This article is courtesy of mymove.com

Moving is no fun. No matter how far you’re going, it’s never easy to get your life boxed up and loaded onto a truck.

The good news is that a little bit of planning now will go a long way towards making Moving Day as painless as possible.

As Far in Advance as Possible

• Start sorting all your stuff. Enlist the help of friends and family whenever you need it. Start small – a drawer, then a closet, then move on to a room when you’re feeling up to it.

TIP: If you are moving into a retirement community, check with them. They may have services set up to help you with the move.

Two Months Out

• Set your moving budget
• If you have a landlord, tell them you are moving out
• Book your movers, or reserve a truck if you’re doing it yourself (and start enlisting the help of friends and family)
• If you are not yet retired, request time off work
• Start the deciding process of what goes with you and what to give away, donate, send to the dump

TIP: When you are booking your movers, avoid the most popular moving days, which includes weekends and the beginning and end of each month.

One Month Out

• Get your supplies: boxes, tape, bubble wrap, packing paper, etc.
• Sell or donate items you’re not taking.
• Change your address with USPS.
• Male arrangements to transfer internet, gas, and electric utilities — while asking about setting up new service at your new place.
• Start pre-packing whatever you can (whatever you plan to take but don’t need on a daily or weekly basis).
• Schedule furniture deliveries.
• Start planning your goodbye (or housewarming) parties.

TIP: If you have bigger items you don’t want to take with you, many nonprofits offer free donation pickup, and you can often schedule a time online. Keep in mind that the organization will probably want you to place the items at the curb.

Moving Week

• Update your address on subscriptions, car insurance, bank account, etc.
• Eat whatever’s left in the kitchen.
• Finalize the game plan with your mover or with your helpers
• Label all your boxes by room/type of stuff in the box
• Plan for your pets – keep them safe in a room that can be closed off on moving day.

TIP: Pack your dishes vertically – dishes on the bottom are more likely to break when packed flat. Use shirts, socks, towels as free packing supplies.

The Day and Night Before

• Throw out, donate or pack your remaining food.
• Put down cardboard along the main moving routes inside your house to protect the floors.
• Get cash to tip the movers.
• Pack an “essentials” bag with things like toiletries, prescription drugs, first-aid kit, chargers, fresh clothes.
• Try to get a good night’s sleep

TIP: Use different colors of tape on boxes for different rooms so you easily know where to put them on moving day.

Moving Day

• Take a deep breath.
• Do one last sweep of the house to make sure you didn’t leave anything behind. Check all drawers, etc.
• Get the bed set up first in new house.
• Place yourself and drink plenty of water.

TIP: Set up a designated ‘home base area’ on the first day that is comfortable and has all the essentials, so you have somewhere to recharge as you unpack. Maybe set up the coffee pot right away?

Welcome Home

You survived moving day! Take a moment to appreciate what an awesome and difficult thing you just did. Now it’s time to treat yourself. Kick back on whatever furniture happens to be around, crack open your favorite beverage, and order some takeout from one of your new neighborhood spots. The hard part’s over — now it’s time for the (way more fun) work of making your new house a home.

FAQS

• It is recommended that you change your address at least two weeks before moving day, but the USPS lets you do it as early as three months before your move. You can also have your mail forwarded any time after your move, but it will take 7-10 days for your mail to arrive at your new address.
• Moving boxes can be purchased at places like Home Depot and Lowes. You can also order them online from Amazon and Uboxes.com. Or look for free boxes on places like craigslist and nextdoor.
• Moves can cost anywhere from $400 to over $7,000 if you are moving across the country and hiring professionals to do everything for you.
• In addition to having your mail forwarded with the USPS, you’ll probably have to change your address at a number of other places. Here are some of the main bases you should cover: Driver’s license and vehicle registration, IRS, voter registration, banks, credit cards, investment services, health, dental and life insurance, car insurance, streaming services, magazines and subscriptions. Some things are sure to fall through the cracks, so you might want to comb through your bank and credit card statements to find other recurring charges that might have your address saved in their system.