7 Things You Should Do Before You Move
When you’re getting ready for a big move across town, you start by hiring the best local Orange County Movers. But even the best moving company around can’t take care of every single detail of your move for you. In fact, you’ll have quite a bit to do in the days before your move.
Need some direction? Here are seven things you should do in the week before your move.
1. Confirm dates and times.
When you get the bill of lading from your Orange County movers, it should include a set date and time for the moving company to come and pack your things (if applicable) and move them to your new home. But it doesn’t hurt to confirm with the company that this is the plan, as mistakes certainly happen to the best of us.
Also, be sure that your new home or apartment is ready with a quick confirmation call to the landlord or realtor.
2. Switch utilities and move your internet, cable, and other services.
Switching utilities these days can be very simple, especially if the utilities will be continuous. If they’ve been shut off between the last homeowner or tenant and yourself, things may be a bit more complicated. But for the most part, you can just tell the utilities companies when to put things in your name, and they’ll be good to go on that day. While you’re at it, remember to have the utilities at your current home taken back out of your name.
Switching over your cable, internet, and telephone services can take more time, as this usually requires a visit from a technician. So about a week before your move, call to schedule these visits. If you can schedule them the day after your move, you won’t have to wait much time at all before you’re connected again.
3. Set aside a “survival box.”
It’s easy for movers to inadvertently pack up items that you use on a daily basis – like your coffee maker, towels, or personal care items. So the day before the movers come to pack up your home, set aside some things that you’ll need right after you move.
Worst case scenario, your move gets delayed and you’re without your essential items for a day or more. This isn’t likely to happen if you’ve hired the best Orange County movers. But even digging through boxes to find the coffee maker the morning after a move can be frustrating. So set aside things you think you’ll need – including medications and important paperwork – before packing begins.
4. Ask about disassembling furniture.
Many pieces of furniture – particularly bed frames and some tables – are safer and easier to move when they’re disassembled. Typically, these pieces come apart easily with a few basic tools. Your moving company may do this for you, but ask before you assume. If you do need to take apart these furniture pieces, go ahead and do it before packing. And set aside the tools you’ve used to disassemble the furniture, so they’re easy to find when you have to put it back together again.
5. Communicate with the packers.
How much you need to supervise the packing process will vary from one company to another. The best local Orange County movers will hire only experienced packers, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of your household goods. But, still, it’s a good idea to give the packers an idea of how to label the boxes, so that they wind up in the right rooms in your new home.
What if someone else will be there during packing? Consider putting sticky notes on certain items that should be earmarked for particular rooms in the new house. This can help make the unpacking process easier, if everything is in the right place when you begin to unpack.
6. Get creative with your meals.
Moving perishable goods is frustrating, to say the least. You can avoid moving most of what’s in your fridge if you just use it before you move. So don’t go grocery shopping this week. Instead, get creative with the ingredients you’ve got on hand. By the end of the week, you may have discovered a new favorite recipe. But at the very least, you’ll have less food to move.
The night before you move, take the time to clean out and wipe down the fridge, and defrost the freezer if necessary. Whether you’re taking the fridge with you or leaving it for the next person, it’s best to start with a clean slate.
7. Switch your prescriptions to a new pharmacy.
If you have monthly recurring prescriptions, switch them to a pharmacy closer to your new home. Of course, this doesn’t apply if you’re not moving all that far. But this is an easy step to forget.
Moving prescriptions is typically quite easy. Just call the pharmacy, and they can transfer your standing prescription to a new pharmacy – or a new branch of their national chain – across town.
The best Orange County movers will make moving easier for you, but they can’t take everything off your to-do list. You’ll need to tackle these seven things – and maybe a few more to-dos specific to your situation – in the week before you move.