What to Do One Month, One Week, and One Day Before Moving

Whether you’re moving out of a one-bedroom apartment or family home, there’s one thing every good move must have — a plan of action.

While orchestrating a move is never simple, waiting until the last minute to pack will undoubtedly make things harder. By planning your move a few weeks in advance, you can avoid certain problems.

Planning a Home Move

One Month Before

Reach out to moving companies for estimates.

Especially if you’re planning to move in the summer, when moving companies tend to be at their busiest, you may want to start calling around several months before your moving date. However, a full month’s lead time should still be enough time to find and hire a qualified moving company.

Get rid of items you no longer want.

Whether it’s clothes you haven’t worn in years or holiday decorations you no longer use, this is the time to throw out or donate anything you don’t want to bring to the new house. When it comes time to unpack, you’ll thank yourself.

Consider taking advantage of storage.

Is your new home not ready to be lived in yet? Do you have sentimental items that you want to keep but don’t necessarily want to bring to the new house? Do the rules of your new home prevent you from keeping things like ATVs and motorcycles outside?

Storage units are a great way to give yourself a little extra space when you need it most and protect your items during such a hectic time.

Pack items you rarely use.

A month is still a long time to be living in your home, so you don’t want to start packing shoes, clothes, and everyday pots and pans. However, now is the time to pack things you don’t use very often, like off-season items (sweaters if you’re moving in the summer and shorts if you’re moving in the winter), kitchen gadgets you rarely use, and entertainment items (DVDs, board games, books, etc.).

One Week Before

Pack more commonly used items.

Now is the time to pack things you use pretty regularly. If you have several of something, like cooking pots, pack all but one. You should also set aside a few outfits to wear for the rest of the week (including a comfortable moving day outfit) and pack the rest of your seasonal clothes.

Do a deep clean of your house.

As you start to move couches, desks, and dressers away from the wall, you’ll probably notice that dust has built up. By vacuuming, cleaning baseboards, and scrubbing floor tile now, you can reduce your chances of bringing that debris onto the truck and into your new home.

Schedule shut-off dates.

You’ll need to make arrangements for your cable, internet, electric, and other utilities to be turned off. To avoid any complications on moving day, we suggest scheduling everything to be turned off the day after you move — no one wants to wake up the morning of a big move to find out their air conditioner isn’t working because the electricity has been turned off.

Create an overnight bag.

The very first night in your new home, you’re going to need some things — pajamas, toiletries, bedding, medicine, and trash bags, just to name a few. By packing an overnight bag and keeping it by the front door, you can rest assured knowing that you’ll have a few comforts during your first night.

Reach out to your movers.

With just a few days until the big move, check-in with your project manager one last time to make sure everything is still going according to plan. If you recently came across any obstacles, let our team know.

One Day Before

Make sure there’s space for the moving truck.

Make sure there’s space in your driveway or on the street in front of your house for the truck to park. The closer the truck is to your house, the easier it will be to load.

Do a final walk-through.

Before driving off to your new home, do a final walkthrough of your house. Open closets, dresser drawers, and cabinets looking for anything you may have left behind.

Are you ready to make your next move the easiest one yet? Reach out to our team today at (866) 719-4209 to schedule a service! We lead the nation in quality scores for customer service. Plan your next move with us and discover why.