Moving 101: Your Checklist When Moving To Your New House

Having a new house is an exciting time in your life. Most often than not, you might have saved for years and made a lot of sacrifices along the way just so you can afford the house you want. And now you finally have one, you couldn’t be happier! Sure, owning a new house might be an achievement but moving into it can become a struggle. There are several tasks to accomplish and disregarding a single one can turn your move into a disaster. The same can happen if you’re doing the move alone or if you’re doing it for the first time. If you want to steer away from this direction and make sure that nothing is ever missed out, follow this checklist when moving to your new house:

01. Gather packing supplies:

If you’d prefer to pack all of your valuables yourself, gather packing supplies such as boxes, tapes, markers and scissors. If you want to save costs when packing, ask from liquor stores or recycling centers for free boxes. Just make sure that you call them ahead of time so they can reserve boxes for you.

02. Downsize and consolidate:

Regardless of how sentimental your clothes and other valuables are, some of these are no longer useful. Your upcoming move can be the perfect excuse to finally sort out all of your valuables. Determine which among these you are actually using and which ones are you willing to give, donate or throw away. Bringing less valuables to your new house means cheaper moving expenses.

03. Take inventory:

Before you pack all of the valuables you decide to bring, come up with an inventory first. Listing all of the valuables, you’ll be bringing to your new house might seem like a daunting tasks but doing this will be worth it: you’ll know if you’ll actually bring the valuable you intend to bring, you’ll have an easy reference on what to check once you arrive and you’ll know if certain valuables are missing.

04. Confirm your transportation:

It’s important that you and the moving company are on the same page all the time. A month before the move, call the moving company and confirm your moving date with them. If you’ll be needing other transportation preparations, make necessary reservations, as well.

05. Start packing and labelling:

Packing is probably the most tedious and stressful chore during the move. To make things easier for you, pack all of your valuables at once. Start by packing those valuables which you don’t often use and store these in one area of the house. You should label your boxes based on the valuables inside and where should these be placed in your new house. These labels will save you time and energy from determining which box goes into what room.

06. Make a folder for important documents:

Your medical records, school records, passport, financial statements and insurance policies shouldn’t be packed in the moving boxes. These should be kept in a separate folder and should be with you throughout the entire move. You should be able to keep a watchful eye on these documents.

07. Notify family, friends and neighbors:

Your family, friends and neighbors should know that you’re moving. Send an email, call or text them weeks before your move. You can also give them your address, just in case they’d want to visit you in the future. Letting these people know that you’re moving to a new house can also become your avenue to know who among them will help during the moving day.

08. Avoid the grocery store:

Clearing your cupboards and refrigerator should also be included in your list. Don’t do any grocery shopping weeks before the move and make use of all the food supplies you currently have. The lesser food you throw away, the better.

09. Deep cleaning:

Even if your house is brand new, you need to allocate time to clean it before moving in. Builders, contractors and construction workers might have left their mark in your house which is why cleaning should be a must. If possible, you should clean your new house before the moving company arrives. Cleaning can be easier and faster when it’s done with an empty house, right?

10. Prepare a move-in day survival kit:

Moving to a new house means you’ll have to spend days unpacking and re-arranging all of your valuables. If you don’t want to go through all of these boxes just to find what you’ll wear in the next day, prepare a move-in survival kit. This should contain all of your clothes, toiletries, chargers, medicines, water and snacks. This kit will come in handy if you need something after you arrived in your new house.

11. Charge your phone:

Communication is important on the day of the move especially if you have a moving company helping you out. Make sure that your phone is fully charged on this day and consider purchasing an external battery if your phone’s batteries are drained easily. You need to talk to different people on moving day and having a fully-charged phone is one way of doing that.

12. Hire a moving company:

Hiring a moving company shouldn’t be considered as an accessory or option, it’s actually a necessity. You should hire a moving company especially if your new house is located on a busy and big city like New York. Scout for reliable movers to get the job done for you so you can move on and accomplish other tasks on your plate. Hiring movers might come with a price but this price is worth it since you’ll be getting a lot of benefits from their services.

Preparation Is Key

Moving to a new house is not an easy feat. You’ll have a long list of to-dos for the move. You’ll also have to make sure that all of your valuables are packed and transported properly so these will still be in its best condition once it arrives in the new house. This still doesn’t include the problems you might encounter along the way. Let this checklist make your move easier for you. Having a checklist when you’re moving to a new house allows you to plan for whatever might happen before, during and after the move – making your move as stress-free and fast as possible.