Take Control of Your Moving Schedule

No matter what the reason is for your move, it’s sure to be a lengthy, complicated process. Organization is the key to making your move go smoothly. With proper planning, it'll become less of a daunting task for you and your family. The best way to get yourself organized and ready for your move is to set up a schedule. Creating a simple schedule for your family will help you all stay on track and help ensure that everything is done and ready on time when moving day comes.

Below, Porta-Stor will go over a few ideas that can help you create a good moving schedule to get you ready for the task at hand:

Purge Your House

When you’re about 2 months out from your move date, it’s time to start going through every room and closet in your home. This is the time for you to decide if certain items need to follow you to your new home or if you can do without them and donate or trash them. Porta-Stor’s blog on decluttering can help you with this process if you struggle to decide out what to toss.

Once you’ve gone through everything and have it all ready to donate or toss in the trash, it’s time to get these items out of your house completely so you can focus on packing up what you are actually taking with you. Taking the time to do this step before the hectic time of moving into a new home will save you a great deal of stress later.

Sort and Lighten Your Load

There are several organizational steps and ideas that can take some of the stress off of you and help you stay on task to move:

Gather Moving Supplies - When you’re about 6 weeks out from moving, it’s time to start getting all of your moving supplies ready to go. These are items like moving boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and packing paper. You might also look into specialty boxes or containers for more valuable items.

Cancel Utilities – It’s important to contact all of your utility companies this time as well to set up a shut-off date. This includes electricity, water, cable, Internet, and any others you may be using.

Confirm Moving Company or Truck – About 1 month before the move, you should schedule your moving company or truck. You should have a good idea of your closing date, and it will give you a good amount of time to secure the date of your move with the company. Make sure you’re familiar with the company’s moving costs and insurance policy.

Begin Packing - Once you have a confirmed moving date, it’s time for you to start packing. Several weeks out from the actual moving day, start packing items and areas in your home that aren’t used very often. A great place to start is the basement, garage, or attic storage. Take this task one room at a time, and take extra care as you pack the more delicate items. It’s a good idea to save your kitchen and bathrooms for last.

Sort and Label - As you’re packing up your belongings, make sure you label each box with the contents and the room it will go into at your new home. This will help the movers (or family and friends) know where to put the boxes in your new home, and it’ll make it easier for you to find certain items as you are unpacking. Make sure your boxes are neatly stacked and organized as you pack them, as this will make it easier on the movers and make the move go more smoothly.

Pack Up Last Minute Items – In the last few days before your move, it’s time to go ahead and finish packing up those convenient things you’ve left around the house. Go ahead and pack up all the dishes in your kitchen. You can leave a couple of pieces to be used last-minute or swap them out for disposable cups and plates. Make sure to pack a suitcase for every member of your family with your toiletries and other necessary items you will need up until the last day. Do one final check of every room, closet, and storage space to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Clean Your House - On moving day, once the movers have come and packed up your home, this is when you want to go through and give it a good wipe down. This is a nice gesture to ensure that your home is ready for its new owners.

These steps will not relieve all of the stress of moving, but will help you plan and organize at least some of the stress away. Following a moving schedule you set for yourself will help you to stay on track and make the move into your new home a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

As you pack up for your next move, check out Porta-Stor’s guide on how to avoid common packing mistakes here!