Weeks spent in super-busy pre-move preparations will lead to a single day. Moving day is the culmination of the entire house move, the time when you have to prove to yourself and the rest – your family, friends, work colleagues, neighbors, and everyone else – that you are completely ready for the challenges of the Big day.
It’s critically important that you plan and organize the move-out day in the best possible way. The trouble is that even one serious mistake, a single wrong move can ruin your chances of having a successful relocation.
To guarantee a smooth moving day experience, you must be perfectly aware of what your major role should be on the day itself – from the moment you wake up in the morning in the soon-to-be old home until you close your eyes for a well-deserved rest at the end of the day, often in the destination place.
Follow this detailed moving day checklist to find out what you should do on Moving day itself.
Prepare your home for Moving day
The first set of steps is aimed at preparing the place you’re leaving for the move-out day.
1. Clear pathways
Inspect all paths that lead out of the place and all the way to the moving vehicle. Those exit paths should be perfectly clear of any obstacles (random boxes or household items) and debris of any kind.
Also, inspect the pathways carefully – there should not be any slippery spots (dust, water, snow, ice) on them that can make things even more dangerous than they already are.
2. Disassemble furniture (if needed)
If you’re moving bulky furniture, then you should have disassembled partially most of those pieces well before Moving day arrives.
And yet, you may still need to take apart one or two furniture units if they happen to be too big to fit through the doors or navigate along narrow corridors. Don’t risk getting stuck in a doorway with a huge furniture piece during a time when every minute counts.
See also: How to disassemble a couch for moving
3. Finish up all packing jobs
You should have completed all major packing jobs by the morning of the move-out day. And yet, you’re going to need some of your things – especially essentials such as bathroom items and kitchen items – until the last possible moment.
Make sure you pack up those last remaining belongings before the loading process begins. Check whether you have a few empty boxes for all the things you have left to pack last of all.
4. Check your essentials boxes
All your essential items – the ones you will need on the road and right after you arrive at the destination place – should be neatly packed in a few essentials boxes.
So, make sure it is so. Set aside those Open-First boxes so that they don’t get loaded onto the truck with the rest of the regular boxes. Remember that your survival kits should stay with you throughout the move and you’re the one responsible for their safe transportation.
Read also: What to pack in an Open First box
5. Protect floors and walls
Unless you’ve hired professional packers and movers who know what it takes to protect your home against accidental damage, you just have to take all the necessary measures to leave the property without any damage whatsoever.
One excellent way to protect your floors and walls is to attach padding materials to them – large pieces of thick cardboard or soft furniture blankets. Another more indirect protection method is to use a moving dolly with soft rubber wheels.
Useful info: How to protect floors when moving; How to protect walls when moving
Manage your time effectively
Proper time management is critical on the day of your move. Think about this – you only have a limited number of hours so how you go about spending each one is more important than you can imagine.
1. Wake up early
Give yourself as much time as possible by waking up early enough on the day of the move. In fact, oversleeping is often viewed as a serious moving day mistake simply because it’ll work against you.
So, set the alarm for an early start but remember to go to bed early the night before so that you can have the energy and stamina needed to handle the stress of Moving day.
2. Prioritize your moving day tasks
Be smart about which moving day tasks you complete first and which ones you leave for later.
One feature of any moving checklist is that there are always more important things to do than others and that’s exactly why your moving day checklist should be prioritized as well.
Make sure you tackle the high-priority tasks first of all so that you can stay in control of the moving process even if you somehow run out of time.
Ensure moving day safety
Whether you realize it or not, safety is a huge issue on moving day simply because that culmination period has proven time and time again that it can be dangerous for everyone involved, including young children and pets.
What should you do on moving day? Guarantee the safety of yourself, your family, and any helpers you may have asked to give you a hand.
1. Dress appropriately
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the types of clothes and shoes you wear on the day of the move can play a significant role in how safe you get to be.
Pick a comfortable set of clothes that corresponds to the weather outside. Those moving day garments should not restrict your movements in any way.
When it comes to shoes, choose a closed pair that has rubber non-slip soles for maximum traction. Sports shoes should do just fine.
Read also: What to wear on Moving day
2. Keep your children and pets safe
The last thing you would want is to have kids or pets running around when super-heavy items are being carried back and forth. It’s just too risky and you must not allow it.
Ask a family member or a trustworthy friend to look after your children and pets in a room that’s far from the action. By knowing that your loved ones are as safe as they can be, you should be able to focus on the moving day tasks at hand.
Must-read: What moving day mistakes to avoid
3. Use proper lifting techniques
The best way to ensure the ultimate safety on Moving day is to pay professional movers to do the heavy lifting for you – not only the heavy pieces of furniture but also the countless boxes that will have to be taken outside and loaded onto the moving vehicle.
But if you’re organizing a DIY move and you’re the one lifting and carrying those heavy household items – together with some helpers, of course – then you must use the correct lifting techniques to prevent any types of personal injuries.
10 Proper lifting techniques for moving heavy furniture and boxes
4. Don’t try to be a moving day hero
Moving day accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, so you must stay vigilant at all times.
Interestingly enough, the best piece of advice you can get about the general safety of your move-out day is to use your common sense. Don’t try to be a hero by lifting something on your own that is just too heavy for one person to handle.
If you can’t seem to gather enough friends to give you a hand on Moving day, then do the sensible thing and hire experienced movers to get the job done in the safest way possible.
Supervise the moving process
If you’re not sure what you should do on Moving day when you’ve hired movers, then these tips will help you. Your major goal should be to supervise the moving process so that things can go smoothly from start to finish.
1. Welcome the movers
Welcome the movers into your home on the prearranged day and time. If you can’t be there for some reason, then you have to authorize someone you trust to represent you and let the pros into the place.
If you’ve done your homework right, then your movers should arrive roughly on time. Show them around the place, give them any specific instructions you may have, and simply let the pros do what they do best.
It’s always a good idea to show that you’re a good host – offer them easy access to the bathroom (equipped with liquid soap and paper towels), prepare some refreshing non-alcoholic drinks and maybe even tasty snacks, and just be there in case they have any questions for you.
2. Be careful what you sign
Your decision to hire professional movers will result in a great deal of paperwork – price estimates, inventory sheets, bills of lading, insurance policies, and so on.
One important thing you should do on the day of the move is to be extremely careful where you place your signature. Always take your time and read a document before you sign it – otherwise, you may end up regretting the trust you show toward your moving company.
If you don’t fully understand a document you’re given to sign, don’t hesitate to ask for clarification. And, needless to say, you should NEVER sign a blank document. Make a mental note of this before your movers arrive.
See also: Red flags of moving fraud
3. Oversee the loading of your stuff
Another thing you should do on Moving day is to supervise the loading process of your household items into the movers’ truck.
Basically, you want to make sure they don’t forget to load any boxes or furniture pieces. At the same time, though, you have to watch out for items that are not supposed to be loaded into the moving vehicle – for example, essentials boxes (they will travel with you) or things that need to stay in the old place – for instance, furniture units you’re leaving behind.
Use the detailed inventory sheet or packing list to oversee the truck loading process.
4. Prepare cash for tips
Your Moving day checklist should remind you to prepare some cash in case you’re really happy with your movers’ work and you wish to reward their efforts by giving each worker some cash as a tip.
While you don’t have to tip your movers – and you shouldn’t if they do a poor job handling, protecting, and loading your belongings, it’s customary to do so when it’s obvious that they’ve put a lot of effort into making sure your move goes as smoothly as silk.
So, if you do decide that your hired men have worked hard and earned their tips, then you’re likely to be puzzled about how much to tip movers.
How much should you tip movers?
5. Inspect the place before you leave
Once your movers leave, it’s time to inspect the place carefully for any forgotten items. Do a final walkthrough and check everything, every possible storage space no matter how small it may be. Don’t forget to open all drawers of furniture items you’ve left behind.
Also, double-check whether all windows and doors are closed, secured, and locked before you drive away. Take photos of the readings of all utility meters (water, electricity, gas) as proof in case of disputes later on.
Important: How to make moving day less stressful
