Checklist for moving
Before you leave
Give your address change to:
- Post office.
- Charge accounts, Credit Cards, other accounts (student loans) etc..
- Subscriptions: notice requires several weeks.
- Friends and relatives.
At your bank:
- Transfer funds, arrange check cashing in new city if you’re changing banks or credit unions.
- Arrange credit references.
Insurance
Notify company of new location for coverages: Life, Health, Fire and Auto. (If renting, consider renter’s insurance for your personal property.)
Utility Companies
- Gas, light, water, telephone, fuel, garbage, cell phones.
- Get refunds on any deposits made.
Medical, Dental, Prescriptions and Histories
- Transfer needed prescriptions, eyeglasses, X-rays or other annual exam history.
- Obtain birth records, medical records, etc.
And don’t forget to:
- Defrost your freezer and clean your refrigerator.
- Place charcoal around your home to dispel odors.
- Have appliances serviced for moving.
- Clean rugs.
- Clean and wrap clothes before moving.
- Check with a Moving Counselor about Insurance coverage, packing and unpacking labor, arrival day, various shipping papers, method and time of expected payment.
- Plan for special car needs if you have an infant.
On moving day
- Carry enough cash or travelers checks to cover the cost of moving services and expenses until you make banking connections in your new town, assuming you are not staying in Silicon Valley.
- Carry jewelry and documents yourself, or use registered mail.
- Plan for transporting your pets; they are poor traveling companions if they’re unhappy.
- Double-check closets, drawers and shelves to be sure they are empty.
- Leave all the old keys that are needed by the new tenant or owner with your realtor or a neighbor.
At your new address
- Check on service of telephone, gas, electricity and water.
- Check the pilot lights on the stove, water heater, incinerator and furnace.
- Register your car within five days after arrival in your new state or a penalty may have to be paid when you get new license plates.
- Apply for state driver’s license and have your new address place on the license.
- Register your children in school.
- Arrange for medical services, such as Doctors, Dentists, etc.
