The course of your move shouldn’t be stressful and it shouldn’t put you at a loss for anything. Amidst the chaotic process of relocating, you should have clarity regarding all that needs to be done. Being organized allows you to handle your tasks and stay well coordinated with your move. Below is a list to do things before you sail your ship for good:
Change Utilities
Utilities like electricity, water and gas should be disconnected on time. You can notify the companies in advance and have them schedule your disconnection date accordingly. Transferring utilities is usually considered a trivial thing and often neglected by homeowners. They don’t realize leaving utilities functioning can incur extra expenses, at the same time, they may have to be without these basic facilities in their new homes until the utility companies arrive to install these services.
It is ideal to call utility companies in your new location and schedule the connection date on the day of your arrival. In addition to transferring utilities, you should also thoroughly inspect your latest bills and make sure the bills are not falling into the next billing cycles.
Cancel Subscriptions
Since most subscriptions are automatically renewed, it is important to place a call to your service provider and have them disconnect or deactivate your subscriptions. This applies to memberships, maintenance, newspaper delivery, cable, lawn are, home security, internet, and other home related insurances. It is important you arrange the cancellation of these services before the next billing cycle begins so you wouldn’t be billed for the services you did not avail.
Collect Documents
Documents are important; many documents cannot be reproduced and even if they can, they require you to undergo an exhausting process to do so. Typically, important papers contain the following: personal ID documents, licenses, certificates, financial documents, ownership documents, legal papers, registration documents insurances, transcripts, medical and legal records. In whatever the case, it is necessary you gather all such documents, sort them and organize them in a file. Losing and misplacing things is a very common occurrence when changing homes. Plus, it can take a long time to retrieve documents if you do not know exactly where you have stored them. Before moving, it is also useful to obtain school and medical records. This makes it easy for you to register/enroll in other institutions. Likewise, your new physician is also given easy and timely access to your medical history, enabling him/her to know your health better.
Clean Out Your Old Home
As a homeowner you have the responsibility to clean the home you lived in before moving. This responsibility holds for both ethical and economic reasons. Thoroughly disinfect your bathroom and kitchen, mop the floors, clean out the inside of the cabinets, and vacuum the carpets. If you’re leaving behind furniture make sure it is not pest infested. Putting in extra effort to have the home look presentable to its new owners reflects well on your character and good will. However, it also lowers the risk of incurring any penalties and lawsuits, especially if you are a tenant. With that said, there’s no legal requirement to clean the property you lived on but keeping it in acceptable condition fuels the impression that you did not cause any damage to the premises. Your landlord would also be left with little grievances regarding the cleanliness of the house.
Know What Essentials to Keep
When you have boxes containing your belongings stacked up, you do not wish to unpack and rummage through them to find your essentials. In order to avoid unpacking and repacking, prepare a separate box for essentials. This would give you easy access to the vital belongings you need every day. Since you cannot go on without tending to basic needs, you’re advised to keep essentials like toiletries, medicines, chargers, adapters, first aid etc in a separate box. Keep this box in a safe place where it doesn’t get mixed with the rest of the boxes. Always make sure to carry this box in your car or keep it close at hand while traveling to your new home.
Label Your Boxes
Being as organized as you can helps you a great deal. Instead of just tossing your items into boxes randomly, try to create an order of doing things. You can pack the items of your home according to the room they’re sourced from, i.e., the living room essentials can be packed all together and the contents labeled on the box. Likewise, your bedroom items can be packed in a separate set of boxes, so that they can be directly transported to your new bedroom, where you can easily unpack and set up your things. Following this order can save you from feeling overwhelmed. It also reduces your efforts, as you can station the boxes wherever they belong in the new house. You get to set up your rooms one by one, without having to open all boxes at once to gather things.
Change Your Address
Address change is important as it helps with the correct and timely delivery of mail and important documents. Updating several important organizations and companies with your new address allows you to stay on the safe side when it comes to receiving bills and legal notices. You also get to avoid potential hassles like missed payments.
You start with the post office by changing USPS address online. This is a fairly easy process and hardly takes a few minutes. It is recommended you do this at least a week in advance before you set out to your new home.
Tax Agencies
You are required to notify the federal revenue agency and your state tax agency your change of address. This can also be done online as the IRS provides an address change form on its website. As for the state tax agency, you can browse the internet for your state’s government website and look for instructions to go about this. This is usually as easy as changing USPS address online.
Social Security
It is necessary to update SSA of your move, especially if you are receiving any benefits. You can do this online or give them a call. In the case of failure to update your address, you might have your benefits temporarily blocked.
Loan Providers
In order to keep a trustworthy relation with your creditors intact, you should reach out to them and update them with your new whereabouts. This allows them to swiftly follow up with you on your new address without causing delays to your payment cycles.
Insurance Providers
Agencies like health insurance, dental insurance and car insurance should also be notified as this helps them reach out to you easily. In most cases, your insurance related mails can continue being sent to your old address without you realizing.
Moving is no easy job and the work can add up if proper planning isn’t put into it. Gain tips as to how you can reduce the load of moving and simplify the process. You can start by decluttering and disposing of anything that isn’t useful. To be more eco-friendly though, you can turn to donation centers. If you plan your move well in advance, you can manage removing your unwanted items in a reasonable way. Donating furniture, clothes, gadgets etc allows for better utilization of items instead of being processed in landfills.
When you began packing boxes, keep a good supply of tape, sharpies, and packing peanuts handy. Secure your boxes properly and label each box immediately after sealing it. Use extra protection like wrapping items with a bed sheet or towel for fragile items. Add packing peanuts to fill up the empty spaces. This helps keep items positioned firmly in one place.
Once your boxes are well taped and ready, position the heavier boxes on the bottom and the light ones on the top. Use skills and techniques to complete your packing.