Moving is often considered to be enormously stressful. I believe it can be immensely therapeutic if you get your really comprehensive to-do list together before you start! Above you will see what in my estimation is a perfect box. It is so lovely that it can sit in your living room untouched for a lifetime and you can admire it endlessly.  I guarantee you that no box you use in your move will be something that you will admire in your living room, but it is likely that without preparation you will be staring at at least one box for a longggg time.

Herein lies the basic list I have used to seamlessly move 10 times, each time easier than the last——>

One month to three weeks before moving:

• Walk through your place with a good sense of your new home in mind. Anything you want to sell or give away needs to be designated and either listed on Craigslist, ebay, at an antique store…. get it all done and FAST. If you are ambitious and it will serve you, plan a garage sale. Donate or list any items that you don’t move in the sale.
• Contact an incredible mover (paying a few dollars more for quality will serve you) and get an EXACT price. more often then not I have had a mover try to overcharge by a few hundred dollars AFTER they are done, and no girl wants to be standing in their new home alone with men who will not leave unless you pay them. If your friends are moving you/helping you, find a way in advance that you are paying them or paying them back so that they are motivated to not flake.
• If you are planning to store some stuff, negotiate the facility and get all the move-in instructions ASAP.
• Start working on the turning on of your internet/cable/phone now. Do yourself a grand favor and see what jacks in your house are “active” so you can ordered a technician in advance to move wires if needed (yep, I have moved into a place where the only working jack was in the back of a bedroom…. its the worst thing to discover when there were five other jacks in the house.)

Up to two weeks before you move:

• Get giant trash bags, the largest you can find. Clear a space on the floor and line up the three bags. Write on a piece of paper beneath each bag DONATE, TRASH, RECYCLE. Now you are all ready to do your first PURGE.  Go through every drawer, nook and cranny of your home, room by room. sort those bags. If one fills up, start another. Do not forget your closet and your files. This is not an easy process. It can take a full day. It will also change your life for the better.
• Make a list of every bill you pay, every bank you have an account with, then add the DMV and the post office to the list. Call/contact each one online at least a week before you move (try for two weeks early)…If you forget to change banks and bills, you will not only have problems listing your billing address when ordering/paying for things with credit cards, but you will also risk having your personal info arriving in the mailbox of the stranger moving in after you…

A week before you move:

• Collect boxes (did a friend just move? can you snag some second-hand?) or buy a bunch that can be recycled, a good amount of packing tape and a sharpie. If you have some old t-shirts, sheets, towels and blankets that will not be valued in the move, these will be your insulation to start with…. but you may also need some good packing material if you have lots of valuables.
• Get some cleaning supplies (a mr.clean magic eraser can take scuffs off the walls brilliantly) so that you are ready to leave the place immaculate. Anything left over can move with you. If you need to repaint, see if the management or handyman can tell you the color and brand they use so that you can avoid losing part of your deposit.
• Room by room, pack and mark every box extremely specifically. There is nothing worse than not knowing where anything is! Only leave the essentials out until the day of the move.

Moving day:

• Pack up every remaining thing.
• Clean up as much as you can before the movers arrive.
• Do one last pass of the place once the movers leave.Make sure to remind them to place the boxes in each appropriate room so they can be easily unpacked.
• Cruise to your new place and get to work: its unpacking time! Do as much as you can right away. The longer you wait, the more unsettled you will feel.
• Then… celebrate! You just successfully and easily moved and it really was exciting, wasn’t it?

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