A post-move checklist

City Moving & Storage MN wants to congratulate you on moving to your new home! It finally happened! You are in your new home surrounded with your belongings ready to be unpacked. You’re almost going to feel like this process came to an end and now you can start relaxing-don’t do that just yet. No matter if you are moving just a few streets down or across the world, a post-move checklist is waiting for you. Just a few more steps and you can finally relax and start falling in love with your new home. But if you are not sure what we are talking about and the panic starts creeping back in, take a deep breath and follow our cue. We assembled an essentials checklist for your post-move tasks.

Post-move checklist starts with unpacking (duh!)

Moving to a new home is a unique opportunity for you to finally arrange your surrounding the way you always wanted it to be. Clutter free and neat like those pictures in the interior-design magazines-is what pops into your mind first. Pay attention to how and where you unpack your boxes, furniture, fixtures and equipment. While unpacking, keep a list of things you might need so you know what to get at your local home depot. The usual spread is storage bins, under bed drawers, bathroom organizers and other types of storage.

The most important thing you should think about, before unpacking your entire house, is which rooms you will need the most. These are rooms we think you should focus on first, as you will use them the most in the beginning:

1. Bathroom should go first, think about available storage and if you need to arrange some more.
2. Bedroom should be next as another essential room
3. Kitchen, why last? If you are not a fan of cooking, kitchen can wait until the weekend when you have more time.

While you are unpacking your belongings note every damage that occurred during the transit. You’ll be able to file an insurance claim with your moving company faster, therefore getting reimbursed for any damage right away. This is why it is so important to research the company prior to hiring. Reputable companies with many years of experience like ours will provide the best possible moving service, minimizing the chance for damage. Another great thing any post-move checklist should contain is-cleaning. This is probably the last chance you will get to clean the whole house without all that furniture getting in the way. Pile all your boxes in one spot and start vacuuming, mopping and scrubbing!

Arrange new utilities

You know the drill, this is not the time to relax. Call your water, electric, gas and cable companies to make sure your new accounts are all set up. There is a possibility some of these companies will send an employee over to lay new cables, check the meters etc. The quicker you set these up the faster you will be done. The cable guy will also have to come over and set your TV and WiFi for you. If you are looking to get some of the popular networks, it can take a while to schedule an appointment due to high demand.

Inspect your new place-change the locks

While you are going around your new house unpacking, pay attention to every little thing that needs fixing. Keeping a list will help you remember all these details. For example, is there a chip in the wall made during the move? Is the bathroom faucet leaky? Is the bedroom door creaky? Write all these down as you go, so the handyman can come once and be done with everything in the house.

Security is always high on our post-move checklist. It doesn’t matter if you are renting or you are a proud new owner of the place. Consider changing all the locks in the house. Therefore, schedule an appointment with the locksmith. The actual changing of the locks should take a couple of hours but your peace of mind will be eternal.

Update your address-notify people

This is a must on our post-move checklist, that is, if you don’t want your bank statements, presents and thank you cards sent to your old address. Now that you have a new address there are some important people you should notify asap.

• Inform your employer so that any important paperwork finds its way to your new address
• Notify financial institutions. Bank, retirement accounts, credit card companies, some of it you will be able to do online.
• Don’t forget your subscriptions, such as magazines or newspaper, call their CS and notify them about the change of address.

If you currently don’t have time for all this, there is a different way. Go to the post office or go online to fill out a forwarding request. This will allow the post office to reroute your mail to your new home. There is a downside to this. The forwarding only lasts for a couple of months. Therefore, you will still have to notify everyone above about the change of address.

Get to know your new neighborhood

If you are getting further down the post-move checklist-it’s time for some fun! Getting to know your new neighborhood is one of the best aspects of moving. It will feel like an adventure, especially if you own a dog. You can go for long walks, exploring the neighborhood while reducing stress in your pet. Things to look out for are a new grocery store, café or coffee shop, bakery, pharmacy, a park for your kids/pet. Next come the restaurants in the area, you’ll probably need to find a good sports bar as well. As we said, it’s time for the “fun-times” as a much needed reward for your moving ordeal. Now you just need to settle and make a home in your new place.