Moving Checklist

Once the decision to move has been made, any household will ultimately come to a point where they need to make a moving checklist that covers everything from A to Z. The more detailed the list, the better the action on moving day. Whether you are a single person, a family man/woman or the person in-charge, a moving checklist can make your job a lot easier and to do just that let us go over some of the detailed points that any moving checklist should cover.

The process of moving from point A to point B can be classified step-wise to make it easier for us to comprehend the entire procedure. Let us start with the first thing people do when they decide to move. Check for a moving company or movers with reasonable rates. While doing so there are a few things that we need to verify about the moving company before giving it a thumbs up.

Choosing a moving company:

1. Reputation: The moving company should be known for their quality service, rating and on-time resolutions. Make sure to check online feedback.

2. Cost Reductions: The company should offer competitive rates, discounts and be willing to negotiate the price.

3. Flexibility: The company should offer 24/7 service so that you can be free to decide whatever time of the day you want to move.

4. Insurance coverage: Accidents and damages are common while moving. A good company would always have a comprehensible insurance cover especially for an international relocation.

5. Experience: An experienced team of workers can resolve unseen issues while loading, unloading and transporting your goods. Demand for an expert team.

6. Free quotes: A free estimate of what it would actually cost should be given so that you can compare it with other companies before making the final decision.

Transferring Records:

1. The second immediate step is to make sure that you update all your records regarding your bank accounts and medical cover.

2. Make sure you have duplicate records with you to help you in case your records are not yet available at the new place.

3. Please do not forget to change your address at all relevant websites and notify people like your bank manager, insurance company, school office, friends, attorney and doctor. Do include the post office for snail mail.

4. Arrange for disconnection of any local utilities like cable, phone, internet a day before moving date.

Packing:

1. Order boxes of comfortable sizes to fill in all the miscellaneous stuff in your house.

2. If the moving date is after a month then the best way to organize packing is to take one room at a time.

3. Once your boxes arrive, start packing things that you do not use on a daily basis. This way most of the clutter will be out of your way. If possible donate things that are no longer useful to you.

4. Do not forget to label the boxes either room-wise or content wise to facilitate organized unpacking. While packing valuable items it is best to label them as 'private do not move'. Expensive items like crystal pieces, glass art, paintings, electronic goods like laptop, iPad etc should be handled with care and packed with materials like thermocol, bubble-wrap, paper etc. Make sure to mark the box appropriately.

5. Moving companies also offer packing services, in such cases be sure to supervise the packing of valuable items so that damage can be claimed correctly if they fail to pack it the right way.

6. Pack essentials like toothbrushes, food, toiletries, medicine etc separately. Defrost your fridge and empty it the day before moving.

7. Prepare the inventory of all packed items including those which need to hauled without packing like washing machines and refrigerators. 8. Plants, pets and delicate things are better transferred securely instead of transporting them commercially.

Moving Date:

1. Once the moving company is decided, the next part is to determine the best time to move. If you have enough time to move then you should probably choose a weekend so that you will have enough time to set the furniture and rearrange your belongings in the new house.

2. If the time and the day has already been decided by your company due to urgency then it is best to check with the movers if they can arrange the packing to be done as soon as possible. A flexible company would agree to send in the team at your convenience.

3. Always keep the address of a local storage facility in the new place handy just in case you do not find the house in the right condition.

Moving Day:

1. Check your moving checklist again to complete any forgotten tasks.

2. When the moving day arrives, please check all the contract documents from the movers before signing up. The points to check will be the US-DOT number, the rate decided and the rate per hour if the time on contract has elapsed, the quote agreed upon, number of employees working on your case, the extent of insurance coverage, security of luggage and response time for claims along with time taken to unload your belongings. Declare valuable things for complete coverage.

3. Please note that by this time all your belongings should be in labeled boxes for your own convenience. Cross check your inventory.4. Check the route which the movers vehicle will be taking. Now a days you can track your moving truck online using GPS.

Moving can be a harrowing task if it is done in an unplanned manner, however a planned moving day will see much less hurdles and result in a comfortably achieved relocation. This is made easier by creating a personal moving checklist. Once the luggage has been unloaded, check for any damage before agreeing to sign off the moving contract as completed. We hope that the above moving checklist has helped you plan your moving arrangements in a detailed manner.