Moving to a new home or apartment can be an incredibly stressful process. Even when you have planned your move months in advance, as the day approaches, you can find many things that will pop up onto your to-do list for the day. You can spend a lot of time on the phone talking to utility companies, internet providers, and more during your move. Moving into a new home does not have to consume your days! By keeping organized and hiring the right professionals, moving can be done smoothly and unpacking can be made easy.

Start Your Move Early!

When you have an idea of your move date, make a to-do list with times included to avoid a last-minute rush. Make a list of everything you need to accomplish before your move day and on your move day. Below are a few tips that should go on your calendar as early as possible:

• For rentals, notify your landlord that you are moving as early as possible. Many landlords require 3090 days’ notice, and sometimes more, at the end of your lease if you do not intend to renew it.
• Packing is usually the most timeconsuming part of the moving process. Try to start packing items and clothing you will not need before your move. Add each room to your to-do list and estimate the amount of time it will take you to pack up.
• Contact your utility companies, insurance companies, internet, and cable providers to schedule your service switches. You do not want a nightmare on move day and realize your power is not on when you need it most!
• Visit the USPS website to fill out a change of address form.
• If you plan on hiring movers to help you move, contact different movers in your area and ask for a quote to help you decide which will be the best choice. Consider being flexible with your moving dates, as weekends may sound like a great idea to avoid taking time off work, but these days of the week are typically more expensive with moving companies.

Take the Opportunity to Declutter

Preparing for a move to a new home gives you the opportunity to go through all your possessions and get rid of excess items. Clutter tends to accumulate in closets, cupboards, and drawers, but when you are moving into a new home you do not need to take everything with you. We suggest creating three piles: one for donation, one you are going to keep, and one you are going to throw away. If you are moving from a big house with a yard to a condo or townhome, you may not need your landscaping equipment. Beginning the decluttering early gives you the opportunity to give away or even sell the excess items. The less things you have on your moving day, the easier it will be to unpack at your new place and the cheaper it will be to move. If you have things in your old home that you want to keep but may not have the room for in your new home, consider renting a self-storage unit before your move. Self-storage units are an affordable way to store items you may not need quick access to but would like to keep for the future.

Organize Organize Organize

Organizing yourself when packing will make your move go smoothly and help you tremendously when it comes to unpacking. The items you use every day should be left unpacked until the last possible moment before move day. Items like phones, tablets, laptops, expensive jewelry, medications, toiletries, and other necessities are things you want to keep easily accessible. The necessities you have left out should stay with you during move day, and not left with the movers.

• If you are moving with family members, consider having each family member pack a duffel bag or suitcase with a few changes of clothes and toiletries needed for the first couple days of your move.
• As you pack things into boxes, write what is going into each one on the outside of the boxes. Unpacking is time consuming, and you do not want to have to search through dozens of boxes to find what you are looking for.
• Label your boxes by room as you are packing. By labeling your boxes, movers will know which rooms to drop off the appropriate boxes.
• Avoid filling up boxes with only heavy items. While you may have hired movers and they are able to lift those heavy boxes, you may struggle to move them around when unpacking. Too much weight in one box can also cause the box to break and possibly damage your belongings.

Item & Furniture Disassembly Made Easy

Before you start disconnecting your Wi-Fi, gaming devices, or taking apart your furniture blindly, take a picture! For your furniture, check to see if there is a video on YouTube on how to assemble your specific pieces. If you cannot find a video, consider creating one of your own as you are disassembling your furniture. Having videos like this helps make the process much easier to reassemble once you have unpacked your new home.

Don’t Forget the Fridge!

Plan to eat up most of your food before the move date. You do not want to buy a bunch of produce just a few days before your move and have to waste it! Be sure to clear out your fridge of all food you do not plan to take to your new home at least one day before the move.

We hope our tips will help and take some stress out of your move! Enjoy your new home and consider a StorageOne self-storage facility near you for your big move. We have many self-storage facilities across Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Henderson. All our facilities feature individual door alarms, computerized gate access with wide hallways, freight elevators and moving carts available. Most of our locations also offer trunk and trailer rentals, carry a full line of moving and packing supplies, and even RV, boat, auto, and trailer parking.