You’ve decluttered, you’ve packed, and now it’s moving day! Here are three things to keep in mind to make the day go smoothly.
1: Priorities
The top two things you want on the day of your move are: something to eat, and somewhere to sleep by the end of the day.
Something to eat: Make a food plan for the day of. Do you want to cook the first night in your new kitchen? Do you want to order pizza and relax at the end of the day? There’s no wrong answer, just make sure that you know what your plan is before the day comes, so you’re not scrambling to figure out what’s for dinner.
Somewhere to sleep: Plan in advance to get your bed set up and made by the end of the day. Moving is stressful, and a good night’s rest at the end of your move day is a great gift you can give yourself.
2: Last-minute packing
On the day of your move, you’ll still have a few things you need to pack, like:
-Toothbrushes
-Medications
-Phone chargers
Make sure you take the time to put them all where they need to go, so you can get to them easily. The last things you’ll take with you are probably the first things you’ll need when you get there, so make sure they’re close by.
3: The walkthrough
There’s nothing more annoying than getting to your new place and realizing you left your microwave behind! Make sure you do a final walkthrough with your movers before you head out, to make sure nothing is left behind.
This is a moment to slow down and take a breath before you get on the road. Check each room, opening all cabinet doors. You may want to make a checklist, so you can cross off each room as you go.
When you’re done, grab everything you found on your walkthrough and hit the road—and don’t forget your keys!
Love the final walk through suggestion. I found things after my in-laws had left their house. So glad I do a final check for them.
You bet! It’s better to take the time to do that walkthrough then have to go back later!
Loving that tip about opening each cabinet. Also remember to look on the backs of doors. Nothing like forgetting your favorite robe in the bathroom or items in an over-the-door rack on the door to the basement!
Great point, Seana! Thanks so much : )
Great stuff! We always seem to forget to take care of ourselves on a moving day. I love that you mentioned revisiting the house after the movers are finished loading. We are so focused on the task at hand; we may overlook other things. Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome Sabrina!
Such smart advice for that moving day rush. I encourage people to have someone else do the walk through with them; you can get so used to seeing something that you look right past it. Find a persnickety friend (like me!), the kind of person who will open every drawer and look behind every door. (There’s always something hanging on a hook behind some bathroom door!)
One more thing to add to the list — a shower curtain. You want something to eat, someplace to sleep, and either that night or the next morning, you want someplace to shower, and if there’s no shower door, you’ll need a shower curtain. (In college, we moved my boyfriend to his summer internship and managed to get everything set up, but the next morning, the bathroom basically flooded because the shower spray went everywhere. Yikes!
Haha, a persnickety friend comes in handy often! The shower curtain is also a great point, moving can be sweaty and tiring work and it would be a pain to have to run to the store for a shower curtain before getting clean. Thanks, Julie!
Great tips here. The final walk through is so important! I just moved and almost left a wardrobe and a box in a closet because the closet was hidden behind an open door. So, when we looked in the room it looked empty of contents. It was only when we opened the closet door that we discovered the wardrobe and box. I would have been so sad if that wardrobe had been left behind. I also love the idea of the meal plan for the day. I never want to cook on moving day!
Thanks, Diane : )
Opening cabinets is key! And having a checklist of places to look is a great idea too. It seems like a closed door would signify a finished area, but it might be better to leave everything open as it’s finished on the day of your move. That way you can see at a glance that you’ve got everything.
I love the two musts- something to eat and somewhere to sleep. We can get so caught up in the list of things to pack that we forget about the self-care piece. And food and sleep can go a LONG way in mitigating the stress of moving. The final walk through idea is great. I do that when I’m traveling too- I do one last walk through before leaving my house (are the lights and computers off, blinds closed, doors locked etc….) and also do it before leaving the vacation spot (did I take all things out of closets, drawers, bathrooms, etc…) It avoids leaving things behind and alleviates stress.
You got it, Linda! I’m glad the final walkthrough tip is resonating with everybody.
I try to pack one box that has the bedding so they can sleep after a hard day of moving and towels for a shower. If they don’t get all the boxes unpacked those items are all together to make it easy to get a good night’s sleep and attach more boxes the next day.
Great tip, Julie!
When we left Edmonton, I decided to check the top of a hall shelf. On it, I had left my Hermes scarf! A wedding present from my husband. I would have been devasted to have lost that beautiful scarf. Now with every house I leave I always check the top of the shelves.
Absolutely, Margarita!