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Moving Calendar

What's the best way to prepare for a move? 

Four weeks before moving

• Decide what you want to take, what you want to throw out, and what you want to donate to charity or sell.
• Start using up frozen food and staples. Don't buy any more than is necessary before moving.
• Start planning your trip. Make airline reservations. Book hotels and rental cars.
• Arrange for important school, medical, financial, and legal records to be transferred.

Three weeks before moving

• Arrange to have your pets transported or boarded. Start preparing your plants for the move.
• Get back any items you have lent (and give back any items you have borrowed). Pick up any items that are being repaired.
• Dispose of flammable items such as paint, aerosol cans, and cleaning fluids.
• Send change of address information to the post office and other businesses.

Two weeks before moving

• Schedule a date for a service firm to disconnect and prepare the appliances you are moving.
• Start packing non-essential items.
• Arrange for a babysitter for moving day.
• Start planning to disconnect utilities.
• Draw up a floor plan for your new home and start planning your furniture arrangement. (It makes moving in twice as easy.)

One week before moving

• Finish packing suitcases and basic essentials. Make sure valuable documents, currency, and jewellery are in a safe and easily accessible place.
• Drain garden hoses, lawn mowers, and other machinery.
• Defrost and dry the fridge and freezer. Don't forget to empty the defrost water pan.
• Take down items such as curtain rods, shelves, light fixtures, and mirrors that you are taking with you.
• Dismantle large power tools, such as lathes and grinders.
• Make sure all of your important papers, keys, medications, and plane tickets are available for the trip.
• If you are travelling a long distance by car, you may want to have the car serviced.

Packing day

• Leave a clear workspace for the packers.
• Identify fragile and valuable items, items you are taking with you, and items being left for the new owners.

Moving-out day

• Plan to stay home until the moving van has left.
• Tour the house with the van operator during inventory. Sign the bill of lading. Confirm your new address and delivery date. Check destination contact phone numbers.
• Do a final check for overlooked items. Make certain windows and doors are locked, lights are turned off, utilities are discontinued or turned off, and the keys are transferred.

Moving-in day

• Try to get to your new home the day before the moving van arrives. Make sure the utilities are connected. Take another look to see if where you want your furniture to go is correct.
• When the mover arrives, check items unloaded against the inventory. Make arrangements for installation of appliances. Confirm unpacking requirements.

Before You Move

What are some commonly overlooked pre-move arrangements I should make?
Use this helpful checklist as a reminder of the things you need to do before you move.

Book the movers:

• It's a good idea to obtain estimates from several different companies.
• The estimate will depend on whether the movers pack everything or just the breakables, or whether you want to do the packing yourself.

If you own your present home:

• Arrange to have your gas, water, and electricity meters read on the day you leave. Have the bills forwarded to your new address.
• Have your oil tank read and filled before your sale closes and, if required, give the receipt to your legal professional.
• Arrange for the water heater and furnace rental agreements to be transferred to the purchaser.
• Disconnect your telephone, cable TV, and water softener.

If you rent your present home:

• Give your landlord written notice and make arrangements for the return of any deposits.

At your new home:

• Arrange to have gas and electricity, water softener, telephone, and cable TV connected on the day the sale closes.

General:

• Get change-of-address cards from the post office and send them out well before moving day.
• Have the post office forward your mail to your new address.
• Cancel contracted services and pre-authorized cheques.
• Inform gardening, dry cleaning, garbage pick-up, newspapers, magazines, diaper, and other home services of your move. Arrange for service at your new address.
• Get a letter of introduction from your bank to help set up new accounts. Transfer trust or bank accounts and securities.
• Cancel or transfer social, athletic, civic, religious, or business affiliations and memberships.
• Ask your dentist, doctor, pharmacist, and optometrist to transfer medical, dental, and prescription records.
• Change the address on your driver's license effective the day of the move.
• Collect all items out for cleaning or repair, or in storage.
• Make arrangements to move perishables, such as plants.
• Make arrangements to move your pets.
• Dispose of all flammable liquids. It is illegal for movers to carry them.

Moving with kids

How do I make the move easier on my kids?
In all of the hustle and bustle, parents sometimes overlook the children, who are very concerned about the upcoming move. For children (and teenagers) a move means leaving everything that is important: their home, their school, their teams and clubs, and their friends. They are not normally involved in the decision to move, and many times do not understand the necessity to move. It's a frightening prospect.

Important things to keep in mind:

• It is not unusual for children to show signs of stress, such as problems sleeping, anxiety, and lack of appetite.
• Children need time to deal with feelings of loss or separation and the more time they have the better. Tell your children as soon as you can.
• Explain in simple terms why the move is necessary. Make it short and positive, without overselling – children often know when a parent is masking negative feelings.
• As the children become used to the idea of moving, tell them about their new home and what they mig