For the majority of people thinking about a move, the piece that involves the actual moving is the most mind-boggling. Purchasing a new home is exhilarating—commencing upon a new chapter in life, whether you are buying your dream house in Denver or getting something smaller, there is something about a move that helps you feel like you're starting fresh. Then, you see all your dirty old possessions and that hot air balloon you're riding over the clouds to your new digs comes down and you land in a stack of old papers and kid's artwork that you have to deal with. But, if you schedule your move and follow an elementary checklist, you can most likely pack your life and move it to Denver without too much stress and headaches.
It's average to have a moving window of approximately 90 days, so this timeline assumes you've got that much time to facilitate your move. All that’s required to get started is a large file folder.
Three Months Out
Select your moving company—think about if you would like full-service moving or you prefer to do it yourself or somewhere in the middle, sort of an a la carte option. A moving specialist comes by your residence and goes through to estimate how many moving vans and how many boxes you will require, assess time to load, drive time, and unload, and give you an estimate for other work, like packing, disassembling furniture, and warehousing, if necessary. Once you figure out your moving company and service level, be sure to confirm you're on the calendar. Keep a copy of the quote in your folder. One big thing down!
It is never too soon to start purging—which things to give to a charity, throw away, or take with you. How you go about the process is your choice, what is good for some people does not work for all. Don’t pay attention to all the blog posts and YouTube videos and move forward with what works for you—one afternoon you could sort through and go ahead and box up what is moving, another afternoon you could decide to continue purging and leave things where they are. There really is no correct way to do it, so do not worry if you don't follow the "rules".
Two Months Out
This is normally when you start feeling a little hurried—the timetable is turning faster than it should be, and the truth is that besides selecting your moving company and pitching old Happy Meal toys and mismatched mittens, you haven't completed anything.
If you are going to be resigning from your job and have not talked over your move with your boss, now is the perfect time--it provides them the time to prepare someone as your replacement so they are ready when you go.
If you have elected to manage your own packing, reevaluate. Assistance is at your fingertips; your moving company can send in the Calvary with professional packers to do the job—they will schedule dates closer to your move because they arrive and get it done quickly, and you'll need shoes and the coffee pot until the end.
Let any service providers know that you will be moving—if your move is within the same town, give your yard service the new address and you're done. Beyond that, here are some of the crucial ones.
Medical—doctors, orthodontists, dentists
These days, most medical practitioners are part of bigger networks and your records are readily available to new providers. Ask your physician for referrals. They network well and could have old friends from medical school they can recommend. While dentists and orthodontists don't have those networks, they'll help direct you old-school, too.
Prescriptions
As pharmacies merge you might be able to maintain your current pharmacy chain, but just in case put paper copies of all your prescriptions in your file folder so that you will have them handy in case of an oversight along the process. The last thing you need is to run out of allergy medication the day you are moving and have to work with a new pharmacy.
School
If you have kids in school, enrolling them in a new school district is unavoidable—you need every document you can think of to register them—birth certificate, social security info, proof of address (a copy of your contract if you haven't closed in Denver yet), and immunization records at the very least. Ask precisely what you will need, and be proactive and keep all the important paperwork in one place—the file folder.
If you have adult children in college and you're moving out of the state, find out the process for maintaining in-state tuition. Each state has different guidelines, and the purpose for the move and the distance can have an impact—some states offer in-state tuition if you are moving to a contiguous state.
Keep sifting through everything and packing—make a goal for a room each week, or all the closets in a week.
One Month Out
By now you should have purged, arranged, and placed all your non-essentials in tidily packed and labeled boxes in the garage. Right. Now is when you get brutal with sorting--especially if you have choosen to have the moving company pack all of the stuff that is left. It's fascinating how really pointless that old lamp becomes when you do not love it anyway and now it's going to cost you to move it. So, trash it and keep going.
Activities--Community, Religious, Social
If, by chance, you've neglected to mention to anyone that you are moving, don’t delay any longer. Especially any volunteer groups you're active in, and if you are overseeing committees or on any boards, you should have already told the groups so they can fill the gap you're creating. Remember to pass off all files or records you have (Girl Scout cookie moms) to whoever is replacing you. If you're part of a nationwide organization, (Rotary, Junior League) submit your transfer documents--you can many times fill them out online.
Many mainline churches and synagogues provide the opportunity to transfer memberships; once you're unpacked and have established a new religious home, they will manage that for you when you are ready to have a new congregation.
If you're a member of any club, you will need to change your membership--depending on the by-laws, you may be able to have a non-resident status after you move to Denver.
Activities--Youth Sports, Clubs
If you have kiddos, you will experience the excitement of looking for new play groups, piano teachers, sports teams, and gymnastics studios. The good news is that club level teams are everywhere, if your kids are into sports. And, searching online is a great way to find other kid's groups. Don’t forget that everybody has an opinion, but you'll at least have a good basket of contacts for karate and art lessons.
Two Weeks and Counting
Call all your utilities and set up the stop-service request. Don't forget your internet and cable--you could be able to just switch some services if your provider is in your new area as well (gas, power, TV, internet) but unless you're local you'll need new accounts. Set up your new accounts as you end the old ones, and remember the mail. You can submit your new address and delivery stop dates online, and if you require a Post Office box you can set up that online also.
If you're moving long distance, confirm travel reservations or airline tickets. If you are moving with your pets, ensure the hotels allow animals.
One Week to Go!
Imagine you are departing on vacation and pack a bag or two, so you can get everything else prepared to move. Have a “Clean Out the Fridge” week, and use paper products if feasible so that you can box up the rest of the kitchen.
If you're moving any items from your yard, wait until the last minute to dig the plants up, and place them in big pots for the move.
Check with the movers when they will arrive at your house to commence loading.
Moving Day
You are ready to get going. You've got everything prepared to go on the moving van, so get your folder, unplug the coffee pot and have a great move.
