Moving Checklist: How to Simplify as Much as Possible

When I made a list of things I wanted to work on over Fall Break, I realized it was time to start planning our move! As of writing this post, we have 41 days left! (I added a little countdown app to my computer so I can keep a pulse on how close it’s getting). Planning out our moving checklist helps me approach the situation with as little stress as possible.

Moving Checklist: T-Minus 6 Weeks

• Book a mover: I went into Yelp and hit the “request a quote” for one moving company with a lot of 5-star reviews. Yelp asked me if I wanted to also submit the same request to several other movers. Sure! It seems like it will cost about $300 to move our stuff 2 miles in 2 hours. That’s not too much more than renting the U-Haul ourselves! We will pack up all our boxes ourselves. However, we will hire folks to load the boxes and furniture into a truck and unload it at the new place. I started this task early because I want to lock in our preferred date.
• Make a packing plan: We will hopefully close on a Wednesday and move in on a Friday. First I decided on the date we were going to move into the new house. Then I worked backwards from that date to figure out how to pack up our entire house in the least disruptive way possible. The least disruptive would be to wait until the very end (so we can live normally) but that would be stressful. But if we start too early and have boxes everywhere, that’s stressful, too! So the plan is to start a week in advance. We will start with the things that are inside closets, so it’s not visually disruptive.

The first thing we will do is set aside everything we need to live normally: clothes, toys, toiletries, toilet paper, towels, vacuum, cleaning supplies, etc. Those things won’t get packed at all! We will simply move them ourselves in our cars. That way, we can live normally even as our lives are getting packed up, and we can live normally even when our lives are not yet unpacked.

• Start looking for deals on appliances. It seems like BestBuy will let you order and schedule the delivery/installation of appliances well in advance. I would love the peace of mind of finding a good deal, locking it down, and having it arrive on move-in day!
• Secure internet installation. This process can take longer than expected! It’s better to be safe than sorry.
• Start purging/organizing one area a day. We have approximately 25 distinct areas to purge and organize (before we start packing them). I made a schedule to tackle one area a day (and gave ourselves a buffer in case we don’t get to an area one day).

• Order supplies. I went ahead and ordered packing tape and colored labels.

Moving Checklist: T-Minus 2 Weeks

• Notify the post office of change of address
• Call the City of Austin about our utilities

Moving Checklist: T-Minus 1 Week

• Start packing!

As dorky as it sounds, I’m excited to purge, organize, and pack up our entire lives. We’ve lived here for 7 years. No matter how much I try to continuously purge and organize, it feels inevitable that stuff just accumulates over the years. I’m excited for a fresh start!