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When it comes to planning a move, homeowners place a major emphasis on moving day itself. While this is vital for obvious reasons, most professional long-distance movers agree that taking care of several key tasks leading up to and after the big day is equally important.

By being mindful of what needs to happen ahead of time, you stand a better chance of experiencing a smooth, worry-free move.

Moving Checklist to Help You Prepare

Prepare Your Freezer and Fridge

Whether you’re taking your major appliances with you or leaving them behind for the new homeowners, it’s a good idea to make sure they’re clean. Additionally, you want your freezers to be defrosted and dry. Failing to do so could:

• Lead to a mouldy, musty-smelling freezer

• Leak liquid onto other stored items

• Cause renters to lose their damage deposit

Eat What You’ve Got

Fridges and freezers are a major convenience because they store food for weeks or even months. However, whatever you have left come moving day will either have to be:

• Taken with you (added moving expense)

• Thrown out (wasteful)

• Given away

• To prevent unnecessary waste, make a point of using this food. If you have any casseroles tucked away, it’ll make for easy meal preparation so you can attend to other items on your moving checklist (we like moving tips like this because they help you save time and money).

Redirect Your Mail

While Canada Post’s mail redirection service is quite dependable, you don’t want to rely on it entirely. Instead, make a list of the people and organizations you continually receive mail from and notify them of your upcoming move. This would include:

• Utility providers (schedule a reconnection while you’re at it)
  Banks and credit unions

• Government agencies

• Member affiliations

• Work-related correspondence
  

Once redirected mail begins to arrive at your new address, you can notify these companies as well.

Assemble Important Documents

One of the best moving tips that long-distance movers can offer is this: have all of your key moving documents close at hand. By gathering them before you move, you won’t be left scrambling on moving day. Also, keep them in a safe location, such as a folder in a briefcase or carry-on bag. Typical items for a long-distance move will include:

• Travel documents (passports, airline tickets, directions)

• Essential contact information for your long-distance movers

• Moving agreement

• Other important papers

Charge Portable Electronic Devices

Nowadays, it’s common to have some of the documents mentioned above stored on smartphones and other devices. Make sure they’re fully charged before you depart, and keep your chargers handy throughout your trip. For other long-distance relocation tips, read Long Distance Movers Offer 4 Tips to Avoid a Disaster.

Long Distance Moving With Furry Friends

Moving is a family affair. That includes members with two legs and four. Our professional long distance movers want to ensure your move is smooth for everyone involved, so in addition to the above tips, we’ve come up with some pointers to help you help your pets for the big day.

Our pets are creatures of habit. They like a routine, and when that routine gets disrupted, it can lead to things like:

• Stress

• Erratic behaviour

• Illness
  

Fortunately, most families don’t tend to move that often, and when they do, the upheaval is temporary. You can mitigate the stress your pets experience during this process by following a few simple steps.

Set Aside Personal Space

Dogs have this uncanny ability to sense when something is amiss. As soon as they see you pull out suitcases and start packing boxes, they know something is up.

Whether packing is part of your moving services or you’re doing it yourself, it will help minimize stress if you set aside some space for your pet.

Travelling with Pets

Long distance movers don’t offer pet moving services. You’ll either need to transport them in your own vehicle or fly with them.

If you intend to fly, check with the airline you’re travelling with, as each has its own pet policy. And while flying might be the fastest option, it can also be the most stressful for pets.

If you intend to drive, there are many things you can do to alleviate anxiety:

• Make sure your animal is safely contained (carrier, harness, etc.)

• Give them enough space to stretch and sleep

• Stop frequently so they can do their business

• Give them plenty of exercise to relieve built-up energy

• Provide toys, blankets, and other familiar items

• Pack plenty of water and their usual brand of food

• If your journey calls for an overnight stay along the way, many hotels these days offer pet-friendly rooms.

Visit Your Vet

Most pets dislike vet visits, but it’s a good idea to book an appointment before you travel. Your vet will be able to tell you:

• If they’re healthy enough to travel

• How to keep your pet calm while travelling

• If vaccinations are up to date

Furthermore, if you’re moving internationally, you’ll likely need to provide up-to-date medical records for your pet in order to bring it into the country.

Bring Pet ID

In the event that your dog escapes during your trip, you will increase your chances of finding it by ensuring it’s readily identifiable. You can do this by updating your dog tags with current contact information or by micro-chipping it.

Once you arrive at your new home, check with your local municipality about dog license requirements.

Staying Safe In Your New Home

It took months of planning and the help of your long distance moving company, but you’re finally settling into your new home. You’re probably excited to set up your home just the way you like it. But before you paint the walls, tackle a renovation project, or set up a space for your pooch, one of your first tasks should be to evaluate your home security.

Feeling safe in your home goes hand in hand with feeling comfortable. Particularly if you’re moving to a new city you’re unfamiliar with, it’s worth ensuring you have some basic security measures in place.

Change the Locks

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll know much about the people you bought your house from. And it’s impossible to know how many spare sets of keys for your door locks might be floating around out there.

The vast majority of people are honest and decent folk, but all it takes is one person to see an opportunity to gain unimpeded access to your home. For peace of mind, change the locks on all entrance points, including:

• Doors

• Garages and shops

• Other outbuildings
  

You can either hire a professional locksmith to do this or, if you have a few basic tools, you can do it yourself. While you’re at it, consider upgrading the hardware to:

• More robust locking mechanisms

• Convenient keyless entry systems

• More visually appealing and functional designs

Inspect Your Property

Have a look around your property to identify any areas where would-be thieves might be able to operate undetected. If you can’t alter the landscape, consider installing motion lights to illuminate these places. Lighting is also practical around:

• Entranceways

• Garages

• Pathways
  Not only will this discourage intruders, it will also enable you to avoid slips and falls when it’s dark out. Plus, it will add more curb appeal to your home.
  

Get to Know Your Neighbours

Good neighbours look out for one another. It’s what they do.

When it comes to long-distance travel, you might not know many people in your new town. So start with your neighbours. Reach out to them and introduce yourselves, or even invite them over for a meal. With this simple gesture, you could:

• Make lifelong friends

• Learn about the neighbourhood

• Have extra sets of eyes watching over your home

• Have someone close by in case of an emergency

Make Your Home Look Occupied

Thieves often target empty houses because there’s less risk of being noticed. If you’re going out for the night, leave some lights on. You could even turn on the TV. If you’re in the process of settling into a new home, read: The Long Distance Movers Canada Prefers Offer Tips for Your New Home.

For competitive moving quotes and a full range of professional services, contact the long-distance moving experts at Bighorn Moving And Storage. Whether you’re moving out of province or to the United States, we have the skills and resources to coordinate a safe, efficient move.