Tips for Staying Organized While Moving: A Week-by-Week Plan

Keep one move file

Put everything about the move in one place: a folder, a notebook or a note on your phone. It holds the written price, the contract, the COI, the building rules at both addresses, your elevator reservation, utility account numbers and photos of the old home. When a question comes up, you look in one spot.

Six to eight weeks before

• Sort every room into keep, sell, donate and throw out. Every box you skip saves time on moving day.
• Book donation pickups early. Charity calendars fill up.
• Measure the rooms in the new home and decide where the large furniture goes.
• Book a free estimate, in person or by video, and get the price in writing.
• Ask management at both buildings for their move rules: hours, elevator reservation, loading dock and paperwork.

Three to four weeks before

• Get boxes and packing materials. We can deliver them to your door.
• Pack the rooms and closets you use least.
• File a change of address with USPS.
• Schedule electric, gas and internet to stop at the old home and start at the new one.
• Request school records and transfer prescriptions.
• Get the COI to building management. We issue it and send it with the contract.

The last week

• Confirm the elevator time with the building and the arrival time with us.
• Pack everything except what you need for the last few days.
• Empty, defrost and dry the refrigerator a day ahead.
• Take art and mirrors off the walls.
• Tell the doorman or the super the date and time.
• Tell us about the street: where a truck can stand, and any tight corner.

Buildings on both sides of the river set their own rules. Our high-rise moving page lists what they usually ask for.

A labeling system that works

Give every room a name and a color. Mark each box with the room, a number and a short list of contents, on two sides. Tape a sign with the room name to each door in the new home. The crew reads the box, finds the matching door, and your boxes land in the right room the first time.

Mark one or two boxes OPEN FIRST: sheets, towels, a kettle, toilet paper, soap and a few tools. If you would rather not pack at all, see packing services.

Pack a moving-day bag

• IDs, keys, the move file and the written price
• Phone chargers and a power bank
• Medicines and glasses
• Snacks, water and paper cups
• A change of clothes and a toothbrush
• A box cutter, tape, a screwdriver and trash bags
• Payment ready: we take cash or Zelle

Keep valuables with you

Some things never go on the truck. Pack passports, birth certificates, jewelry, cash, laptops and the hard drive with the family photos in one bag or box that rides with you. Write down its contents and keep it in sight all day. If you rent a storage unit between homes, keep that bag out of the unit as well.

Children and pets

Moving day is busy, with open doors and heavy loads on every path. Arrange a sitter for small children, or ask a relative to take them out for the day. Keep pets in a closed room with a sign on the door, or with a friend, and move them in your own car. Pack a small bag for each child with a favorite toy and a change of clothes.

On moving day

Be there when the crew arrives. Walk them through the rooms and show what stays behind. Before the truck leaves, check every closet, cabinet, balcony and storage cage. At the new home, stand at the door and point the boxes to their rooms. Keep the moving-day bag with you, not on the truck.

The first week in the new home

Set up the beds and the kitchen first, then unpack one room at a time. Update your address with your bank, your employer and your doctors. If you moved between New York and New Jersey, check with your new state’s motor vehicle agency for the deadline to switch your driver’s license and car registration. Break down boxes as you go, and keep a few for the next closet project.

Moving across the Hudson? See how we plan NYC to New Jersey moves.