Things To Do Before Moving: The Complete Checklist
Whether you’re relocating for work, moving into your first house, or just moving across town, the process comes with a long list of small tasks that are easy to forget in the middle of packing boxes. Below is a complete checklist of things to do before moving, organized into a simple timeline that covers everything from the first stages of planning through move-in day, plus a printable packing checklist to keep everything on track.
Moving Checklist: What You’ll Find Below
- Before you start packing
- If you’re selling your home before moving
- Things to do weeks before moving
- Things to do days before moving
- Moving day checklist
- Free moving packing checklist
- Frequently asked questions
Before You Start Packing
1. Create a Moving Timeline
Before packing a single box, build a timeline that includes your closing date, moving company, utility transfers, address changes, and any other deadlines. Working backward from your move date helps prevent the last-minute scramble that makes moving day feel chaotic.
2. Book Your Movers or Moving Truck Early
Popular moving dates fill up fast, especially weekends and summer months. Reserve movers, a rental truck, a storage unit, or a moving container as soon as you have an approximate move date. If you’re still comparing options, see our guide to choosing a moving company.
3. Measure Your New Home
Before moving day, measure doorways, hallways, staircases, and rooms in your new home. It prevents the frustration of discovering your sofa or bedroom furniture won’t fit, and gives you time to plan a workaround if it doesn’t.
If You’re Selling Your Home Before Moving
If your move is tied to selling your current home, a few extra steps are worth handling early:
- Complete any repairs before listing rather than during the sale process
- Declutter before listing photos are taken, not afterward
- Remove personal items so buyers can picture themselves in the space
- Keep receipts for any improvements made before the sale
- Schedule movers only after your closing date is confirmed
- Keep closing paperwork separate from the rest of your moving boxes
For more on this stage, see our guides on preparing your home for sale, renovations worth making before you sell, and fixes that help a home sell faster.
Weeks Before Moving
4. Transfer Your Utilities
Two to three weeks before your moving day, contact your utility providers to schedule service at your new home and disconnect service at your old one. Utility companies need advance notice to schedule an installation appointment, and if you’re moving during a busy season for real estate, book even earlier since demand will be higher. This is also a good time to compare electricity rates(opens in new tab) in your new area rather than automatically sticking with the default provider.
5. Connect TV and Internet Service
You don’t want to be without internet or TV for weeks after you move, especially if you work from home. Take the opportunity to compare providers online before you move, since you may find better pricing or service than what you currently have. Aim to schedule internet and TV service two to three weeks before your move, just like your utilities.
6. Update Your Address
Your bank, credit card providers, and insurance companies all need your new address, along with your driver’s license, which may be updatable online depending on your state. For the full list of who to notify, including the post office, employers, and subscriptions, see our complete change of address checklist.
7. Make Repairs
If your home inspection turned up minor issues that aren’t the seller’s responsibility, or you already know something needs fixing, get it handled before you move in. Repairs that require moving furniture out of a room are easy to keep putting off once you’re living there, so tackle them while the space is still empty.
8. Paint Before You Move In
If you’re planning to repaint or add an accent wall, do it before your furniture arrives. It saves you from moving everything twice and spares you the paint smell and hassle of having a contractor in your home once you’re settled.
9. Install New Carpet
New carpet off-gasses chemicals used in manufacturing after installation, so it’s best installed before you’re living in the space. It also saves you from moving furniture out of the room a second time.
10. Get Organized
Organization is the single most useful skill for a smooth move, both packing up and unpacking. Start small, closets are a good first stop, using bins to sort clothing by season or use. Once that’s done, work through the kitchen, bathroom, and garage the same way.
11. Start Decluttering
Moving is the natural time to get rid of things you don’t use or need. For a full room by room approach, including what to donate and where, see our guide to decluttering before and after a move.
12. Gather Packing Supplies
Boxes are harder to track down than most people expect, so start early. Liquor and grocery stores often give away boxes for free, or see our full list of places to find free and cheap moving boxes. Save newspapers in the weeks before your move to wrap breakables, and pick up tape, thick permanent markers, and blank labels while you’re at it.
13. Transfer Medical Records and Prescriptions
Request copies of medical records for everyone in the household and confirm how to transfer or refill prescriptions at a pharmacy near your new home. This is especially worth doing early for families with children or anyone relocating to a new area for retirement.
14. Prepare Pets for Moving Day
Update your pet’s microchip information, gather vet records, and pack enough medication to cover the transition. On moving day itself, set up a quiet, safe room away from the activity so pets don’t get stressed or slip out an open door.
Days Before Moving
15. Hire a Cleaning Crew
Even if the seller cleaned before closing, it likely wasn’t a deep clean. Hire a cleaning crew to get your new home spotless before you move your belongings in. If you’re keeping the existing carpet rather than replacing it, a professional hot water extraction cleaning, often called steam cleaning, is worth the cost.
16. Schedule HVAC Servicing
Have your air conditioning and heating system checked before you move in. Filters may need replacing, lines flushed, or coils cleaned. Your home inspection may have already flagged specific issues, but a technician’s second look before move-in can catch anything that was missed.
17. Replace Smoke Detector Batteries
Replace the batteries in every smoke detector and test each one. It’s a small task that’s easy to overlook once you’re surrounded by boxes, so knock it out before moving day.
18. Create a Homeowners Journal
Set up a binder with dividers to store manuals, permits, warranties, receipts, and service records for your new home, along with paint and fabric swatches and contractor contact information. Having everything in one place saves you from digging through emails and drawers later when you need a warranty or a paint match.
19. Pack Ahead of Time
Not everything can wait until the last few days. Holiday dishes, seasonal clothing, books, and decorative items can all be packed weeks in advance. The more you pack early, the less overwhelming the final days become.
20. Label Every Box
Label each box with its contents and, more importantly, which room it belongs in. This lets you unpack room by room instead of hunting through a pile of identical boxes when you’re exhausted and just want to find the dish towels.
21. Plan Your Grocery Shopping
As moving day approaches, scale back grocery shopping to match how many days you have left. Non-perishables travel fine, but refrigerated and frozen items often don’t survive the move. A cooler can help bridge the gap between kitchens.
Moving Day
22. Mind Box Weight
It’s easy to overpack a box in the middle of a packing spree. Check how easy each box is to lift as you go, both to protect your back and to keep items from getting crushed under too much weight.
23. Pack a Clear Essentials Bin
Keep everyday items like phone chargers, contact lens solution, and toilet paper in a clear bin so you can spot them immediately in a room full of boxes.
24. Pack an Overnight Bag
Every member of the household should have a bag with a change of clothes, basic toiletries, and anything else needed for the first night, packed separately from the rest of the move. You’ll likely be too tired to dig through boxes once you arrive.
25. Take Photos Before Leaving Your Old Home
Photograph each room after everything is removed. It documents the home’s condition and helps confirm nothing was accidentally left behind.
26. Keep Important Items With You
Some things should never go on the moving truck: passports, jewelry, medications, financial documents, and closing paperwork. Keep these with you personally throughout the move.
27. Do a Final Walkthrough
Before you leave, check closets, the attic, the garage, cabinets, appliances, and outdoor areas one more time. It’s the last chance to catch anything left behind.
28. Record Utility Meter Readings
Take photos of the electric meter and, if accessible, the water meter, at both your old and new home. It gives you a clear record in case of a billing dispute.
Free Packing Checklist
- Packing Supplies: Boxes, Tape, Bubble Wrap, Packing Paper, Markers
- Essential Documents: ID, Passports, Medical Records, Financial Documents
- Clothing and Toiletries for the Move and a Few Days After
- Furniture and Appliances: Disassembled, Labeled, Hardware Bagged
- Electronics: Packed in Original Boxes When Possible
- Kitchen Items: Breakables Wrapped, Perishables Donated or Used Up
- Utilities and Services: Disconnected at Old Home, Scheduled at New
- Change of Address: Post Office, Banks, Insurance, Subscriptions
- Cleaning Supplies for Both Homes
- Personal Valuables Kept Separate from the General Move
Moving After Buying or Selling?
Moving is often the final step after buying or selling a home. If you’re relocating to Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, or the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, our team can help you navigate the process from start to finish, from figuring out your home buying checklist to connecting with an agent who knows the area.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I prepare for a last minute move?
Start with a plan. Decide whether you’re moving yourself or hiring a company, then call in friends and family to help with packing if you’re not hiring movers to do it for you.
What are the best tips for moving?
Stay organized and work from a checklist. It’s the single biggest factor in keeping a move from feeling chaotic.
What should I do 5 days before moving?
Confirm your change of address is submitted, make sure utilities are scheduled to connect at your new home and disconnect at your old one, and start packing your essentials bin and overnight bag.
How far in advance should I start packing?
Start packing non-essential items, like seasonal clothing, books, and decor, about 4 to 6 weeks before your move. Save daily essentials for the final few days.
What should I pack first when moving?
Start with items you use least, seasonal decorations, off-season clothing, books, and guest room items are all safe to pack weeks ahead of your move.
What should I do one month before moving?
Book your movers or truck, start collecting packing supplies, begin decluttering room by room, and create the moving timeline that everything else will follow.
What should I not pack in a moving box?
Keep passports, jewelry, medications, financial documents, and closing paperwork with you personally rather than on the moving truck. Perishable food and hazardous materials like propane tanks or cleaning chemicals shouldn’t go on the truck either.
What should I keep with me on moving day?
An overnight bag with a change of clothes and toiletries, your essentials bin, and any valuables or important documents you wouldn’t want out of your sight.
How early should I schedule movers?
Book movers or a rental truck as soon as you have an approximate move date, ideally 4 to 8 weeks out. Popular dates, especially weekends and summer months, fill up quickly.
What should I do after moving into a new house?
Change the locks, locate the main water shutoff valve, test the smoke detectors, update your emergency contacts, unpack your essentials first, and inspect the home for any maintenance issues that need immediate attention.
Final Thoughts
Moving can be frightening and frustrating even when you’re organized, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed somewhere in the process. Working through this timeline in order, before you start packing, weeks before, days before, and moving day itself, breaks the whole project down into manageable pieces instead of one overwhelming list. If you want more personalized advice, a local real estate agent can usually answer questions specific to your move and situation.
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Everything to do before moving, from weeks out through moving day, organized into one simple timeline and checklist. #moving #homebuying #homeselling #realestateAbout the Author
Wellington Realtor Michelle Gibson wrote this guide to help her clients move without the last minute scramble.
Michelle has been specializing in residential real estate since 2001 throughout Wellington Florida and the surrounding area. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or rent she will guide you through the entire real estate transaction. If you’re ready to put Michelle’s knowledge and expertise to work for you, call or e-mail her today.
Areas of service include Wellington, Lake Worth, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Greenacres, and more.
