving costs, and here are the top 5 cost-saving tips you should use to your advantage:

• CONSIDER organizing a DIY move if all self-moving requirements are present. If not, then
• CHOOSE a low-cost local moving company to transport your household items;
• REDUCE the number of your items prior to packing to speed up the entire move;
• GET free moving boxes and free packing materials to minimize the packing cost;
• PACK your things on your own to avoid having to pay for professional packing services.

20 Simple and Easy Ways to Reduce Moving Costs

The post 20 Local Moving Tips: Local Moving Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Do you have any idea what personal documents to take with you to the new home? Whether you answer this with a Yes or a No, you should still need to know how to keep those important documents safe when you move across the country.

Read on to find out what to do with your personal documents during a house move. And more importantly – what important documents to take with you when you move house.

What to do with your documents when moving house

The following 5 steps will show you the best way to deal with all the documents you have in the house during the stressful period of moving to another home.

A house move can be rather chaotic in nature, so you’ve got to be careful not to lose any essential documents in the process. The thing is that it can be really hard to stay perfectly organized when you happen to be worrying about a million things at the same time.

Step 1: Sort out your personal documents

The very first step is to go through all the documents you own and set aside the ones that 1) have expired, 2) are no longer relevant, and 3) you won’t ever need for some reason or another. Product warranties, for example, fall into all 3 categories, so it doesn’t make any sense to keep them any longer.

As you’re sorting out your documents, use extreme caution not to discard a piece of paper that is still perfectly relevant and you’re going to need in the future. When unsure, it’s better to keep the document in question than to throw it away – after all, a few sheets of paper won’t make much difference either way.

A word of caution: Destroy the personal documents you’re not taking with you – either shred them to tiny pieces or burn them. In other words, don’t just throw in the trash documents that contain personal information or sensitive information.

The reason for this precautionary measure is the risk of identity theft – your personal data falling into the wrong hands.

Step 2. Organize the important documents

As you’re going sorting your essential documents, be sure to organize them as well. Below you will find more information about how to do just that, but for now, separate the papers into several different categories:

• 

  Organize your important documents into different folders for easier access after the move.

  personal documents,

• employment documents,
• house documents,
• legal documents,
• financial documents,
• motor vehicle documents,
• medical documents,
• school documents, and
• move-related paperwork.

For your convenience, get several accordion folders that are ideal for storing documents, and use those folders to organize the important documents by using the type of classification that makes the most sense for you.

Step 3. Collect the documents you’re missing

Once you’re done sorting out and organizing the paperwork, think about whether there are any major documents that you’re missing – essential paperwork that you will find much harder to obtain after the move.

Examples of such documents include but are not limited to:

• Medical records and vaccination documentation from the family physician about each member of the family. You’ll need those papers to register with a new doctor in the destination city.
• Vaccination records from a vet in case you’re moving with a pet – a dog, a cat, or a bird. Again, you’ll need to have those documents to find a licensed veterinarian in the new area.
• School records when you’re moving with a school-age child – you’ll need those documents to enroll your son or daughter in a new school after the move is complete.

Interactive & Printable Moving Checklist

Step 4. Backup the most essential documents

The transitional period of moving from one home to another is very uncertain – one of the many reasons why the house moving process is so stressful. Literally, anything can happen during a house move, so it’s always a good idea to be ready for a number of not-so-great relocation scenarios.

Provided that you have enough time, you should seriously consider scanning the most important documents you own and saving digital copies of them on your computer and on an online cloud service as yet another backup of the initial backup.

Another thing you can do is get extra paper photocopies but that’ll only increase the volume of the paperwork you’ll have to move between the two homes, so promptly digitizing your most essential documents still remains the best option for you.

Step 5. Keep your important documents safe during transport

Of course, the most important thing is to keep all essential documents safe during the actual house move. All in all, there are two major principles that you need to follow to do just that:

• KEEP all documents in a safe and secure place – either in several accordion folders (possibly one when you’re moving only a handful of papers) or in a file box designed specifically for transporting documents between various locations.
  Another option is to use a file bag – the most convenient way to safely get your critical documentation to the new place.
• 

  Now your personal information is safe.

  MOVE all those important documents by yourself regardless of just how trustworthy your movers look. In that case, you should only trust yourself and nobody else. Keep your documents close by at all times and move the document folder, bag, or box with you in your vehicle when driving to the new address.
  Remember that trusting a mover with your most important documents is a rookie mistake, so you should never do it. Provided that you’ve hired a good moving company, they themselves should refuse to move your documents because documentation falls into the items that movers are not allowed to pack and move for safety reasons.

How to Find a Reliable Moving Company in 10 Steps

What important documents to take with you when moving

Here’s the complete checklist of important documents to take when you’re moving to a new house altogether. This list of essential documentation to move with you will help you greatly during the paperwork sorting stage when you may not be sure which papers to take and which ones to just discard.

You know where you keep your essential documents in the house, don’t you? Whether it’s a filing cabinet, a document chest, a desk drawer, or even a fireproof safe (in the case of extremely important documents), it’s time to take them all out and prepare them for transport.

Personal documents

Here are the personal documents that you must take with you when moving to another part of the country:

• birth certificates,
• marriage and death certificates,
• civil partnership certificates,
• custody documents,
• divorce and separation documents,
• passports,
• driving licenses,
• visas and immigration documents – when moving to another country,
• diplomas, academic and professional qualifications,
• national insurance cards,
• military records and all related documents.

Work-related documents

Here are the employment documents you will need to move with you:

• copies of work contracts,
• CVs;
• letters of recommendations,
• evaluation reports, and
• various employment documentation.

Property documents

Here are the property-related documents that you have to move on your own:

• property deeds,
• rental agreements,
• rent receipts,
• mortgage documents,
• home insurance policies,
• utility bills,
• home repair receipts and warranties,
• warranties of home products, and
• other property-related documents

Legal documents

Here are some of the legal documents you may need to take with you to the new place:

• wills,
• Power of Attorney documents,
• criminal record certificates, and
• any other legal documents you happen to own.

Financial documents

Here are the financial documents you will have to keep with you whenever the wind of relocation takes you:

• payslips,
• bank transaction statements,
• debit and credit card receipts,
• bank statements and credit card statements,
• investment document,
• tax receipts, and
• other financial documents that you must keep with you.

Motor vehicle documents

Here are the vehicle documents you need to carry with you when driving to the new home:

• car titles,
• proof of purchase documentation,
• vehicle registration certificates,
• car insurance policies,
• credit agreement documents,
• repair contracts and warranty documentation,
• tax receipts.

Medical documents

Here are some of the medical documents you will need to collect before you move out – both from your family physician and the vet:

• health insurance cards,
• immunization records,
• medical insurance documents,
• letters of referrals to specialists,
• veterinary records and vaccination certificates for pets

School documents

These the school documents that you are expected to obtain when you’re moving with school-age children.

• copies of school transcripts,
• grade report cards, and
• evaluation reports.

Move-related documents

Of course, you shouldn’t forget that every house move generates plenty of paperwork as well. These are some of the move-related documents you are to keep safe even when the move is officially over:

• Bill of Lading (your moving contract) with the professional moving company,
• price estimates in writing,
• house inventory sheets,
• extra agreements between you and your mover,
• receipts.

It’s important to bear in mind that due to the house move, you will have to change some of the above-mentioned documents. For example, you will need updated insurance policies for the new home and the car (in order to register it in a new state). Also, you will need to update your voter registration and you may choose to move your bank account as well.

Of course, your home address is changing, and that fact alone will necessitate changes or updates to numerous property-related documents as well.

How to Do a Change of Address When Moving

The post Important Documents to Take When Moving Across the Country appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Time is often critical for a business, and any hours or days of downtime could turn out to be extremely costly for a corporation. And that’s exactly why companies are doing their best to minimize the time in transition between the two offices by streamlining the entire office relocation process.

In reality, the faster a corporate move is complete, the sooner things can get back to normal and all company operations will resume its usual operations. But planning an office move so that it can reach and maintain the desired relocation efficiency is never an easy thing to do. Not easy to do but doable nonetheless.

Without a doubt, the best way to complete an office move is to follow a good Office Moving Checklist – an effective organization tool to optimize your office move like never before.

Just use this checklist for moving to a new office and everything should be just fine. Note that the following business moving checklist is also applicable, in parts, when moving a home office as well.

3 Months prior to Moving day

Start planning the office move as early as possible for smooth transition. As a rule of thumb, the more time you’ve got at your disposal until the move-out date, the better your chances of organizing the perfect office move.

• Find a new office for the business. Ideally, the place should be superior to the current location, or at least not worse in any way.
• Secure the new location by signing a commercial property lease. Have a lawyer review the terms and conditions of that lease to make sure there are no unpleasant surprises later on.
• Set the date on which you will be leaving the current business office. Notify the property manager of your intentions to move out – good communication is vital for avoiding misunderstandings and possibly losing the security deposit.
• Make the necessary intercompany arrangements if you’re the one tasked with overseeing and managing the commercial office move. In most cases, the best way to approach the office move is to form a task force of reliable employees that will help you achieve the goal.
• Gather the office move task force and discuss in detail the upcoming corporate office move. Here, the best course of action is to assign each member specific tasks that will help ease the transition between the two offices.
• Schedule the next meeting of the team responsible for the office move project and monitor the progress that’s been made during that interval.
• Set a preliminary budget to limit any instances of overspending and try hard to stay within that office moving budget.
• Request office move cost estimates from several reputable corporate movers in your city or town. Bear in mind that to manage a successful office relocation, you do need to hire the best office movers that service your area.
• Compare the received quotes from top-rated office movers near you. Make a comparative analysis of the rates, extra services, and all terms and conditions that the corporate movers offer in order to pick the best offer. Look for estimates that guarantee the shortest amount of time spent during the transition between the two offices.
• Book the services of the best office moving company in your city.

10 Tips for hiring movers

2 Months prior to Moving day

Things should be definitely moving in the right direction as far as the office move is concerned. With roughly 2 months before you move out, here are the major office moving tasks before you.

• Create a detailed inventory of all the office furniture and office equipment in your current company office. The office moving inventory will serve 2 distinct purposes: 1) it will help you determine whether you really need to move everything to the new business office, and 2) it can be used as a packing checklist as well to minimize possible packing mistakes.
• Create a floor plan of the new office and use it to map out how the furniture pieces you’re moving will fit in there in terms of available space and office décor. Ultimately, a floor plan of the destination place will help make the right decision when it comes to what to move to the new office and what to leave behind.
• Think twice before packing and moving any office furniture items – desks, chairs, etc. – that either won’t fit well in the new office space or are too worn out or simply broken to be of any further use. The same is valid for the IT office equipment in the office you’re moving out of – is each and every office equipment unit is worth moving?
• Check whether any of the IT equipment in your office is required to be moved by a specialized company that is NOT the office moving company you’ve hired.
• Examine the floor plan closely and order new office furniture items or office equipment units, if necessary. Set the delivery address to the new office location so that you don’t have to move those newly-delivered items as well.

What to pack when moving: Packing Checklist

1 Month prior to Moving day

It’s only 4 weeks until the move-out date. It’s OK – there’s still plenty of time to organize a textbook office move. The important thing is not to panic but to continue to work on the office moving tasks, one by one.

• Gather the office team that’s responsible for the organization of the company relocation and check the current progress. Get more members to help out if things are going too slowly.
• Change the business address of the company with the USPS so that no important mail gets lost during the process of moving office locations.
• Set up a list of all the partner businesses, government organizations, and individuals to notify of the changed company address.
• Ask office employees to backup the most important data from their computers. Anything can happen during an office move, so the crucial information should stay secure no matter what.
• Digitize the most important paper documents of the company as a precautionary measure. Also, destroy any sensitive documents that are no longer needed – use a shredder to do just that.
• Begin to pile up all the packing supplies you’re going to need – plenty of cardboard boxes of different sizes, wrapping paper, and of course – bubble wrap, LOTS of bubble wrap.

7 Days (1 week) prior to Moving day

It’s only one week before Moving day and things may start feeling a bit chaotic. The best piece of advice when moving to a new office is to remain calm and to continue working on your office moving checklist.

• Get in touch with the office mover to confirm that everything’s fine and they will be there at the pre-arranged date and time.
• Make sure the new office location is ready for you: all the utilities are set up properly, and that the Internet, phone lines, and security systems are all up and running.
• Instruct the employees to pack up their things from their desks the day before the move-out date.
• Remind everyone that labeling any packed boxes is key to achieving a good level of organization. Nobody wants to lose too much precious time after the move in identifying unlabeled moving boxes. Labeling the desks and office chairs may sound silly, but it’s not – the best-case scenario is every employee to get exactly the same desk-and-chair set-up in the new office as a way to accelerate the adaptation period.
• Have everyone in the office to take their personal stuff home, and then take it back straight to the new office.
• Contact a professional cleaning company, if needed, and hire those professionals to clean up the office you’re leaving but not before you’ve vacated the office premises.

How to stay calm during a move

Moving day

The entire preparation for the office move comes down to the day of the move. Luckily, the hired office movers will take care of the toughest tasks – packing all office furniture pieces, packing all sensitive IT equipment, and loading all those items into their vehicle, and transporting them to the new office location.

• Distribute the keys or access cards for the new office to the employees.
• Make arrangements as to who will stay at the current office to assist the movers and who will be at the new office, if necessary.
• Meet the office movers at the arranged hour, show them around the office and tell them what you expect of them. In most cases, everything should be pretty straightforward – all furniture pieces and IT equipment items should be well protected, taken out of the office building, and loaded safely into the waiting moving truck.
• Take one final walkthrough around the office space when the movers are ready to depart to check for something forgotten or something out of the ordinary – like a case of property damage, for instance.
• Arrange for a trusted person to meet the office movers at the new location and assist the pros any way he or she can.
• Have the moving company deliver, then unpack all office furniture and equipment at the new office. The top priority is to lose as little time as possible.
• Ask employees to set up their personal workspaces and workstations at the earliest opportunity so that the normal business of the company can resume ASAP.
• Encourage all company employees to make the new office space cozier by personalizing their own work areas (framed art, etc.) as well as beautifying the entire place with plants.
• Write a review about the services of the office movers you just used. Why? That way, you’ll help other companies use one of the best office moving companies in the country.

What to do on Moving day: CHECKLIST

The post How to Plan an Office Move: Office Moving Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

But moving into your first apartment won’t likely be a walk in the park, and you’re expected to face a number of difficulties, both during the relocation process itself and right after you move into the new place.

To help you manage the apartment moving task successfully, here’s a good checklist for moving into your first apartment. Follow the 10 first apartment tips below and you shouldn’t have any particular move-related problems or post-move issues.

1. Make sure you’re financially ready

Moving into your first apartment is a very big step in a person’s life. Therefore, before you move out from the place you live in right now, you have to make sure that you’re ready for that important step, both mentally and financially.

Once you find yourself in the new apartment, various costs will start adding up quickly, maybe more quickly than you would like. And in order to avoid financial problems early on, you must have enough money saved to weather the storm in the beginning. That’s right – every new beginning is tough, including when moving into an apartment for the first time.

Bear in mind that apartment costs and living expenses tend to be at their highest during the first few months. Are you financially ready for what’s coming?

When moving into your first apartment, you’ll have to cover the following major costs:

• Cost of moving house: the price of hiring professional movers + any extra costs such as the cost of packing supplies and additional services;
• Rent or mortgage for the apartment: usually the first three months paid in advance;
• Security deposit: often required when you’re a renter;
• Cost of utilities: sometimes including a security deposit with the utilities companies;
• Emergency fund: because anything can happen during and right after a move.

2. Prepare a moving budget

It’s very important that you create a preliminary budget when moving into an apartment for the first time. Have in mind that a considerable amount of money is likely to go for furnishing your first apartment but there’s some good news here as well – you don’t have to do it all at once but do it gradually and methodically in time.

Now, as far as moving costs are concerned, you just have to know what to expect from a financial standpoint when moving into your very first apartment. In most cases, it’s impossible to know exactly how much your move will cost you, but it’s possible to get a fairly accurate idea by creating a moving budget.

Here’s what your moving budget should include when hiring movers:

• Moving company fee. Local movers charge on an hourly basis whereas interstate movers charge a flat rate based on the move distance, shipment weight, and additional services.
• Moving insurance. Purchase moving insurance (Full Value Protection) for your valuable items.
• Extra moving services. Each add-on moving service will cost you extra: packing, unpacking, furniture disassembly and re-assembly, temporary storage, etc.
• Extra charges and fees. Factor in possible extra charges by your moving company: flight charge (too many stairs), long carry charge, bulky items charge, extra stops fee, travel fee, etc.

What to budget for when moving out

3. Pick the right apartment for you

The location of the apartment should be key in your decision.

Picking up the right place is crucial – it’s going to be your first apartment so you need to get it right the first time around. So, when selecting the apartment to move to, keep in mind the following selection criteria:

• Location. The location of the apartment you’re renting or buying should play a major role in your decision. Is it located in a nice neighborhood? How close is it to your workplace? Is it close to any green areas? Is it a quiet place with less noise? You’ll probably have a few personal requirements for the new place too.
• Safety. Is the new apartment located in a safe neighborhood with a low crime rate? Is the apartment itself secure? It’ll make a huge difference knowing that you’re moving to a safe place.
• Price. Without a doubt, the cost of the monthly rent or mortgage will affect your decision one way or another. It’s relatively easy to get greedy but remember this: experts recommend that the monthly price you pay for your first apartment should not exceed 30% of your disposable income.

Don’t rush your decision – instead, look around and check out several apartments before you make up your mind.

4. Be cautious when signing the lease

Before you sign the apartment lease, you need to make sure that you agree with all the terms and conditions laid out in it. Therefore, the first step is to read it carefully, and then, in case there are some clauses you disagree with or fail to comprehend completely, you are expected to discuss the issues either with the landlord or with the real estate agent, whenever applicable.

To avoid possible problems or misunderstandings in the future, pay close attention to everything that’s written down in the lease agreement. What will happen if you’re late with the rent? Are you allowed to have a pet with you? What’s the policy on visitors?

When moving into an apartment for the very first time, there are usually quite a lot of details to sort out. Therefore, should you find yourself rather confused about some of the issues, seek advice from someone who has more experience in renting an apartment than you.

SEVEN (7) Tips for Moving into a Studio Apartment

5. Map out your new apartment (Floor plan)

To be able to move some furniture to the new apartment, you’re going to have to create a floor plan of that place, or get one from your landlord or the real estate agency. That way, you’ll know exactly how much space you have to work with and use the apartment layout to help you make important decisions in terms of what to take with you and what to leave behind.

The idea of creating a floor plan is so that you can determine the available space in the new apartment by taking the necessary measurements of the bulky furniture pieces you’re thinking about moving with you. If it turns out that a furniture item is too big to fit in there, don’t take it with you.

A floor plan of the new place will also help you out during the process of furnishing the apartment – help you come up with the best home décor solutions and avoid bad decisions that you will come to regret after the move.

6. Move only the things you’ll need

Unless it’s absolutely necessary, do NOT move any heavy and bulky furniture into your first apartment.

You don’t have any experience in moving into an apartment, so one rookie mistake you may make is to take with you a lot of things that you won’t really need later on. In reality, packing and moving unnecessary household items will not only increase the moving price – the heavier the shipment, the more your mover will charge you, but it can also create storage issues in the new place.

Here are 3 steps that should enable you to pare down your possessions and end up with nothing but the most essential items for the new place:

• Step 1. Inventory the belongings you have at the moment by creating a detailed house inventory prior to the move.
• Step 2. Mark the things that you’re moving no matter what – those are the must-take items that will take with you regardless of the moving cost or the space available in the apartment you’re moving into.
• Step 3. Decide the fate of the items you’re either not moving with you or you’re not sure what to do with – super-large furniture items, duplicates, outdated items, or clothes and shoes you’ll never wear again. All in all, you’ve got 3 options when it comes to leave-behind things – sell them for profit, give them away to friends or family, or donate them to strangers.

As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t move anything that you haven’t used in more than a year.

How to Get Rid of Stuff Before Moving

7. Pack your things with safety in mind

What do you need to do before moving into your first apartment? Pack up your things in the safest way possible, of course.

Depending on how many items you’ve decided to move with you and the nature of those things, packing for a move can range from being fairly straightforward to extremely hard. And yet, regardless of how your own packing adventure goes, the safety of your possessions should be your number one priority.

When moving into an apartment for the first time, here are the main packing principles to keep your things safe during transport:

• Start packing up your things early – really early. The more time you’ve got to complete the packing task, the more packing effort you should be able to spare.
• Get hold of quality packing supplies. If you choose to use second-hand boxes to cut packing and moving costs, then inspect those cardboard containers very carefully for any signs of pre-existing damage or infestation.
• Don’t skimp on wrapping and padding materials, especially when you’re packing extra-fragile items. In most cases, soft packing paper, bubble wrap, and furniture blankets will do a great job in protecting your breakables.
• Consider hiring professional packers if you’ve got specialty items that require special packing care, such as a piano or a grandfather clock.

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

8. Hire top-rated apartment movers

Moving into your first apartment is a big deal and it’s important that you get it right from the first try.

You’re likely to have little or no move-related experience whatsoever, so the chance of you making costly moving mistakes will be much higher if you choose to organize a DIY move. Due to your house moving inexperience, a self-move can easily result in property damage or worse – a serious and painful personal injury.

The extra stress and hassle when moving to an apartment for the first time will also tip the scales in favor of hiring the services of a top-rated moving company in your area. Bear in mind that the best apartment movers in the country have extensive experience in the field and know exactly what it takes to complete a problem-free move from start to finish.

How much does it cost to move into an apartment? Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get accurate moving quotes from licensed, reputable, and experienced apartment moving companies near you.

How to find reliable movers in 10 steps

9. Maximize the space in the new apartment

Things are likely to be a bit chaotic right after moving into your first apartment.

In most cases, you’ll have to resort to various techniques for maximizing the living space in your new apartment. Here are some space management ideas that you should find extremely helpful, especially if you’re moving into a studio apartment:

• The vertical space inside an apartment is often overlooked, so it’s a great idea to start using it more efficiently. One excellent way to do just that is to install storage cabinets or shelves that go from the floor all the way to the ceiling.
• Moving into your first apartment is also about finding good solutions that work exceptionally well under the circumstances. For example, use storage spaces that often remain neglected: the area under the bed, the space above the fridge, etc.
• Whenever possible, get multi-purpose furniture for your new apartment. A bed with drawers inside it and a coffee table with extra space inside it are always welcome for first-time apartment movers.
• Sometimes the space between the top of a tall furniture piece and the ceiling can be used to keep storage boxes with stuff in them. So, do it, whenever applicable.

How to unpack after moving

10. Turn the apartment into your dream home

The best thing about moving into an apartment is that you’ll have the perfect opportunity to turn into the home you’ve always wanted to have.

Be mindful that it’ll take some time before you begin to feel the new place like your own home – you can’t really expect to feel comfortable and cozy immediately after the move. Besides time, it’ll usually take a bit of effort on your part to sense that special connection to the new place.

When moving into your first apartment, it’s mostly about applying the finishing touches with a dose of creativity that will bring comfort and warmth into the still unfamiliar living space.

• Place pretty plants throughout the apartment;
• Hang photos and paintings on the wall to personalize the space;
• Lay beautiful area rugs on the floors;
• Hang colorful curtains to bring a lively mood into the rooms;
• Use various lighting techniques and play with them to create a unique atmosphere, and most importantly
• Surround yourself with special items that bring joyful memories and happier times.

Moving out of state checklist

The post Moving Into an Apartment for the First Time: Checklist and Tips appeared first on The Moving Blog.

The truth is that each day that goes by without you packing at least several boxes is a wasted day, and that single could cost you dearly when it’s time to move out. Once you have a deadline, you are expected to work around the clock to be completely ready for Moving day. Remember that packing up your things for a move is a process that takes a long time to complete and you may run into time trouble… unless you do know how to pack QUICKLY for a move.

An essential question before you begin the packing task is what to pack when moving. You know that you need to start boxing up those household items but you’re just not sure the order in which you should do it. And besides, some household items you’re not allowed to pack and move with you, so you’ll also need to be careful what you put into those cardboard boxes as well.

Here’s what to pack in boxes when moving to a new home:

What NOT to pack when moving

When you wish to know what to pack when moving cross country, then the first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with the things you must NOT pack for a move. And once you know all the forbidden items to pack and move, your packing task will become a bit easier since you’ll only be left with the stuff you can safely pack and move with you to the new home.

In short, you’re not allowed to pack

• hazardous goods (flammable, explosive, and/or corrosive);
• perishables – food items that are likely to go bad during a long-distance move; and
• plants that have a minimum chance of surviving a move across the country.

Dangerous household goods

Don’t take any risks packing and moving any items that are hazardous in any way – flammable, explosive, and/or corrosive. Bear in mind that safety – your personal safety and the safety of the people around you – should be your number one priority during a house move.

Hazardous items can pose a serious risk to the health and life of the participants in a residential move, so you should get rid of such dangerous goods before you start packing up your things. Professional moving companies have detailed lists of things you must not pack when using their services, so why should you waste precious time in boxing items that are forbidden for transport in the first place?

If possible, use up most hazardous items – gasoline, petrol, oil, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, chemicals, propane tanks, and even cleaning supplies prior to Moving day so that you won’t have to worry about how to get them from Point A to Point B.

Click here to access the full list of items that are forbidden to pack and move.

Perishable foods

Don’t pack perishable foods when moving long distance – any frozen, refrigerated, or fresh foods are most likely to go bad during the cross-country move, thus creating a number of potential problems such as releasing bad odors, casing infestation (attracting all sorts of critters), or getting covered in mold. In most cases, perishables are bound to create quite a mess and to ruin the rest of the items inside the moving vehicle.

With the exception of canned food, don’t pack any perishable foods unless you’re only moving a short distance away from where your current home is. The risk is never worth it.

Plants

The distance between the two homes will be the deciding factor when you wish to take some of your houseplants with you.

When thinking about what to pack when moving, your house plants should not make the list unless you’re moving locally and you plan to transport some of them in your own vehicle. As a rule of thumb, most potted plants won’t survive a long-distance move due to the numerous unfavorable conditions during the move itself – mostly temperature fluctuations.

Another reason to refrain yourself from packing up your plants for transport is the strict regulations in some states about which plants can and cannot be brought into the destination state. So, when moving long distance, you’re strongly recommended to give away your household plants to friends, neighbors, or interested parties such as schools, nursing homes, and hospitals.

What not to pack when moving

What to pack first when moving

The job of packing should become easier now that you know which items you should not pack due to their hazardous or delicate nature. Once left only with the things you can pack safely without any risks on the road, you’ll just have to decide which ones to take with you to the new place.

Another way you can make packing easier for yourself is to know the specific order to pack your things when moving. In other words, understanding which items to pack first of all will, once again, speed up the packing process considerably, which in turn will eliminate any unfortunate chances of falling way behind your packing and moving calendar.

When it comes to a packing order that will work well in your case, let’s first take a look at which rooms you should pack first for maximum efficiency and minimum lost time in the process.

Which rooms to pack first when moving

When wondering where to start packing for a move, you should definitely begin with the rooms that are least frequently used in your daily life. This packing strategy makes a lot of sense – you’ll still be able to keep packing up your things while keeping the rooms you use every single day relatively untouched until late in the process. You don’t really want to sleep among heaps of cardboard boxes, if you can help it.

Also, you’d be better off initiating the packing task from the rooms that are the most difficult ones to sort out and pack, mostly due to the large number of things in them. Remember that you have a limited reserve of energy and motivation, so work from harder to easier to guarantee successful completion of the house packing job.

In most cases, you should start packing from the storage areas in your home – garage, basement, attic, spare rooms – and then move to the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and finally – the bathroom. That’s right – the bedroom and bathroom should be the last two rooms to pack because of their frequent usage. After all, why make your life more complicated than it already is?

What things to pack first when moving

The issue of which items to pack first when moving house follows roughly the same logic – you should definitely start boxing up the things you use rarely so that your daily routine is not disrupted too much by the house packing activities. In other words, non-essential items should be the first ones to pack up as part of the pre-packing phase.

Think of it this way – it’s usually safe to pack the things that you don’t intend to use up until Moving day itself:

• 

  Pre-pack anything that you don’t intend to use up until Moving day.

  collectible items, including artwork pieces,

• books and magazines you won’t plan to read until after you find yourself in the new home,
• clothes and shoes you won’t wear in the near future – usually the out of season pieces,
• kitchen items you won’t need until you reach the new home’s kitchen,
• jewelry pieces you’d better pack up and keep close at hand.

In fact, anything that you don’t really mean to use until after the move should be packed up safely with priority.

What to pack FIRST when moving

What to pack LAST when moving

What to pack when moving: Packing checklist

Now that you know what items you should not pack and what items to pack first when moving, the next most essential question is what exactly you should take with you.

Now, it all depends on the specific things you own – some possessions are must-take items no matter what (the no-brainer part of the packing task) while the fate of other belongings are much trickier to decide. Nevertheless, you should employ the individual method to ensure you take all the right decisions and you won’t be filled with any regrets after the move is already a fact.

Here are what items to pack when moving to another home:

Essential items

Naturally, some items will be more essential than others and it’ll be up to you to make that distinction. What you will have to pack during a move are things of absolute essentials – things that you will need shortly before, during and surely after the move is over.

All essentials should go into several Essentials Boxes (aka Open-First Boxes) – the things you don’t want to do without even for a single day:

• kitchen items such as plastic utensils, paper plates, paper towels, and some snacks and water to keep up your energy;
• bathroom items such as toothpaste and a toothbrush, soap and hand towels, shower gel and shampoo, cosmetic products, and other personal hygiene items;
• medications such as prescription medicines, a first-aid kit, and some medications you know you may need during the move;
• bedroom items – a set of extra clothes for each family member;
• children’s items – especially when you’re moving with young children;
• pets’ item – anything your dear pet might need during the house move;
• basic hand tools – a set of screwdrivers, a flashlight, a measuring tape, and of course – a hammer.

How to Pack an Open First Box When Moving

Clothes and shoes

Of course, you’ll pack most of your clothes and shoes when moving from one home to another. Nevertheless, as you’re going through your closet, keep asking yourself if you ever see yourself wearing each piece or pair again before you place it a large box.

Some clothes and shoes may have got too worn out to be worth the packing trouble while others will most likely have gone out of fashion with time. Be smart about it all and pack only the clothes and shoes you do intend to wear again the foreseeable future.

How to pack clothes for moving

How to pack shoes for moving

Furniture of good quality

Your lovely antique writing desk is coming with you. Period.

Think long and hard before you decide to pack and move any furniture with you. The reason is simple enough – most furniture pieces are large and heavy, and transporting them between homes will cost plenty of money, especially when moving to another state.

Take the only furniture that is really well-made and has sentimental value of some sort for you – like antique furniture, for example. In the majority of cases, it’s not worth packing and moving ready-to-assemble furniture made from particleboard – such as IKEA, for instance.

Should You Move Your Furniture or Buy New After the Move?

Valuable items

What to pack when moving out of state? Without a doubt, valuables will be one of the things that you will take with you.

Valuable items can be anything from jewelry and art pieces to electronic devices – just about anything that is too expensive or too valuable to entrust to professional movers. Of course, family heirlooms passed from generation to generation also fall in this category – the must-move things that you’d rather pack and move by yourself than to hand over to complete strangers regardless of how reputable and professional they look.

Important documents

Don’t forget to pack in a box or two all the important documents that you keep in your home: various ID documents, licenses and certificates, diplomas, property-related documents, financial documents, move-related paperwork, medical records, including for your pets, school records when moving with school-age children, and so on.

Prepare a binder where you’ll keep all those essential documents, and never let that binder out of your sight.

Books

Be careful what you do with books when packing things for moving. The main issue when packing books for a move is that they become too heavy when packed together in a tight space. In other words, it’s best to go through your book collection one more time and get rid of the volumes that you’ve never liked or the ones that you can’t see yourself reading again in the near future.

Don’t pay good money for transporting heavy books that you’ll never touch again once inside the new place. But if you do decide to move some of the more heavy books, then consider using a clever trick to save your back – that is, to pack your heavy books in a travel suitcase and wheel them out of your home.

How to pack books for moving

Questions to help you decide what to pack when moving

Sometimes it can be really difficult to figure out what to pack when moving and what not to pack for your upcoming move. To help you reach an informed decision about each item that’s in question, here are some fundamental questions to ask yourself during the sorting process:

• Is it useful? Is it practical? Is it functional?
• Do you honestly intend to use it in the new home?
• Will it make your life easier? Will it improve the quality of your life?
• What’s its current condition? Do you think it’ll continue to serve you for years?
• Is it a quality product that you will be hard to replace in the destination town or city?
• Will it fit the new place? Will it match the new house or apartment?
• Does the item have any sentimental value for you at all?

Packing Checklist: Packing Timeline For Moving

The post What to Pack When Moving: Packing Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

Moving to a new city can be quite an adventure.

Moving to a new city will always be a challenge.

The good news is that the readier you are to face that new city moving challenge, the greater your chance will be to overcome all move-related difficulties.

One thing is clear – you will need a good checklist for moving to a new city to steer your house move to a successful end.

Pay attention to the following 20 steps, for they will not only help you move to the new city trouble-free, but will also guide you through the tough post-move adaptation period.

How to move to a new city? Read on to find out.

1. READ the signs: are you ready?

Before moving to a new city, you have to be absolutely sure that you’ve made the right decision. While there may be many reasons to move to a different city, you should know perfectly well why you yourself are making that big and important step.

Are you moving for a job? Love? Education? Are you running away from something… or someone? Being fed up with the weather is another valid reason to start packing your boxes.

Read the signs, and once you’ve made up your mind, get down to work.

2. ORGANIZE your move like a master organizer

One of the things to consider when moving to a new city is that time management is extremely important for the overall success of your house move. And no matter whether you’re moving locally or across the country, the secret is to know what to do and when to do it before Moving day comes along.

Create a detailed to-do list that will contain all the essential tasks that you have to complete before you move out. And remember that all tasks in that MOVING CHECKLIST must be relevant to your case of new city moving.

3. SECURE a good moving company

Moving to a new city is not a joke and you must be pretty serious when deciding how you’re going to approach the upcoming relocation. If you’re only moving a short distance away and you’re not transporting any specialty items, then you may consider renting a moving truck and completing the move by yourself.

However, in most house-moving cases, you’ll just have to hire the services of a professional moving company simply because you’ll be moving to a new city that’s located far away – many, many miles across the country from where you are now.

How to Find a Reputable Moving Company

4. KNOW how the new city moving cost is formed

Once you understand how the cost of moving to a new city is calculated, you will be able to manipulate the price forming factors to a certain extent with the purpose of lowering the overall moving costs and expenses. Why pay more money than you absolutely have to?

When moving to a local town or city, local movers will charge you by the hour and the final cost will depend primarily on the duration of the house move.

When moving to a new city or town that’s in another state, then interstate movers will charge you a flat fee that will depend on the distance, shipment weight, and extra services requested.

How much does it cost to hire movers?

5. GET packing boxes for free

Free moving boxes can really cut your moving costs.

Moving house is an expensive affair, so you should use each and every opportunity to bring down the moving cost. And one effective way to do just that is to NOT pay for moving boxes.

Cardboard boxes are the major packing expense, so getting your hands on free moving boxes will help you keep more money into your own pocket. Ask friends, colleagues, and neighbors who have moved recently if they have cardboard containers they don’t need anymore.

Also, take a tour around the large grocery stores, shopping centers, home improvement stores, home electronics stores, and bookstores and ask their managers about free cardboard boxes.

Where to get free moving boxes

6. DECLUTTER your home before packing

Your checklist when moving to a new city should tell you that the next important task is to declutter your home before you start packing so that you don’t waste time and energy in boxing up unwanted items.

Go to each room and inventory all items found there. Then, group those things into 4 different categories: MOVE, SELL, GIVE AWAY, and THROW AWAY.

Remember: your aim is to take with you as few items as possible. Why? Moving only the things you really need and will use in the future will help you save transportation money, valuable packing time, and storage space in the new home.

How to get rid of stuff before moving

7. SELL unwanted stuff for cash

The cost of moving to a new city may be more than you can afford, especially when you’re moving on a budget. And that’s exactly why selling your unwanted items for additional money is an opportunity you shouldn’t miss.

If you have enough time until Moving day, you can try to sell some of your things online. Otherwise, you’ll be better off organizing a moving sale in order to get rid of whatever items you don’t need anymore but are still in good condition.

Organizing a profitable moving sale is key when moving on a tight budget.

How to organize a profitable moving sale

8. START packing up your things

If you happen to be wondering what to do before moving to a new city, then you should wonder no more – start packing.

Packing for a move is the most important task in your moving checklist. It’s also the most exhausting and time-consuming job you’ll have to do before Moving day too.

Initiate the packing project early, really early, and begin from the rooms that are the hardest ones to sort and pack (storage areas such as basement, attic, garage, spare rooms) due to the large number of items found in them.

Top 20 packing tips for moving

9. CHANGE your address

Changing your home means that your postal address is changing too. So, in order to continue to receive your important mail, you’re going to have to change your address with the USPS, preferably before you move out.

Luckily, before moving to a new city for a job, for education, for love, or for another good reason, you’ve got 4 options to change your address with the United States Postal Service: in person, online, by phone, or by mail.

How to do a change of address when moving

10. TRANSFER the house utilities

Remember to transfer your home utilities before moving out.

To transfer or change home utilities is a task that is often forgotten or neglected during the home moving process… until the move-in day when there’s no electricity and running water in the new place.

Don’t make the same mistake when moving to a different city – contact your current utility companies and arrange the disconnection of your home utilities roughly 1 day after you move out.

Also, arrange their disconnection at the new place about 1 day before you move in.

How to change utilities when moving

11. GET your children ready for the move

Your upcoming move to a new city may prove to be more complicated than you want when you’re moving with school-age children. The problem, of course, is that your kids will have to change schools – a fact that they might not be too thrilled about.

Sit down and speak with your children about their fears and expectations, and what life in the new city will be like. Concentrate on all the positive aspects of the upcoming move and be ready to make certain compromises.

10 Tips for moving with children

12. PREPARE your pet for the new city moving

You’ll also have to figure out how to move to a new city when you have a pet – a dog, a cat, a bird, fish, or another type of pet animal. Pets can easily get stressed out when they sense that a big change is about to occur, so you’ll have to find a way to keep your animal friend calm and safe during the house move.

The best way to move your pet to a new city is to take them with you in your own car. But before you do it, take your pet friend to see a vet for a full medical checkup.

Moving with pets across country

13. DECIDE what you’ll do with your plants

Remember that interstate moving companies are not allowed to transport plants due to their delicate and fragile nature. As a result, the responsibility of moving to a new city with plants will rest with you.

As a rule of thumb, you should consider moving only the house plants that you really, really love – leave behind or gift the rest of your beauties to friends or local organizations in order to spare them likely ill fate on the road.

How to move plants when moving house

14. KEEP moving expenses to a minimum

Our moving to a new city checklist continues with advice on how to pay less for your local or interstate move. Oftentimes, saving money comes down to following 5 major cost-saving rules:

• FIND an affordable mover by comparing 3-4 moving cost estimates;
• DECLUTTER your home and move only the things you must take with you no matter what;
• SELL some of the items you’re not moving for extra cash;
• GET free moving boxes to reduce your packing expenses;
• PACK your things by yourself, or at least the ones you can.

20 Simples ways to reduce moving costs

15. SAY good-bye to your good friends

Promise your good friends that you’ll keep in touch.

Even if you’re not moving to a new state, moving to a new city will mean that you’re leaving your good friends behind – often one of the hardest things to do when moving house.

No matter how busy you are with your moving preparations, do find time to meet your best pals one more time in order to say goodbye to them in a proper way.

It’s always a good idea to organize a farewell party, if possible, and invite your buddies over for an informal get-together before you move away.

How to say goodbye to your friends when moving

16. STAY safe and injury-free on Moving day

It’s extremely important to stay safe on the day of your move as moving days tend to be very unpredictable and rather dangerous at times.

Personal injuries of all sorts are never out of the question, especially when heavy furniture and big boxes are lifted and carried out of the house. Property damage is also possible, especially when no proper moving equipment is used.

The only true way to guarantee moving day safety for everyone is to hire professional movers to tackle all the heavy lifting for you.

What to do on moving day: Moving Day Checklist

17. CONTROL your post-move expenses

Moving to a new city will mean a number of post-move expenses that you may not have included in your budget. And while you should have planned for some immediate costs such as security deposits and rents when you’re a renter or down payments when you’re a homeowner, you may have not planned for extra expenses such as furniture, appliances, and other items for the new place.

Don’t be impulsive when purchasing new things for the new house or apartment – rather, wait a few months to see if you’ll really need to purchase those specific items or not.

18. MAKE new friends in the new city

Moving to a new city alone, without a family or any friends in that destination city, can be particularly tough from a mental point of view. The solution is never easy but it’s something you must make an effort to achieve: make new friends in the new city.

And here’s the question of all questions: how do you make new friends in a place where you know no one? Look around your workplace for co-workers with similar interests, say Hi to the folks next door, sign up for classes, and join clubs to meet new people.

10 Tips for moving to a new city alone

19. EXPLORE the new city to chase away the blues

There’s always a dose of anxiety when moving to a new city simply because that new place will be strange and unfamiliar, and even intimidating to a certain extent. Add in the fear of the unknown and you may not get the expected welcome after the move.

The best way to start your post-move adaptation period is to explore the new city and find out what it has to offer you. Start with your neighborhood and, little by little, expand the exploratory trip to the rest of the city.

20. FIGHT any signs of relocation depression

Exploring the new city and making new friends will help you overcome relocation depression.

Our checklist for moving to a new city ends with advice on how to handle a post-move phenomenon known as relocation depression.

Relocation depression (separation anxiety) is caused by a strong sense of nostalgia for the life you had to leave behind – a life where you had good friends and a set routine that provided you with comfort and security.

The important thing to understand in order to overcome relocation depression is that you still have those friends – just hold on to them until you make new friends and manage to establish a new routine for yourself.

How to overcome relocation depression

The post Checklist for Moving to a New City: 20 Easy-to-Follow Steps appeared first on The Moving Blog.

At first, the home moving process can look rather daunting – it’s not only overly expensive but the mere thought of having to entrust your valuable possessions to complete strangers is enough to send shivers down your spine.

Add the arduous task of packing up your home for a move and you’ll finally understand why moving to another home is often considered to be one of life’s most stressful events.

The good news is that the task of packing for a move doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Once you see the logic behind it, the pieces will begin to fit almost seamlessly and the relocation picture will become clearer and clearer as you approach Moving day.

The following top 20 packing tips and tricks will help you understand the logic of packing a home for moving: what to pack, when to pack it, and of course – how to pack it all.

Take full control of your packing task by following these top 20 packing tips of all time:

1. CHOOSE between DIY or packers
2. PACK by yourself to save money
3. CREATE a packing checklist
4. START packing early
5. HAVE a packing strategy
6. PACK in the correct order
7. KNOW what to pack last
8. ASK friends to help you pack
9. FIND good packing materials
10. GET free moving boxes
11. CHOOSE the right boxes
12. INVENTORY your home
13. GET rid of unwanted items
14. DO NOT PACK forbidden items
15. PACK an essentials box
16. PACK quickly
17. PACK safely
18. Label your boxes
19. STAY motivated when packing
20. AVOID bad packing mistakes

1. Do what’s best for you: DIY or packers?

Professional packing services may be the best option when you’re moving long distance across the country and you want the best protection for your valuable possessions. Professional packers won’t get the job done for free, of course, but they have been trained to work fast and know what it takes to achieve a good level of safety.

If you own antique furniture, a piano, a pool table, or anything else that is really expensive, then it’s better to rely on experienced professionals who offer proper insurance as well.

Time is also a crucial factor when deciding whether to pack up your things by yourself or whether to rely on experienced packers. As a rule of thumb, if you have at least 4 weeks for the packing task, then you should be fine doing it on your own. If not, you’d better trust the pros.

2. Pack by yourself to save money

One of the best packing tips when moving house is to spot anas seize the opportunity to save money on your move. The single decision to pack on your own can easily save you hundreds of dollars. After all, why should you pay somebody else to do something when you can take care of it yourself?

If you’re moving only a short distance, have reliable friends willing to give you a hand, and don’t own any items that require special packing skills, then yes, you should try to pack up your home by yourself and save money in the process. You’re going to need more time for packing too, as you can never be as quick and efficient as a pro packer. Or maybe you can.

It should feel great to be able to save money during an already expensive move but you have to understand your limits because property damage due to improper packing will cancel out any savings you may have predicted when parking by yourself.

13 ways to save money when moving home

A personalized checklist will keep you focused and will save you many hours of precious time.

3. Create a packing checklist

So, let’s assume that you’ve made up your mind to tackle the packing job without professional assistance. What do you need the most? You need good packing tips for moving, of course.

And possibly the best packing advice for moving you can ever get is to organize your time with the help of a PACKING CHECKLIST. Stop wasting precious time wondering where to start packing or which items to pack up first. Your personalized packing timeline will “tell” you what you should do next and how much time you get to complete each task in order to stay on schedule.

The idea of following a packing timeline is all about NOT wasting precious time during the most time-consuming job of them all. As you mark each mini packing task as DONE, you’ll be able to gauge the packing progress you’ve made and will feel less stressed out.

Packing timeline for moving (Packing checklist)

4. Start the packing process early

No, you don’t need to wake up too early in the morning. Rather, the idea here is that you should begin to pack up your things (pre-packing) as early as your household becomes only a matter of time.

Here’s one of the most efficient packing tips for moving: you can’t start packing too early.

Stop wondering when to start packing for a move and start right now. It won’t be long before you realize why packing is the most dreaded task in anyone’s moving checklist.

The job of packing for a move is often underestimated in terms of complexity and duration, and that can easily lead to a number of headaches as Moving day approaches. The main problem of delaying the start of packing is that you may not manage to complete it prior to the move-out date, thus creating more problems for yourself.

5. Devise a smart packing strategy

Throwing random stuff into random boxes just won’t work and that’s exactly why you need to have a good packing strategy before you start filling up those boxes. The thing is that as long as you pack in a logical, systematic, and organized way, you should be able to tackle the packing job without too much drama.

Speaking of clever packing tips for moving, the recommended tactic is to use the ROOM-BY-ROOM packing strategy. In practice, packing only one room at one given time will let you focus your entire attention on a specific area in your home, thus eliminating the possibility of leaving behind something that you wish to move with you.

Sometimes packing up your things by CATEGORY is the more logical option – for example, packing all the books in the house regardless of the rooms they are in. Packing by category can help you concentrate on one particular packing technique, thus considerably speeding up the process.

6. Keep packing in the correct order

Still think packing your garage is a breeze?

The best packing tips for moving will not only show you how to pack your things in the best possible way, but also how to start up the packing process in the first place so that you get a good head-start in your race with time.

Which rooms to pack first?

Begin sorting and wrapping up the things located in the storage areas of your home – basement, attic, garage, spare rooms, and closets. Storage rooms can be really challenging to sort and pack due to the overwhelming number of various items stored in them.

Next, you’re recommended to tackle the kitchen and the living room because those rooms can be tough to pack up as well.

The idea here is that you should always start packing from the premises that are the most difficult ones to sort and pack. Why? As your energy and motivation start to wane, you’ll be left with rooms that are relatively easier to pack up, which can be a huge bonus for you.

What to pack first when moving?

7. Know what to pack last

When packing for a move, it’s important to observe the principle of tackling the hardest rooms to pack first and move to the premises that are much easier to sort and pack. Also, think about how often you use a specific room before you begin to pack it up because the occupation frequency should also play a role in your decision which rooms to pack last of all.

Generally speaking, the last rooms to pack should be the ones you use very frequently – that is, on a daily basis. So, without a doubt, your bathroom should be the very last room you pack up, possibly the night before a morning move.

Similarly, the bedroom should also be one of the last places you pack for moving – after all, you would love to be able to sleep in your own bed until the day of the move itself.

What to pack last when moving

8. Ask friends for packing assistance

Ask yourself this: can you pack up your entire home without any help, without even the timely assistance from your closest friends?

A detailed home inventory will enable you to get a better idea of how many things you plan to move to the new home, including some stuff you may have even forgotten about.

Not surprisingly, one of the most helpful packing tips for moving is to get help from friends you can count on. The chances are that you won’t manage it entirely on your own, so it’s time to throw a packing party and invite your best pals to help you out with promises for drinks, snacks, fun, and maybe even some meaningful Thank You gifts.

Good advice: Make sure you reach out to your friends as early as you can to minimize the disruption of their own plans. Imagine how you would feel if one of your pals asked you to help them move in the last possible moment.

How to ask friends to help you move

9. Get hold of good packing materials

You can’t start packing for a move without the necessary packing supplies, can you?

What’s more, you’re going to need to secure packing materials of good quality, not just whatever supplies come your way. After all, your cherished possessions are supposed to survive the relocation journey in one piece.

White packing paper (soft), brown Kraft paper (hard), Bubble wrap, a few rolls of packing tape, a set of color markers, blankets or other pieces of old clothing, and newspapers (padding materials do matter).

Oh, and let’s not forget the most essential packing element of them all: packing boxes made of durable corrugated cardboard. LOTS of cardboard boxes!

And the best part is that you should be able to find most of those packing materials FOR FREE!

Where to find free packing materials

It looks like our advice on where to get free moving boxes has worked well for you.

10. Get free moving boxes

When it comes to good packing tips for moving, here’s one that is better than most: you can get cardboard boxes for free.

The only thing you’ll lose is some time to secure those free cardboard boxes, but if time is not pressing you, then you should really take this packing advice seriously.

First of all, check with your friends whether they have any cardboard boxes they won’t need anymore. Secondly, check with local businesses such as supermarkets, grocery stores, home electronics stores, bookstores, and so on – most of them get frequent shipments of goods and are required to recycle any cardboard boxes they won’t need.

Free moving boxes? Wait, where’s the catch?

11. Choose the right boxes

It’s nice to get your hands on free moving boxes but you shouldn’t accept just any cardboard boxes that you can find. Bear in mind that you’re about to place your prized possessions into those moving containers so you’d better make sure they are

• CLEAN. Inspect the boxes to determine whether they are clean enough to transport your stuff. NEVER take any boxes that may have been infested.
• DRY. Wet areas can weaken the cardboard and consequently compromise the safety of the entire move. Reject any cardboard containers with apparent or suspected water damage.
• STRONG. Take only sturdy moving boxes that have flaps that close well.

Packing for a move can be a unique life experience, especially for first-time movers. Here’s a piece of packing advice that you may find extremely useful: use small to medium boxes for heavy items and large boxes for lightweight things.

That packing advice may sound a bit counterproductive but it’s one of the critical safety tips when packing a house for moving.

12. Inventory your home

Having followed our helpful packing tips so far, now you will have the necessary packing supplies to get the job done properly. The next challenge in your packing checklist is to decide what items you will pack and move, and what items you will get rid of prior to Moving day.

To help you make a good decision, you’re going to need a detailed house inventory. Sort out your things by going from room to room and mark their current condition, so that you can later assess whether or not you need to move those items at all.

The bad news is that it can take quite a lot of time to inventory an entire house. The good news is that there are free moving apps such as MoveAdvisor that will let you do a complete home inventory in mere minutes.

How to make a home inventory

13. Get rid of unwanted items

Looking for the best tips when packing for a move?

Here’s one: don’t pack and move items that you probably won’t ever use again. Try to be ruthless about this one, for it’s your money that is a risk here.

Moving experts are unanimous that if you haven’t used any items in more than a year, then you should seriously consider getting rid of them. It’s simple, really: any extra baggage you want to take with you will increase the transportation costs as the total shipment weight will go up as well.

Attempt to sell, at a garage sale or online, all the things you’ve decided to leave behind.

Clutter unwanted: Get rid of stuff when moving

14. Do not pack items forbidden for transport

Speaking of useful packing tips, this is the perfect time to advise you that you should NOT invest any efforts into packing a number of household items simply because they are forbidden for transport. In other words, professional movers won’t move them for you.

Each moving company has their own list of non-allowables that they hand out to their customers way before Moving day, so make sure you have that list from the very start. Generally speaking, items not to pack when moving include hazardous items (flammable, corrosive or explosive items), perishables (food and plants), pets, and irreplaceable items.

Follow the link below to access the full list of items forbidden for transport. Keep in mind that the moving company you’ve chosen as your relocation partner should provide you with their own version of the non-allowables list.

What not to pack when moving

Don’t forget to prepare an essentials box (or boxes) before your movers load your things into their moving van.

15. Prepare an essentials box

Most of the time, you’re going to need a number of good packing tips and tricks to turn the period of packing up your home into a smooth, quick, and stress-free experience. And one proven way to avoid unpleasant surprises is to prepare an essentials box.

As the name suggests, an essentials box contains things of absolute necessity that you will need while your regular household items are in transit. Make sure you pack up necessities such as toiletries, prescription medication, important documents, a change of clothes for each family member, basic kitchen items, basic tools, and so on.

Don’t forget to pack such an open-first box the day before Moving day, and more importantly – to never hand it by mistake to your movers.

How to pack an essentials box

16. Pack quickly when moving home

You need to remember that packing is the most time-consuming task in your packing checklist, so you’d better pay attention to some good tips for packing quickly.

You don’t want to greet Moving days with dozens of boxes still to pack, do you?

• Start packing immediately after you know you’re moving for sure.
• Have the necessary packing materials ready.
• Get rid of all unnecessary items prior to packing.
• Do not pack items that are forbidden for transportation.
• Where to start packing? Start packing from the rooms you use the least frequently such as storage areas – your garage, basement, attic, garden shed, etc.
• Adhere to your packing timeline as strictly as you can.
• One of the best packing tips for a quick move? It’s better to pack a little every day (effective!) than to try to pack up your entire home in one giant effort (impossible!).

How to pack quickly when moving

17. Pack safely when moving house

Safety is a big concern during the packing process – after all, the idea is to make sure your valuable possessions remain well-protected during the relocation trip.

As far as safety goes, the best packing tips for moving house are:

• Always double tape the bottoms of cardboard boxes, even if they are brand new.
• Don’t skimp on packing supplies when packing fragile items – wrap them up in several sheets of Bubble wrap and use plenty of padding materials to immobilize them in the boxes.
• Do not make boxes heavier than you can handle them – that’s especially true when packing books for moving. The reasonable weight limit is about 40 pounds per box.
• If you own any specialty items that require professional packing skills, do not hesitate to contact experienced moving experts. Otherwise, you will be risking not only the well-being of your belongings but your own safety as well.

Safety tips when moving house

Be proactive! Label your moving boxes to avoid confusion and lost time.

18. Label your packed boxes

One of the most overlooked packing tips for moving cross country is to label your boxes properly. Do not make the mistake of thinking you’ll remember what’s inside each container just by the look of it. If you do, you’re likely to lose valuable time after the move when you get down to unpacking those same boxes.

What’s more, your movers won’t know which room to deliver the boxes to if they are not labeled correctly, and that will lead to further confusion and extra wasted time.

Take your favorite marker and write the contents, destination room, and any handling instructions you think may help. Also, you can choose to use colored codes or a numerical labeling system to make the unpacking process much easier after the move.

How to label moving boxes like a pro

19. Stay motivated when packing

It’s important to be able to stay motivated during a seemingly endless packing process. And one excellent trick to do just that is to view the home packing project not as one never-ending task but as many mini packing tasks.

It’s mostly psychological – it’s hard to stay motivated to pack when you can’t see the end of it. But the moment you break the entire packing process into easy-to-achieve packing tasks, you’ll be able to see the immediate results of your actions and that will only motivate you to keep going.

Here’s a quick example: packing the living room does seem like a lot of work. However, packing all the books from the living room will bring you an instant sense of satisfaction from a job well done.

How to motivate yourself to pack for moving

20. Avoid common packing mistakes

Sometimes it’s possible that even the best packing tips for moving you just read may not be enough to keep you away from some of the worst packing mistakes you can possibly make. Packing mistakes can be really bad because they will often cost you time you don’t have, money you’d like to have, and nerves you’d like to spare.

And speaking of mistakes when packing for a move, maybe the worst of them all is to think you can manage the packing process when it’s obvious that you won’t be able to do it without professional assistance. Factors such as too little time, too valuable items, and too little packing experience should help you reach the best decision under the presented circumstances.

Is it time for professional packers?

Common packing mistakes to avoid

The post The 20 Best Packing Tips for Moving appeared first on The Moving Blog.

One such important task to take care of when moving between two homes is to change your postal address.

Now, it may sound quite logical that your address will change when you move to a new house or apartment, but many people still forget to do a change of address on time, thus losing important pieces of mail in the process.

But not you, right? You cannot possibly forget to do such a critical task as long as you’re following your comprehensive moving checklist – the to-do list that keeps reminding you what you have to do next. And that’s great. But are you familiar with the steps required to do a change of address when moving house?

Did you know that there are 4 ways to change your address when you move?

• ONLINE
• IN PERSON
• BY MAIL
• OVER THE PHONE

Just follow this change of address checklist to learn how to change your address when you move to a new home.

When should you change your address?

Changing your address with the United States Postal Service (USPS) sounds pretty straightforward, and in most cases it is. It’s when you fail to do it – for one reason or another – that you realize just how important that Change of Address (COA) task is.

When should you change your address? The good news is that you can update your address with the USPS either before or after the move.

• BEFORE MOVING OUT: How far in advance to change address when moving? Generally speaking, it’s best that you do it approximately 2 weeks prior to Moving day so that the address will have already been changed by the time you arrive in your new home. This way, you won’t lose crucial time after the move and will be able to concentrate on the immediate post-relocation tasks such as unpacking and arranging the new place.
  The only downside to changing your address before the move is that pieces of mail could still get lost during the relocation chaos.
• AFTER MOVING IN: If you forget or choose not to do it before the move-out date, then the change of address job will have to be tackled right after the move. Often the more unfavorable of the two options, the post-move address change still hides some risks of you never getting some of your mail during that transitional period.
  Don’t forget to leave some cash with a good neighbor at your old address so that he or she can forward your mail until the change of address procedure has been processed.

Useful info: Packing timeline for moving

How long does it take for a change of address?

Your change of address request will usually take 7 days to get processed.

It will take about 7 business days for your Change of Address request to be processed by the USPS but the exact time frame will depend on several external factors such as time of year, city, and number of pending COA requests.

As a rule of thumb, local change of address requests are usually handled faster, while long-distance COA requests can easily take more than 7 business days.

What’s your new mailing address?

It goes without saying that you are expected to know your new address in order to apply for a change of address procedure. You must have the complete and correct postal address written down neatly somewhere where you can easily access it until you memorize it.

If you suspect that the new address may be incomplete or even wrong, make sure you ask your landlord or realtor for confirmation. Pay special attention to the correctness of the ZIP code.

Temporary or permanent Change of Address?

Another thing you must know before you file for a change of address with the USPS is whether you want a temporary change of address or a permanent change of address. So, what’s the difference between the two, you may wonder?

A temporary change of address, as the name suggests, means that your mail will only get forwarded to your new home for a certain period of time – usually 6 months, extendable to 12 months by request. If you’re only moving temporarily, then this option seems best suited for you.

A permanent change of address, as the name suggests, means that your mail will be forwarded permanently – that is, until you move to a newer place, if ever. Choose this option if you don’t intend to go through another household move anytime soon, at least not in the foreseeable future.

Check this out: 10 Must-know tips for hiring movers

Change of Address Checklist: How to change your address

Now that you have learned when to change address when moving (Hint: it’s better to do it before the actual move takes place) and have gathered enough information to use the change of address service, let’s get down to business and explain the various ways you can file for a change of address procedure.

According to the change of address checklist, there are 4 ways you can do just that.

#1: Change of address ONLINE

Online will always be the fastest way to change your address when moving.

Without a doubt, this is the most convenient way to change your address when moving house.

In fact, the advantages of this change of address method are too many to mention: you get to do it whenever you can find time in your busy moving calendar, you get to do it without having to go out of your home, and you get to save time as it’s the fastest COA method by far.

Of course, you only need a computer, a smartphone or a tablet with Internet access.

How to change your address online when moving?

1. VISIT the official USPS website, then navigate to the Change of Address Page of the United States Postal Service;
2. FILL in the change of address form;
3. MAKE sure you have entered your new address correctly – double-check all required fields;
4. PROVIDE a valid e-mail address in order to receive a confirmation mail by the USPS;
5. EXPECT a verification fee of $1 to be charged to your bank card. Don’t panic – this is a standard identification procedure that is aimed at protecting your personal information;
6. SUBMIT the change of address application;
7. EXPECT a confirmation mail by the USPS that the COA request has been completed successfully.

#2: Change of address IN PERSON

If you happen to live near a post office and you prefer to complete this task in person, then you should find the time to visit the local USPS office.

How to change your address in person?

1. VISIT your local post office within its business hours;
2. REQUEST a PS Form 3575 and fill it out neatly;
3. BE prepared. You probably won’t enjoy the process of filling out that form inside the post office for a number of reasons, including the apparent loss of valuable time. This is why you are encouraged to download the PS Form 3575 in advance (do it here), fill it in at home, and then visit the post office while having it ready for filing;
4. HAND over the completed PS Form 3575 at the appropriate desk. You will be asked to prove your identity on the spot (your driver’s license will suffice), which also means that the change of address at the post office will be completely free of charge for you;
5. GO home to take care of other important move-related tasks.

#3: Change of address BY MAIL

You could also change your address by mail, if you really wanted.

Interestingly enough, you can also change your postal address by mail. It’s the least convenient way to do it, but you may happen to prefer it for some reason or another.

How to change your address by mail?

1. DOWNLOAD the USPS Printable Change of Address Form – the well-known PS Form 3575. Do it here;
2. PRINT out the change of address form and fill it out by following the detailed instructions;
3. MAKE sure all the required fields are filled correctly;
4. ATTACH a First Class postage stamp to the envelope and write the following destination address: POSTMASTER, United States Postal Service;
5. MAIL the change of address letter;
6. EXPECT a confirmation letter in the mailbox of your new home inside 10 business days after the COA request has come into effect.

#4: Change of address OVER THE PHONE

The fourth and final way to change your address when moving house is to do it over the phone – another COA method you can take advantage of from the comfort of your own home.

How to change your address over the phone?

1. CALL the following number: 1-800-ASK-USPS;
2. FOLLOW the pre-recorded instructions to change your postal address;
3. PREPARE your bank card details because similar to the case of the online change of address, you will be charged an identity verification fee of $1.

Must-read: 20 Tips for moving long distance

Who to notify of the change of address

The fact that your postal address is about to change very soon is not really a secret, is it? Even if you wish that some people didn’t know your new address, there are a number of individuals, institutions, organizations, and businesses that must be notified of your address change.

So, who to notify when you change your address?

• Friends. It’s only normal that your closest friends should know that you’re moving – after all, maybe some of them did help you out during the move. Consider giving your best friends the new address so that you can stay in touch with them after the move through letters, postcards, or personal visits. Thus said, the various ways of modern communication through e-mail, instant messaging and social networking can somewhat diminish the importance of your new home’s postal address when it comes to not losing touch with your pals.
• Government institutions. There are several important government institutions such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) which should definitely be notified of your updated address information.
• Financial institutions. Banks, credit card companies, and insurance companies should also get notified of the postal address of your new home.
• Utility companies. By now you should have transferred your utilities to the new apartment or house. If you haven’t done it yet, it’s time to contact the various utility providers and inform them of your updated address:
  • electricity,
  • water,
  • gas,
  • phone service,
  • Internet service,
  • cable TV, etc.
• Clubs and organizations. Think of any clubs or organizations that you’re a member of and make sure you inform them of your new address as soon as you find the time to do so. That includes sports clubs too.
• Online shopping websites. If you enjoy shopping online, then you shouldn’t forget to update your address information with the online stores you shop with on a regular basis – Amazon, eBay, and other e-commerce websites.
• Service providers. Here are the most important service providers that should know your new address after you move in:
  • family physician,
  • dentist;
  • vet,
  • school,
  • daycare center,
  • delivery services,
  • cleaning services, etc.

The list of who to notify when you move goes on and on. The thing is that you don’t really need to inform all those service providers all at once – you will inevitably do it little by little while going through your acclimatization period in the new town or city you just moved to.

Good to know: 10 essential things to do after moving

The post How to Do a Change of Address When Moving: Change of Address Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.

In fact, there are so many things that can go wrong when preparing for a cross country move that you’re strongly advised to follow a long distance moving checklist.

That’s right – your best bet for a successful cross country move is to prepare meticulously for the relocation challenge ahead of you.

Be well prepared by following these 20 tips for moving long distance.

#1. Organize your long distance move

The success of your long distance move will depend primarily on how well you organize and manage the time you’ve got until the day of the move itself. In most cases, you won’t have the luxury of wasting even a single day, so the best way to make sure you’re 100% for your long distance move is to create and then follow a moving checklist.

The creation of a personal moving checklist for moving long distance is not difficult at all – you just write down all the things you have to do before you move out and then arrange those tasks in order of importance. Feel free to consult our general moving checklist below in order to “steal” good ideas.

Moving Checklist: Interactive and Printable

#2. Hire a long distance mover

What is the best way to move long distance? This one is easy: secure the services of one of the best long-distance moving companies in your town or city.

Moving long distance – hundreds or thousands of miles across the entire country – falls well outside the realm of Do-It-Yourself moving. The unreasonable costs, potential risks and innumerable dangers of moving across the country by yourself could quickly turn an ambitious self-move into a major relocation disaster.

All in all, there’s a big difference between moving 100 miles within the same state and moving 1,000 miles across multiple states until you reach the new home. Therefore, your best bet for success is to find and hire a reputable, experienced and affordable long distance moving company.

How to choose a long distance mover

#3. Learn the cost of your long distance move

It’s difficult to be financially ready for the upcoming relocation if you have no idea how much your long distance move will cost in the end. Do you have enough money to cover the upcoming moving expenses?

While local movers charge by the hour, long distance moving companies charge a flat rate based on several critical factors such as move distance, shipment weight, and extra services. What that means is that when moving across the country, you have a better chance of getting accurate cost estimates from professional movers.

Ultimately, that should help you set your budget accordingly.

Get binding cost estimates in writing after in-house inspections.

#4. Find a long distance car shipper

Find a long distance car shipper you can trust.

It’s not easy to plan a long distance move because you’ll have to make sure you’re not missing any important details in the process.

Now that you’ve secured a top-rated long distance mover to transport your household items to the new address, you may realize that you’re not really looking forward to driving your personal vehicle for so many hours across unknown territories.

And even if you’re ok with it, you may happen to have a second vehicle that somehow needs to reach the new home as well.

Get car shipping estimates to compare long distance auto shippers in your area and then pick the best car shipping company in terms of price, experience, and reputation.

How to move a car across country

#5. Inventory your home

Ultimately, the best way to prepare for a long distance move is to know which items you will be moving with you and which items you will have to leave behind. And the only way to know for sure is to inventory your home.

Go from room to room and make a list of all the major household items found there. Feel free to use cutting-edge technology to finish the house inventory easier and faster – for example, the MoveAdvisor mobile app has a powerful built-in home inventory tool.

When moving long distance across the country, the home inventory checklist you create will help you sort out your items prior to packing them.

How to inventory your home when moving

#6. Decide about your furniture

As a rule of thumb, moving across the country is an expensive affair. Therefore, you should be actively looking for the cheapest way to move long distance. Thus said, one of the most effective ways to lower the moving costs is to leave your furniture behind.

The long distance moving cost is affected greatly by the overall weight of the shipment, meaning that the more furniture pieces you decide to move, the more money you will pay in the end for their transportation.

Assess carefully all furniture items you have in your home and unless some of them are antique ones or have great sentimental value for you, don’t move them across the country but buy new ones after the move.

How to pack furniture for moving

#7. Sort out your items

Another good advice when moving long distance is to never pack and move all your personal belongings without properly sorting them out first. The thing is that, most often than not, time will have made some things obsolete and you’ll no longer need them as a result.

Remember that packing and transporting items that you won’t use ever again is simply a waste of money – the last thing you need when facing a costly move across the country.

Once you’ve inventoried everything you own, sort those things into 3 different piles: MOVE WITH YOU, LEAVE BEHIND, and THROW AWAY (RECYCLE).

#8. Sell or gift unwanted things

You surely don’t need to move all those items with you, do you?

One of the things to consider when moving long distance is that you’re going to have to pay special attention to all the things inside the LEAVE BEHIND category. Why? Of the three piles, that’s the trickiest one to deal with.

You’re going to need to pack and protect all the things you’re taking with you. Also, you’re expected to recycle properly the stuff nobody will ever need again.

Give to friends or give away to charity any items that are in good condition, that is -still usable. Alternatively, consider selling, either online or at a garage sale, some of those unwanted items to help your moving budget.

How to get rid of unwanted stuff when moving

#9. Prepare the packing supplies

The key to having a successful long distance move is to have your belongings well protected during the long haul. And to be able to pack your things safely, you’re going to need to have the right packing supplies for the job.

When faced with a cross country move, secure the necessary packing materials – cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, packing paper, stretch wrap, packing tape, and permanent markers – in advance, so that you don’t lose valuable time once the packing task is under way.

The good news here is that, given enough time, you should be able to find most or even all the cardboard boxes you’ll need without paying for them. That’s right – free moving boxes for your packing needs!

#10. Start packing ASAP

One of the best long distance moving tips you can ever get is to start packing up your household things as soon as the house move is confirmed. There’s really no point in delaying the start of the most time-consuming task in your moving calendar – packing for a move takes many days, weeks, and even months to complete.

Now that you have the required packing supplies, begin packing with a clear plan of what needs to be done – the so-called PACKING TIMELINE. That packing calendar will guide you through the various packing tasks, thus reducing the buildup of the inevitable stress of moving house.

#11. Pack the trickiest rooms first

How to pack for a long distance move? Initiate the packing task by first protecting and boxing the items from the premises that are the most difficult ones to sort out and pack. In other words, make sure you pack your storage areas first – garage, basement, attic, closet, and spare rooms.

That house packing order may not seem to make much sense at first but it won’t be long before you grasp the logic behind it. Essentially, packing the hardest rooms first will mean that you should still have some energy and motivation left when you reach the more straightforward rooms for sorting and packing.

Bedrooms and bathrooms are usually left for last.

What to pack first when moving

#12. Refrain from packing forbidden items

You’re not allowed to pack and move perishable food over long distances.

One of the important things to consider when moving long distance is that there are limitations to what you can pack and move with you when using the services of a long distance moving company.

By law, long distance movers are not allowed to transport any hazardous items – flammable, explosive, or corrosive in nature. Before you start boxing up your things, contact your cross country mover and request the complete list of items forbidden for transport.

Also, interstate moving companies are not allowed to transport any pets, plants, and perishable foods. Most long distance movers will also refuse to move irreplaceable items – valuables that cannot possibly be replaced or restored if the worst happened.

What NOT to pack when moving

#13. Pack with safety in mind

Packing for a long distance move means that your belongings will spend quite a lot of time on the road until they get safely delivered to the new address. And that’s exactly why you want to make sure your prized possessions are packed up safely and will survive the trip unscathed.

Make sure all the boxes you’ll be using to store your things are strong, clean, and dry. To be on the safe side, tape the bottom and sides of each moving box before using it to ensure it won’t break under the weight of whatever’s packed inside it.

Don’t make boxes too heavy to lift and carry as that may compromise safety before you know it. Keep packed containers below the reasonable weight limit of 40 pounds.

The best packing tips for moving

#14. Pack essentials boxes

It’s important to know how to plan a long distance move simply because there are too many little yet essential details to take care of. You just have to think a few steps ahead – you and your belongings will be separated for a few days, so what happens when you need to use a few of those essential items?

To be able to survive some time without your own things by your side, you’d be better off packing a few essentials boxes and moving those survival kits with you. Prepare one such box for each family member and fill it up with absolute essentials such as prescription medication, personal care items, basic tools, a change of clothes, electronic gadgets, and so on.

How to pack an essentials box when moving

#15. Keep valuables close by

The tips for planning a long distance move continue with a fair warning that you should pay attention to before it’s too late: No matter how trustworthy and reliable your long distance movers look, you should never entrust them with your most valuable possessions… unless those valuables are too large to transport on your own.

Pack all your jewelry pieces, smaller electronic devices, collectors’ items, important documents, and other valuables in separate boxes and keep those boxes with you at all times. On Moving day, you should keep a close watch on your high-value articles and then move them in your personal vehicle when the long distance movers are gone.

When moving valuables that are too bulky to fit in your car, then speak with your cross country moving company about purchasing additional insurance for your expensive and valuable items.

#16. Ask friends to help you pack

Any friendly assistance is welcome when you’re packing for a long distance move.

Moving to another part of the country is a stressful, nerve-wracking and strenuous job that you were never supposed to handle entirely on your own.

Since you won’t be moving on your own, the professional movers you hire will take care of all the heavy lifting for you.

However, choosing to pack up your home without professional assistance will enable you to save on your long distance move.

So, guarantee a successful end to your long distance moving story by asking your best buddies to give you a hand when packing, especially if you feel like you’ve already fallen behind on your packing calendar.

How to get friends to help you move

#17. Have an accident-free Move day

One of your top priorities when moving long distance is to guarantee everyone’s safety on the day of the move. Moving day is largely unpredictable so it’s critical that you do everything in your power to keep your family as safe as possible, including any pets you may have.

Leave the heavy lifting for the professional movers who have extensive experience in moving large and heavy household items. If you have to lift and carry something heavy, then you must use the proper lifting techniques to prevent injury.

Also, have young children and pets – most often cats or dogs – away from the dangers of Moving day, preferably in a room that’s farthest from the action. Or you can leave your loved ones at a trusted friend or family member until the movers are gone.

How to survive Moving day in 20 steps

#18. Get your pets ready to move long distance

The checklist for moving long distance won’t be complete if we don’t include some tips for moving long distance with pets. Remember that cross country moving companies are not allowed to transport any pets long distance so it’s up to you to figure out a way to move any pet animals you have.

First of all, you should take your pet to the vet for a medical checkup before the car trip. You have to be sure that your animal friend is healthy enough to make it, and besides, the vet may recommend some anti-anxiety medications for him or her to make the relocation trip safer and more pleasant for everyone.

Moving with CATS across the country

Moving with DOGS across the country

#19. Save money when moving long distance

Moving across the country is more expensive than you’d like, so you must take every opportunity to lower the cost of a long distance move. In reality, there are several good ways to save money on a long distance move, and yes, it’s quite possible to use those cost-saving tips all at once for maximum effect.

• Find affordable (cheap) long distance movers by requesting written cost estimates from several professional moving companies and then comparing carefully those quotes.
• Pack and move only the things you will really need and use after the move. If possible, do NOT move any furniture to keep the moving costs down.
• Keep packing costs within reasonable limits by first securing free moving boxes and then packing whatever you can without hiring professional packers.

20 Ways to reduce moving costs

#20. Say goodbye to your best friends

You just must see your good friends one more time before moving away.

It’s never easy to organize a long distance move due to the overwhelming number of things to do before you can move out of your current place. And still, possibly the hardest thing you’ll have to do is to part with your best friends.

Saying goodbye to your good friends is likely to be an emotional thing but it’s unlike you to just move away without informing your pals, right?

Inform your friends that you’re moving away soon and make a genuine effort to organize a farewell party for them, a bittersweet get-together where you’ll see all your great friends one more time before you go.

Promise to keep in touch with the people you care about, and then do your best to keep that promise after the long distance move.

How to say goodbye to friends when moving

The post 20 Tips for Moving Long Distance: Moving Checklist appeared first on The Moving Blog.