Whether you are moving within the same state, from one state to another or from your family house into your first apartment, you need a relocation checklist. This list is essential to your relocation plans because it gives you peace of mind and helps you keep the entire process organised.
The relocation checklist below covers everything you need to pay attention to; from 2 months before you relocate to the month after your relocation.
Come Up With a Budget
Set aside a specific amount of money to cover your relocation. Don’t allow the excitement of relocation cloud your financial judgement. When you arrive at a figure, try as much as you can to work within the budget. A clearly defined budget helps you see when you are about to overshoot your budget for the relocation.
Moving Personally or Using a Company
The fact that you are relocating doesn’t necessarily mean you have to do everything yourself. There are companies that specialise in helping you take away the stress of relocating. Make this decision early and have it as a checklist item on your list because it determines how much of the relocation you would be doing yourself. If you are not working with ‘movers,’ you can ask for help from friends and family.
Make a List of Items
Draw up a list of everything you intend to pack. Don’t think of this as hard work because it is worth the effort. When drawing up your list, break them down into groups and pack items under the same group into a single box. For instance, you can have a box labelled jewellery and another labelled ‘documents.’ This helps you know what is inside each box you have packed without necessarily opening each one. This saves time and helps you know where each item is packed.
Settle Your Bills Before Relocating
Ensure you settle all your bills at your old apartment or home. The idea here is to avoid leaving the apartment with unpaid bills hanging over your head. Dedicate sufficient time to sort this out.
Return All Borrowed Items
Don’t make the mistake of moving borrowed items along with you to your new apartment. Items like books, appliances and gadgets should be returned.
Cancel Existing Subscriptions That Are Tied to Physical Locations
You should cancel membership to clubs that you will no longer be in need of. Let us put this into perspective. If you live in Ajah and have a gym membership in the neighbourhood. That’s not bad. Now, imagine relocating to Ikeja. Driving for 1 hour 30 minutes to go to a gym doesn’t sound like an ideal situation. The exception to this would be if you are relocating within the same neighbourhood.
Get Rid of Things You No Longer Need
Avoid packing items you are likely to thrash when you complete your relocation. Sell off things you no longer need and use this opportunity to raise some extra cash.
Update Your Bank Accounts
You are most likely going to have your bank accounts tied to your old address. You should carve out some time to visit the bank(s) to update this. This becomes even more important if your home address also serves as your postal address.
Identify Major Landmarks and Places
Don’t wait till you complete your relocation before you begin to pay attention to the major landmarks around your new home. Keep an eye out for places you are likely to visit from time to time. Some of such places include supermarkets, churches, Mosques, malls, gas stations, banks, libraries, ATMs, pharmacies, hospitals and schools closest to your new place. If you are relocating to places like Ikeja, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki or Ajah, consider going through neighbourhood guides to find your way around the new district.
Plan For New Utility Bills
You need a concrete plan to set up your utility bills in your new apartment. This should cover bills like your pay TV, electricity (whether you are going to use a prepaid or postpaid meter) and garbage disposal at your new place.
Reach Out to Your Insurance company
If you have an insurance policy, you should notify them of your change of residence. This is important because insurance policies are quite sensitive and they take relocation quite seriously.
Voltage Requirements
If you are relocating from one country to another, you should find out the voltage requirement of the country you are moving into. In some countries, it is 110-120V while in others, it is 220-240V. Never take this for granted else you put your electrical appliances and gadgets at the risk of getting damaged.
Create a Plan for Furniture Placement
Draw up a floor plan for placing items in your new home. Give particular attention to large furniture and appliances. For instance, if you have a 62-inch TV or huge refrigerator, you want to be sure that they will make it through the door. You’ll also need to figure out if they will fit into the places you have mapped out for them.
Group Items That Require Special Care to Move
Some items in your house require special care to move. This includes items like large mirrors and expensive flat screen TVs. These items are super sensitive to move around and a single bump against other items could leave them permanently damaged. You don’t want to take this for granted or forget to plan for such items. Remember to add it to your checklist.
Food in the Freezer
If you are the kind of person who likes to stock up food that can last you for a month or two in your freezer, you should slow down on this when relocating. Instead, focus on exhausting everything you have in your fridge and freezer because it will cost you more to move a lot of food from your old apartment to your new home. You don’t want to move an item like a freezer when you still have so much food in it. You also risk creating a mess if you are moving across a long distance.
Gas cylinders Should be Empty
If you use a gas cooker, you should consider exhausting the gas in it prior to your relocation and also dispose of all flammable liquids. You can get new ones when you complete your relocation to your new apartment. This reduces the risk involved in moving such items.
Travel Documents
If your relocation involves travelling from one country to another, you want to make sure all your travel documents are intact to avoid unnecessary delays. Make concrete plans for your passports, tickets, visas, currency, credit cards and accommodation.
Handover to the Landlord
On the final day of your relocation, you want to make sure you hand over the keys to the apartment to the landlord. Add this to your checklist to avoid unwanted drama.
A Final Walk Through Your Apartment
Before you leave your old house, you should dedicate about 30 to 40 minutes to walk through your old apartment. Consider this an inspection of sorts and this is when you want to be sure that you have not left anything out. Check your drawers, cabinets, wardrobes, walls and every single room in the house.
Take a Picture of Your New Home
If you enjoy hosting friends and family in your house, then you want to make sure that giving them directions to your new home is made as easy as possible. Capture a picture of the entrance of your house and share with friends and loved ones because it makes it easier for them to locate your house when they are visiting you for the first time.
Discontinue Delivery Services and Subscriptions
Make a list of all the services you have subscriptions for and discontinue them. If you have pizza or magazines delivered to your home on a weekly basis, you should cancel them to avoid incurring unnecessary bills. Add them to your checklist as a proactive measure. This also includes all automated payment plans. For instance, if you are moving to a neighbourhood that has free wi-fi for all residents, you might have to discontinue your monthly subscription plan with your internet provider.
Change the Locks
You will have to ensure you have the locks on your new house changed for security reasons. You should not move into a new house without changing all the locks in the house.
Clean the New House
The fact that you are just moving into the house doesn’t mean you don’t have to clean it. Even if the property is a new one, you want to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned and fumigated.
Add a Handyman Kit to Your Relocation Checklist
You will need to have a handyman kit that contains things like a hammer, screwdriver, tester, light bulbs, nails, wall hooks and a penknife. These are bound to come in handy when you are settling into your new home.
Backup Your Computer
Ensure all the data on your computer is backed up. Don’t take anything for granted. Preferably, use both flash drives and external hard disks.
Have Some Cash on You
When relocating, you should have some cash on you for last minute expenses and necessary finances for moving organised. You should also have this for contingency plans so you don’t find yourself getting stuck.
We hope our checklist helped make your relocation easier? Was it helpful? Let us know in the comment section below. If we missed anything, let us know as well.
