Hi lovelies,

People decide to relocate to another house or apartment for all sorts of reasons. It might be because they want something bigger or wish to downsize. Some folks may even need to move to a different part of their state or even go to the opposite end of the country for work. Whatever your reason, if it’s your first time moving somewhere new, you might be unsure how best to prepare yourself and your family.

Some people might have you think that moving home is a nightmare. The thing is if you plan everything well in advance, you will have an easy experience. To that end, here are five things you need to remember before you move home:

1. Organize the transfer of utilities and services
The first thing you need to do is contact all of the companies that supply your utilities and services like cable TV. You should then give them your moving date so that everything will get set up ready for the day you physically move into your new home. For things like gas, electricity, and water utilities, give yourself a day’s overlap. That way, you’ll have power and heating in both properties on the same day.

2. Organize your removal service
Let’s face it: you can’t move to a new property without some method of transporting your worldly possessions! With that in mind, you need to organize a removal service to collect your items and transport them on your moving-in day. Firms like SMARTBOX Solutions, Inc. can even provide storage units you can fill up at your leisure, and they can transport them to your new address. Often, such solutions can work out cost-effective compared to hiring a traditional removal company.

3. Forward your mail
You will doubtless be contacting various people and organizations to tell them when you are moving home. But, what happens if some folks or companies still send you mail at your old address? To combat that problem, you can have the USPS forward your mail from a particular date, and they can do so for a duration of your choosing. You have to pay a small fee for the service, but it’s perfect for ensuring that nothing goes astray in the mail!

4. Contact the DMV and your insurance company
You need to inform both the DMV and your auto insurance company of your address change. It’s important that both entities know where your new address is because if you have an auto accident or get pulled over by the police, you could get accused of committing a crime by having out-of-date address details on their systems.

5. Don’t stock up your refrigerator and freezer
Last but not least, it makes sense to keep your stored cold food items to a minimum on the run-up to your moving day. Otherwise, you will need to buy lots of coolboxes to store that food in so that it doesn’t spoil.

Good luck with your home move!