Whether you're moving across the country or just across town, these 10 moving tips will help make your move much easier.
I've teamed up with Allstate for this post about moving tips.
Gone are the days of growing up, living, and dying in the same house you were born in. We are such a transient generation! We up and move for school, for a job, or for a better commute. We'll upgrade, downsize, or sometimes just move for the fun of it. Change can be thrilling, but it can also be hard, and with so many new changes and adjustments to be made in a new living space, the least of your worries should be the move itself. Sure, you can hire someone to do the heavy lifting for you, but you're not just boxing up pictures, toys, books and clothes - you’re boxing up memories, stories and special moments - and it requires you to Handle With Care. With a number of moves under our belt, we have some moving tips that are going to save you time and frustration when that highly anticipated moving day comes!
10 Moving Tips
1. Purge before packing.
Make sure you know the dimensions of the space you're moving into. If you don't have the space for half of your furniture or clothes, purge now while you have the time and the energy to list items for sale, throw a yard sale, and/or donate. You'll be saving yourself space in the moving truck (not to mention the cost of a renting a bigger truck) and time packing/unpacking things you'll be getting rid of anyways.
2. Create a budget for your move.
Make sure you have a good idea of what this will cost. Decide weeks beforehand if you will be moving yourself or hiring a moving company, roughly how many boxes and supplies you'll need, as well as new items that will need to be purchased for your new space. Start budgeting early so when these expenses come up, you aren't unprepared or stressed.
3. Start packing 1-2 months early.
Start rounding up moving boxes early. Packing everything last minute can create a huge amount of stress. Designate a room or a corner of your house for filled moving boxes and start boxing up things you aren't using and won't need until after the move. Consider boxing all your out-of-season clothes and shoes, non-essential kitchen items, and perhaps even half of your children's toys. Be sure to clearly label each box and it's contents on the outside of the box with permanent marker. I've used taped-on labels in the past and they've fallen off with heat and humidity changes, making locating items a nightmare.
4. Make reservations and find accommodations.
Reserve your moving truck and crew, or start rounding up some friends to help. Make confirmation calls two weeks beforehand. Consider securing a place for your children (and pets!) to stay during the day of the move, or hiring a babysitter to keep your kids together and safe so all the adults are free to help and direct. While you might not be much help with the heavy lifting, you could still be needed around to help direct, answer questions, make calls, problem solve, and most importantly, order the pizza to thank your moving team!
5. Transfer services.
It takes some planning ahead to get all of your utilities transferred correctly to start and stop on the right dates. If you don't give these companies enough notice, you might not have electricity in your new home, or you could be paying for the utilities on your old place for several more weeks after move-out.
6. Change your address.
You can do this several weeks beforehand at the post office, to go into effect on move date to make sure you don't miss any of your mail or packages. Notify all of your credit card companies, insurance companies, and any other delivery services, such as Amazon (if you do Subscribe and Save subscriptions), newspapers and magazine subscriptions.
7. Pack a box of essential items.
It might take several days or maybe weeks before the last box is unpacked. Pack a box or use your luggage set to hold everything you need for the first couple days while your new place is a madhouse of open boxes and tape. Pack everything you'd need as if you were checking into a hotel, with the addition of some sheets and towels, paper products for your first meals, and toilet paper for the bathroom.
8. Do the laundry.
This might not be as big of a deal if you are moving across town, but if you are relocating to the other side of the country, or your boxes will be in storage or on the truck for a number of days, you'll want to tackle as much laundry as possible so you don't have smelly laundry surprises when you unload.
9. Start cleaning your old home.
Up to a few days before your move, you can address some cleaning jobs that can be done beforehand, like cleaning the windows, scrubbing the walls, and wiping down large appliances that get heavy use before you move. Some jobs, like the final sweep and vacuuming will just have to be done again after the movers are in and out.
10. Energize and keep calm!
On moving day, eat a substantial breakfast and keep lots of snacks on hand. Drink plenty of water and have bottles available for your helpers. Be early to pick up your truck rental and keep copies of everything. Make sure you are aware of closing times and know exactly when equipment is due. Tackle the day and the tasks one at a time and don't stress if it takes longer than anticipated! Keep yourself hydrated and nourished and keep a positive attitude!
Do you have any other moving hacks or tips that made moving day easier?
We'd love to hear them!
This post was written as part of the Allstate Influencer Program and sponsored by Allstate. All opinions are mine. As the nation’s largest publicly held insurance company, Allstate is dedicated not only to protecting what matters most–but to guiding people to live the Good Life, every day. Image credit: copyright LuckyImages/Dollar Photo Club.
Star says
When you have hanging stuff, keep it organized by sliding a garbage bag around it and secure it...
Usually 5 or 6 pieces per bag works great and if anything falls it falls into the bottom of the bag and you don't lose it...
For extra security, a thick rubberband helps secure the hangers together too.
Amber Ludwig says
Such great tips!! Now to just have people to help you unpack and organize 😉 lol!!
Camille says
Seriously!
Gloria Walshver says
I have moved a couple of times it was a pain.
Camille says
Its always a pain!!
judy maharrey says
The are some good tips. Moving is one of my worse nightmares. Can't get organized, or everyone not on the same page. Thanks for the tips
krista williams says
Thanks for these great tips.I hope I don't have to ever move again but I will certainly save these tips in case I ever do decide to move.
AC says
These are all good tips for someone who is moving, I will have to keep this handy when planning my next move.
Jessica Martinez says
As a former military brat, I miss moving every 2-5 years, because of #1. Do you know how much stuff collects when you are used to "losing: things on a move? Great advice!
Mary Dailey says
I sure could have used some of these tips when we moved! Great info!
Jennifer Jones says
I really dislike moving but these tips will definitely make it easier!
Sandy Weinstein says
i hate packing and moving. i am sort of a packrat, but am trying to downsize and move out of state. i have had 2 major moves from state to state b4 and hated it. i used u haul and friends then,. but moving several states away ...very distrustful of moves b/c of problems i had w/ moving my mother's things. eve though had contract, they charged additional and broke somethings and refused to pay.
Brianne Drumm says
My husband is in the military and we will be moving every 2-5 years. I REALLY need to keep this on hand! Our last move was a bit of a mess!
Jessica Martinez says
Great advice!
I think another important things to try to do is clean the new house BEFORE any of your stuff gets there. It is so frustrating finding yucky spots after you have already moved stuff (dog hair in a corner, some kind of food-ish handprint on a wall)
Tatiana says
Very helpful tips! Moving is not that complicated, you just have to make a good plan and follow it! Thumbs up for the post! Greets, London Man and Van Ltd.
Delores Lyon says
Thanks for sharing these tips on making moving easier! Next month, I'll be moving to a home just a few miles away, but I want to make sure everything goes smoothly. I'll be sure to start purging now so that I can have less stuff to pack! Plus, that would lower the cost of hiring a moving company!
Jean Marie C says
I missed this one a few weeks ago!! GAH!! I've moved so many times and have only done a few of these tips on the list. I'm a last minute packer. I did do all the laundry though. But of course, it piles up and I had to do it last week.
Rachel B says
Those are good tips. I hate moving and anything to make it even SLIGHTLY easier is so helpful.
Theresa Hover says
"1. Purge before packing" Most important step! My (only) favorite part about moving, is the opportunity to declutter and purge stuff we don't use. When we moved last summer, I found things that we hadn't used since we got married (5 years!) If I haven't used it in 5 years, I don't need it. It was SO refreshing to move into our new home with only the things we truly needed. As we were unpacking, I resisted the urge to just quickly shove stuff into a closet somewhere, and instead, left it in boxes in our office. After a couple of months of not being able to find a good home for these odds and ends, and getting tired to moving them or tripping over them, I finally got rid of them. Being a pack-rat by nature, it felt so good to just let it all go, so we could enjoy our new space.
Robin Creager says
As many times as I've moved in my life I wished I had these wonderful organized tips. Hopefully I won't have to move again but if I do I'll keep these handy. Thanks for sharing these!
Katie Dettelbach says
These are great moving tips! Thanks!
terra says
these tips will come in handy this summer when we are moving. thanks
Sarah L says
Passing this on to a friend who will be moving soon. Thanks for the tips.
Mindy O says
I agree with all these points! Moving is definitely a pain but it's a great way to get rid of stuff that needs to be gone! In all our moves there have been a few things I really couldn't part with, but once it came down to it, I didn't want to have to haul it to the new house, so out the door it went! It's so much easier to stay as light as possible!
Anita k says
This is going to be very helpful.thanks so much for sharing.
Amanda says
I think #10 is the most important. I've moved many times, and never had a single move go completely according to plan. Keeping your cool through the stress is essential!
Mare W says
We've moved many times in our life and it was always a chore. I used to work for a moving company so got a lot of tips from them. These are good too. We were fortunate to have family come help clean the old house, help move and set up the new home. They ironed all the curtains and put away dishes, made the beds and swept the carpet. I married into a wonderful family!
Debra Warila says
I like the first tip: "Purge before packing." The last major move I made was about 17 years ago, and the moving company was blown away with how much the total weight was reduced from their original estimate after I gave half of my furniture and books away. It shaved about a thousand bucks off the final bill.
desiree says
i doing this for my brother hard but get it done
Skylar Mitchell says
Moving can be a really difficult time because there are so many things to get done. I would really like to be sure that my move goes as smoothly as possible, so all of these are great ideas. I especially like your idea to start packing early. My husband and I know that we will be moving soon, so it would be good to start working on getting the non essentials packed up. Then it won't be so stressful the few weeks before. Thanks for the great post, I will be sure to remember all of these suggestions!
Lisa Coomer Queen says
These are great moving tips. I will have to pass these along to my son who in planning a move. Thank you!
mollyparnis says
A lot of useful tips here - advanced planning makes all the difference.
Karen says
My number one tip: Make sure Home Depot gives you the correctly-sized truck, not one TEN feet shorter than what you ordered! Check the size of the truck before you give away most of your baby stuff (along with your heart!!). Yup, true story.
Johnny Shi says
I like what you said about doing laundry. It is terrible not having a place to do laundry. Hopefully you have enough clothes to make it until you can do laundry again. Moving is not the most convenient thing.