Moving to a new house presents new opportunities to re-shape and reinvigorate your life. The prospect of having new neighbors, making new friends, and enjoying new adventures is exciting. But before you discover or create the life that is ahead you must deal with the life that you have right now—that is, coming up with a plan for the move.
Meticulous and detailed planning is the key to a successful move. Yet, even as you prepare for the move you must still get on with your life. There is business to attend to: meetings, deadlines, projects, and the range of other activities that constitute your professional life. You should begin planning the very moment you have a move-out and travel date. Otherwise, you put yourself at risk of being overwhelmed by all work that is required for the move.
You will not think of everything at once. That is why you should begin to make a checklist. As your moving date approaches, the checklist will get longer. But it is best to set something down on paper so that you have a single reference for the series of actions you will need to take before the move.
Here are a few packing and moving pointers to get you started:
Book the moving truck
It is never too early to reserve the vehicle you will need to move your household goods. This is especially the case if you are moving cross country. It is better to overestimate the size of the truck or trucks that you will need, and perhaps pay a little more, than to go through the nightmare of hiring a vehicle that is too small. The moving company you work with can usually help you with this. We’ll ask you how much furniture and how many boxes you plan to move to make sure we sent a truck and crew appropriate for your move size.
Start disposing of old clothes and books
The old jeans, shirts, suits, trousers, shoes, and other items that you never wear should be put in bags and taken to the charity shop. If you are a bookish person, you should go to the shelves and start selecting the volumes that will be given away. It might seem difficult, but there are probably more than a few books that you will either never read or never read again. Books are heavy and take up a great deal of space, so it is important to leave behind the volumes you can do without.
Set the dates for packing up the household
You need to set this time aside and keep everything off your schedule. A small to medium sized house can be packed up, at a gradual, comfortable pace, within 5 days.
Get the admin done early
You can now do a change of address through USPS online. You should also be sure to notify your physician and dentist that you are moving, so that they can forward your medical records.
Keep in contact with the people you know in the new city
Most companies will assign sponsors to people who have relocated for work. You should make contact early with this individual and keep them abreast of your moving plans. They can help you settle in by giving you valuable information about living, shopping, and entertaining yourself in your new city.
By following this brief checklist, you’ll be off to a great start with planning your relocation.