10 Invaluable Tips When Moving Locally: Moving Checklist

Although it may sound pretty straightforward to move locally, relocating short-distance does not guarantee you an outright success.

While it is mostly true that local moves are usually planned, organized, and performed more easily than long-distance interstate ones, any type of relocation has its specifics and should not be underestimated.

My 10+ years of house-moving experience have taught me that the failure to recognize the significance of local moving may get you into certain troubles before and on Moving day.

To help with your local relocation, here are some great moving tips so that you handle the upcoming move in the best possible way.

These are the top 10 tips for moving locally. For you and your family. For your successful local move.

1. Start working on your move ASAP

It’s vital that you start the necessary preparations as soon as your local move has become imminent.

Check out this week-by-week moving timeline and devise your own checklist of the things you need to do before you can finally settle down in your new home.

As you cross out each completed task, you will see how your personalized moving timeline will greatly help you stay on the right organizational track.

Try not to approach your intrastate relocation too casually. You may be thinking, I’m only moving short distance so I’ve got plenty of time.

This is NOT the right mindset.

Keep in mind that the fewer days there are left till Moving day, the quicker time seems to pass by. And this is why you should never get comfortable until the whole moving affair is over.

The Complete Guide to Hiring Local Movers

2. Hire local movers

This is a big decision to make when moving locally – should you do the relocation entirely on your own or should you employ the services of a local moving company?

For local moves, reputable local movers offer services that you pay for by the hour. In other words, local moving companies charge on an hourly basis.

In reality, this may be a great option in your case – you can pack all or part of your household items on your own and then hire a moving company to help with the loading and transportation.

Also, your mover will offer adequate insurance against any move-related accidents, short-term storage for your items (if you need any), and a guarantee for a fast and professional moving job.

Don’t forget to request an in-house written estimate from the chosen moving company, be sure to understand fully the clauses of each document before you sign it, ask your mover about additional charges that may apply, and voice any concerns you may have regarding the move.

How much does it cost to hire local movers?

The national average cost of a local move is about $1,680 with a price range from $480 to $2,880.

The average moving cost when moving locally is around $80 per hour per local mover.

Therefore, hiring 2 men and a truck will cost you approximately $160 per hour.

Use our Moving Cost Calculator to get a good idea of how much your local move will cost you.

Once your local move is complete, take a moment to write a moving review about the services of the mover you’ve just used. This is a very important step which will be beneficial for you in several ways.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Movers Per Hour? Local Movers

3. Organize a DIY move

Local relocation can be done without the help of a mover but there are certain prerequisites for a trouble-free move.

First of all, you need a bunch of reliable friends to help you pack, carry your household items to the truck, load them onto the moving vehicle, and then do the same things in reversed order.

Bear in mind that having non-professionals move bulky and heavy household items can be hard, risky, and plain dangerous.

Then, you need to hire moving equipment – from a dolly to assist you with the heavy stuff to a moving truck to transport your belongings to their new destination.

And finally, your local move won’t be insured in any way so if something bad happens, there’s really nothing you can do about it.

Sure enough, you’re likely to cut down the moving expenses by relocating locally by yourself. Whether you’ll end up saving big, less, or none at all with your DIY move will depend on several factors and it’s not something that can be reasonably calculated until after you’ve settled down in your new home.

How to Move by Yourself (DIY Moving)

4. Prepare the packing supplies

If you have decided to pack by yourself, logic dictates that the first thing you need to do is to get yourself plenty of packing materials.

Yes, you’ve guessed it right – it’s all about the moving boxes.

You’ll need clean boxes of assorted sizes, in good condition, with sturdy bottoms and available covers. There are several ways you can go about finding them.

First of all, go to a few local supermarkets and ask around – there’s a big chance that they have suitable boxes which they won’t need anymore and will probably give them to you for free.

Secondly, ask friends, coworkers, and neighbors (or anyone else who may have recently moved) if they have any such moving recipients to spare.

And finally, if your hunt for free boxes fails, you can always buy a wide assortment of them from a moving company.

Besides boxes, make sure you have enough packing paper, bubble wrap, packing tape, color markers, a pair of scissors, etc.

Where to Get Free Moving Boxes Near You

5. Declutter, declutter, declutter

An upcoming move, even a local one, presents a good opportunity for you to go through your personal possessions and see if there are any specific items you just won’t use in the future.

The truth is that more stuff you have to pack and relocate means more hard-earned money out of your own pocket and more valuable time spent boxing up useless items that you will need to store in the new place.

The good news is that there are several right paths you can follow here.

Of all the items you have carefully sorted out, some can be gifted to family members, friends, coworkers, or neighbors.

Other possessions of yours can be donated to charitable organizations or sold at a garage sale before you move out.

Should you encounter any worthless stuff, like broken items that cannot be repaired or old ones that nobody will ever appreciate, then you should throw them away for proper recycling.

How to Declutter Your Home Before Moving: 10 Decluttering Steps

6. Pack in stages

Even if the time factor is taken out of the equation, packing your entire house in one go just won’t work. Why?

Because a second factor comes into play and its name is… space.

Prepare an inventory of your entire house so that you know in advance whether you’ll be taking all of your household items to your new place or you’ll end up leaving some of them behind.

Begin the packing process from the rooms you use the least such as storage areas (garage, basement, attic) and guest rooms, and work your way to the premises you use every day.

Also, take a moment to prioritize the entire packing experience – think about how the larger items will be packed for moving (furniture, kitchen appliances, etc.) before you start boxing up the smaller stuff.

Packing Timeline: What to Pack When for Moving

7. Decide what you’ll do with your furniture

One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make when moving locally is whether you will move any of your furniture pieces to the new home.

Since you’re only moving a short distance away, you can choose to take some furniture items with you. This is especially relevant when the new place is not fully furnished or when you own expensive or valuable (antique) furniture.

The thing you should understand here is that due to the great weight and considerable size of most furniture, any piece you opt to move will prolong the time you need to pack it safely and increase the transportation costs because of the extra weight.

So, what should you do with your furniture when you’re moving locally?

In reality, you have several good options when it comes to what to do with your furniture during a local move:

• Pack and move some of the furniture to the new place, especially when the pieces are expensive and valuable;
• Organize a garage sale and try to sell the units you’re not taking with you.
• Offer some of the pieces to friends or family members, if applicable.
• Donate some furniture items to charitable organizations to help strangers in need.
• Dispose of your old, unneeded furniture items in an environmentally friendly way.

What to Do With Furniture When Moving: 7 Great Options

8. Transfer the utilities

Yes, even when you’re relocating locally, you still need to transfer the utilities to your new address because the utility companies won’t do it for you.

You’ll have to contact all of your service providers (electricity, water, gas, cable TV, Internet, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, etc.) a few weeks before your move and let them know that your address is about to change.

Keep records of your switch-overs in case of mistakes. After all, you really don’t want to pay somebody else’s bills, do you?

How to Transfer Utilities When Moving: 10 Easy Steps

9. Change your address

You may be moving only a short distance away but your postal address is surely going to change.

Logic says that even if you were to move just across the street, your new address would still be different from your current one. And this is why one of your tasks when moving locally is to change your address with the USPS.

If you happen to be too busy before the move and you can’t find any spare time, you may opt to change your postal address after the move is complete.

Nevertheless, you’re still recommended to do it before moving out of your current house or apartment so that you can continue to receive your regular mail without any issues.

Luckily, it’s relatively easy to change your address with the United States Postal Service (USPS). All in all, you have 4 options to change your address when moving:

• Change your address ONLINE by visiting the official webpage of the USPS;
• Change your postal address IN PERSON by visiting the nearest USPS office;
• Change your address by PHONE; or
• Change your postal address by MAIL (naturally).

How to Change Your Address When Moving

10. Make Moving day safer for children and pets

Periods of intensified moving preparation are definitely not the best times for toddlers crying to be fed or comforted, or preschoolers or pets running uncontrollably around the house.

Number one, it’s not safe for them to be in the house at all during such stressful moments, especially on Moving day.

If there’s no other temporarily safer place for them to be, make sure there’s somebody else there to take good care of them so that no accidents occur to further complicate things. Ask a close friend or hire a professional specialist to babysit them – it’s up to you.

Remember: safety above all else!

And number two, unsupervised children and/or pets could considerably and undesirably slow down, or even hinder, the relocation process.

Moving Day Checklist: Tips to Survive the Big Day

If you have opted for a DIY local move, then the stress on your shoulders will be even bigger and the last thing you’d want to do is chase your loved ones up and down your home in an effort to persuade them to behave.

So, your top priority on Moving day, and even before its arrival, should be to ensure your kids and pets are safe and sound so that you can stay completely focused on the numerous tasks ahead of you.

Must-read: Local Moving Checklist: How to Prepare for a Local Move