1. Pack a bag with essential and valuable items
Packing a bag with moving day essentials is useful to avoid constantly digging through your wrapped up boxes. Here’s a list of things to consider keeping in your moving day bag:
- Important documents such as ID cards, credit cards, medical records, school records, tax records, insurance documents, and more.
- Personal and hygiene products such as medication, clean towels, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and razors.
- Valuables and electronics such as jewelry, cash, phones, computers, and more.
- Food such as sandwiches, dried fruit, peanuts, and seeds. Try not to pack anything that easily spills. Don’t forget tightly sealed water bottles!
2. Wear comfortable clothes
Not paying enough attention to what you’ll wear is one of the easiest ways to make your moving day uncomfortable. Moving in inappropriate clothing makes you uncomfortable and puts you at risk of getting hurt. Imagine wearing heels or flip-flops while moving a heavy box down the stairs; you could easily trip and badly hurt yourself. Appropriate clothing for moving day includes:
- Closed-toe shoes. Sneakers and boots without high heels are preferred.
- Fit clothes. Some people wear their gym wear; others prefer classic jeans and a t-shirt. As long as you don’t have loose fabric flying around, you are good to go.
- Clothes with pockets and extra pockets. This will come in handy when you need to secure keys, phones, and wallets on the move.
- Long hair tied back. You want to avoid distractions and obstructions when lifting heavy loads.
*Additionally, it’s vital to dress for the weather.
3. Have cash on hand
Yes, cash cannot be overemphasized when moving. Ensure that you have enough cash on hand on moving day, preferably loose change. This will come in handy when you must give tips to movers, pay a toll, or buy lunch at the deli. This cash is different from the one packed in your essential box, which serves mostly as an emergency fund. This change should also be easily accessible. It can be kept in your pockets or purse.
4. Move as efficiently as possible with kids and pets
Moving with kids and pets adds to the stress. You constantly worry about their safety. Try these moving hacks and watch your moving day become better.
Tips for moving with kids:
- Talk to your kids about the move in advance.
- Let your kids take on some responsibilities
- Make sure you pack your kid’s belongings first
- Hire a babysitter or make sure there’s a safe place for them to be during the move
Tips for moving with pets:
- Choose your new vet before moving day
- Get informed on the pet regulations in your new area
- Crate train your dog
- Pack your boxes in the presence of your pets
- Prepare a bag with your pet’s essentials
- Ensure your new place is pet safe
- Introduce the new environment to your pet properly
- Send your pet to daycare on moving day
5. Protect your floors based on the weather
Moving can cause a lot of damage to the floors of your home. Dragging or dropping heavy furniture may damage hardwood, tiles, carpets, and other floors. Also, muddy shoes can ruin rugs and carpets if moving during the rainy season. Therefore, it’s important to protect the floors of both your old and new place. Here are some moving tips and hacks to protect your floor.
- Place doormats outside each door so people can wipe their feet before entering the house.
- Place an anti-slip floor protection roll on the most stepped on parts of the home.
- Place cardboard or blankets under heavy appliances and furniture.
- Use furniture sliders for large chairs and tables, so they glide without damaging the floor when dragged.
6. Take pictures
Moving day hack #1 Take pictures to account for damages.
No matter the skill level, experience, or handling of the movers, accidents may happen. When damage occurs, the moving company may not reimburse you if you cannot prove that the movers caused this damage. So, before the movers arrive on moving day, ensure to take pictures of every valuable item.
Moving day hack #2 Take pictures to remember how things were placed.
It’s difficult to remember how all those wires behind the TV were placed and it’s also sometimes hard to remember how all the decorations were laid out at your previous place. By taking pictures, you won’t have to worry about any of that and your TV will be up and running in no time!
7. Don’t unplug your fridge on moving day!
It’s easy to figure out that you must remove all the content from your fridge before moving. However, many people wonder how to move the fridge with ice on the inside walls. It’s simple; defrost. Unplug your fridge at least 24 hrs before moving day. This will give the ice enough time to defrost. Moving with ice will make a mess in the moving truck as the ice melts and could damage the fridge’s cooling mechanism. Once unplugged and empty, place enough towels on the floor to soak up the water that may leak out. If your refrigerator has an automatic defrost function, it makes things easier for you.
8. Take breaks and stay hydrated
On this list of tips for moving house day, this tip is particularly important if your moving day is during the summer. Most people prefer to move during the summer because of the absence of rain or snow. However, the summer heat hastens the rate of dehydration and fatigue, which will make your moving day exhausting. Ensure you take occasional breaks to sit for a bit and have a glass of water to stay refreshed and hydrated. You can also opt for a sports drink to stay energized.
9. Fill the truck with the biggest and heaviest items first
The biggest and heaviest items go first, then the smaller ones (boxes and bags) go to the top to prevent them from getting crushed. Also, place the bigger items towards the truck’s front and sides to evenly distribute the weight. Heavy items include bed frames, couches, mattresses, dining tables, closets, chairs, fridges, stoves, and ovens. Consider disassembling bed frames for easy moving.
10. Walkthrough your old and new place
There’s no better time to do a walkthrough of your old and new place than moving day. You do this walkthrough to ensure that nothing is left behind in the old place. You check all the nooks and crannies for forgotten boxes or bags. The walkthrough in the new place is to look out for danger such as exposed wiring or uneven floors. This is the best time to reconfirm if the house has not been tampered with before your arrival and ensure that everything still meets your specifications before finally moving in.
11. Inspect your boxes before opening them
You’ve arrived at your new home. So far, the moving day is going well. It’s time to offload and start unboxing, but first it’s important to inspect your boxes. Check for any damp or damaged cardboard. Damaged boxes could mean bugs and insects. If you spot one box with damage, you should consider that the other boxes may have the same issue. If your boxes show signs of insects or dampness, open them far away to avoid bugs inside your home.
Conclusion
Yes, moving is not always fun. Yet, with these moving tips and hacks, you can reduce the stress and frustration that the average person faces on moving day. Even better, you can use this premade moving checklist to help you stay on top of your move. Want to stay entertained during your move? Check out our moving playlists with all the songs to keep you motivated throughout the moving day!
