4 Weeks Before Move

In this section, we will discuss the steps necessary to make your transition to your new home as simple as possible. This includes how to get your kids ready for school in a new location, how to pack with as little life disruption as possible, and how to prevent moving stress. You are about a month out from your move, and there is still a lot to do.

4 Weeks Before Your Move

3 Weeks Before Your Move

4 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR MOVE 

Last Chance for Notices 

Four weeks out from the move, you should be intimately familiar with the details of your lease, HOA, or any other binding organization. 28 days is usually the cut-off before penalties, and no one wants penalties. This should be handled prior to the absolute cut off date, but still a useful reminder to let your landlord know about your impending departure.

Get the Kids Ready for School

First things first, you need to tell your kid’s old school that you are going to be moving so that way all the paperwork can be filed. Depending on your child’s age, this might be a good time to request transcript forwarding.

Be sure to appropriately communicate the upcoming move with your children. Moving is stressful for you, but it can be even more stressful for your kids – as they often feel they do not have a say in the matter. Making sure that they are involved in the process can help quite a bit. 

Make sure you have the next school or daycare lined up. If you are putting your kids in public school, the required documents most commonly include: 

• Birth certificate
• Proof of guardianship – if not listed on birth certificate  
• Proof of residency 
• Immunization records 
• Emergency contact forms  
• School records 
• Individual Education Program records

If you are putting your children in a charter or private school, it may be necessary to also include teacher recommendations, and depending on competitiveness an in-person interview at the school. Be sure to schedule these meetings and gather these documents as needed.

Pack the Things You Can Live Without

Always start by packing the things you won’t need for a month or more. This is the first round, which means we can take it nice and slow. Getting started early makes it low stakes.

• Basement, Garage, Closets: From heirloom jewelry to last season’s boots, start packing the things you won’t want to forget, but also the things you know you won’t need for quite some time. Now is a great time to pack photo albums and other priceless family mementos.
• Non-essential Cabinets: That bookshelf full of books you haven’t read, the cabinet above the fridge, and every single snow globe. Now is the time to hide the Knick knacks from easy view, as well as packing the linen closet.
• Guest Bedrooms: The reality is that you shouldn’t be expecting guests while in the middle of a move. That’s just some bad timing for anyone to just popover to crash on your couch. Whatever supplies you have for guests can be safely packed, and that space can be used as a staging area for the move.

3 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR MOVE 

Packing is the Name of the Game 

By this point, you will be sick of packing. The boxes will be piling up, taunting you like cruel monsters. It is also at this point you should let your boss know that you need a minute to focus on packing. That might mean getting to work a hair later or leaving a little earlier. Important things to remember: 

• Stay focused on the non-essential items. It can be easy to come home from work or school and not want to pack at all. Unfortunately, that’s a great way to make sure nothing gets done; instead rededicate your energy towards getting the next room packed.
• Talk about the toys. We have all seen Toy Story, and, not every toy is getting packed the same way. Some are too important to be packed with the rest. Whether they be childish toys, like a Buzz Lightyear, or something more in line with video games, it is important to have a plan in place for how these are to be packed and treated. 
• Deal with the clones. You probably don’t really need 30 pairs of shoes, three dining room tables, and eight TVs. Maybe you do. Figure out the things that absolutely must come on the move, and what was just taking up unnecessary space. 

Reconsider Moving Storage

No one thinks that they have that much stuff until they can only fit a quarter of a closet into a medium box. Then it dawns in a relatively sizable wave, you have accumulated a whole lot of stuff. It might be time to consider getting a temporary storage unit to just make navigating your home easier. Don’t forget to grab those boxes once the truck arrives. See what size storage unit would fit your needs. 

Confirm Schedules and Moving Information 

Make sure that you know when the movers are going to arrive and let a friend or trusted neighbor know when they are supposed to arrive. Having this schedule known by all important parties helps to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Don't Forget Your Pets

Whatever the case for your move, if you have dogs or cats, you will want to line up a pet sitter or a boarding option to keep them out of the way of movers. This is especially important when it comes to the final moving day, but you will want to start that hunt now to be sure that there is availability when you plan to move.

Request Time off Work 

As likely as not, you will need to set aside a little bit of time towards the end of the process to make sure everything arrived safely and that you are well situated in your new home. You may also need to schedule brief periods off to handle meeting with movers or with the dog sitter. It is also sometimes just important to have a moment to yourself, which leads directly to… 

Leave Some Free Time

Moving is stressful, and every now and again, you will want to just not be in the house anymore. That’s fine. Just make sure you can fit that into your schedule now, so you won’t have to worry about it later. Whether you need a night on the town, or just need to see that movie that just came out, it is important to have an escape and decompress during this stressful time.