There’s a lot that goes into your moving checklist, whether you are hiring the best movers or doing it by yourself. The following is an ultimate guide you can use to make your next family move as pain-free as possible. Follow this eight-week, ten-stage checklist as a countdown guide to moving into your new hometown and settling in your new home.

1. The Moving Countdown: Week Eight

Now that you’ve made up your mind about moving your family to a new hometown. The best way to prepare to move is to engage in a set of activities for week eight. This will set the pace for your move. Your target with this guide is to commence your move at the end of the next eight weeks.

Visit Your New Hometown

Before your move, visit the best condo website and make an in-person visit to the hometown to get a general feel of the neighborhood, the community, and available amenities that may be of interest to you. For example, the best way to prepare to move, if you have school-going children, is to look up the top-rated schools in the neighborhood. If you have pets, look up the availability of an animal emergency hospital in the vicinity. Ease the transition anxiety by getting your kids on board and discussing the move with them. Look out for a biologic dental office on your excursion.

Budget Accordingly for a Smooth Moving Process

Check your financial status and determine what’s within your budget. If it’s a job relocation, check with your boss what expenses, if any, will be covered by the company. A move of this magnitude is best left to professional movers. Figure out your relocation budget, which is partly determined by whether it’s a local or a long-distance move. Tentatively, moving companies charge approximately $1000 for a local move, and upwards of $5000 for a long-distance move.

Research on Moving Services

Determine whether you’ll do it yourself or hire professional movers. The best way to prepare to move is to set a budget and familiarize yourself with the available mover companies. Should you choose to use professional movers, ensure they are licensed, insured, and reputable. Don’t commit yourself before thoroughly querying the movers to determine if they are a good fit. Check their liability coverage for cancellation policies before signing the contract.

If Renting, Give Your Landlord a Notice

Most leases require a tenant to give a landlord 60 days’ notice before moving. Clarify if this is the case in your lease agreement. Before giving your landlord a heads-up on your move, look into your lease agreement’s exit clauses to avoid breaching the rental contract.

2. The Moving Countdown: Week Seven

This week should be focused on the moving details. Avoid waiting until the last minute. This is the week to start the hunt for a professional mover.

Get Quotations From Professional Movers

The best way to prepare to move is to get quotes, preferably from three companies. Ensure they do either a video survey or an in-person inspection of your stuff before quoting to avoid surprises. Seek clarity on their quotation, whether they are binding estimates, non-binding estimates, or binding not-to-exceed estimates. The best quotation is the binding-not-to-exceed estimate.

Book a Storage Facility

Reserve and rent a storage unit near your new home for handling long-term or temporary unpacking clutter. You shouldn’t have trouble finding one within your vicinity.

3. The Moving Countdown: Week Six

Schedule the Movers and Your Travel Accordingly

The best way to prepare to move is to select a moving date. If on a tight budget, target a weekday during the moving off-season months. Otherwise, the moving peak season is from May to September, and on all weekends. For a long-distance move, schedule your travel arrangements; car, airline, and hotel reservations now.

Order All Your Moving Supplies

To ensure your household goods will be safe during the move, order the necessary moving supplies such as tape, bubble wrap, boxes, and packing paper. Your movers can compute the number of boxes needed.

Contact Health Insurance Providers (HIPs)

Get in touch with your HIPs to ensure seamless medical coverage throughout the move. Be cautious, however, since a change in city or zip code necessitates a new plan.

Contact Both the Home and Auto Insurance Agents

This is the best way to prepare and verify coverage. Otherwise, get new ones for valid coverage.

Give School Transfer Notification

For school-going children, give the current school a transfer notification and start the school enrollment process. Highlight any special needs or challenging issues your child may have.

Focus on Tax-deductible Moving Expenses

Highlight all tax-deductible moving expenses, such as job-related relocation or household donations to charity.

4. The Moving Countdown: Week Five

Clear Food Items

Unless you intend to carry food, begin clearing up pantry items and using refrigerated foods. Donate non-perishables to the local food bank.

Develop a Packaging Strategy

The best way to prepare to move is to begin packing your non-essentials such as books, electronics, and home decor items. Next, pack your essentials such as toiletries, clothing, and dinnerware, among other things, as your moving date draws near.

Hire Packers

Prepare the moveable appliances in advance and hire a professional to do it.

Lighten Your Load

Dispose of gently-used items and make money by hosting a garage sale. Traveling light is the best way to prepare to move. Donate items and purge before moving. Keep donation receipts as proof for tax season.

Terminate Community Organization Membership

Transfer, freeze, or cancel club, gym, or community organization membership within the stipulated 30 days standard notice.

5. The Moving Countdown: Week Four

Confirm all Logistics with the Movers

One month to the actual move, confirm the moving and arrival date and time with the movers. Clarify logistics such as elevator use and parking with the company representative.

Contact Car Shipping Service and Logistics

If you intend to ship your car, contact the car shipping service company and schedule it one month in advance.

Contact Local Dealership

If you’ll be driving to your new hometown, contact your local dealership to service the car. Get on board a car part repair service and have your brakes, fluids, and tires checked.

Pack Essential Items

Start the actual packing as you had strategized earlier. Box up and label the non-essentials, followed by essential items. Keep crucial documents and valuables separate.

Dispose of Hazardous Objects

Make arrangements to drop off inflammable and hazardous items at a local hazardous waste disposal facility. Such waste could include pool chemicals, aerosols, paint, fertilizers, fire extinguishers, and propane tanks.

Give a Moving Notification

Notify family and friends of your impending move. If you can’t tell them in person, call, send them an email, or post a social media notification.

6. The Moving Countdown Week Three

Book a Babysitter

Lower your stress levels by making prior arrangements for childcare services on moving day.

Inform Current and Potential Service Providers of the Move

Notify regular service providers of your impending move. This could include your licensed plumber, housekeeping, heating oil suppliers, landscaping, air duct cleaning service providers, and pool maintenance, among others. Where applicable for your new home, prepare for similar services.

Update Your Mailing Address

Schedule the date to begin forwarding your snail mail to your new address. Rent a PO Box in your new town. Where applicable, update your Medicare mailing address and social security to continue accessing benefits.

Settle Unpaid Parking Tickets

Clear overdue or unpaid parking tickets by mail or online after consulting the local parking administration.

Get Replacement Home Plants

Find a new home for your plants, especially if you’re planning a long-distance move. This is because pre-existing state regulations cannot facilitate interstate plant transfer to curb the spread of pests and diseases.

Notify and Modify Utility Service Providers

Transfer utilities to the new location before moving. The best way to prepare to move is to call and alert all your utility service providers of your move. This includes ductless heating and cooling installers, water and sewer, trash and phone, fence installation, cable and internet, electricity, gas, security system, and satellite, among others. Moving into a new city requires a fresh utility service application, or a utility service transfer if it’s within the same city.

7. The Moving Countdown Week Two

Notify Your Health Providers of the Planned Relocation

The best way to prepare to move is to consult your dentist or doctor and request them to forward the medical reports and transfer prescriptions. Arm yourself with a month’s meds prescription, and request referrals from your current medic.

Plan With Your New Home’s Blueprint in Mind

Study the new home’s blueprint to plan a quick furniture setup on a moving day. Where new furniture is needed, place your order two weeks before moving so it can arrive at your new home within the first month.

Organize the Mover’s Parking Logistics

If in a busy city, secure a special parking permit and a slot for the moving truck. Equip your movers with the best parking slot to ease movement.

Reserve Painters

Schedule professional painters to work on the new home before you arrive.

Schedule a Consultation with a Vet

Take your pet for a checkup with the vet before moving. Remember to obtain all vaccine records and shots.

Update Your Billing Addresses

Update your bank accounts and credit card billing addresses.

Schedule an In-person Meeting with the Movers

Request time off work to meet the movers, or get someone to engage the movers on your behalf.

Locate and Safely Display Crucial Documents

Gather all manuals and warranty information and place them in an easy-to-find location before moving out.

8. The Moving Countdown Week One

Thoroughly Clean Your Old House

The best way to prepare to move is to thoroughly clean your old house since this will save your security deposit and cleaning fees charged if you don’t do it.

Finish Last-minute Errands

Decongest your moving day. Complete your last-minute errands on the eve of the moving day. Get tipping cash for the movers.

Notify the Neighbors

Respectfully inform your neighbors of your upcoming move. Return borrowed stuff, apologize in advance for any inconvenience, and also request parking consideration when the movers arrive.

Conduct Old House Inspection Accompanied by the Landlord

If you’ve been renting, inspect your old home, and together with your landlord, discuss any damages and agree on deductions from your security deposit before moving out.

Pack and Label the Essentials

The best way to prepare to move is to ensure you’ve packed and labeled all essentials and kitchenware together. You do this to keep track of them during the entire moving process, which eases unpacking and use upon arrival at your new home.

Make Garbage Collection Arrangements

Take care of recycling and trash removal, especially if the move comes before the pick-up date.

9. The Moving Day

Guard Against Dehydration

It is critical to preempt the inevitable dehydration on a moving day. Have water bottles at hand for movers and friends since moving is exhausting and strenuous.

Carefully Take an Inventory of Your Belongings

The best way to prepare to move is to take an inventory of all your belongings, keeping track of what’s with you and what’s with the movers. Take photos of fragile items to ascertain their state for insurance and liability coverage should the need arise.

Perform a Final Sweep

Double-check to ensure you didn’t forget anything in the house, especially in the easy-to-miss locations.

Return the Keys

Hand over all the keys to the landlord or tenant as the case may be.

10. Arrival at the New Home

Relocation is only complete when you’ve settled into your new home. The following checklist provides an excellent way of preparing to settle in after a move:

• • Unpack the essentials first, followed by room-by-room unpacking.

• • Organize a post-move by cleaning your new home.

• • Follow up on the security deposit refund from the former landlord and verify that your correct new address is on record.

• • Acquaint yourself with the new neighborhood and community by driving, walking, or biking around it.

• • Change the locks or install additional deadbolts to maintain security, just in case there are strangers with copies of your house keys out there.

• • Acquaint yourself with the trash pickup days.

• • Ensure the smoke alarm is functioning and change the battery if necessary.

• • Contact pest control to exterminate potential bugs.

• • Update your IRS address to continue receiving correspondence and tax refunds.

• • Babies onboard? Baby-proof the new home as soon as possible.

• • Register your pets within the moving month to facilitate mandatory shots.

• • Schedule a local well-reviewed electrician.

Moving is a meticulous process that calls for planning and excellent execution. The best way to prepare to move is to have a checklist with timelines and priorities. This eight-week, ten-stage countdown to relocation sheds light on what to do to make it a success.