Planning a move can feel like one giant to-do list. Breaking that list into smaller steps can make it much easier to figure out what needs your attention now and what can wait until moving day gets closer.
This moving checklist takes you from the early planning stages through moving day and your first days in your new home. Start 2–3 months ahead if you can, or jump to the section that matches where you are in your moving timeline.
Whether you need an extra set of hands for packing, furniture disassembly, loading, unloading, or getting settled, you can also book a Tasker to help with different stages of your move.
Moving Timeline at a Glance
Need a quick moving countdown? Here’s when to tackle the major tasks on your moving checklist.
| When | What to Do |
| 2–3 months out | Plan what you’re taking, research moving options, identify the help you’ll need, and organize important records |
| 4–6 weeks out | Declutter, sell unwanted items, gather supplies, schedule moving help, and arrange transportation |
| 2–4 weeks out | Donate remaining items, identify valuables, start packing, arrange child or pet care, handle permits, and use pantry and freezer food |
| 1–2 weeks out | Schedule utility changes, file your change of address, reconfirm help, pack non-daily items, and start deep cleaning |
| 1–3 days out | Pack essentials, finish packing, set aside valuables, and finalize your moving-day plan |
| Night before | Disassemble furniture, organize hardware, and prepare the loading area |
| Moving day | Keep walkways clear, organize loading, complete a final walkthrough, and direct boxes by room |
| After moving | Set up beds and essentials, take inventory, unpack, reassemble priority furniture, and clear empty boxes |
2–3 Months Before Moving
If you know about your move a few months in advance, use that extra time to get organized and make some of the bigger decisions before packing begins.
Start Planning What You’ll Take
Take stock of what you’ll be bringing to your new home. Identify closets, cabinets, the garage, basement, attic, and other storage areas that may need extra attention.
You don’t have to start packing yet. Instead, think about what you’ll eventually want to keep, sell, donate, or discard. Knowing where you’ll need to spend the most time can make the decluttering process easier once you’re ready to begin.
Research Your Moving Options
Start thinking about how you’ll get your belongings from one home to another. Will you rent a truck? Do you expect to need help carrying heavy furniture? Will some belongings go into storage?
Consider the amount you’re moving as well as bulky furniture and appliances. You can also think ahead about stairs, elevators, parking, narrow entrances, and other access considerations at both locations.
At this stage, you don’t necessarily need to have every detail booked. The goal is to understand what your move will require so you’re ready to make arrangements when moving day gets closer.
Decide What Kind of Moving Help You’ll Need
Think about which parts of the move you want to handle yourself and where another set of hands could be useful.
Depending on your move, you might want help with:
- Packing
- Furniture disassembly
- Heavy lifting
- Loading
- Transporting your items
- Unloading
- Moving items into storage
- Furniture assembly
- Unpacking
Planning this early gives you time to determine what you’ll need before you start scheduling moving help.
Get Important Records Organized
Keep important moving information together so it’s easy to find. That might include reservations, receipts, inventories, important records, and other documents you’ll need before or during your move.
If you’re moving with children, this is also a good time to look into school enrollment requirements and any records that may need to be transferred.
4–6 Weeks Before Moving
About a month or more before moving day, shift your focus from planning to preparation.
Start Decluttering
Now’s the time to work through those closets, cabinets, storage areas, and other spaces you identified earlier.
Separate belongings into categories:
- Keep
- Sell
- Donate
- Discard
If you have items worth selling, list them early enough to give yourself time to find a buyer. You can set aside anything you plan to donate and clear it out over the next few weeks.
The less you bring, the less you’ll have to pack, carry, transport, and unpack at your new home.
Order Moving Supplies
Take inventory of what you’re bringing and gather the supplies you’ll need. Depending on your move, that might include:
- Boxes in several sizes
- Packing tape
- Labels or markers
- Protective wrap for breakable items
- Furniture pads or moving blankets
Having your supplies ready means you can start packing gradually rather than scrambling for boxes at the last minute
Schedule Moving Help and Transportation
Once you know what your move will involve, make the necessary arrangements.
If you’re renting a truck or moving container, determine how much space you’re likely to need. If you’re getting moving help, provide relevant details such as the number and size of bulky items, stairs or elevators, and access considerations at both locations.
A Tasker can help with different parts of your move, including packing, furniture disassembly, heavy lifting, transporting your belongings, and unpacking.
Take Measurements
Measure large furniture as well as doorways, hallways, and other tight spaces in your new home when possible.
Finding out ahead of time that a sofa won’t fit through a doorway gives you time to make another plan rather than discovering it while you’re carrying the sofa.
2–4 Weeks Before Moving
With moving day getting closer, it’s time to clear out unwanted belongings, start packing, and handle some of the logistics you’ll need on moving day.
Donate What You Aren’t Taking
Donate or otherwise clear out the items you decided not to keep. Getting them out of your home now gives you more room to pack and makes it less likely that unwanted belongings accidentally make the move with you.
Identify Your Valuables
Make a separate list of important items that should stay with you rather than being packed with the rest of your belongings.
That may include important documents, jewelry, sentimental items, medication, and small electronics.
Start Packing Rarely Used Items
You don’t have to pack your entire home at once. Start with belongings you aren’t likely to need before moving day, such as:
- Books
- Decorations
- Off-season clothing
- Extra linens
- Items in storage
Work through one room or category at a time, and follow these moving tips and tricks as you work through..
Label each box with both its contents and destination room. You can also assign each room a color and use matching labels on boxes. At the new home, put the corresponding color near each room so anyone helping can quickly see where things belong.
Packing tip: Use smaller boxes for dense, heavy belongings and larger boxes for lightweight, bulky items. If you’re moving belongings to multiple destinations, such as your new home and a storage unit, clearly label and separate those boxes.
Arrange Child or Pet Care
If children or pets won’t be part of the moving-day action, make arrangements for someone to look after them.
Having those plans settled ahead of time means there’s one less thing to coordinate when moving day arrives.
Handle Parking, Elevators, and Access
Check the logistics at both your old and new homes.
Depending on where you live, that might include:
- Applying for parking permits
- Reserving an elevator
- Checking building moving rules
- Planning where the moving truck or container can park
- Confirming how helpers will enter each property
Sorting out access ahead of time can help everyone know where to go when the move begins.
Notify Important Contacts
Start updating your new address with people and organizations that need to know you’re moving.
Depending on your circumstances, this could include your employer, financial institutions, healthcare providers, insurance providers, and subscription services.
You’ll handle your formal change of address closer to the move.
Start Using Pantry and Freezer Food
Plan meals around food you already have so there’s less to transport or throw away.
You can also begin using up household supplies that may be inconvenient to move.
1–2 Weeks Before Moving
The final two weeks are when your moving checklist starts picking up speed.
Schedule Utility Changes
Arrange for utilities at your current home to end at the appropriate time and services at your new home to begin when you need them.
Think about services such as:
- Electricity
- Gas
- Water
- Internet
- Cable
- Garbage service
Having services scheduled ahead of time can help make your first few days in the new home more comfortable.
File Your Change of Address
File your change of address with USPS and finish updating your address wherever else it’s needed.
This is also a good time to double-check that the important contacts you notified earlier have the correct information.
Reconfirm Your Moving Help
Check in with anyone helping on moving day and confirm the timing, addresses, parking situation, and other important details.
If you’ve booked a Tasker, provide relevant information about the move in advance, including stairs or elevators, bulky belongings, and access considerations.
Pack Almost Everything Else
At this point, pack most belongings you don’t use every day.
Keep only your daily essentials accessible. As rooms empty out, you can also begin cleaning areas that were previously difficult to reach behind furniture and boxes.
Start Deep Cleaning
Cleaning as you pack can save you from having to tackle the entire home at once after everything has been loaded. Use our move-out cleaning checklist to work through each area as it empties.
Start with areas you’ve already cleared, then continue working through the home as more rooms empty out.
1–3 Days Before Moving
You’re almost there. The goal during the last few days is to finish packing and make moving day itself as organized as possible.
Pack a First-Few-Days Kit
Pack the essentials you’ll want before the rest of your belongings are unpacked.
Consider including:
- A change of clothes
- Bedding
- Towels
- Toiletries
- Medication
- Phone chargers
- Toilet paper
- Basic cleaning supplies
- A few kitchen essentials
- Water and snacks
Clearly mark this bag, box, or suitcase and plan to keep it accessible rather than burying it among everything else.
Finish Packing and Separate Valuables
Pack your remaining belongings and move valuables and important documents to a designated location where they won’t accidentally be loaded.
It can also help to create a clearly marked “Do Not Load” area for anything traveling with you personally.
Make Your Moving-Day Plan
Decide who is doing what and in what order.
Confirm:
- When your moving help will arrive
- Where the truck or container will park
- What needs to be loaded first
- Which belongings are going to the new home
- Whether anything is going into storage
- Who is responsible for children or pets
- How you’ll access the new home
A simple plan can help keep everyone working toward the same goal once things get busy.
The Night Before
With most of the packing behind you, use the night before your move to get furniture and the loading area ready.
Disassemble Furniture
Take apart furniture that needs to be disassembled, except for anything you still need to use that night, such as your bed. If you’re not sure where to start, follow these tips on how to disassemble furniture for moving.
Put screws, bolts, and other hardware into labeled bags. Secure each bag to the corresponding furniture when appropriate, or organize all hardware somewhere you’ll be able to find it easily.
If you’d rather have another set of hands for this step, a Tasker can help with furniture disassembly and assembly.
Prepare the Loading Area
If you’ve reserved parking, put out any required signs so the space is ready before moving help arrives.
Do one final check of entrances and walkways, and make sure boxes and furniture are organized so you can get started when it’s time to load.
Moving Day Checklist
Moving day has arrived. Keep your essentials accessible and focus on keeping people, boxes, and furniture moving in the right direction.
Get Children and Pets Settled
If you’ve arranged child or pet care, get everyone settled before the heavy lifting begins.
Keep Walkways Clear
Make sure anyone helping with the move has clear paths through the home.
Move anything that shouldn’t be loaded into your designated “Do Not Load” area, and keep valuables and your first-few-days kit separate.
Keep Loading Organized
Give everyone helping clear directions about where items need to go.
Keep belongings grouped by destination, particularly if you’re splitting items between your new home and a storage location.
When loading a moving truck, keep heavier items secure and think carefully about weight and stability. Keep an inventory of your boxes so you can check that everything makes it to the destination.
Do a Final Walkthrough
Once everything is out of your old home, check it one more time.
Look through:
- Closets
- Cabinets
- Drawers
- Storage spaces
- Outdoor areas
- Behind doors
- Anywhere boxes or furniture were stored
Make sure nothing was left behind, check the condition of the home, and complete any final steps required for the property or keys.
Send Boxes to Their Destination Rooms
At your new home, direct boxes to the rooms where they’ll eventually be unpacked rather than letting everything collect by the entrance.
Remember that labeling system from earlier? This is where the extra few seconds spent labeling each box can pay off.
After-Move Checklist: Your First Days in the New Home
Getting everything through the front door isn’t quite the end of your moving timeline.
Instead of trying to unpack your entire home at once, prioritize the things that will make the first night and next morning more comfortable.
Set Up the Essentials First
A practical order is:
- Set up beds and bedding.
- Unpack bathroom essentials.
- Get basic kitchen items ready.
- Reassemble frequently used furniture.
- Unpack other high-priority belongings.
As you empty boxes, break them down and move them out of your working space.
Take Inventory
Check that your boxes and belongings arrived at the correct destination.
Finish Unpacking
Work room by room rather than opening boxes throughout the house at once.
Prioritize the rooms you use most and create a system for dealing with boxes and packing materials as you go.
If you’d like help getting through the boxes, a Tasker can assist with unpacking and other moving-related tasks.
Take Care of New-Home Tasks
Once the essentials are unpacked, turn your attention to the smaller jobs that help make your new place functional. If your new home needs some attention before you’re fully settled, work through this move-in cleaning checklist.
Depending on your home, your post-move checklist might include making spare keys, assembling furniture, organizing rooms, or setting up other household items.
Get Moving Help From a Tasker
A moving checklist can help you stay organized, but that doesn’t mean every item on it has to be a DIY project.
Depending on the services available in your area, you can book a Tasker to help with different parts of your move, including packing, furniture disassembly, heavy lifting, transporting your belongings, furniture assembly, and unpacking.
Choose where an extra set of hands would be most useful, then keep checking off the rest of your moving list.
Last updated on September 8, 2026 by Grace Branscome
