Moving long-distance is the reality of many families. However, that doesn’t make it less confusing and scary. People get lost among all the moving tasks they need to finish, important documents to take care of, and many moving boxes they need to pack. That’s why a simple yet practical guide is necessary to sort out your thoughts and help you stay organized during this process. This article is the ultimate long-distance moving checklist you can use to tick off the tasks as you finish them. Here’s everything you need to do before the big day comes.
Start your moving process as early as possible
If you’re worried about moving in a hurry and the lack of time, starting as early as possible is a must. The key to every successful organization is proper on-time planning weeks or even months in advance. Once you find out about your moving date, start scheduling even the most minor moving tasks. Use this long-distance moving checklist and customize it to your needs, so you can start ticking off the things
you’ve done so far.
Schedule your moving date
Booking your movers as soon as possible helps you with two things. Firstly, you can pick your moving date and possibly get more affordable rates. Also, early booking will serve you as a deadline – it will remind you that it is time to start preparing for the move.
Prepare the budget
Long-distance moves can get expensive. People often get unpleasantly surprised by the final bill, which causes them additional problems and stress. Prepare by planning your moving budget first and try to find out how to reduce the moving costs. This will help you save enough money until the moving day and have a peaceful relocation.
Declutter your home
Before you proceed to pack and other moving tasks, you need to have a clear idea of what you’re bringing to the new home. More importantly, you need to know what you should leave behind. Decluttering or downsizing your home before the move is one of the essential steps of every long-distance moving checklist. Go through your items strategically and divide unnecessary items into a couple of piles:
- throw away/recycle pile – things that are damaged or out of date, and you can’t use them
anymore; - donate/give away pile – items you no longer need but could be used by someone else. Usually, outgrown clothes or seasonal pieces you no longer need;
- selling pile – selling some of the items such as older electronics or appliances will ensure you reduce the moving costs, and you can always repurchase new items after you relocate. Use online selling websites or organize a garage sale to get rid of unnecessary belongings quickly.
Make an inventory list
After you’re done with decluttering, try to estimate your move by making the inventory list. Include both smaller and bigger items, so you can get the idea of the amount of moving supplies you should get and waste no money.
Get the necessary packing supplies
Packing is one of the most time-consuming and tiring tasks of every long-distance relocation. You can easily save your time and energy by hiring professionals to pack your entire home in record time. On the other hand, if your moving budget is limited, you can pack on your own and save some cash. Firstly, get enough packing supplies. Using your inventory list, you can estimate the number and the size of the moving boxes you’ll need. You’ll also need some packing paper, packing peanuts, a lot of tapes (use a tape dispenser for faster results), scissors and some markers.
Bonus tip: If you’re trying to save, try getting free moving boxes from friends who recently moved or a local liquor store. Just be sure to check the condition of these boxes, as they need to be in good shape and sturdy enough to handle long-distance travel.
Label the boxes
Pack your boxes strategically to make them easier to unpack later. Pack room by room, and start with rarely used items. Finish off with the things you use every day, so you can also unpack them first. The best trick to organize your boxes is to color-code them by rooms. This way, the movers will immediately put the boxes in the appropriate rooms, and you can have a mess-free home and the fastest unpacking
process. Finally, be sure to label the boxes with what’s inside them. It will help you find certain items faster and unpack with the most efficiency.
Pack a box of essentials
When moving long-distance, you will not have all of your items at your disposal right away. For that reason, it’s important to pack all your belonging in a particular order. You should pack belongings you won’t need soon first, and leave the most essential, everyday things for the last. These will go to what is called an essentials bag. So, be sure to select items you should keep near you and pack them in separate boxes from all other things. These are the items we have mentioned earlier – the ones that you use
every day and that come last in the packing process. The everyday essentials and the things you’ll need on your first night in the new home should be at hand, so you don’t need to unpack everything at once or go out and buy something you need as soon as you arrive.
Take care of yourself
The last but not the least point on your long-distance moving checklist should be taking care of yourself during the process. Make sure you stay healthy by getting enough sleep and having a proper diet and hydration. Furthermore, you should keep away from common moving injuries – and the easiest way to do that is to entrust the most difficult tasks to experienced professionals.