Moving is a huge event and often comes with plenty of stress. The "to-do" list for moving from one home to another is a mile long. Even with helpful residential movers, it can be a very stressful process. While professional movers and packers can help with packing, moving and unpacking, there are many tasks you need to tackle, when moving, they can't help with. Here are some of the things you may forget to do before you move, if you're not careful.
Cancel Recurring Charges
This should be done about a month before you move and often people forget about things, such as a gym membership. Sometimes, you can just transfer to a gym closer to your new home, but you still need to make the changes with any recurring charges.
You should also be aware that some mail-order medications may cancel and not arrive if you don't update your address on the billing information. Make sure you create a list of any recurring charges you may need to cancel or change an address with before you move.
Switch Car Insurance (If moving to a new zip code)
If you're just moving down the road, you may just need to change your address with your car insurance company. However, if you're changing zip codes your rates may change. You need to call your insurance company a couple weeks before you move to make sure your address is up-to-date and you'll remain covered.
Change Your Address Early
Waiting until you're in the new home to change your address isn't a good idea. Even doing this online with the USPS won't make it happen instantly. If you want to make sure your mail arrives at your new home on time, change your address about two weeks ahead of time.
Keep Your Finances Organized
When moving, you want to make sure you have a system for your bills and keeping everything paid. Without a good system in place, you may lose something in the whirlwind and forget to pay it. This could cause damage to your credit or cause you to fall behind on something.
Take Pictures and Create an Inventory
When using professional movers, you want to make sure you take pictures of all your expensive items and create an inventory. This will go a long way if something were to happen to any of your items during the move.
Create a Go-To Box
The day before you move, you should create a go-to box with things you will need when you first move into your new home. This could include toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies, towels, paper plates, silverware, clean sheets and anything else you think you will need when you first move in.
There are several things people tend to forget about during the stress of a big move. You are less likely to forget things when you hire a residential moving company to help with packing, moving and unpacking. However, use this list to create a checklist of things needing to be done so that you don't forget anything important.
The Professionals Chicago Moving Team