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The Ultimate Checklist for a Budget Friendly Moving Experience

Moving on a budget - Tips...

By George SwaggerPublished 4 years ago 10 min read
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When you finally seal the deal and find your new home, it’s time to make all the necessary arrangements to move there. This can be quite hectic for some people, especially if they have a lot of items and furniture. The main goal is to make the process as smooth as possible to avoid any setbacks, delays, and damages. If you’ve planned everything to stick to a budget and get the right tools, items, packaging materials, and professional help you need, your moving experience should be a breeze. There are a few tips that you can follow to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Read on to learn more about the ultimate checklist for people who want to move while sticking to a budget.

Two Months Before the Move

You should always plan every step ahead two months before the move. Your planning process must be this early because it allows you to be ready and prepared for the big moving day. Planning will minimize any mistakes and it makes the moving experience a lot more organized.

Here’s a checklist for you to follow two months before moving day:

Set up a Google Doc to be your digital moving binder on your phone. This helps you keep track of every step. You can save a lot of time with a well-organized Google Doc to go back to for every step needed. This is much cheaper than getting a real binder or printing out your checklist.

Separate your moving tasks into categories to keep them clear and prevent any misunderstanding.

Have subsections in your Google Doc for contact information, important documentation details, receipts, moving estimates, and remaining bills that need to be paid.

Schedule important appointments like inspections, moving company interviews, new landlord meetings, and new school enrollment day for your kids.

List the best and easiest route to your new home to pick the optimal time for moving your things. This can lower the price of the move if you hire professional movers.

Have a section for your room-by-room inventory, listing every item, piece of furniture, or valuable belongings that you have. This can make the process of filing claims for damaged, lost, or stolen items a lot easier.

List the unwanted items that you will not take with you and plan how you will sell, donate, or give them away.

List details of your furniture measurements. This helps you keep track of which pieces of furniture can go to your new home and which cannot. This can save you a lot of effort and minimizes mistakes on moving day.

Have details of different moving companies, their quotes, reviews, capabilities, interview day if you want to meet face-to-face, and which company is more budget-friendly for you. Find out if any moving company has a special discount deal.

Six Weeks Before the Move

You should start planning your second phase six weeks before the move after you’ve organized and planned everything you need. During this phase, you will start physically packing accordingly to be prepared for moving day.

Here’s a checklist that you can follow six weeks before you move:

Figure out which items and belongings are too fragile and need special care. Take their measurements because most of the oddly-shaped and big items need a specific plan and special moving materials that can keep them safe during the move. You need to list the most convenient and economical way to handle these items and stick to your budget.

Find out how many boxes and packaging materials you need based on your things. You can save some money on this by using some of the old boxes that you already have. Americans tend to keep old boxes for later use, but make sure that they are suitable for your needs. Advice from the box providers at Thegaylordboxexchange.com suggests that you sell the boxes you don’t need and exchange them for suitable ones. This can be very convenient for your budgeting plans.

Pack your things yourself to save some money and just let the professionals move it for you instead.

Keep your important and critical items in one or two boxes and keep them in a corner.

Label every box you packed to avoid any confusion or damages. Fragile items need to be properly labeled so the movers can be extra careful while transporting them.

Take pictures of your items, especially electronics before you pack them. Some electronics can be complicated to set up again in your new home because of the numerous wires and plugs. But you can avoid paying extra money for a specialist to come and set it up for you by taking pictures or a video and then set it all up yourself.

Store some of your items and boxes at your loved one’s garage, whether it’s your parents, siblings, or close friends. Things might get too messy with all the boxes and you might need to clear some stuff to make it easier for you and the movers to walk inside properly. This is highly convenient and much cheaper than taking them to a storage unit. You can save some money and stay within your budget.

Buy all the essentials you might need and with extras, just in case. You will need box cutters, tape, scissors, bubble wrap, plastic wrap, extension cords, hand sanitizers, alcohol sprays, and markers. You could borrow all of these items from your loved ones to save some money.

Have a yard/garage sale for the items that were listed as unwanted and shouldn’t be packed. Make some money off of these items instead of leaving them behind. It will make the moving process better because you will get to make some money back.

Two - Three Weeks Before the Move

Now you are getting closer and you should finish some of the paperwork needed three weeks before the move. You will need to get these steps done early because leaving them to the last week may delay the entire moving process. Here’s a checklist that you can follow when there are only two to three weeks left before moving day:

Contact your bank to notify them that you’re moving. Make all the changes needed to your accounts and ask them to change your mailing address.

Contact every company you have subscriptions with and have them forward all your mail with the post office until you settle in.

Contact your providers, whether it’s your T.V, Internet, or utility providers, and let them know that you’re moving and changing addresses.

Coordinate with your utility providers and discuss how you will set up your new water, electricity, gas, and sewer services at your new home.

Have your utility providers send in a representative to do a final meter reading in your old home. This can help you pay all the remaining bills and you won’t have to pay anything else after you move.

Meet with your landlord to discuss the paperwork needed before you move.

Discuss the details about your security deposit and how you’re going to receive the payment. Some landlords could pay it in cash face-to-face, transfer it to your bank account, or send it via an online payment system like PayPal.

Have your landlord inspect your old home to see if there are any repairs needed. Figure out a way to fix them yourself if you want to save some money.

If you own your home and you’re about to sell it, list it online or hire a realtor to help you find a buyer.

Discuss with the home inspector or general contractor about all the necessary changes needed to make your home ready after the inspection process.

Transfer your renter’s insurance or property insurance policy to your new home. Remember to disclose all the relevant details to your insurer.

If you’re moving far away, fill your prescriptions before the move to ensure that you’re safe. You might need to find a new doctor that is close to your new neighborhood if it’s possible. You can save money on your commute this way.

Update/change your ID, driver’s license, and car registration to ensure that they have the right address.

Finalize the deal with the moving company of your choice. Discuss what your options are when it comes to payments. See if you could save some money by renting your own moving truck instead of using the company’s truck. You might save a lot more money if you do the driving too.

Two - Three Days Before the Move

This is the time when you must prepare all the important essentials three or two days before the move. Here’s a checklist that you should follow during those last few days before moving day:

Pack the essential suitcases for you and your family. This should be the clothes and belongings that you would use the first week after moving in. This can save you the hassle of opening boxes on your first night in your new home.

Collect all the keys for your home and garage doors so you can give them to your landlord or realtor on moving day.

Prepare to get some cash ready for moving day. You will need it to tip the movers during and after they are done with their job.

Prepare an organized plan for unpacking when you move everything. Divide every box you have for different days throughout the first few weeks there.

Finish packing all your belongings and make sure every box is safely secured.

See if some of your furniture can be easily disassembled to make the movers’ job a lot easier.

Discuss with your family and decide on which hotel you will stay in until your new home is fully ready. You can save some money by not going to a hotel and staying with your family or close friends for a few days. It depends on your situation and budgeting plans.

Moving Day

Now that you’ve done everything you can and it’s moving day, it’s time to get ready and say your final goodbyes to your old home and prepare to transport everything to your new one. Here’s a checklist of what you need to do on moving day:

Prepare snacks or sandwiches for your children because they might get hungry during the day.

Clear a nice path in your old home for your movers to properly walk without tripping over something.

Make sure the movers have the proper paperwork and official documents needed. This protects you from moving scams and it proves that they are the movers you hired.

If you are planning to leave while your movers work, remember to leave your contact information with them.

If you’re staying, then supervise over the movers and make sure the moving/loading process goes smoothly.

Ask for the mover’s inventory list, sign it for them, and make sure you get a copy of that list to compare it with your own that you prepared weeks ago.

Make one final round/walk-through in your old home after everything is loaded in the truck. See if anything is left behind or if you forgot something.

If you have time to spare, try to see if you could clean/sweep the floors quickly before leaving.

Tip your movers and drive to your new home with them to supervise the unloading process.

Some people can get overwhelmed whenever they’re about to move. The panic and pressure of messing something up can be too much for them to bear, especially if they have valuable belongings. However, you don’t need to complicate the situation too much. It is possible to have a smooth and easy moving experience, even when you want to stick to a budget. You just need to plan every step correctly and hope for the best. With the right mindset, professional help, and packaging materials, you can rest assured that your belongings will get transported to your new home safely. Hopefully, this checklist can guide you on the right path for a smooth and hassle-free moving experience.

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