The Moving Process

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

The_Universe and I will be moving into a new apartment in July. I'm quite excited, but at the same time, overwhelmed. I'm not sure where to start with everything that needs to be done, nor am I sure I have a grasp on the whole process.

Who do I need to inform? What advice can you give me to make the process as smooth as possible?

 

[Hijinks]

In my state, the united states post office has a moving kit that's free. It contains cards that you fill out to change your address at the post office, as well as moving tips, coupons for money off moving services, and numbers for local utility companies.

Make a list of your utility companies that you now use. Have the address of the new apartment handy. Call each company and arrange for the service to be transferred on the date of your move. I also prefer the budget system; you give the, for example, electric company, the new address and say something like "What's the average monthly budget payment for that address?" They'll tell you what it averages out to - depending on your location, some utilities may or may not be higher in the summer than in the winter, or vice versa. Paying the same amount each month in a budget payment sometimes is better than paying for actual usage.

Call the phone company and cable company as far ahead as possible, because in July you get lots of college students moving around and getting things hooked up, and so you may have to wait 2-3 weeks in the new place with no phone and/or cable. The sooner you arrange to have it hooked up on or around the date you'll be in the new place, the quicker you'll get it hooked up.

I've never moved with a moving van, just my own back and small cars, so I can't help you with that, but I *have* moved several times on my own, no one to help me, so I've had to learn this crap by myself.

Aside note: Can I just say that working in a GLASS office building with a broken air conditioner in JUNE sucks.

 

[WayneLigon]

• Find out your new address and phone number.
• Pass that along to everyone that sends you mail that you want to continue sending you mail. Do the bills first. Usually it should take just a few seconds on the phone with someone in billing. You can send in the change of address forms but I found it faster to just call everyone; that way you can make sure it's done. You need to do this anyway to arrange for stopping services at one place and turning them on at the new place, so kill two birds with one stone.
• Go to the Post Office and make sure they will be forwarding your old mail.
• Make sure your place of employment personnel office knows your new address and phone. Ditto your car insurance, bank, and health insurance.
• If the previous apartment will be vacant a couple days before you move in, look to having a rug service come in and deep clean the carpeting, leaving time for it to dry.
• Get as many boxes as you can. Buy them if you have to; most storage places sell boxes.
• Label the origin of each box, like 'Kitchen - Underneath sink' or 'Bedroom - The_Universe's Dresser'. That way you can easily match where things need to go.
• Make sure your friends know when you're moving and what time they are suppossed to be there, with trucks and hoagies and lemonade.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Look at your checkbook and make a list of everyone you have to send payments to. Make a list of them, categorizing them by things connected to the place you are leaving (gas company, electric, cable) and things connected to you and your husband (credit cards, cell phones, magazine subscriptions etc.). Cancel all those things attached to your current address, inform them of your new address (so they can send final payment bills) and check them off the list. As you get the next set of bills from things that will continue at the new place, fill out the address change information and check them off the list.

Inform the Post Office at least one week before you move. Start the forwarding process as soon as you can get into your new place so that you can be sure they aren't still leaving mail for you at the old address.

Inform the HR department at your workplace.

Write a letter with your new contact information that you can mail/e-mail to friends and family.

 

[drothgery]

My standard advice to people who ask about moving is to get rid of as much stuff as you can make yourself part with. By far my easiest move was my one-way trip out west, where I moved my clothes, a few boxes of books, my TV, my VCR, and my computer with me.

 

[Crothian]

Start getting as much as you can done now. Packing the day of the move is not a good idea, though I know many people who do it.

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Start getting as much as you can done now. Packing the day of the move is not a good idea, though I know many people who do it.

I'm already working on the packing thing. The husband and I have far, far too much stuff to pack even the week of. Gaming books, computers, regular books, exercise equipment, dishes, couches, tables, desks, and a big screen TV. AHHHH! It's two months away and I'm already terrified!

 

[der_kluge]

Throw as much crap away as possible. No sense in packing trash. When my wife and I moved from KC to Richmond, we threw away a total of like 22 bags of trash, and we gave away a lot of stuff, too. That was all stuff we didn't have to move 1300 miles. Giving stuff away gave us a big tax deduction, too.

Are you moving everything, or will you be putting stuff into storage? If so, I have some advice there that might help, otherwise, I won't bother...

 

[CalicoDave]

If you're moving local and having friends help make sure you are packed and ready to go when they show up. I know from experience that it's really annoying to show up at someone's place to help them move only to find out that they haven't packed yet!

Also, when you're unloading at the new place someone should direct traffic and not move stuff. In my experience, when people help move everyone wants to know "where does this go" and it's a lot easier if someone is at the door or in a common area to say where stuff should be put.

 

[Warrior Poet]

It can't be said enough: throw it out if you don't absolutely need it or it's not a deeply personally valuable keepsake. If you think you need it, evaluate again and decide if you REALLY need it. If not, buh-bye.

Pack one to three boxes a night. It's easy. By the time you get to the moving date, most everything is packed up, and it only took about 30 minutes a night. Nice!

If you are moving yourself with the help of friends, be nice to your friends, and feed them/supply them with beer/frosty cold beverages of their choice during and after the move. It's never easy to move, and helping you out is a true sign of their friendship.

If you are hiring movers, congratulations, you just made the job so much easier, and you may never want to do it any other way. You pay for it (and it can be expensive), but if they're good movers who work quickly (and are honest -- there are some horror stories out there), it's terrific.

The day of/day before the move, buy/set aside a few little things you wouldn't necessarily remember to take or move or even think about for a new place until you're already there and it's a hassle to go and get: toilet paper, shower curtain, a few extra 60- or 75-watt bulbs, a surface cleaner, some sponges, cat litter if you have felines, a small supply of pet food and some easily accessible water bowls (old, clean margarine tubs can work, etc.), paper towels, that sort of thing. It's a pain to arrive at your lovely new abode, move all the boxes in, and realize you don't have any toilet paper, or it's packed away and you can't remember in which box.

Warrior Poet