moving dayMoving to a new home is an exciting adventure. It’s also a major undertaking that requires a significant amount of planning. If you have a home that needs to be sold, that should be job one. Staging your home for sale is somewhat of an art and is an article all by itself. This post talks about what you need to do to prepare for moving day.

Your plan needs to begin when you know the actual date, or a ballpark idea of the date of the move. Create a list of to-do’s and the dates they need to complete. The tips below will help you create your list.

When your list is complete, schedule the tasks in your planner, and begin working through your list. You may find things you hadn’t thought of, so jot down notes or possibly more tasks in your planner as you think of them. The preparations you make ahead of time will make moving day go more smoothly and keep your stress minimal, so you can enjoy your new surroundings.

Reduce – The first thing to do is reduce the amount of things you will move into your new home. Go through your spaces and look for things that are broken, missing parts, won’t work with your new décor, borrowed from someone, or that you really just don’t want anymore. Discard, recycle, return, or sell these items, possibly in a garage sale.

Movers – If you are hiring a moving company, do some research to find the company that meets your particular needs. Getting recommendations from family and friends is a good idea. They can share their good and bad experiences with you, to help you make the best choice. Getting quotes from recommended moving companies is next on the list of to do’s. You will need to provide some information to the moving company such as, the square footage of your existing home, and number of rooms to move.

Boxes & packing materials – You will need a lot of boxes. You can get them from a moving company, or save some money and check with local grocery stores for boxes they want to get rid of. Make sure they are sturdy, and in good shape. Bubble wrap works very well for those delicate items. If you use packing peanuts, you can recycle them by returning them to your local UPS for reuse to keep them out of landfills.

Packing – There are a lot of things that you don’t use often that you can pack ahead of time. Packing things like books, home décor, and out of season clothes, will save some time as you get closer to moving day. Pack a box or two or three each week leading up to the move, until everything is ready for the big day.

Labels – This is very important. Mark each box with the room it goes in and list the items in the box. You will be able to find things faster if you know what’s in the boxes.

Utility companies – Contact your utility companies to give them your moving date so they can transfer your services without interruption.

Mail forwarding – Submit a mail forwarding request with your local post office with your moving date so you receive you mail at your new address.

Pets – If you have pets, make arrangements for someone to care for them during the move. Moving to a new home can be very traumatic for your pets. You will want to bring them into their new environment after all the hustle and bustle of the move is over.