Homebuyers: Countdown to Moving Day

Week Four

• Contact a moving company - If you need help moving, go ahead and line up their services. Particularly in the summer months, they can have a busy schedule and be more difficult to book.
• Give notice to your landlord - Give written notice about your move to your landlord if you're renting.
• Purge unnecessary items - Take the time to donate, give away, or discard items you won't need after your move.
• Pack non-essentials - Pack things that you don't use very often so they'll be easily accessible at your new home.
• Notify your child's school - Let your child's school know where you'll be moving and get a copy of his or her transcript to help make enrolling in a new school easier.

Week Three

• Set termination dates for services - Notify service providers - such as utility companies and cable or satellite TV providers - about the date of your move and when you'll need to terminate your service.
• File a change of address form - File a change of address form at the post office so your mail is forwarded to your new address.
• Notify friends, family, and contacts about your new address - Let your friends, family, doctors, and other contacts know your new address and when it will be effective.
• Open a new bank account - If you've moving to a new area, open a bank account in your new location.
• Continue to pack - Pack more of your items, taking care to properly label boxes.

Week Two

• Start packing a box of necessities - Keep an open box in which you can pack necessities such as health and beauty items and prescriptions. Label these on moving day and make sure they'll be unpacked first so you'll have easy access to them.
• Confirm moving and delivery dates - Check with your movers to ensure your moving and delivery dates are correctly scheduled.
• Confirm your closing date - Verify with your real estate agent that closing on your home is still on track and ask any last-minute questions you may have.

Week One

• Clean your current residence thoroughly - Clean your current residence thoroughly as you finish packing.
• Unplug your appliances - Unplug any appliances that are staying in your current home or apartment, such as the refrigerator and oven.
• Move large items - Start moving large items like your couch and bed.

On Moving Day

• Take your final walk-through - Check everything in your home and apartment, taking pictures to document its condition as you leave. Make sure you've cleaned out all closets and cabinets.
• Work with the movers or your friends and family - Work with people who are helping move your household items at your current and future destinations to make sure items are moved correctly and are placed in the right place at your new home.
• Return keys and passes - Return any keys, pool passes, or other items from your former residence to your landlord.