Top 15 Things to Remember When Moving

Memory is a funny thing – people often recall events, scenes, and conversations they hardly paid any attention to at the time, but completely forget things that are supposed to be remarkable or important.

This is especially true when a person is under a lot of stress or feeling very emotional – small details stick in the mind whereas essential matters slip from memory.

It’s only natural then that during a house move – one of the most stressful events in human life – you may clearly remember to do some things but fully forget about others: you may pack your entire household, but fail to label the boxes; take your pet’s favorite blanket, but leave your favorite curtain behind; inform your family and friends of your new address, but forget to redirect your mail; etc.

It’s easy to overlook a small detail in the relocation mayhem or lose track of things when overwhelmed with laborious moving preparations. Failing to complete an important moving task, however, may result in lots of wasted time and money. Even a single forgotten item may cause plenty of headaches.

To avoid such troubles, you need to remember – bear in mind all the things people forget when moving and take proper care of each and every aspect of the relocation process.

Here is what to remember when moving:

1. Make Sure You Can Always See the Bigger Picture

So, how can you track your moving progress, check if everything is going according to plan, and make sure you haven’t overlooked anything important? By following a coherent moving strategy, of course.

A good moving strategy will help you organize your time and finances so that you can complete your moving preparations in due time and with maximum efficiency.

To develop an effective moving strategy, you’re going to need:

• A reliable moving budget – to help you plan your finances and keep track of your expenses;
• A detailed moving checklist – to remind you of the tasks that need to be finished before moving day;
• A customized moving calendar – to help you plan your time, prioritize your work, and stay focused on your daily goals.

These three essential moving planners will bring order to the relocation chaos, so creating them is one of the most important things to remember when moving house.

How to Plan a Move

2. Know What You Have for Moving

You’ll be surprised to learn how many things people forget to pack when preparing for a move. You’ll be even more surprised to find out how many things you actually own and need to decide what to do with – take them to your new home or get rid of them before the move.

To ward off such surprises, you’re strongly advised to sort out your possessions and decide their fate well before moving day – sell, donate, or give away your no-longer-needed belongings that are still in good condition, throw away damaged and worn-out items, set aside the essentials you’re going to pack in your survival box, and create an inventory of the things you intend to ship to your new place.

This way, you won’t forget to pack any of your possessions and will have a detailed list of the items entrusted to the movers, together with a statement of their current condition and estimated value (which will come in very handy in case some of your belongings get lost or damaged during transit).

Your moving inventory will even help you get a more accurate estimate of your final moving costs (they depend on the total weight of your shipment), so making it is definitely among the most crucial things not to forget when moving out.

How to Declutter Your Home Before Moving: 10 Decluttering Steps

3. Ensure Quality Moving Help

No matter how near or far you’re going, moving house is not a one-man show – you need as many helping hands as you can get in order to complete all the laborious moving tasks on time and ensure the safety of your prized possessions. No need to worry though – moving help is readily available.

One of the most essential things to remember when moving into a new house is that you have a great choice of experienced moving professionals who can assist you in your relocation endeavor.

Just make sure you research your options, get multiple moving quotes, ask for recommendations, read moving reviews, and narrow down your choice to several trustworthy movers with excellent customer service history.

Request on-site estimates from three or four reliable moving companies that seem to best suit your needs and requirements, discuss the details of your move with them, gather all the relevant information, and compare the received offers (the stated overall price, included services, special conditions, insurance options, cancelation policies, etc.) – it should be easy enough to find the best movers for you.

4. Protect Your Move

Verifying the legitimacy and trustworthiness of your chosen relocation partner is the number one thing to remember when moving house.

• Find out if your mover is properly licensed and authorized to transport household goods (check the carrier’s USDOT number),
• research the company’s online profile (visit its website and social media pages, read moving reviews left by its previous customers, etc.),
• check its business rating (research the BBB database) and complaint history (call the FMCSA safety violation and consumer complaints hotline), and
• watch out for red flags of moving fraud.

Last but not least, do not forget to request all the necessary moving-related paperwork from your relocation partner and read it very carefully before signing the moving contract – make sure you understand and agree with every clause in the moving documents and pay special attention to the fine print.

Bonus tip: Get adequate insurance to ensure your peace of mind – the basic liability coverage you get for free when hiring professional moving services is only 60 cents per pound per damaged item, so you may want to consider other insurance options and get full value protection or third party insurance, especially for your more delicate and valuable possessions.

5. Make Packing Safe, Efficient, and Cost-Effective

Good movers and proper packing are the two variables that determine the success or failure of a relocation equation.

Provided that you’ve followed the above tips and found good movers to help you relocate, now you need to take proper care of the second most important aspect of your moving preparations – packing your household.

There are ten essential things to remember when packing to move:

1. You need quality packing materials in order to provide efficient protection to your items during transit;
2. You can obtain a lot of packing supplies for free (or at a minimal charge) and save some money on your move. Click here to find out where to get free moving boxes;
3. You’ll most probably need more packing supplies than you think, so it’s a good idea to have some extra cushioning and wrapping materials and a few spare boxes – just in case;
4. Cardboard boxes provide the safest, most efficient, and most convenient way of packing items for moving, so it’s advisable to box up everything that can go into a box;
5. Make sure you pack the boxes the right way – reinforce them with packing tape, line their bottoms to create a protective cushion for your items, wrap every individual item in packing paper or bubble wrap for added safety, place larger and heavier items first, do not make the boxes too heavy, provide plenty of cushioning between the items in a carton to prevent them from coming in contact with one another during the transportation, make sure the items are perfectly immobilized inside the box, and seal the containers tightly;
6. Be extra careful with plates, glasses, jewelry, artwork, electronics, and other extremely fragile or very valuable items;
7. Take pictures of your items before you start packing them for shipment – the photos will help you reconnect cables and wires, reassemble furniture pieces, and recreate your home décor. Even more importantly, they will serve as proof of the pre-move condition of your items should a conflict arise between you and your movers;
8. Keep small pieces, hardware, and auxiliary parts with the items they belong to;
9. Ensure the safety of your furniture and appliances;
10. Find out how to take proper care of specialty items – pianos, antiques, grandfather clocks, safes, pool tables, hot tubs, plants, etc.

Bonus tip: Get familiar with the most common packing mistakes people make when moving and do your best to avoid them when preparing your items for shipping.

6. Label the Boxes

Packing is rightly considered to be the most laborious, time-consuming, and risky task you need to complete when getting ready to move, so it’s only logical that you’ll be greatly relieved when you finish it.

Satisfied with your success, however, you can easily overlook a small, but very important detail – to label the boxes. In fact, labeling the boxes is one of the top things people forget when moving out.

This seems like a small mistake, but it will have a great impact on the final outcome of your moving adventure – you will not only lose plenty of time when unloading and unpacking your items but may even have some of your treasured belongings damaged during transit (if the boxes lack clear handling instructions, such as FRAGILE, THIS SIDE UP, etc., the movers won’t know which of them to handle with extra care).

So, make sure you label every packed box with its contents and destination room and clearly mark the cartons containing fragile or delicate items.

To save even more valuable time when unpacking and arranging your new home, consider using a color code – designate a different color to each separate room in your new house or apartment and use markers, labels, and stickers of the corresponding colors to label the boxes that belong to a certain room.

7. Have Your Essentials with You

Of all the things people forget when moving house, failing to pack an essential box is the one that will cause you the greatest inconvenience. You won’t have access to your most vital items and won’t be able to tend even to your most basic needs until your shipment arrives.

To avoid such troubles, you’re advised to set aside all the items you use on a daily basis (toiletries, medicines, cell phone, laptop, jewelry, specialized kid and pet items, etc.) and the items you will want access to as soon as you arrive in your new home (bathroom essentials, bedding, change of clothes, basic food-preparation and food-serving utensils, etc.), as well as the things that will speed up the unpacking process (hand tools) or that you may need in case of an emergency (first-aid kit, documents, etc.), and pack them in a separate open-first box that will stay with you at all times.

Make sure you consider the current weather conditions and the specific needs of every member of your family when preparing your survival box. Keep that box away from your other boxes to avoid having it accidentally loaded on the moving truck – it has to travel with you.

Bonus tip: Make a list of the things you intend to pack in your essentials box well ahead of time so that you have the chance to review it several times while packing your other items and add things that might have been forgotten.

8. Ensure the Safety and Well-Being of Your Pets

You probably consider your animal friends to be part of the family, so you are not likely to forget to pack their items for moving, get them appropriate carriers, or tend to their needs during the stressful relocation period. Yet, when overwhelmed with moving plans and preparations, you may overlook some other important details:

• Take your pet(s) to the veterinarian for a health check a few weeks before the move. Use the opportunity to get your animal friend’s health certificate and request a copy of their immunization record and any other necessary medical documents. Ask for advice on how to reduce your pet’s stress and anxiety during the moving process and how to help them adjust to the new environment after the move. Get a recommendation for a new vet in your new city;
• Decide how you’re going to ship your pet(s) to your new home and make the necessary arrangements;
• Update your pet’s microchip so that you can be easily reunited in case your animal friend wanders during the move or gets lost in your new location.

Follow the links below to find more detailed information on how to move house with a pet:

• DOGS
• CATS
• BIRDS
• FISH
• EXOTIC PETS

9. Change Your Address

It may be quite obvious that when you move into a new home, you’re going to have a new address. Yet, one of the most common things people forget when moving into a new house is to change their address and redirect their mail.

This may result in a number of inconveniences (not receiving important correspondence, being unable to update important documents, etc.) you can easily avoid if you remember to change your address with the USPS a few weeks before the move.

This way, the change will come into effect by the time you move into your new home.

10. Notify People and Institutions of Your Move

The fact that you and your immediate family know all about your move (when you’re moving, why you’re moving, where you’re going to) does not mean that all your relatives and friends (or the various institutions you have dealings with) are aware of your moving plans.

Informing them of your forthcoming relocation and your new address is one of the most important things to remember when moving.

The list of people and organizations you may want to notify of your move includes but is not limited to

• family and friends,
• landlord (if applicable),
• current employer,
• banks and credit card companies,
• insurance companies,
• utility companies,
• healthcare providers,
• your children’s schools,
• essential governmental institutions,
• subscription services, etc.

Who to Notify When You Move

11. Switch Utilities

Transferring utilities may be among the trivial things you don’t think about when moving, but failing to get the electricity, water, and other services at your old home turned off when you move out and the utilities in your new property – turned on by the time you move in, may cause a lot of inconveniences and incur extra expenses (you may end up unpacking your items in the dark or paying up for services you didn’t use.)

So, make sure you contact your current utility providers about a month in advance and arrange to have the services at your old home disconnected on the day after your move.

Then, call the utility companies in your new location (make sure you research the service providers in your new area ahead of time and discuss the details of the transfer with them) and arrange for all essential services to be running in your new home by move-in day.

Apart from transferring the utilities, you also need to remember to cancel memberships and any pre-arranged services like grass cutting, pool maintenance, newspaper delivery, etc. when moving house.

12. Collect Documents

Gathering your documents and putting them in order is among the most fundamental things to remember when moving house – you may find yourself in a lot of trouble if you don’t have your papers with you or don’t take proper care of them.

It may take a long time to retrieve, transfer, update, register, or cancel some of the necessary documents, so you’re advised to start collecting and organizing them well ahead of time.

You need to take all your (and your family members’) personal ID documents, professional licenses, educational certificates, financial documents, legal papers, property-related documents, registration documents of motor vehicles, and other important papers when moving house.

Do not forget to transfer your medical records to your new doctor’s office (or get copies of your health records in case you haven’t chosen a new family physician yet), transfer prescriptions to a pharmacy in your new location, and obtain your children’s school records.

Make sure you have all the moving-related documents safely packed with your other papers as well.

Keep your documents with you during the move and make photocopies and/or digital copies of the most important papers (as a backup in case any of the originals get lost or damaged).

Important Documents to Take When Moving

13. Arrange for Child and Pet Care on Moving Day

If you have young children and/or pets, one of the most crucial things to remember when moving out is to keep them out of trouble – throughout the entire moving process and especially so on Moving day.

It will be difficult to look after your little ones in the moving chaos that is certain to ensue once the moving truck stops in front of your home, so your best bet is to have a trusted family member, friend, or sitter take care of your kids and/or pets on the Big day – keep them occupied in a safe and peaceful room away from the hectic moving activities, ensure that their daily routine remains fairly unchanged, etc.

Having a reliable caretaker will not only help reduce the stress and anxiety your children and animal friends are going to experience on Moving day, but will also allow you to concentrate on the important relocation tasks at hand without any interruptions and worries.

Moving Day Checklist: Tips to Survive the Big Day

14. Ensure the Good Condition of Your Old Home

You are leaving your old home for good, so it’s quite easy to forget that you need to leave it in top-notch condition. To be able to make a good impression on the new owners, however (or get your security deposit back in case it was a rented property), you have to ensure that your old place remains clean and intact when moving out. So, make sure you don’t forget to:

1) take adequate precautionary measures to prevent property damage on Moving day; and

2) leave out cleaning supplies, so that you can give your old home a good final cleaning after the movers have departed with your items.

15. Double-Check Everything

Making sure that nothing has been left behind seems like the logical thing to do when moving out, yet many people forget to make a final check before locking the doors to their old homes for the last time.

No matter how pressed for time you may be though, double-checking is always a good idea – you may have completely forgotten about an item in all the hustle and bustle of your move.

So, as soon as the moving truck is loaded (but before the movers have left), do a proper walkthrough of the house – open all the cupboards and drawers, look in the loft and under the stairs, go through the garage and the garden shed, see if there’s anything hanging on the walls, etc. Make sure you don’t unintentionally leave a prized possession of yours behind.

Now that you’re familiar with the 15 most important things to remember when moving house, here are some bonus tips on what not to forget when moving out of state:

Things to Remember When Moving Long Distance

1) Get to know your new area well – research the economic situation, job market, and available housing options in your new city, find out what the weather is like in the region, get familiar with the local laws and social practices in your new surroundings, etc.;

2) Pare down your belongings and take only what you really need (or love very much), as moving all your earthly possessions such a long distance will be both very difficult and very expensive;

3) Find experienced and reliable cross-country movers to work with;

4) Pack your items with utmost care as they’ll be on the road for a long time;

5) Get full value protection for your belongings;

6) Update all the necessary documents (there will be much more paperwork to take care of when moving to another state);

7) Plan your trip – decide if you’re going to fly or to drive to your new home and make the necessary arrangements (reserve your flight, find a good auto transportation company, and get your vehicle ready for shipment; or have your car serviced, book your hotel stays, and plan for meals on the way);

8) Spend as much time as possible with your friends and visit all your favorite places in town, as you will not see them again for a long time (See also: How to say goodbye to friends when moving; Ways to say goodbye to your old home);

9) Keep all the receipts for moving-related expenses, as some of them may be tax-deductible.

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Last but not least: no matter whether you’re moving across town, across the country, or across the ocean, there is one single most important thing to keep in mind – moving is an adventure, a new beginning, and a chance for a better life. Make sure you make the most of it!