CONGRATULATIONS!
You have closed on your new home and now you are ready to move! The next few pages contain tips and checklists so that your move is as organized and effortless as possible. Think about your move as a series of small projects that you can begin while your home is under contract. Your move will progress as your contract and closing progress. That way, when the day comes to physically move your belongings, most of the details will be taken care of.
Keep detailed records – some moving expenses may be tax deductible…
Keep detailed records of all moving expenses if your move is job-related. Many expenses, including house-hunting trips, are tax deductible. If your move is 35 miles or more from your home, you can deduct your family’s travel expenses, including meals and lodging; the cost of transporting furniture, other household goods and personal belongings; food and hotel bills for up to 30 days in the new city if you have to wait to move into your new home; and the costs associated with selling your old home or leasing your new home.
Moving Checklist: What to Do Before the Move
Two months before moving…
- Sort through your belongings to reduce the number of things to move.
- Have a garage sale or donate items you no longer need.
- Decide whether to move by yourself or hire professionals. Make reservations with a moving company or truck rental company. Tip: Call three companies for estimates to compare.
- Gather packing supplies: boxes, packing material, tape, felt markers, and scissors.
- If you’re moving a long distance, make travel arrangements with the airline, hotel, and rental car agency. If you’re driving to your new home, get maps and plan your travel route.
- Save all moving receipts. Some moving expenses are tax deductible. Check the current tax code for requirements.
- Place your legal, medical, financial, and insurance records in a safe and accessible place.
- Purchase insurance coverage for valuables to be moved.
One Month Before Moving
- Start packing items that aren’t regularly used such as off-season clothes and decorations and items in storage areas (garage, attic, and closets).
- Make travel arrangements for your pets.
- If you’re driving, get your car tuned up.
- Get medical records from your doctors, dentist, optometrist, and veterinarian.
- Send items (rugs, drapes, clothing, quilts, bedding) to the cleaners.
- Back up important computer files to floppy disk.
Two Weeks Before the Move
- Contact your utility companies and notify them of your move.
- Sign up for services at your new address.
- Contact your long distance phone company and notify them of your move.
- Call friends and family and recruit help for the moving day.
- Confirm your travel reservations.
- Arrange to close or transfer your bank account, if appropriate. Pick up items you’re your safety deposit box.
One Week Before Moving
- Pick up items from the cleaners, repair shops, or friends.
- Pack a survival kit of clothes, medicines, special foods, etc. to carry you through the day while you unpack.
- Finish packing all boxes minus what you’ll need in the final week.
- Inform the post office of your upcoming move
- Send change-of-address cards with your new address and phone number to:
- Friends and family, Banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, and other financial institutions
Magazines and newspapers,Doctors, lawyers, accountants, Your Happy Realtor®, and other service providers
State and federal tax authorities and any other government agencies as needed
Workplace, schools, and Alma maters
The Day Before the MOVE
- Set aside moving materials, such as tape measure, pocketknife, and rope.
- Pad corners and stairways of the house.
- Lay down old sheets in the entry and hallways to protect floor coverings.
- Remove hanging fixtures.
- If you are moving by yourself, pick up the rental truck and a dolly to move heavy boxes.
- If you are driving, check oil, tire pressure, and gas in your car.
- If you are flying, make sure you have tickets, charge cards, and other essentials.
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