Moving sucks. Even if you’re moving into your dream home and you’re the most organized person in the world, it still sucks.
It’s no secret that moving is considered one of the top stressors in a person’s life. It can quickly become utterly overwhelming. No matter how much you prep or how many lists you make, you still feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done or that you’re going to forget something. It feels like you’ve hit the pause button on your life. Only half of your stuff is packed because you still need fresh undies and forks. It makes no sense to pack it all up to just open up boxes because you need something.
The stress of moving starts way before you start packing up the moving truck. Deciding to move and looking for a new home is just the beginning of the moving process. You need to change your address with the bank and all your utility accounts, you have to get bids on movers and the list only grows longer every single day.
You can start knocking out some of the items on that ever-growing to-do list. Here are some of the often-overlooked items you can take care of a month before moving.
Change Your Address
As soon as you know your new address, start changing your address. You can change your address via the USPS website. They state that it takes 7-10 days to process your change of address request but if you live in a large city, I highly recommend doing this as soon as you know your new address. It takes longer in larger cities. It costs $1.10 to process your change of address request. Be aware that there are several fake websites that will try to charge you $40+ for the request. Make sure you only use the USPS website found here.
You can find our Change of Address Checklist at the bottom of this post.
If you’re in property management, share it with your residents as soon as they give you their notice to vacate.
Purge. Purge. Purge.
Moving is the perfect time to get rid of anything and everything you don’t need. Get rid of all the clothes you haven’t worn in years, the dozens of condiment packets you’ve accumulated, the DVDs that you’ve kept for some reason.
There are several places you can donate to. Thrift store will take your big items, as long as they’re in decent condition.
Search Facebook for a Buy Nothing Group. Add the name of your town and “Buy Nothing” to find your local group (for example, search “Denver Buy Nothing Group”). People post things they’re looking for or things that they’re getting rid of. It’s fairly organized so you don’t have to worry about a thousand people showing up. You can either select a person as the recipient of your items or leave it out front for whoever wants it. In my local group, someone asked for avocados. I had two to spare that I knew I wasn’t going to eat before they went bad. She picked them up and then messaged me asking me if I wanted homemade sushi. It was absolutely delicious (PS: I don’t expect you to take food from strangers but I went to her FB profile and we actually had three mutuals so I wasn’t worried that she was trying to poison me)
Stop Buying Groceries
Stop buying anything that isn’t an absolute necessity or buy smaller portions. Buy two potatoes instead of a five-pound bag. Search for recipes for the items currently in your fridge and pantry. The less you have in the pantry, the less you have to move and canned items can get really heavy. If you’re moving out of state or somewhere that is a long drive, give your perishable items to your neighbors. I’m sure they’ll love getting free ice cream. Or invite friends or family over to raid your fridge or enjoy some snacks with you.
Load Up on Boxes
Save all your Amazon boxes and ask neighbors to do the same. You’ll want boxes of various sizes because you don’t want to use big boxes with heavy or fragile items. They’ll become way too heavy to easily move. No box is too small. Smaller boxes are great for nuts and bolts, toiletries, office supplies and all those random things in your junk drawer.
When I managed a property, residents would stop by the office and ask if we would save our boxes since we got so many supply orders. We would flatten them and leave them in front of their door.
Pro Tip: Use a box cutter to cut handle holes in your boxes to carry them easily.
If you would like a more in-depth moving checklist, let me know in the comments.
Download the Change of Address Checklist
Use this checklist to keep track of all the places you need to update with your new address.
