To take the stress out of moving and give you some guidelines for what you should be doing and when to do it, we created a 5-week countdown you can follow. Sometimes you won’t have the luxury of 5 weeks before you move, so feel free to adapt this countdown to whatever timeline you’re working with.
Five Weeks Out
- Take inventory of everything that you’ll need to move and decide what you want to sell, donate, or throw away.
- Decide if you want to move by yourself or hire a moving company.
- Start collecting and buying boxes, and get labels for the boxes.
- Start packing items you don’t need between now and the move day.
Four Weeks Out
- Have the garage sale to sell any unwanted items.
- Drop off any items that didn’t sell to your chosen donation center.
Three Weeks Out
- Find out how to change over bills and transfer services.
- This should include TV, the internet, utilities, and any other bills that are mailed to your current home.
- Clean out the attic, shed, garage, and other places you use as storage.
- If you’re not using professional movers, contact friends and family to see if they’re available and willing to help you move.
Two Weeks Out
- Create a packing plan that outlines which boxes and furniture will go on the truck first.
- Make a travel kit with essential items like keys, toiletries, and first aid.
One Week Out
- Pack items you don’t need between now and the move day, which should be most of the house.
- Start labeling boxes so everyone knows where to put each box once you get to the new home.
- Make sure you have enough prescription medication and set up a new pharmacy close to your new home.
- Backup computers on an external hard drive or cloud storage in case they get damaged in the move.