We all know how stressful moving house can be – and when you are renting you also have the added worries of how the previous tenants have left your new accommodation. Hopefully, you will have a relatively stress-free move, but there are some things you need to remember when it comes to changing addresses.
The moving home checklist can be broken down into three areas – before the move, the moving day itself, and the post-move essentials. If you have swapped your apartment in downtown Atlanta, Georgia for a place in the charming Charlotte area – or anywhere else for that matter – you need to be organized.
Ticking off a moving checklist might seem like something extra to stress about at this time. But having a plan leading up to the moving day – and beyond – can help make everything so much simpler. It also lets you enjoy your new surroundings once you have moved in, without experiencing that nagging feeling that you have forgotten something really important.
Preparing for the Move
The thing to remember at this point is that you have done the really difficult part. You have found a great new home and the long weekends spent searching and viewing properties are now over. There is still a lot to be done – but you don’t have to worry about feeling that you are never going to find a nice rental.
This is when you should be planning on just how you are going to move all of your belongings to the new place. First, book a few days off work around the move date if you can. Giving yourself some room to maneuver at this point can be the difference between a seamless move and a real headache. You should also order all the packing materials you are likely to need for the move, so you are not running around the stores on the day itself.
You could even start packing up non-essentials a few weeks before to give yourself a head start. But even if you plan to have everything sorted by the time you move in, this is when you should be completing the moving admin. This means arranging for your mail to be redelivered and applying for any parking permits that may be needed. It is also a good idea to start eating out of the freezer in the days ahead of your move, so you do not have to either throw away a load of food – or somehow transport it to the new place.
Moving Day
We are just going to rewind slightly here and go to the night before the big move. Pack an overnight bag with your most essential of essentials for the next day or two, so you won’t have to trawl through your boxes in your new place if you don’t feel like it. Also pack some food and drink and leave it at the top of a box, so you can easily get to some much-needed supplies when you finally get to the new home.
You will have already packed completely, of course, so there is no panicked, last minute rush to box up your belongings. But do take one last look around the old place before you shut that door for good. You can spend some sentimental moments remembering all the good times if you like, but this is really just to make sure that you haven’t forgotten to empty a wardrobe or left any damages that a landlord will not take kindly to.
Finally, leave a note with your forwarding details for the next tenants coming in. That way you won’t have to make the trip back to collect anything sent from businesses or family who forget that you have moved house. If you would rather not give your new address to strangers, you can always leave the contact details of the letting agents if you prefer.
Post-Move Checklist
You are finally in your new home and ready to make it your own. We would recommend unpacking as soon as possible, rather than living out of boxes and suitcases for the first few weeks. You don’t have to get everything set in the new place exactly how you want it – but getting everything in front of you will inspire you to sort out your new look.
Hopefully, the new place will be clean enough for you to move in, but you may want to give everything a deep clean to make sure that you are comfortable living there. You won’t necessarily want to be moving again for a while, so you don’t want to have to deal with being homesick for your old place or regretting the relocation straight away.
If you are renting your new home you will want to check in with the landlord, especially if there are ay repairs needed. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of the person who owns your property straight away, but if you can tactfully inform them of any small improvements that can be done, then it will stay in their mind that you notice these types of things.
Hopefully, you will be completely happy with your new surroundings and have everything unpacked quickly. Because then you will be able to explore your new home and neighborhood. You can finally check out the bars and restaurants that caught your eye when you were originally searching for a new place. Introduce yourself to the neighbors and find out about local amenities and cultural hotspots, so that you can really immerse yourself in the new locale.
It is unlikely that any move will go completely without some kind of hitch, or without a problem that needs resolving. But if you can put together a checklist, you should be able to move into your new home without too much stress. Then you can get ready to enjoy the next exciting chapter of your life.
