Organize Your Move in Advance to Avoid Stress

The key to a stress-free move is to plan everything in advance so that you’re organized and totally prepared for moving day.  By following the schedule outlined below you should be able to cover all of your bases:One Month Prior to Moving Day- Contact Get Your Move On, LLC to schedule them for moving day and the day before if you want them to come out and pack you up.- Check to see whether this move might be covered under your homeowner’s insurance.- Arrange to have your children’s school records transferred.- Call your family doctors and dentists for them to recommend others located in the area where you’re moving.- Obtain copies of refillable prescriptions.- Go room by room through your house sorting out which items to take with you, which items to sell at a garage sale, what should be donated and what you’ll just toss out.- Contact your insurance agent to make sure your new home will be adequately covered with personal property insurance for fire, theft and any other appropriate coverage.  Have your health, auto and any other policies transferred to the new address.- Get the necessary change of address forms for your driver’s license.Three Weeks Prior to Moving- Check to make sure all tax assessments are cleared.- Slow down on grocery shopping because you’ll need to clear out the cupboards and refrigerator before the move. Eat what you already have on hand.- Certain items cannot be organized and loaded onto the moving truck, which include: aerosol cans, ammunition, corrosives and anything flammable like propane tanks. Use them up or plan on giving them to a friend or neighbor before the move.- Have someone come out to service all major appliances before moving day.Two Weeks Prior to Moving- Make any necessary travel arrangements for the trip.- Pick up any items you may have in cold storage, on layaway, etc.  Return any books or videos you may have borrowed from the library.  Collect any belongings you may have loaned to a friend or family member.- Obtain a change of address form for each person who gets mail at your current address so the Post Office can forward your mail.- Close or otherwise notify all credit card accounts of your new address.- Notify the magazines that you subscribe to of your new address.- Either use up or dispose of any acids, cleaning fluids, drain cleaners, etc. because these products cannot be safely moved without risking damage to other items.- Notify delivery services and utility companies to discontinue service.One Week Prior to Moving- Confirm your travel arrangements.- Arrange for your cable TV, Internet and residential phone line to be disconnected.- Make arrangements to have the utilities, cable TV and Internet connected at your new home.- Arrange for the transfer of your bank accounts and inform your local credit bureau of the move so they can transfer any necessary records.- Draw a diagram of the floor plan at the new house showing where each item of furniture is to be placed.  This will help you and the movers when you arrive at the new house.- Set aside the items you plan on taking with you in the car, things like maps, snacks, drinks, games for the kids, flashlight, dog and/or cat food, water dish and litter box for your cat, etc.- Make sure you have cash on hand, a money order or certified check in the correct amount to pay the driver before you have the movers unload the truck, unless your employer has agreed to pay for the move or the moving company has agreed that you can pay with a credit card.- Make sure all the water is drained out of your garden hoses.- Find a safe place to drain the gasoline out of your lawn mower.- Gather important documents and papers along with any medications you’ll need to take along with you.- Any items that Get Your Move On, LLC is packing up for you should stay where they are.  It’s safer and easier for them to pack up your dishes, glassware, and breakables right from the shelves and cabinets they’re kept in.- Get your suitcases out and start packing.One Day Prior to Moving- Defrost your refrigerator, dry out and thoroughly clean.- Make sure all suitcases are finished being packed.- Put paper towels, cleaning products, personal care products and your coffee pot in a separate box labeled “Unload First” so that it can be loaded into the truck last.- Make sure you have the name and contact information of your destination agent. Note: I’m not sure what you mean by “destination agent” so this should be clarified.Moving Day- Be there ready to supervise the movers, answer any questions, verify the inventory with the driver, sign the Bill of Lading, confirm your new address and the date that you will meet the moving truck at the new house.- Write down where you will be staying along the way and make sure the driver has your cell phone number and the phone numbers where you will be staying.- Go room to room to ensure that the house is empty.  Lock all windows and doors, turn off the lights and transfer the keys.