Your Moving Timeline - Part 1

Anyone who has ever moved from one home to another can tell you how stressful the whole experience can be.  No doubt you've heard horror stories, or even have one or two of your own.  One of the things that most people in the middle of a move deal with is that nagging feeling that you're forgetting something. That's why having a good checklist is critical to your moving operation as well as your peace of mind.

What follows is a basic timeline/checklist. This can be a good start to get your brain moving in the direction of what needs to be happening in your move and when.

Eight Weeks Out

Do your homework

Get recommendations from friends or family, look at reviews on the Internet and call around to investigate moving companies. Call and ask for a written, on-site estimate from several companies. Look to ensure their USDOT (U.S. Department of Transportation) number is on it.

Go through your things and get rid of items you no longer need

It's always a great idea to go through every room in your home to determine which things you're going to move and those you can donate, sell or throw away. No sense in paying to move items for which you no longer have use.

Collect your children's school records

Contact your children's current school to request that copies of important documents and transcripts be forwarded to their new school district.

Put together a moving info file

Collect all your home inventory, receipts, moving company estimates into a binder for easy reference.

Six Weeks Out

Gather moving supplies

Lay in your supplies well ahead of time so you can get a jump on packing things you won't need between now and moving day. Get your boxes, tape, markers and packaging materials like bubble wrap or paper now. It's also a good idea to consider any specialty packaging you might need, like wardrobe boxes and dish barrels.

Measure twice, move once

If at all possible, get the dimensions of rooms and doorways at your new home to make certain your oversized furniture will fit. Better to know now than move it and find out then!

Use it up!

Start putting all of your pantry and freezer foods to use! The more of the perishable items you can use up now the less you'll have to dispose of later. Same goes for cleaning supplies! Take an inventory of what you have on hand so you know exactly what you have to work with.

Our next  post will focus on what you should plan on doing in the month leading up to the big day! If you have any questions about your upcoming move or you're looking for an estimate, give us a call! Brandon Transfer and Storage has nearly 100 years of experience getting moves done right! Whether you're making local, long distance or international move, residential or commercial, Brandon Transfer will let you relax - we'll carry the load.