Is your dream home is nearly finished and you need to plan the move into your new luxury custom home?
All the anticipation and excitement of building the perfect home for you and your family is at its peak. Everything is ready. Except the move.
There is no sugar coating it, planning and making the move into your beautiful new home is not nearly as exciting as visualizing all your furniture and belongings in their proper places.
We’ve seen a lot of moving days. Here’s our guide to making that move as smooth as possible, so you can quickly settle in and start living your dream.
Planning Your Move
Barring an unanticipated glitch, or a weather event that impacts getting to the site, your builder should have a very good idea about when your home will be ready. At that point, you should be getting your moving plan ready.
- Do a thorough assessment of the things you have stored over the years and weed out things you really don’t need to move. Donate items that don’t make the cut.
- Create or print a visual floor plan of your new home so you can plot where everything will go.
- This will help you make decisions in advance and keep your movers happy on moving day.
- You can coordinate this floorplan with the labeling and tagging of boxes and furniture, serving as a guide for your movers.
- Label all boxes with clear large letters. Color coded stickers by room are a good idea as well.
Tips for Hiring A Moving Company
Now is the time to interview and hire a moving company. Even if you don’t have a specific date, you can share your moving needs with them (including a glimpse of your moving floor plan document), to get and compare estimated.
- Get recommendations from your real estate agent if you have one, friends, or perhaps your builder.
- Interview at least three moving companies.
- Get references from the moving companies that you interview.
- Make sure they are licensed, and what kind of protection the company provides for damaged, lost or stolen items.
- Be sure to understand any liability limits the moving companies have on items such as jewelry, silver, etc.
- Find out if the movers offer optional liability insurance on top of their released value coverage.
- Buy / acquire your own boxes, bubble wrap and packing tape rather than purchase it from the moving company, unless you are going to have them do the packing for you.
Get Packing!
Don’t want until the day before moving day to get started packing. For a smoother, relatively stress-free move, get ahead of the game.
- Do a complete inventory and take photos of the items you will be moving. (You can use apps like MySuff2, Home Inventory if you like, but a pen or pencil and paper will do).
- Begin with items that are already stored in boxes in your home, such as those in the attic, garage or storage room.
- Once more, eliminate those items that made the cut the first time, but now you realize you really don’t need.
- Pack all you seasonal things that you only bring out on occasion.
- You can pack decorative items now too since you will be moving soon anyway (unless you are staging your existing home for sale).
- Label boxes by the room or closet in your floor plan where you have identified you want them to go.
- Next move on to family items like games, toys, books etc.
- Now, move onto the closets. Pack linens, sheets, towels, etc.
- Then pack garments, shoes etc. beyond what you will need until the move.
- Keep a few boxes for those items that you will need until moving day like a few pots and pans, plates, silverware and your coffee maker. This could also include medicines, chargers, and the like. You’ll need those “last minute boxes” for the items you are using up until the move.
- Reserve any street or parking access required for movers park their truck
Don’t Forget to Update Your Address
All too often, updating your address EVERYWHERE goes forgotten. To ensure that your mail, magazine subscriptions, Amazon deliveries, DMV, Voter Registration, credit card company and bank statements are all delivered to you new home address, do this a week ahead of your move.
Its also a good time to handle school registration and transcripts if you have children.
Double Check Your Insurance
With your settlement date fast approaching, make sure your insurance coverage is in place for closing day.
Moving Day!
Its here! Now all of your planning will pay off. But there are a few important moving day items.
- Get to the home ahead of the movers on moving day and lay heavy duty building paper in doorways and walkways. It’s a good idea to protect any stairway rails as well (Read our Damage Free Move post for ideas on protecting your home).
- Let the movers know about fragile Items. Show the movers any breakables and special items that need extra care.
- Do a final check before departing the old house. Check all closets, cabinets, and storage areas to be sure that you didn’t leave anything behind.
- Give the movers the floor plan you created so they know which boxes will go in what room in the new home.
- Check for any moving damage before the movers leave.
After the Move
Breathe! Your planning paid off. Give yourself time to settle in.
- Unpack as needed. Do it in stages. You don’t need everything unpacked on move in day.
- Get things like your TV, computer and coffee maker setup. Those creature comforts are going to come in handy tonight and tomorrow morning.
- Meet your new neighbors! Get out and introduce yourself. Join a nearby group of association. Invite family, old friends and new neighbors to a housewarming party when you are finished settling into your home.
Follow this guide to make you move as smooth and stress-free as possible. Take the time to enjoy your beautiful new home. You will likely move some things around to get it just right, but take pictures, share with friends and start living the dream!