How Properly Prepare for Moving Day

Whether you’re packing up and moving to another state or just down the street, it’s the same amount of work and it can be overwhelming. However, you can make it a whole lot easier by doing everything in an organized manner, one step at a time. 

Here’s what you can do to properly prepare for your move so that everything goes smoothly:

Line Up a Professional Moving Company

Before doing anything, you’ll need to determine how best to handle your move. Are you going to pack up everything, rent a truck and move it yourself? Or, do you think you’d be better off leaving it to the professionals? Your decision will largely depend on how much stuff needs to be packed up, your budget, how far away you’re moving, and your timetable.

If you decide a professional moving company would make the most sense, you need to find one that you can trust. Practically everything you own will be on that truck and you want it all to arrive safely at your new home. Take the time you need to interview several moving companies so that you can be confident that you’re hiring true professionals with the expertise you need.

Set the Date

Once you’ve chosen which moving company to go with, you need to schedule your moving day. If you can arrange to take possession of your new place several days or even a week before you have to vacate your old place, that would be best. No matter how well organized you are it’s hard to complete a move in just one day. Otherwise, you may need to rent a storage unit just for the interim. When setting the date, give yourself time to clean up the old place and retrieve anything that may have been forgotten. 

Create a Packing List

Before packing anything up, go through everything and make an inventory. A well-organized packing list will keep you from forgetting things. In doing this, you’ll discover a lot of stuff that you really don’t want anymore.

Take pen and paper and go room-by-room listing everything that’s moving with you, a list of things you will give away or donate and the items that you’ll just toss out. Categorize things in this manner so when you start packing up each room you will know which items go in which pile so you can move along more quickly. Planning in advance also makes it easier to unpack at the new home.

Start Getting Rid of Things

You are about to start a new chapter in your life. It is time you got rid of everything you don’t want or need anymore. Once you’ve decided what will go with you to the new home, sort through everything else. Your options are to have a yard sale, go to your local recycler or donate usable items to charity. For help you can call 888-888-8888. They will be happy to take your items and either donate or dispose of them responsibly.

 Get Your Moving Supplies

You’ve already come a long way! You’ve lined up the best professional movers you could find, you’ve got everything organized, and you’re down to just the essentials. It’s now time to get everything packed up. If you want it all to arrive safely, you need the right moving supplies. Here’s a list of what to get:

• Sturdy cardboard boxes of various sizes and/or plastic bins
• Plenty of packing paper to protect fragile items
• Bubble wrap for even more protection
• Clear packing tape for boxes
• Black marker to use for labeling your boxes

If you select Happy Home Moving to handle your move, we can provide you with just the right boxes for your belongings. If you need help packing, we are a full-service moving company that can professionally pack everything. You have enough going on right now!

Pack Early

The sooner you start packing, the better. Packing should be done carefully so that you know where everything is, and nothing breaks during the move. The last thing you want is to be rushing around at the last second, tossing things in boxes. Get started early so everything can be packed properly.

However, if you start too early, you’ll be living out of boxes for weeks. Schedule your time so that you will be all packed up a few days before your actual move. You can pack a small suitcase with the things you’ll need to get by until you’re in your new home.

Notify Those Who Need Your New Address

As moving day approaches, you’ll need to notify certain authorities and businesses of your change of address. The post office will forward your mail for only so long, so aside from them you’ll need to change your address with the DMV, notify your bank, insurance companies, and your employer at the very least.

Transfer Your Utilities

You will need to have the utilities at the old address disconnected or transferred out of your name and all of them hooked up and turned on at the new address. Call the telephone, gas and electric companies as well as your cable TV and Internet providers to organize all of this.

Everyone agrees that moving can be a huge ordeal. But if you plan well ahead, get organized and stay upbeat and positive, your life will be back to normal before you know it.