Whether you've finally purchased your dream home or are making a move for your job, moving can be an overwhelming endeavor. Relocating to a new home is exciting, but the actual act of uprooting yourself and your family is stressful, even for the most organized of people.
Here are five tips that will help make your move safer and easier for everyone
Plan Ahead
While you may not be able to plan your move down to the minute, you can make things easier by taking steps to prepare well ahead of time. Provided you have advance notice of your move, begin planning at least a month out from your move date. Planning ahead gives you time to get rid of things in your house that you no longer need. This will pare down the items you'll need to pack and eliminate having to shift things you won't use from one house to the other. Plan a trip or schedule a pickup to donate unwanted items to a charitable organization, or if you want to make some extra cash, try listing them on a yard sale or auction site.
Order Packing Materials in Advance
There's nothing worse than running out of boxes at the last minute (another reason to start packing in advance). While it may seem like a no-brainer, you'll want to purchase packing materials—boxes, packing tape and packing paper—in advance to get a head start on packing. A quick search will yield many types of moving calculators that estimate the number of boxes you'll need—and the sizes of those boxes—based on the number of rooms in your home. When it comes to moving boxes, less is not more.
Label your boxes
Create a color, number or letter system for your rooms so that you can label boxes according to where they belong. If you're using movers, they'll appreciate clearly labeled cartons with rooms designated with letters or numbers. While you may think you'll remember what's in each box, there's a good chance you'll forget in the moment. Jot down what essential items are in each box so you'll be able to locate them at your new house—especially the one with the coffee pot or your young child's favorite toy.
Caution: Do not label your valuable items on the outside of the carton, as you don't want to advertise your most expensive possessions as you’re unloading from one location to another.
Enlist Help
While it won't remove all the stresses of moving, hiring a reputable moving company can help you move with ease. Whether you choose a company that will pack and move you or just a company to load, transport and unload your household items at your new place, make sure you hire a group that comes highly recommended.
Word of mouth is great, but if your family and friends don't have any recommendations, Moving.com suggests that customers get a list of reputable movers from the American Moving and Storage Association and always to ask to speak with references from a potential company.1 A little legwork done beforehand can alleviate the headaches a horrible moving experience would cause.
Plan Childcare in Advance
If you have young children, one of the most important moving safety tips is to keep them away from the activity going on in the house. Not only can movers trip over children and toys, but stacked boxes can pose a safety hazard for a small child toddling around. Try to keep small children out of the house by arranging for childcare on move-in day. If you don't have friends or family nearby that can help, arrange for a babysitter or daycare to watch your young child so that you can focus solely on getting your house packed and loaded onto the truck.
Cancel or Transfer Utilities
When making your moving checklist, be sure to make a list of the utility companies for which you will need to close or transfer accounts. While gas and electricity are pretty simple to take care of, cable and internet providers take a little more planning if you hope to have virtually uninterrupted service.
If you're moving to an area with the same cable provider, you'll likely be able to transfer your account to the new address and schedule a time for activation. If you're moving between companies, don't wait to schedule your hook-up appointment until after you've moved, or you may find yourself without internet service for a week or more. Plan and schedule in advance, and leave time to return equipment to your old provider.
After you've submitted your change of address card to the post office—preferably two weeks in advance of your move—call your bank and credit card companies to notify them of the address change to avoid making late payments.
If You Want Even Greater Peace of Mind
One of the best moving safety tips is to plan to relocate and activate your security system before you settle into your new home. Safe Move by ADT provides homeowners with multiple options when moving to a new home, including taking your home security system with you when you move, activating an existing system in your new home or installing one upon your arrival.
While moving to a new home is exciting, it can also be stressful to shift all your belongings from one place to another. However, with some advance planning and the help of these moving tips, you can strive to make your move as seamless as possible.
You've got this!
