60-Day Moving Checklist: How to Prepare for Moving Day
Ok, you are 60 days away from moving day. Before we get to the 60-day moving checklist, let’s recap what you may have already done. At this point, you should have determined where your next home will be. You have also compiled a list of moving companies to meet your relocation needs. Also, you should have reviewed your new employment contract with an attorney to ensure your work-related ducks are in a row. At the 60-day mark, things can start rolling. If you’re a list person, now is when your list-checking takes off. By now, you are far enough away from the move that you have many options. But you are close enough that you can start to finalize the details.
So, what can you do 60 days before your move? What are practical tasks to get done as the moving date creeps up? Below is a checklist of things to do 60 days away from the big move.
Plan your moving method and get at least three quotes
Are you hiring help, doing a DIY move, or a little bit of both? Now it is time to start interviewing moving companies. Make sure you ask moving companies specific questions to understand all moving details. After interviewing each company, you should receive a quote from each. Use the information from your interviews, the quotes, and your gut feeling about how the company has communicated to pick a moving company that will help you get to your new home.
Finalize housing options for your new home
If you are renting an apartment, sign a lease. If you are searching for temporary housing, sign a contract now. If you found a home to buy, put down an offer. Over the next month, you will need to provide your new address for moving-related tasks and services, so getting housing finalized can help the rest of your move come together more efficiently.
While it is nice to have these details sorted out 60 days before a move, sometimes we have to move sooner than we would like and finalize details in a shorter window. If you are trying to move on short notice, finding a temporary house is an option until you move and get a feel for your new city. You can then investigate each area and decide where to put your roots.
Give notice to the current landlord, if you rent
Notification dates may vary based on your rental, so check your lease to confirm notice requirements. We’ve lived in apartments where we were required to give 60 days’ notice. While a different place required 30 days’ notice. I also recommend providing notice in writing via email so it’s official.
Schedule use of loading dock or street curb permit at the origin and destination
Some cities require permits to block the street for a moving truck. A town we lived in needed a 5-day notice to receive the permit. We were fined more than $600 for blocking traffic if we didn’t have a permit. So planning for loading space is crucial.
When we lived in an apartment building, we had to submit a request to use the loading dock. If approved, our apartment building assigned us a designated time slot for our moving truck to access the loading dock.
Print out new employers moving policy, if you are receiving a stipend for moving from your new job
If you are receiving compensation for relocation for a new career move, get everything in writing. Be sure to understand all terms before you make any moving commitments. It would be terrible to spend a couple of grand on the move and then realize you must follow your new employer’s relocation protocol. Then you would be out a couple of thousand dollars.
For our most recent move, all receipts had to be in my husband’s name for his company to reimburse us. This detail was important because even though I was the point of contact for the moving company, I needed to have his name on the contract. There were a couple of documents I had to get them to edit. I could sign the agreement once my husband’s name was on the forms.
Research and schedule a car transporter, if needed
Start your research now if you are having cars transported because you are flying or only driving one vehicle. There are great companies out there and some cruddy companies. First, ask for personal recommendations from people you know locally.
There are sites like Shiply, where you can put in your details and get quotes from numerous transport companies. But once you request an estimate, you may get dozens of emails from companies looking for your business. So use a junk email to request so your regular email account doesn’t get flooded.
Make a plan for transporting pets, plants, and valuables
Always carry your valuable items with you, whether in the car or plane. Pack a carry-on bag for valuables so it always stays with you. How will your pet get there if you are flying to your new hometown? What are airplane policies? The moving company we used last would not transport live plants. Unfortunately, moving cross country, we had no options other than to give them away. Speaking of items not allowed on a moving truck, check out this list of items typically prohibited on a moving truck.
Decide how you will arrange furniture in your new home, using the floor plan
If you plan to take your current furniture to your new home, start mapping it out to ensure it will fit in your new place. There is no point in spending money to transport a piece of furniture that won’t work in your new home. In the past, if we knew something wouldn’t work in our new home, we got rid of it before the move, saving time and money later on.
Get rid of items no longer needed: donate, toss, or sell
Nothing is worse than unpacking boxes at your new home and finding stuff, you no longer need. Save yourself the time and money and get organized now. Check out “Declutter: 30 Items You Must Get Rid of Before You Move” for more help. Would a garage sale help you get rid of items? If so, now is the time to schedule it.
Contact renters/home insurance to discuss the move, changing your address
Sometimes, your renters or homeowners insurance will cover items during a move. Find out what kind of coverage you have to give yourself peace of mind. Each company has its policies, so double-check what your coverage is should something get lost, stolen, or broken. Find out if you need to change companies after you move based on your new location. We shopped around for new renters insurance during our last cross-country move because our rates skyrocketed with the company we had at the time of the move.
Notify doctors, dentists, + pharmacists of the move and arrange for the transfer of records and prescriptions
Checking with your current practitioners about this process will save you a lot of heartache should you get to your new town and need a doctor ASAP. And to have records transferred, you typically need a new doctor’s office to accept the records. So start researching now to find new practitioners in your new town. Avoid the mistake I made when we moved cross-country after Chulengo was born.
Make travel arrangements for the move, whether you plan on flying or driving
Now is the time to find the best deals on flights. If you wait much longer, prices will increase as you get closer to your moving date. If you are driving and need to stay overnight, start researching hotels and rentals along your route before they book up.
Meal plan to use up food in pantry & freezer
Most moving companies will not allow you to transport food. And you want to avoid packing perishables on your truck if you’re driving it yourself. If you’re like me and hate throwing food away, try to use everything up over the next few months. It is amazing how many meals you can make while emptying the freezer. To keep this simple, do a quick inventory of your pantry and freezer and list meals you can make with those ingredients.
Request day off from work for moving day
If you are completing a local move or working through your move date, request a vacation day so you can be available for moving day. Besides the moving binder, you are the next most important part of the move. 🙂
This 60-day mark is when things start to get busy. Stay on top of your tasks now, so you will feel prepared when moving day arrives.
The above list is an abbreviated version of the Move Mama Move Moving Checklists. If you want full access to Move Mama Move’s 90-day, 60-day, 30-day, 14-day, and 7-day checklists, check out the Relocation Planners. With inventory trackers, tasks to prepare your new home, moving day planning sheets, budget trackers, and more, Move Mama Move Relocation Planners were created to help make your move more simple.
⇒ Next Step: 30-Day Checklist
