Moving Day
by Hometeam
Whether you are using a professional moving company or moving yourself, the days spent packing and moving are stressful. Here are some tips that can help things go more smoothly.
-Two weeks prior to your move, contact your current and future utility companies to schedule dates to turn off your old services and turn on your new ones. Don’t forget to forward your newspaper and to call your cable and Internet provider.
-Ask the post office for a moving kit, which contains helpful information about changing your address. It is not enough to change your address at the post office; you need to change your address permanently for all mail, including magazine subscriptions and credit card bills, and you need to notify health care providers, your bank, and other financial services.
-Make arrangements to return cable boxes, telephones, and other equipment to providers before you move.
-Pack a special box that contains all the things you need upon arrival. Include items such as medications, toiletries, linens, a first aid kit, garbage bags, a telephone, light bulbs, a flashlight, some nonperishable snack and essential foods for your family, and food for your pets. Put this box in your car or make sure it is the last item packed so it will be easy to retrieve.
-Make sure you have tools handy so you can assemble beds and other furniture when you arrive.
-Move valuables—jewelry, important papers, and family keepsakes—to your car so they won’t be lost.
-Label every packed box with the room where it belongs, and label every room in your new house so that movers can place boxes in the correct location. Doing this will prevent you from having to reposition boxes in order to unpack them.
-Make sure that you have plenty of water, other drinks, and snacks to offer your movers.
-Send friends and families “we’ve moved” cards so they will know how to reach you after you’ve moved.
Donna Taglianetti is the Executive Director at Co-opportunity in Hartford, Connecticut. This article is reprinted with permission from The First Time Home Buyer magazine – August/September 2006 issue. For more information on how to subscribe visit www.firsttimehomebuyermagazine.com.
