The moving checklist, in full

Six to four weeks out: decide the shape of the move

Everything later in the timeline gets easier if the big decisions land here. This is also the window where dates are still available, particularly at the end of a month.

• Book the movers. Get the quote first, in person if the move is two bedrooms or more, so the date you book is attached to a real price.
• Do a hard declutter pass, room by room, with three piles: keep, sell or donate, and gone. Volume is the biggest driver of what a move costs.
• Line up whatever handles the third pile: a donation run, junk removal, or a dumpster in the driveway.
• Tell your landlord, or check your building's move-out rules and reserve the elevator if there is one.
• Ask your new building what it needs from a mover, especially whether it wants a certificate of insurance.
• Start using up the freezer, the pantry and the cleaning cupboard. None of it should be there in four weeks.
• If school records, medical records or a vet transfer are part of this, request them now. They take longer than you think.

Three to two weeks out: paperwork week

Nothing here is heavy, and all of it is the sort of thing that becomes a problem only if it is left until the last week.

• File a change of address with USPS, then work through the bank, insurance, employer, doctor, DMV and every subscription that ships you something.
• Transfer or schedule utilities: electric, gas, water, internet. Overlap them by a day at both ends rather than cutting them off on the morning of the move.
• Confirm parking and building access for the truck at both addresses, and ask about loading dock hours if either place has one.
• Start packing the rooms you do not use daily: guest room, garage, attic, the good china.
• Service, drain or arrange anything mechanical that is coming with you, like a lawnmower or a snowblower.
• Set aside everything that cannot go on a truck and plan the drop-off for it.
• Book time off work for the move itself and the day after. The day after is the one people forget.

The last week: pack the house down

• Pack everything except what you genuinely use in the next few days.
• Defrost the freezer and clean out the fridge with at least a day to spare.
• Confirm your arrival window with the office and give them a phone number that will actually be answered on the day.
• Assemble the bag that stays with you: documents, keys, medication, chargers, valuables, a change of clothes.
• Pack a first-night box for each bedroom: sheets, a towel, toiletries, phone charger.
• Take photographs of the old place once rooms are empty, especially anything already damaged. Do the same at the new place before anything is carried in.
• Return anything borrowed and collect anything lent out. Library books, a neighbour's ladder, dry cleaning.
• Arrange for kids and pets to be elsewhere on the day.

The day before: the short list

• Strip the beds and bag the bedding by bed.
• Charge everything: phones, power banks, the drill you will want for reassembly.
• Get cash if you may want it, and confirm how you are paying.
• Clear the driveway and, if the street is tight, ask a neighbour to leave space in front.
• Walk the route the crew will walk, from the farthest room to the front door, and move anything in it now.
• Put out the last-morning kit: coffee, mugs, snacks, water, paper towels, a roll of tape.
• Sleep. Move day starts early and standing up all day is harder than it sounds.

Move day: the parts only you can do

• Be there when the crew arrives and walk the house with the lead. Point out what is fragile, what is not going, and anything already damaged.
• Take doormats and runners up so the crew can lay their own floor protection.
• Keep your bag of documents and valuables with you, not in a room the crew is clearing.
• Stay reachable and stay out of the carry path. Answer questions, do not lift.
• Do a final sweep before the truck leaves: every closet, every cabinet, the dishwasher, the washer and dryer, the attic hatch, the shed, behind every door.
• At the new place, stand where you can see the door and call the rooms as boxes come in.
• Check the truck is empty before it leaves, and walk the new house with the lead before you sign anything.

The first week in the new place

• Unpack the kitchen and one bathroom first. Everything else can wait and will feel less urgent once those two work.
• Find the water shutoff, the breaker panel and the furnace filter, and check the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
• Change the locks or have them rekeyed.
• Register the address with anything you missed, and update your driver's licence and voter registration.
• Break down empty boxes as you go rather than stacking them full of air in the garage.
• If something arrived damaged, raise it while it is fresh. There is a page on this site explaining exactly how.
• Introduce yourself to a neighbour. It is the only item on this list you will still be glad about in a year.