Four Weeks before Moving
- Decide what you want to take to your new home, what you want to throw out, and what you want to donate to charity or sell.
Notify service companies, such as cable, satellite, telephone and internet providers of your upcoming move. If you are cancelling services, many providers require 30 days notice or fee will be charged to your account.If this is a long distance move, start planning your trip. Make airline reservations. Book hotels and rental cars. - If you are moving to a new province or town, obtain copies of important school, medical, financial, and legal records. Keep them in a safe, accessible location.
- Decide how your furniture and belongings will be moved, such as using a packing and moving service, or renting a truck and packing and moving yourself.
- Schedule a moving company for your move, or reserve a truck or van rental for relocation. If you are moving the spring, at the end of June for example, try to book well in advance. June 30th is one of the busiest days of the calendar year for moving companies.
- If you will need to store any of your belongings for the move, arrange for storage space. Often your moving company can provide temporary storage.
Three Weeks before Moving
- Retrieve any items you have lent (and give back any items you have borrowed). Pick up any items that are being repaired.
- Dispose of flammable items such as paint, aerosol cans, and cleaning fluids.
Two Weeks before Moving
- Schedule a date for a service firm to disconnect and prepare the appliances you are moving.
- Start packing non-essential items.
- If you are moving provinces, obtain copies of your driving record and car insurance history. You will need these in order to obtain competitive insurance rates in most provinces.
- Start planning to disconnect utilities.
- Arrange for any services for your new home that will be easier to do before your things arrive, such as painting, carpet-cleaning, floor or wood cleaning.
- Arrange to have your mail forwarded with Canada Post.
One Week before Moving
- Finish packing suitcases and basic essentials. Make sure valuable documents, currency and jewellery are in a safe and easily accessed place.
- Drain garden hoses, lawn mowers, and other machinery.
- Take down items such as curtain rods, shelves, light fixtures and mirrors that you are taking with you.
- Dismantle large power tools, such as lathes and grinders.
- Make sure all your important papers, keys, medications and plane tickets are available for the trip.
- If you are travelling a long distance by car, you may want to have the car serviced.
Packing Day
- Leave a clear workspace for the packers.
- Identify fragile and valuable items, items you are taking with you, and items being left for the new owner.
Move-Out Day
- Plan to stay home until the moving van has left.
- Tour the house with the van operator during inventory. Sign the bill of lading. Confirm your new address and delivery date. Check destination contact phone numbers.
- Do a final check for overlooked items. Make sure windows and doors are locked, lights are turned off, utilities are discontinued or turned off, and the keys are transferred.
Move-In Day
- Try to get to your new home the day before the moving van arrives. Make sure the utilities are connected. Take another look to see if your furniture plan is optimal.
- When the mover arrives, check items unloaded against the inventory. Make arrangements for installation of appliances. Confirm unpacking requirements.
- Look over this moving checklist and calendar. Make sure you’ve covered everything for your move.