Checklist for moving without stress

Because moving is not just about moving your goods from one place to another, we have put together a list of things to do in preparation for your move to make your life easier on D-Day.

A few months before the move

• Do not renew your lease if you are a tenant. Make sure to notify your landlord within the deadlines. Choose your new home and the date of the move. Confirm the day with your employer if you have to take time off.
• Contact professional moving services to obtain quotes and possibly reserve a truck and a team. Plan the packaging of household appliances and other special items with the chosen moving company, as well as the insurance of your goods during transport.
• Plan for institutional changes (children’s school, daycare, bank, clinic, neighborhood association, etc.).
• Clean up! Already identify what you no longer need and sort out what you will give and what you will store. Take the opportunity to organize a garage sale (or visit it to find what you need for a low price).
• Make an inventory of the goods to be moved, taking care to identify the most useful (to be packed last) and the most fragile (to be packaged separately).
• Choose a simple color code (1 to 5 colors) that will help you organize the boxes in the weeks preceding the move (for example, one color per room in the new home, or “green” for the boxes to be unpacked first, “Yellow” for boxes containing things of secondary importance, “red” for boxes containing fragile things), in addition to writing in letters the mention “fragile” and / or the name of the parts.
• Also make an inventory of the material to get: boxes, labels, markers, felt-tip pens (and / or large colored stickers to facilitate the identification of boxes), protective covers, plastic bins, film with bubbles air (bubble wrap), padding, cleaning products, first aid kit, tools, measuring tape, tape, rope, garbage bags, paper towels. Do not hesitate to do business with the chosen moving company to find what you need.
• After having drawn up an inventory of the goods to be moved and the equipment to obtain, make an inventory of the friends likely to help you! Entrust professional movers on D-day, but be sure to ask your friends for help to take care of your children and / or pets the day before and the day of the move, as well as to help you clean and install your new home upon arrival. You can notify your move to them by sending moving address cards or other different ways.
• Notify your neighbors so that a place is available for the moving truck on D-Day (and ask them for help too, why not!).
• Plan to cancel your subscriptions (sports center (gym), library, parking, snow removal, gardening, etc.) as far in advance as possible.

A few weeks before the move

Report your change of address to all organizations contacting you by mail:

• The Revenue Agency.
• Your insurance company.
• Your banking institutions (loans, investments, debit and credit cards).
• Your suppliers of electricity, natural gas, telephone (cellular and / or residential), cable, Internet and maintenance services.
• Your medical providers (CLSC / private clinic, dentist, optometrist, massage therapist, veterinarian, etc.).
• Your suppliers of other professional services (lawyer, accountant, order and / or professional association, etc.).
• Your subscriptions (newspapers, magazines, delivery address of the e-commerce sites used).
• Armed with your list of equipment to get, try to go once to a hardware store and / or a home improvement center to avoid wasting time going back and forth due to oversights.
• Have the carpets and other covers you plan to bring to your new home cleaned so that you can install them directly.
• Two weeks before the move, start packing the least useful items on a daily basis (decoration, dishes reserved for special occasions, books, DVDs, CDs, items out of season, etc.) respecting the established color code.

A few days before the move

• Continue packing in order of priority according to the color code, making sure not to pack the most important items before the day before the move.
• Group the boxes by color code as close as possible to the entrance to facilitate moving.
• Identify the boxes on more than one side to avoid unpleasant surprises (identify fragile items 4 times rather than once!).
• Prepare the electronic devices and empty, unplug and clean the appliances according to the packaging provided with the moving company.
• Confirm the date and time of D-Day again with the moving company and the family members involved.
• Provide access to a parking space for the truck both in front of the old house and in front of the new one (ask the people who help you to carpool).

The day before the move

• Save important documents from computers on a USB key that you will put with other important physical documents (passports, personal identification documents, contracts, diplomas, prescriptions, etc.) in a bag that you will keep with you when traveling (not in the truck). If you have young children, add their favorite comforter and / or toy.
• Complete the packaging of high priority items. Ensure the professional packaging of the furniture and check its condition before packing it.
• Prepare two or three boxes to unpack first when you arrive in the new home and clearly identify them (household items, clothes for the first night, toiletries, some cutlery).
• Keep a small toolbox (to dismantle some doors and furniture shelves the day before and / or the day of the move), a small first aid kit, paper towels, toilet paper, soap and a few clean towels at hand from the hand.
• Gather gourds of cold water in a cooler and some easy-to-eat snacks on the go (like hiking).

D-day

• Get up early enough to be ready before the movers arrive.
• Tell the movers to store the boxes by color in the truck (you will have already arranged the boxes by color in the house).
• Whether you are a tenant or the owner of the old home, be sure to follow the procedure to give the keys to the new occupants.
• Place the boxes in the least used room of the new home, respecting the color code when unloading the truck.
• Make sure the parts of the new home are secure before you start unpacking your boxes.