The Best Moving Checklist for Your New York City Move

It’s time to take a bite out of the Big Apple. New York City’s population grew by more than 600,000 people between 2010 and 2020. Much of this growth came from new arrivals, as people moved to New York to pursue different opportunities. 

This statistic may make moving to New York City seem easy. But it can be quite challenging. Whether you are moving into New York or simply changing apartments in the city, you need a good moving checklist. 

What should you do week-by-week as you prepare to move? What items should go on your moving packing checklist? How can you keep your job and friends before and after your move? 

Answer these questions and you can make your New York City move easy. Here is your quick guide.

moving checklist

Two Months Before Moving Day

2 months

You should start preparing for your move as soon as you schedule it. You need to give yourself plenty of time to get everything done and go through your checklist for moving. 

You should not move if your financial situation is not secure. Talk to your boss and make sure your job will survive your move. If you have clients, you should talk with them so they know where you are going.

Take a look at the floor plan of your new residence. How much space you have will determine how many items you can bring. You should start looking through your stuff to see if there is anything you don’t want to bring with you. 

If you don’t have a local moving company yet, you should hire one. You can assess the experience of different companies by asking them for tips for moving apartments in NY. If a company can’t give you straight answers, you should hire someone else.

You should also read guides on how to prepare for movers. You may need to move furniture out of the front of your home so your movers can get to your boxes.

Six Weeks Before

6 weeks

You can start giving away the stuff you don’t want to bring with you. If you need a little cash, you can host a garage sale and sell your belongings. But if you want to offload your items quickly, you can give them to friends or a thrift store. 

You will need to pay for boxes, tape, and travel expenses like gas. Take a look at your savings and make sure you have money to cover these expenses. If you don’t, you may want to work a side gig to generate this money. 

One Month Before

One Month

Now that you’ve gotten rid of unnecessary items, you can start packing the things you want to bring. You should think of a labeling system to distinguish different kinds of items from each other. Clothes can go in red boxes while personal items can go in blue ones. 

You should not run through your home, stuffing things in your boxes. You should go room-by-room, accounting for every item in your home. 

Keep your valuables separate from everything else. If you have fragile valuables like glassworks, you should get insurance for them. Take photographs of them so you can document any damage for your insurer.

While you are packing, you should inform your bank and credit card company about your move. Give them your new address and tell them when you will move.

Two Weeks Before

2 Weeks

Once you’ve completed most of your packing, you should clean your home. This is very important if you are moving out of an apartment. Your landlord may not pay your security deposit back if you don’t do a good job cleaning. 

You should vacuum and dust all surfaces. If there are holes in your wall or broken tiles, you should call a repair technician to fix them. 

Touch base with your friends and family so they know when and where you are moving. If you have any items that you borrowed from them, you should return them. 

Do not shop for groceries until you move. Try using up all the food in your house or ordering take-out instead. Buying supplies of food just gives you more items you need to take with you.

One Week Before

1 Weeks

You should finish packing everything with a few days to spare before your move. You may have set aside some stuff that you don’t really need or that is hard to pack. You should give these items away or leave them on the curb outside. 

Do some research on your new neighborhood. During the first few days after your move, you may have difficulty settling in. Knowing where the best bodegas or the best lock change professionals are can be helpful.

The Days Before

1 Day

You should do a final deep clean of your home, cleaning off all appliances. Set your home up so the person moving in will be comfortable. 

Confirm your plans with your moving company and understand when they are coming by to pick your boxes up. You should place your boxes in locations where the movers can access them. 

Once everything seems set, you should spend some time saying goodbye to your family and friends. Make sure everyone knows what your plans are, as you risk angering people who didn’t know about your move.

If you can clean your new home, you should do so before you move in. This will help you spot things that need to be fixed and make the home more comfortable.

Your Moving Checklist for New York City

Your moving checklist should contain a lot of items. You should plan at least two months out because you need to sort through your belongings. Decide what is not going with you and start packing as soon as possible. 

But don’t just focus on packing. You should talk to your boss and make sure your job is okay. You should also talk to all of your friends and not leave anyone out of the loop. 

You are not alone when you are moving. Contact Movers provides premium moving services for New York City.