Be Prepared: Checklist for Moving Day

Moving day is always a hectic one - people running back and forth between the house and the truck, between the truck and the house, organizing boxes, playing Tetris with your possessions – the list goes on and on. Amidst all of this chaos, there are others things that you need to be thinking about – and inevitably something important always gets forgotten. What to do, what to do?

Here is our checklist for moving day – some things you have probably already considered, while others have probably been missed. You’re welcome!

1.      Defrost that freezer. One of the worst things you can do is to forget about that chest freezer in the basement! Give yourself 48 hours for the freezer to thaw out, otherwise you’ll be cleaning up water later and likely dealing with damage to your furniture! 

2.      Have plans for the kids and pets. Kids hate moving even more than adults do – way too boring. Make plans to get them out of the house on moving day and out of the way of movers. Pets too can be a pain when moving so try to make alternate arrangements for the duration of the move.

 

3.      Forward Mail. Sure this sounds like a no-brainer but you might be surprised how many people forget to do this! You can easily contact Canada Post to have this done, and it is cheap. Just remember that forwarding only lasts for a short period of time so make sure that once you’ve moved in and are settled that you complete the process. 

4.      Declutter. Get rid of the junk. Moving, no matter how you do it, is costly, so why would you even consider paying to move something that you don’t actually want? Do a thorough clean out pre-move – and think about different ways to get rid of the stuff (Kijiji, freecycle.corg, Goodwill). 

5.      Be prepared for delays. Over and over again you hear the complaint that there was a delay on moving day, so your checklist for moving should always include some form of preparation for a delay. This delay could be anything from getting the keys later than expected to having to clean up a huge mess (another smart item to add is being prepared to clean!). This could cause moving costs to increase, so if you are using a moving company ask about options for delays.

Other things to think about include things like getting rid of stuff left by the previous owner, changing your phone number, or even measuring doorways – make sure that giant couch will fit. Be prepared by creating your own checklist for moving to make sure nothing is missed.

For more about the common or often forgotten items to add to your moving to-do list please contact Bradford Moving and Storage at 1 (800) 263-3281 or visit www.bradfordmoving.com.