12 Essential Tips To Add To Your Moving Checklist

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Moving out? Your Essential Checklist for Success

You may be moving into your “dream home,” but the moving process itself is nobody’s dream.

Moving means umpteen things to be done. It’s not just about packing things into boxes, taking them to another place, and unpacking them there. The more complicated our lives become, the more tasks there are to be completed before and after moving.

So, how can you make moving out more straightforward and less complicated?

Use a moving-out checklist. Having a moving checklist will help you move efficiently and methodically, while also minimizing the stress that comes with the move.

A typical moving-out checklist will have:

• Inventory of goods. It’s best to categorize your goods into perishable, breakable, and unbreakable. A room-wise inventory is recommended. Additionally, a box containing the first day’s items needs to be marked ‘load last, unpack first’.
• A file containing essentials. These essentials can include house documents, insurance papers, packing lists, bills to be settled, travel tickets, keys to the new home, and other relevant documents.

With these essential files, it is important to remember to do these things before moving out:

• Arrange transfer of school records.
• Pay utility and other pending bills.
• Transfer bank accounts.
• Turn off phone, heat, electricity, and gas connections.
• Disconnect the television and Internet cables.
• A pre-move-out list of things to do. Before moving out, make sure you take care of the following items:
  1. post office notification;
  2. insurance for valuables,
  3. health checks, and medications;
  4. closing club, gym, library, and any other memberships;
  5. canceling or changing delivery addresses of newspapers and magazine subscriptions;
  6. returning any borrowed things;
  7. finding new homes for pets (if needed) and plants;
  8. confirming travel plans.
• Pack a special moving-out travel kit.
  1. This kit will contain cash, checkbooks, credit cards, personal phone book, phone, computer and tablets with respective chargers, identity card, flashlight, keys to the new home, toiletries, change of clothes, emergency medications, food, towels, alarm clock, games for kids, hat, and depending on the time of the year you’re moving, jackets and accessories.
• List of items to be sold/placed in storage.
  1. Surely there are things that you may not bring with you to your new home or things that need to be given a new look. This list may include items that need to be repaired, replaced, painted, or refurbished.
• List of legal papers and keys. These are the ones that need to be handed over to the landlord or new owner of your home.
• A folder containing details of movers. This should include the truck number, driver’s ID, and cell number, as well as addresses and phone numbers of their office at the destination and the call center or tracking center. This also includes an envelope containing cash or a cheque to settle the mover’s bills.
• A list of arrangements to be made in your new home before you arrive.  You will need a working phone, as well as utilities like gas, electricity, and heat. Additionally, you will need to install cable for the television and internet, turn on the water supply, and complete any other necessary alterations or repairs before the trucks arrive.
• If you have children, keep a folder of their records. This will contain birth certificates, school records, medical records, dental records, transfer papers, and any other documents required to enroll them in the new school.
• A bare necessities box. Marked No 1, this will contain: toilet paper, towels, soap, shampoo, bath towels, paper towels, insecticide, cereal, dehydrated milk, coffee, and other must-haves.
• A new home must-do list. This list may include:
  1. Validating your car papers and driver’s license,
  2. Renewing or obtaining new insurance,
  3. Putting all legal documents in order (checking applicable laws), and
  4. Making a list of emergency numbers, including the hospital, police station, social services, fire station, doctor’s clinic, and vet.

To make things even simpler, you can create separate general checklists before and on the day of the move:

Checklist For Moving: A Month Before The Move

1. Submit your change of address forms to the post office.
2. Obtain documents for school transfers if you have children.
3. Find a moving company and make reservations.
4. Give your new address to friends and family.
5. Hold a garage sale or otherwise lighten the load.

Checklist For Moving: One Or Two Weeks Before

1. Move your banking accounts to the new location.
2. Return rented movies, books, and other items to the library, etc.
3. Get your prescriptions transferred to the new location.
4. Clean your house.
5. Call for utility shut-offs and new connections.
6. Dispose of things that won’t be moved.
7. Begin packing and labeling boxes.
8. Organize and pack an “essentials” box for arrival (toiletries, paper plates, etc.).
9. Final moving plans (make hotel reservations, get maps, etc.).

Checklist For Moving Day

1. Remember to eat.
2. Start early.
3. Check every room and storage area.
4. Turn off all lights, lock the doors.
5. Give the keys to the new owner or real estate agent.

It’s also wise to consider some facts about your destination, such as the type of weather, potential climatic changes, whether it’s urban or rural, water portability, the infrastructure in the new home, the size of the house, the colors of the walls, and any rules made by the landlord in case it is a rented home. Some landlords specify that no nails are allowed on the walls.

Be well prepared to move out of your home. With a personalized and straightforward moving-out list, you can make the move as smooth as possible. If you are well-organized, moving out will surely be hassle-free!

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