Moving season is officially upon us! Every summer, many people decide to, or have to, make a change in their living arrangements. Maybe you’re downsizing a parent or loved one, or perhaps you bought your first home. Whatever the reason for the move, many people tend to move in the summer because school is out of session and the weather is nice. Before packing up that U-Haul, we know you have a lot on your plate. At Security Public Storage, we gathered moving tips that we’ve found useful in the past. We hope our moving checklist comes in handy for you during your upcoming move.

SPS Moving Checklist

Many moving checklists are broken out by weeks. For example, you’ll see many lists that start 8 weeks out, breaking it down week by week. We’re not going to do that here. For some people, the luxury of time between moves doesn’t exist. Sometimes, you only have a couple weeks notice before moving, which is why we wanted to keep this broader and more accessible to everyone.

Plan and Strategize for Peace of Mind

unpackingMoving day is on the horizon, which means creating a strategy will make the process much easier.

  • Choose your moving day and set milestones that need to be reached before the day arrives. For example, when do you need to rent a moving truck in order to guarantee a reservation on your preferred date?
  • Create a budget, listing out all of the foreseeable costs, and including extra cash for those you didn’t see coming. Will you be moving more than 100 miles? Have you included small items like packing tape into your budget?
  • Decide whether or not to hire a moving company. Depending on your budget, it may be possible to hire a moving company for a partial move. For example, if you’re moving closer to family and friends, you could hire a moving company to load a U-Haul that you’ll drive to the new location. Once you arrive, you and your helpers can unpack and save money on the cost of full-service movers.
  • Create an inventory of your belongings. This detailed list will help you ensure that everything makes it from your current residence to your new home.
  • As moving day approaches, you’ll want to plan how you’ll pack your belongings, decide if you need to rent a storage unit, etc. Ahead of moving day, it’s important to be on the same page as movers, your friends and family helping, and the moving company.

Donate and Declutter Unwanted Items

Before you start packing for your move, it’s important to declutter and donate items you no longer use. Packing and moving items you don’t need or use takes up valuable space, which makes this an essential step in the process.

  • Have every member of your household go through their own items individually and then collectively in the shared spaces to decide what to keep and what to purge.
  • Items still in good shape can be donated to local nonprofits and shelters.
  • Non-perishable food items can be taken to local food banks.
  • Donations are tax deductible. If you plan to itemize your deductions, be sure you get receipts from those organizations.
  • Host a garage sale to try to sell some of the items you no longer need. Items that don’t sell can be donated.

Start Packing  Sooner Than Later

packing boxesAs the moving day approaches, it’s time to start packing. We always recommend packing items you won’t need prior to the move first. You can start packing these items as soon as you’d like. Depending on how big your home is and how much stuff you have, you may want to start packing sooner rather than later.

  • Collect and label moving boxes. Whether you use cardboard boxes or plastic storage containers, labeling each vessel is important when packing for a move.
  • Buy moving supplies. All SPS storage locations have packing and moving supplies for sale in their offices, which makes the process much easier.
  • Pack a “Day One Kit” to ensure you have what you need upon arrival at your new place. This should have a change of clothes, toiletries, sheets, and toys for families with young children or pets.
  • Clean as you pack in order to save time before turning in your keys. If you’re renting, this will also be helpful in getting your security deposit back.
  • Separate valuables and important documents, like your passport, and keep them with you during the move.
  • Use linens, towels and soft items to wrap breakable items like glass, perfume bottles, and to cushion hard-to-wrap vases and lamps. Use dish towels to wrap knives and other sharp objects in the kitchen.
  • Pack your suitcases with heavy items. Most luggage includes wheels and handles for pulling them. Suitcases make these objects easier to transport (and may save you some unnecessary back pain).
  • Keep hardware from disassembled furniture in sealable, labeled bags. Taping the bag to the furniture it belongs to ensures you’ll be able to reassemble with ease.
  • In the bedroom, roll clothes instead of folding them to save space. Leave your clothing on hangers and either hang in a wardrobe box, or protect them with garbage bags with the hooks accessible through the bottom of the bag.

We could provide a mile-long list of packing tips, but the main takeaway when packing for your move is to optimize space. Pack smaller items in your pots and pans, use blankets and towels for cushioning and save money on packing peanuts and bubble wrap.

Change Your Address and Other Final Preparations

create an inventory when movingOne of the more tedious parts of moving is changing your address, updating and canceling utilities, transferring prescriptions — all of the essentials of living at a new address. Before moving day, you’ll want to do the following:

  • File a change of address with the United States Postal Service. This will ensure that your mail gets delivered to the correct address after your move.
  • Change your address for any subscriptions received by mail, including magazines and monthly memberships. Notify medical providers, banks, pharmacies, veterinarians, cell phone providers and others.
  • Call your current utility providers and tell them you’re going to move and when. Next, set up utility services to begin at your new home on your move-in day. Utilities may include electric, cable/Internet, water, trash collection and gas.
  • Do you have equipment like lawn mowers, chainsaws, and other items with small engines? Drain the gas from equipment with small motors. This helps prevent fuel from flooding the carburetor, which would result in a trip to the mechanic.
  • Have your vehicle serviced before moving day. You’ll want to get an oil change, have filters replaced and check the tires. This helps ensure you have a reliable vehicle on moving day.
  • Start deep cleaning your home, clean the pantry, donate unused non-perishable food to local food banks if you have too much.
  • Make any home improvements necessary.
  • Final preparations for your move include leaving your home as you’d like to find it on move-in day. The night before your move, empty and drain the refrigerator, if you’ll be bringing it with you.

Take On Moving Day With Ease

Moving DayAs moving day arrives, it’s important to be completely packed the night before — moving day is already stressful enough without having more to pack. If you planned ahead and followed a moving checklist, you’ll be ready to take on moving day with more ease than without all of your hard work.

  • Create a moving-day checklist. This will include obvious items like, “Fill the moving truck,” as well as reminders to do a final walkthrough to check for missing items, handing over keys to the landlord, etc.
  • If you hire movers, be available to greet them and give necessary information, such as pointing out fragile and heavy boxes.
  • Lift boxes correctly in order to avoid possible injury. Be sure to ask for help if an item is too heavy. You may want to rent a dolly to alleviate some of the weight on your body from moving.
  • After doing a final walkthrough to retrieve any additional items, take photos of your empty apartment or house, if you’re renting. Documenting the state you left your rental helps protect yourself if there are issues with getting your security deposit back.
  • Tip your movers. If you have the budget and are happy with the job the professional movers did, it’s common practice to give each mover a cash tip, especially for long-distance and more labor-intensive moves.

Packing and Moving Supplies Available at SPS

At SPS, we know moving can be stressful, which is why we want to help make the process as smooth as possible. SPS has storage facilities all over the West Coast and the Washington DC metro area to serve your self storage needs. All of our locations offer packing and moving supplies for sale including boxes for varying sizes, tape, bubble wrap, locks and more. Many of our facilities offer U-Haul rentals, which makes SPS your one-stop moving destination.

What have you learned from moving that you think would benefit others in the future? We’d love to hear from you on our social media post.

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