Moving Checklist: Final Week

Today I’ll finish up the moving checklist with the steps for the final week. It’s broken up into 3 components:

• 1 week prior to Moving Day
• 1 day prior to Moving Day
• Moving Day itself

Here are the final checklist items:

1 Week Prior to Moving Day
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c Confirm start time, current home address and future home address with movers.

Even if you already have this information, it’s a good idea to double-check. It’s also wise to ask who you can contact (name and phone number) if the movers don’t show up on-time, since the start of the move may be well before the movers’ offices open.

c Recruit friends for “moving day madness.”

Having extra help for last-minute errands or helping to watch movers and answer questions can be invaluable.

c Make arrangements for child and/or pet sitting.

Having small children and pets watched on Moving Day can eliminate a lot of stress and confusion on the big day, especially while taking care of all the other important details.

1 Day Prior to Moving Day
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c Make sure everyone’s cell phone is fully charged.

Moving Day would be a bad day to be out of contact. 🙂

c Have everyone pack one or two suitcases or a knapsack (no more).

Even if you’re only moving across the street, having a suitcase with the following, taken with you instead of on the moving truck if possible, will make things easier once you move in:

__ Eyeglasses
__ Favorite toy for the kids
__ Prescriptions
__ Something to read
__ Three days’ worth of changes of clothes
__ Toothbrush and toothpaste (if not in “Open Me First” box)

Moving Day
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c Start early.

Moving is stressful enough without waking up late and running around with movers waiting outside.

c Take all garbage out of the house.

Movers get into huge trouble for leaving anything behind. So many people have been shocked to find their garbage packed into their garbage cans and sent along for the move!

c Make sure drivers have your cell phone number and you have theirs, along with their names.

Things come up on moving day- make sure you have a way to stay in contact. q Be available for movers’ questions. You need to be visible and available at all times- near the door is usually a good spot.

c Perform final checks before leaving current home.

Here are some final items to verify before shutting the door for the last time:

• Are the air conditioning, fans, and heat turned off?
• Is the water shut off, including to hoses?
• Are the light switches turned off?
• Are the keys and garage door openers for current home turned in or left on the kitchen counter?
• Anything left in refrigerator, freezer, stove, drawer under stove, in closets, in bathroom, under porch, in garage, in attic, in crawlway? · Did you pack your hoses and sprinklers

And finally, at the end of the day, congratulate yourself- you’re done! To see the entire Ultimate Moving Checklist, click here. What checklist items do you recommend? I hope you reply and let me know.

Picking Your Moving Day

Picking your moving day depends on several factors, including:

• When your new place will be ready to occupy
• When you can schedule time off work
• Movers’ schedules (whether those movers are friends and family or a professional moving company)
• Utility hook-up dates
• Closing date, if you’re dealing with a mortgage

Here are some tips on picking the best day:

• Memorial Day – Labor Day accounts for just under 50% of all moves, making it much more difficult to get scheduled. Avoid the summer if possible.
• Tuesdays – Thursdays offer the most availability on most professional movers’ schedules and also insure that businesses will likely be open if you run into a problem.
• Arrange to have your old utilities shut off one day after the move and for your new utilities to be turned on the day before your move. This does two things: it allows extra time for the new utilities to get sorted out if something goes wrong, and makes sure you have connections at your old place if leaving takes longer than you expect.

Did you ever move on a day that was particularly good or bad? Please let me know!

For moving tips and advice, visit http://www.Movers-Edge.com.