The Homeowners Complete Moving Checklist
Have you recently bought a new home? CONGRATS! Now comes the fun part: moving. Okay, so no one actually enjoys packing up, moving boxes, and unpacking. But that’s okay! Armed with a good checklist and a few helpers moving doesn’t have to be that stressful. The key is to plan ahead and be prepared.
So here’s a homeowner’s moving checklist to get you ready for the big day with minimal stress.
Create A Moving Budget
Moving expenses can add up. There is the cost of movers, the packing supplies, the thanks-for-helping pizza and beers, the takeout for when everything is packed in boxes, gas, parking fees, etc. Not to mention that once you move, you’ll have furniture and decor that you’ll want to get. By making a budget for your moving expenses, you can avoid going into debt for the move.
Once you create your budget make sure to keep it updated and stick to it.
Make Piles
We accumulate a lot of things over the years. The last thing you want to do is pack up a bunch of stuff that you no longer want or use just to move into your new home and have it take up space in storage.
Go one room at a time and make three piles: sell, donate, and purge. Anything that could be sold, take pictures of and write down things like dimensions, brands, etc. Post those things on Marketplace or Kijiji. Anything that you don’t want to sell but is still usable can go into a donation pile. Keep a donation box or two on the go and do one large donation run before you move. Anything that isn’t in good condition or cannot be donated should be thrown away.
If you find yourself with more “junk” than you know what to do with, call a junk removal company to save you time and stress.
Research And Lock In Your Movers
Take a look at local moving companies and reach out to a few to get quotes. Look at reviews and don’t be afraid to ask questions like are there any additional fees for things like awkward or heavy items, do they provide moving blankets and shrink wrap, do they have content insurance, and will they be using floor runners. Don’t forget to check out marketplaces like Locorum where you’ll find vetted small businesses and can find verified reviews from other locals.
(Pssst. PLUS if you hire a mover through Locorum you’ll get rewarded for using a local service provider! The rewards are NOT points. They’re real dollars that get loaded onto a Locorum Mastercard that you can use online or in-store anywhere that takes Mastercard.)
If you’re not going with movers, then you’ll want to look into Uhaul options or truck rentals.
Prepare Your Moving Inventory
Make a checklist of everything that you’re moving. As much as this sounds tedious, if you have to file a claim for things that are lost, stolen, or damaged during the move, you’ll be so glad that you made this list. Take it room by room. You can also do this while you make your sell, donate, and purge piles if you want.
As you’re doing this, take pictures of your more valuable belongings so that if you do have to file a claim, you’ll have those in your back pocket.
Get Packing Supplies
If you start early enough, you might not have to shell out a lot for boxes, tape, and bubble wrap. Check with your neighbourhood stores to see if they’ll put aside some boxes for you. Contact friends and family and ask them to save larger Amazon boxes for you.
Make sure that you buy more tape than you think you’ll need and get a few extra sharpies for labelling. You’re sure to lose track of a couple throughout the process. Also, grab some baggies with label spots so that you can keep all of the pieces for your furniture together and labelled.
Start Using Up Perishables
If you’re moving far you’re going to want to make sure that you use up everything in your fridge and freezer before you move. Start by taking inventory of everything you have. While you’re doing this, throw out expired things. Then, plan meals that will use up the ingredients. If you have food you know you’re not going to get to before the move, ask friends and family if they want any of it to reduce food waste.
Prepare For Your Change of Address
Your address is probably tied to more things than you realize. Some things you can change as they come up (like when you go to check out of Amazon and realize it still has your old address as the shipping destination), but others need to be before or right after your move. Here’s a list of the most important things to remember as you start preparing for and notifying of a change of address:
Set up mail forwarding before moving so that any letters, bills, or important documents get sent to the right address once you move
Change your government cards (driver’s licence, health card, and outdoors card)
Provide your new address for car and house insurance
Update your billing address for your credit cards, service providers and subscriptions, loans, and banks
Let your employer know to update company records
Get Your Utilities Sorted
Contact your current provider and let them know about your move and when they should cancel service at your current home. Make sure to have your account number on hand when you call. You’ll need around two weeks’ notice for this.
Find out what utilities serve the area that you’ll be moving to and contact them a couple of weeks before you’ll be moving in to get everything set up. Have your new address, date of move-in, and government ID on hand when you call.
Schedule Your Internet Change
About 2-3 weeks before you plan on moving, contact your internet service provider and let them know about your move. If you plan on using the same provider, you can set that up on the call, or if you’ll be going with a new provider for the move, you’ll need to arrange that a few weeks ahead of time too. You might need to arrange to drop off your current router as well as the pickup for your new router, so give yourself plenty of time to get all of that sorted.
Fill Up Your Prescriptions
If you’re moving far enough away where you’re going to have to change pharmacy or doctor’s office, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve ordered prescription refills before your move so that you have time to unpack and set up home before you need to worry about a pharmacy run.
Book Time Off Of Work
Be realistic about the amount of time off of work you’re going to need and put in your request for time off as soon as possible. Even if your actual move day is only going to take one day, you might want to book off the day before for packing and the day after for recuperating and furniture assembly.
Recruit Helpers
If you’re not hiring movers to do everything, you might need some help with packing, moving furniture, furniture disassembly and reassembly, or even stacking boxes. Make sure to thank them with pizza and drinks!
Pack Up The Decorative And Off-Season Things
Start packing up things that you don’t need, such as decorations and off-season items. Make sure to clearly label boxes.
Pack Up The Non-Essential Kitchen and Dining Items
You know that waffle maker you only pull out twice a year? That can get packed away now. And what about those fancy serving dishes? Box it up! There are plenty of things in the dining room and kitchen that you only really pull out for special occasions. Get those things packed well and labelled clearly.
Pack Up Everything Not Immediately Needed
Once the moving day gets closer you can move on to packing up things that are not immediately needed. This is where you can pack up all of your clothes other than a week’s worth. You can pack up books, games, toys, and garage things. If you can, pack up dishes and switch to recyclable dishes.
Clean Rooms As You Go
If you’ve packed up your guest bedroom and it’s now empty, clean it and close the door. Keep doing this as you pack up rooms in the house. If you clean as you go, cleaning on moving day won’t be a huge hassle.
Disassemble Furniture
A couple of days or so before the big move, start disassembling bed frames and furniture. Keep all of the Allen keys and screws together in a baggie and clearly label it. Tape that baggie well to a part of the furniture.
Pack Up Everything Else
The day before the big move, pack up everything else that has been essential up until now. By now there really shouldn’t be much left to pack up. It will mostly be a small number of kitchen items, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and bedroom items.
Pack An On-The-Go Bag
There are a few things that you’re not going to want to go digging through boxes to find. Those things might be toilet paper, hand soap, paper dishes, snacks, and cups for water. Put those sorts of things into an on-the-go bag and keep that bag with you throughout the move so that it’s always easily accessible.
If you’re moving cities or provinces, you’ll probably also need to pack a suitcase with clothes, toiletries, and phone chargers.
