Moving to a new home or office is a complex event that demands time, energy, coordination, and patience. Moving is also an emotional experience, and it’s important to show kindness to yourself as you plan your household’s move. Free yourself from the notion that a perfect moving day exists — even the most streamlined, seamless moves are guaranteed to be at least a little bit stressful!
When you focus on planning as early as possible, however, the weeks or months of energy you put into your move will all feel worth it. And while you may know exactly what you need to do to prepare for your move, you could be struggling to piece together a roadmap of when exactly each item on your to-do list needs to happen.
In our experience, the “when” of moving is just as important as the “what” — and that’s why our Ultimate Moving Checklist was designed with both in mind. Keep reading for a thorough explanation of what you should plan for leading up to your move!
Two Months Before
Two months is plenty of time to pull off your move with proper planning. 6-8 weeks before your move date, you should be getting organized and researching local moving companies.
Get organized
There are several ways to get your house organized before your move, and how you choose to proceed will depend on what works best for your specific household. We recommend sorting everything, room by room, into three categories: keeping, donating, and chucking. Make sure that your throwaway pile is being sorted into recyclables, garbage, and so on.
Downsizing well before the move will make packing — and unpacking on the other side — that much easier. Bonus? The less stuff you move, the less money your move will cost at the end of the day. Fewer boxes = fewer hours spent moving.
Research Moving Companies
Researching moving companies is crucial, and you should get started early. Since you’ll want to take your time researching movers, comparing quotes, and making a final decision, it’s best to begin right away. Once you know your moving date, you’ll want to secure a booking right away, particularly if your move falls under peak moving times such as at the very end and very beginning of the month.
Ask Friends and Family
Friends and families are a great place to start your moving company research. We all know someone who’s moved, and you’re sure to get unfiltered feedback from those closest to you.
Utilize Online Reviews
Online reviews are generally a trustworthy source of information, but keep in mind that the number of reviews is nearly as important as a company’s rating. A company with 5 stars but only 7 reviews may not be as reliable as a company with 4.5 stars and 300 reviews.
It’s also good to note that most of the time, people are more likely to leave a review after a negative experience than a positive one. Keep an eye out for how companies respond to negative reviews in online spaces.
Google Reviews is the most popular review platform, and many consider it to have the best guidelines for consumers and businesses when it comes to leaving reviews.
Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau has a different approach to reviews than Google. The BBB uses an Accredited Businesses system to assign rankings to businesses, charities and non-profit organizations. You can also browse complaints and reviews and see business responses to each.
Call multiple Movers and get a quote from each
Once you’ve narrowed down the list of companies you may want to entrust with your move, it’s time to gather quotes from each of them. Getting a quote is about much more than just finding out who has the most competitive rate — this is also your opportunity to interact with the move coordinators who represent the company, to learn about what services are included in their rate, and to ask questions about their process.
Read the fine print
It’s important to remember that a low quote doesn’t always mean a low final bill. Some less reputable moving companies can mislead customers with low estimates that don’t include all the charges. Always find out what the rate estimate includes and go with a company that offers a comprehensive quote.
Create a moving binder
Having one file to organize everything related to your move will save you time, energy, and stress leading up to moving day and on moving day itself.
Your moving binder should include a moving checklist, information about your moving budget, a utilities appointment tracker, your moving company’s info, receipts, inventory list, schedule, and anything else you need to make moving day a success. This binder can include any number of other files or documents related to your move — customize its contents according to your household’s needs!
3-5 Weeks Before
Book your move
First things first — your move should be booked and confirmed one month before your move date. Make sure you have some sort of confirmation of the booking from your moving company: an email, a deposit receipt, etc.
Start using up your frozen goods
You’ve heard the saying — use it or lose it! You probably don’t want to haul all your frozen goods to your new place, so start planning meals for a few weeks around using up that stash of frozen goods you’ve been saving for a rainy day.
Pack up all non-essential items
If you aren’t using it on a daily or weekly basis, it should be packed up at this point. Remember: downsize, inventory, pack it up, and secure the box with packing tape before labelling it. Label clearly in bold letters on several sides of the box, and include important info such as “fragile” as well as the room it belongs to at the new house.
Book Utilities
Trust us, you do not want to arrive at your new home after a long day of moving only to find that your Internet hasn’t been connected. Save yourself stress by booking appointments for utility connections early — and of course, add them to your moving binder!
2-3 Weeks Before Moving
Make a plan for your pets and your plants
Pets and plants need extra TLC in the transport to your new home.
Pets
Ideally, your pets will travel with you in your vehicle, but remember: our furry friends tend to get spooked easily in new, unfamiliar places. If you have kids, assign one to pet duty. That means getting your pet to a secluded room where they won’t be bothered by the sounds of movers, with a door that latches so they can’t run away. Give them their favourite blanket for comfort as well as a bowl of water and one of food.
Plants
Plants need a little less attention than pets, but it is still important to move them cautiously and with love. Plants are delicate and susceptible to “shock” that can cause long-term damage, so we recommend taking your plants with you in your vehicle. Larger plants may need to go with the moving company, but there are steps you can take to give them their best chance in transit. Remember — moving trucks aren’t temperature controlled, so on a cold day your plants need to be wrapped up snugly to avoid cold damage!
Book cleaners if needed
If you have room in the budget, we recommend hiring a professional cleaner for move-out day. The last thing you’re going to want to do is a deep clean. If, however, you decide to do the cleaning yourself, 2-3 weeks before your move is the perfect time to start moving everything to a central location — ideally, close to your exit — and cleaning up the empty rooms in your house. It’s best to wait until everything is moved out or packed up completely before cleaning.
Get rid of garbage and donations
Remember those piles of donations you made a few weeks ago? It’s time to arrange for them to go to their next home. Pack what you can into your vehicle or find a friend with a truck who can help you get your donated items to their new spot!
Same goes for any junk/garbage items that won’t fit in your standard bin — a dump run may be necessary.
1 Week Before You Move
Ideally, there won’t be too much left to do at this point.
Double and Triple Confirm
Hopefully your moving company will reach out to you first — but if not, there’s no harm in sending a quick confirmation message to your Move Coordinator to check on the booking date, time, and to see if they have any final questions or pieces of advice you may want to know for moving day!
Pack whatever isn’t packed
You should have an essentials box, and everything else should be getting packed up in the final days before your move. There’s nothing worse than having to pull an all-nighter the evening before a very long day. Push through those final days with whatever motivation you need — put on your favourite true crime podcast, your intense workout playlist, or start your annual rewatch of Grey’s/Friends/New Girl a little early. Whatever you need to get to the finish line!
Take a breath
You’re almost at the end, and you’ve probably run yourself close to ragged. Take at least one evening to relax, recharge, and practice self-love. Draw a bath or go for a long run, or do whatever other activity rejuvenates you! Remember: you can do this, you’re well prepared, and the end of the move is near. Woohoo!
Moving Day
Moving day has arrived. At this point, we hope that your moving company is ready to take care of the heavy lifting, but the day can still be stressful. Chat with your crew before the move begins to set expectations for the day, let them know about any extra-fragile items being moved, and if you have an inventorying system that can help them get boxes and furniture to the correct room, it’s time to go over those details with them.
Check the windows and locks at your old place
Before you leave, you’ll most likely do a final round of room checks to make sure nothing has been left behind. This is a great time to also check that windows are shut, lights are off, and locks are locked as needed. Leave the keys wherever was agreed upon with the new homeowner or previous landlord, and then it’s time to head out!
Hydrate
This is more of a reminder than a rule — remember to hydrate and find a moment to eat a bite! If you don’t have time for a sit-down meal, some sort of handheld sandwich should do the trick. If even that’s too much to commit to, go ahead and make sure you have a few power bars in your car’s glove compartment. Opt for both water and drinks with electrolytes.
Try to enjoy move day
Moving should feel more like a new adventure than a chore. Get some cute photos from moving day — and don’t skip the classic “standing in front of the new home” shot! It will be nice to have memories to look back on, and this is a great time to have some fun.
Ready to get your moving quote? Reach out to our team by clicking here!