10 Things to do the night before a move

All those endless days of careful planning and thorough preparation for your move-out day are finally over and you only have one more night to spend at the current place before you move out.

Yes, you’re almost there your preparation job isn’t over yet and you do have a number of important things to do the night before your move. Bear in mind that the day before moving day is not the right time to let down your guard – on the contrary, you will have to concentrate on the tasks at hand in order to cross the finish line without making any serious moving day mistakes along the way.

You just have to make sure you’re 100% ready for the Big day – the period when things could go out of control too quickly. Moving day is rather unpredictable and the only one to guarantee a successful move is to tackle the critical tasks on only on Moving day itself but on the day and night right before it.

Here’s a list of the things you should do the night before you move away.

1. Confirm the move details with your moving company

Of course, you should complete this very task on the day before moving day simply because you wouldn’t be able to get in touch with your mover after their working hours.

When using professional moving services – often the case when moving long distance, you should call the moving company you’ve picked as your relocation partner one day prior to the move in order to get their confirmation that everything is according to plan and that they are going to arrive the next day at the scheduled time.

If your movers don’t pick up their phone after you’ve tried several times, do a Google search for their website and look for an alternative phone number. You might even be able to chat with the company through their webpage.

Useful info: How to negotiate with moving companies

2. Finish any remaining packing jobs

You should have completed all major packing jobs by the evening and night on the day before you are scheduled to move out. That is, unless you’ve hired professional packers to get the packing job done for you.

The finishing touches of the house packing process often include packing a few last boxes, primarily from the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom since these are the rooms you are recommended to pack last of all.

Check whether all the boxes you’ve packed until that moment are labeled properly to avoid possible mix-ups and resulting headaches after the move. As a rule of thumb, you should not have anything left to pack on Moving day itself except your essentials boxes – see below.

Must-read: Packing Tips

3. Check your essentials boxes

Your essentials boxes should be the very last cartons you pack up before it’s time to move out of your current place.

You should finish packing some of them on the night before the move but you may have to leave one or two for moving day itself simply because you’re going to need those essential items in the morning as well – for example, your toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as your hairbrush and comb.

Check whether your Open-First boxes are packed up, labeled, and ready to load onto your own car or the rented moving truck. Do NOT hand over any of those containers to your movers but keep them with you throughout the move.

Good to know: What to pack in an open-first box

4. Disconnect electronic devices

It’s normal that you’ll want to enjoy some of your electronic devices for as long as you can before you have to pack them up for safe transport.

While it’s easy to secure your laptop for the upcoming move (all you need to do is place it inside its well-padded bag), your TV set and desktop computer require more serious protective care to survive the relocation perfectly intact.

So, one of the things you should do the night before your scheduled move is to disconnect all electronic devices and pack them up safely. To make things easier for you, take photos of the way those electronic units are wired up so that you can reconnect the proper cables quickly after the move.

Good to know: How to pack electronics when moving

5. Ensure your valuables are safe

Double check whether all your valuable items – jewelry pieces, small electronic devices, important documents, bank cards, and various other objects of high value are safe and sound before you go to bed on the day prior to moving day.

Remember that your valuables must stay with you at all times, meaning that their safety will be your sole responsibility. You should never entrust them to your movers no matter how trustworthy they seem.

You should also keep with you any priceless items which are simply irreplaceable – oftentimes such things happen to be family heirlooms or pieces of art.

In case you’re moving larger valuable items which you can’t take with you, you should seriously consider purchasing additional insurance for them.

Read also: How to pack valuables for moving

6. Prepare tipping money for your movers

The evening and the night of the day prior to moving day is the right time to take care of all the little details in order to be completely ready for the next day.

Another thing you should do before going to bed is to prepare some money for tips provided that professional movers are coming tomorrow to handle the move.

Now, here’s the tricky part: you don’t have to tip your movers and you shouldn’t do it if they do a lousy job of handling the move. However, if your team of hired moving professionals does a great job protecting, loading, and transporting your items with zero problems of any kind, then you should seriously consider tipping each mover individually as a way of showing your gratitude for a job well done.

See also: Do you really have to tip movers?

7. Prepare the right type of clothes and shoes

Needless to say, you’re going to prepare some clothes and shoes for moving day from the previous day. However, you’re going to need to wear the appropriate type of clothing and footwear on the most unpredictable and even dangerous day of the entire house-moving process.

Prepare comfortable clothes that won’t restrict your movements in any way and that are appropriate for the climatic conditions on the move-out day. When moving during the cold months of the year, you should dress in layers. When moving in the summer, a T-shirt and a pair of jeans or shorts should do the trick.

When it comes to footwear, get your most comfortable pair of closed shoes, preferably with anti-slip rubber soles and sufficient ankle protection.

See also: What should you wear on Moving day?

8. Take plenty of photos of the place

The night before moving away is the ideal time to take out your digital camera (your smartphone camera is perfectly fine too) and take many photos of your belongings and the place you’re about to move out of the next day.

All the photographs you take will be merely proof of the condition of the property and your possessions before the movers arrive on moving day. Hopefully, you won’t need to use the photos for anything else than to keep memories of the place you’re leaving.

However, if there’s any type of property damage after the movers have arrived or if any of your things is damaged, broken, or missing, the photographs can help you file a claim with your moving company after the move.

Remember to turn on the automatic date stamp function of your camera.

Be well informed: What things to photograph when moving (and why?)

9. Check if your smartphone is charged

Sometimes it’s the little things that could turn into big problems if you fail to keep things under control at all times.

A crucial part when using professional moving services is to be able to keep in touch with the moving company you’ve hired. Therefore, another important thing you should do the night before a move is to make sure your smartphone has enough charge for the next day.

To play it safe, it’s a good idea to charge fully the battery of your phone before you go to bed. This way, you’ll know the company can easily reach you should there be any last-minute changes to the plan on the day of the move.

10. Go to bed at a decent hour

Believe it or not, one of the most important things to do the night before a move is to go to bed at a decent hour – no later than midnight, ideally around 10-11 pm.

It’s pretty obvious why you should do it – moving day will require a lot of energy, stamina, and concentration from you so you’ll need to have had a good night’s sleep in order to survive it without any major problems. Also, you’re likely to make good decisions when you’re properly rested – after all, the success of your move will depend primarily on making all the right choices.

Don’t forget to set your alarm clock for an early start simply because sleeping in on moving day won’t do you any favors. Waking up early on the day of the move will give you more time to react adequately if something does go wrong, thus keeping the notorious stress of moving within normal values.

Must-read: Moving Day Tips