For most people pondering a move, the part that involves the actual moving is the most mind-boggling. Obtaining a new residence is fun—commencing upon a new chapter in life, whether you are moving into your dream house in San Antonio or downsizing, there is something about a move that makes you feel like you're starting anew. Then, you look at all your dusty old possessions and that spacecraft you are riding over the stars to your new abode dies and you find yourself in a stack of old books and kid's artwork that you have to contend. However, if you organize your move and adhere to a simple checklist, you can manage to pack your life and move it to San Antonio without excess worry and misery.
It is normal to have a moving window of roughly 90 days, so this timeline figures you have that much time to work on your move. All you need to get started is a large file folder.
Three Months Out
Choose your moving company—think about if you desire full-service moving or you want to do it yourself or something in between, sort of an a la carte option. A moving specialist comes to your home and walks through to approximate how many moving trucks and how many boxes you will require, assess time to load, transport, and unload, and provide you an estimate for other services, like packing, taking apart speciality items, and storing, if necessary. Once you decide on your moving company and service level, make sure to confirm you are on their schedule. Keep a copy of the estimate in your folder. One big thing down!
It is never too early to start purging—which things to give to a charity, throw away, or move with you. How you go about the project is up to you, what works for some people does not work for everyone. Ignore all the blog posts and YouTube videos and do what works for you—one day you could clear out and start to box up what is moving, another day you could decide to continue purging and leave things where they are. There really is no right way to accomplish it, so do not stress out if you do not follow the "rules".
Two Months Out
This is commonly when it gets real—the docket is turning quicker than it should be, and the truth is that besides choosing your moving company and pitching stuff from your junk drawer and mismatched mittens, you have not accomplished a thing.
If you are going to be quitting your job and haven't talked over your move with your supervisor, now is the perfect time--it allows them the time to train someone as your replacement so they are ready when you leave.
If you have decided to do your own packing, reevaluate. Help is a phone call away; your moving company can assist with professional packers to do the job—they'll schedule dates closer to your move because they come in and get the packing accomplished quickly, and you will need your bed sheets and the coffee pot until the end.
Tell all service providers that you'll be moving—if your move is within the same town, give your yard service the new address and you are done. Otherwise, here are a few of the crucial ones.
Medical—doctors, orthodontists, dentists
These days, most physicans are part of larger networks and your records are available to new providers. Ask your general practitioner for referrals. They network well and could have old buddies from medical school they can get you in touch with. While dentists and orthodontists do not have those networks, they'll be able to direct you old-school, also.
Prescriptions
As pharmacies merge you could manage to maintain your current provider, but to be prepared keep hard copies of all your prescriptions in your file folder so that you'll have them handy in case of a delay along the path. The last thing you want is to run out of blood pressure medication the day you are moving and have to deal with a new pharmacy.
School
If you have school-age children, enrolling them in a new school district is unavoidable—you need every document you can think of to register them—birth certificate, social security info, proof of address (a copy of your contract if you haven't closed in San Antonio yet), and immunization records at the very least. Ask exactly what you'll need, and get ahead of the game and keep all the important paperwork in one place—the file folder.
If you have adult children in college and you're leaving the state, find out the process for maintaining in-state tuition. Each state has different rules, and the purpose for the move and the distance can make a difference—some states offer in-state tuition if you are moving under a certain number of miles.
Keep purging and packing—set a goal for a room a week, or all the closets in a week.
One Month Out
By now you should have sorted, systematized, and have all your non-essentials in methodically packed and labeled boxes in the garage. Right. Now is when you get cutthroat with sorting--especially if you have selected to have the moving company pack whatever is left. It is fascinating how really inconsequential that old lamp becomes when you don't love it anyway and now it's going to cost you to move it. So, give it to charity and keep sorting.
Activities--Community, Religious, Social
If, on the rare occasion, you have neglected to bring up to anyone that you're moving, now is the time. Especially any volunteer activities you are a part of, and if you are leading committees or on any boards, you should have already alerted the groups so they can fill the place you are leaving. Do not forget to pass off all files or records you have (Girl Scout cookie moms) to whoever is replacing you. If you're part of a nationwide organization, (Rotary, Junior League) submit your transfer documents--you can usually do these online.
Most mainline churches and synagogues give the chance to transfer memberships; once you're settled and have established a new religious home, they will handle that for you when you are ready to be a part of a new church home.
If you belong to any organization, you will need to change your membership--depending on the organization’s rules, you could be able to have a non-resident status when you move to San Antonio.
Activities--Youth Sports, Clubs
If you have kiddos, you shall have the fun of looking for new play groups, music teachers, soccer teams, and dance studios. The good news is that club level teams are everywhere, if you've got athletes. And, social media mom's groups are a decent way to source out other kid's groups. Remember that everyone has an opinion, but you will at the very least be able to get a good number of contacts for trumpet and art lessons.
Two Weeks and Counting
Call all your utilities and set up the stop-service request. Don't forget your internet and cable--you may be able to transfer some services if your provider is in your new locale as well (gas, power, TV, internet) but unless you are local you will most likely need new accounts. Set up your new accounts as you end the old ones, and remember the mail. You can enter your new home address and delivery stop dates online, and if you require a Post Office box you can set up that online as well.
If you're moving interstate, confirm travel reservations and airline tickets. If you're moving with your furry friends, ensure the hotels allow animals.
One Week to Go!
Pretend you are departing on vacation and pack a bag or two, so you can get everything else ready to move. Conduct a “Clean Out the Fridge” week, and use paper products if possible so that you can pack up the rest of the kitchen.
If you are moving any plants from your yard, wait until the last possible moment to dig the plants up, and put them in big tubs for the move.
Confirm with the movers what time they will be at your home to begin loading.
Moving Day
You are ready to move. You have got your stuff ready to go on the trucks, so hang onto your folder, unplug the coffee pot and get moving.
