Planning Ahead: Creating a Moving Timeline That Works for You

There’s a lot that goes into a move, but not everything needs to happen at once. In fact, some of the decisions that take the most time can be made months before you know exactly when the moving truck will arrive.

That’s the value of creating a moving timeline. It helps separate what you can take care of now from what needs to wait, while giving you enough time for the decisions you don’t want to rush.

If your next move is several months away, there are still plenty of things you can get started on.

4–6 Months Before Your Move

Start with the decisions that tend to take the most time.

One of the biggest is deciding what will make the move with you. If you have a floor plan for your new home, look at it alongside what you own now. Measure larger pieces of furniture and think about where they could go. You may quickly identify things you know you want to bring, along with furniture and belongings you no longer need.

This is also the time to deal with the areas of your home you’ve been filling for years. Basements, garages, storage rooms and closets rarely get sorted in a weekend, so give yourself some room to work through them without turning it into a marathon.

As you go, decide what you want to keep, give to family, sell, donate or dispose of. If family members are interested in furniture, artwork, keepsakes or other belongings, now is a much better time to have those conversations than a week before you move.

You can also begin researching moving companies, estate sale services, donation options and other resources you may need. You don’t necessarily need to hire anyone yet. The goal is to know what help is available, what it costs and how far in advance you’ll need to schedule it.

2-3 Months Before Your Move

Once you’ve made some of the bigger decisions, you can start turning them into a plan.

If you’ll be selling your current home, talk with your real estate agent about what needs to happen before it goes on the market. That might include repairs, painting, removing furniture or deciding when you want to list.

If you’re hiring movers, narrow down your choices and get estimates. Ask what is included, how they handle larger or fragile items, whether they offer packing services and how much notice they typically need to reserve a date.

Keep working through your belongings, but start making arrangements for the things that aren’t coming with you. Schedule donation pickups if needed, make plans for an estate sale or begin getting larger items to family members.

This is also a good time to gather the paperwork you’ll want easy access to during the move, including financial, legal, insurance and medical information. Keeping moving estimates, contracts, measurements, receipts and contact information together will save you from having to hunt for them later.

About One Month Before

Once you have a confirmed moving date, the timeline becomes much more specific.

This is when you can finalize your mover, begin packing and start working through the address and service changes that depend on knowing when you’ll be leaving one home and arriving at another.

Make a list of the places that will need your new address, including banks, credit cards, insurance companies, healthcare providers and subscriptions. Schedule utility changes for both homes and submit your change of address with the U.S. Postal Service.

As you pack, label boxes by room rather than simply by what’s inside them. If there are things you’ll want immediately after arriving, mark those boxes so they’re easy to find.

Two Weeks Before

By this point, most of the major decisions should be behind you.

Confirm the moving date, arrival time and other details with your mover. Finish arrangements for anything that still needs to leave your current home and continue packing what you won’t need during the final couple of weeks.

Put together the things you’ll want to keep with you rather than send on the moving truck. Medications, important documents, valuables, chargers, toiletries, a change of clothes and anything else you may need right away should be easy to get to.

The Final Few Days

The last few days should be about finishing rather than making major decisions.

Complete your packing and labeling, clean out the refrigerator and freezer, and gather keys, garage door openers and anything else that needs to stay with your current home.

Keep the things you’re transporting yourself in one place so they don’t accidentally get packed or loaded onto the truck.

Moving Day

Before leaving your current home, do one final check of closets, cabinets, drawers, the garage and storage areas to make sure nothing gets left behind.

At your new home, focus on getting the essentials and larger furniture in place first. The rest can happen at your own pace.

Looking Ahead to Your Oak Marsh Move

For future members of Estoria Oak Marsh, we’re getting closer to the exciting part: preparing for your move into your new home.

While individual move-in dates will come later, much of the work in this timeline can happen now. Taking care of those earlier decisions gives you a head start, with the date-specific details falling into place as opening approaches.

The Estoria team will keep you informed about move-in scheduling, procedures and other logistics so you’ll have the information you need when it’s time to make your final arrangements.