Moving Guide
Decide on a date ________________________________________
One month before your move:
Review the attached checklist of utilities/businesses that will need your change of address.
Use your Christmas card list to send notifications to friends and relatives.
Take stock of your groceries and try to use up as many items as possible to reduce cartage and spoilage. You may want to make a list of menu’s to ensure all food items are used up. Don’t forget to check your freezer.
Go through closets and remove any items that are no longer worn, especially children’s clothes.
Scan your kitchen cupboards for duplicate items or appliances you no longer need or use.
Go through your bathroom cabinets and discard any expired products or medicines. Put shampoo bottles in ziplock bags.
Take stock of children’s toys and remove any they have outgrown.
Put the items in piles of giveaway/throwaway.
Two weeks before your move:
Decide on a colour code for each room; Master bedroom, children’s rooms, family/living room, basement and garage. As you pack up each room, put a coloured sticker on the box as well as a written label. Put coloured stickers on the larger furniture pieces like end tables and dressers or artwork. When you get to your new home, put a matching coloured sticker on the door frame of each room. This will make it easier for you to put things in the proper room and will assist anyone who is helping you with your move.
Clearly mark any items that will go into storage and not follow you to your new home immediately. Put them together in one area.
If you are taking draperies or area rugs with you, have them cleaned.
Make arrangements for childcare or pet care the day of the move.
If possible, make arrangements to spend the night before your move with friends or relatives. This will allow you to have your bedding stripped and laundered as well as bed frames taken down.
Make a folder of house related information you would like to leave with the new owners. Include warranties or instruction guides on appliances that are staying, furnace/AC or lawn maintenance services. Leave behind the garage door openers and spare house keys.
One week before your move:
Pack up your kitchen, keeping out the basics for meals the last week. Purchase paper plates and plastic cutlery. Make up a small box containing small appliances such as a toaster oven and disposable china and paper towels in case your stove is not hooked up right away.
Defrost your freezer. Toss out old spices, stale crackers etc.
Use blankets and towels to wrap around pictures and mirrors (if you are not using a professional moving service)
Set aside one box as the last out - first in box. This should contain items that you may need immediately at your new home. Some suggested items are packaged snacks, drink boxes or bottled water, zip lock bags, toilet paper, light bulbs, a few cleaning supplies and a first aid kit. Pack a mini tool kit with assorted screw drivers, hammer, wrench and tape.
The day before your move:
Take down draperies and remove any shelving you plan to take with you.
Pack an overnight bag and include personal toiletries.
Check behind all doors, tops of closet shelves, garden shed, garage and attic.
Charge up your cell phone.
Moving Out Day
Take time to eat breakfast. Bring extra snacks or a lunch with you.
As rooms are emptied, do a final check of that room and then close the door.
After all household items are out of the house, do a final check of each room. You may wish to run the vacuum through each room. Giving the kitchen and bathrooms a quick clean is a considerate touch.
Moving In Day
If your move is local, you may be moving out and in on the same day.
Moving is exhausting. Take frequent breaks if you are doing the move yourself. Unloading and unpacking take considerably longer than packing up. Even with a well planned moved, there are always items that don’t quite fit in your new place or items that you are not sure where to put. Don’t try to do it all in one or two days. Take time to think about the items. Place them in different rooms and see which way works best for you. Even though your great aunts’ chair has always been in your family room, you may find that it is the perfect accent in your new bedroom.
Older children look forward to unpacking their own things and placing them in their new rooms.
