Moving Checklist

By Ankush Das, founder and CEO of Snestico · Published

Start eight weeks before moving day: give notice the way your lease asks, book movers on a written estimate, change your address two weeks out, and photograph both homes on moving day. Tick each step below, print the list, or add it to your Move Planner with every step dated from your moving day.

This checklist is written for renters, so it covers the lease, the deposit and the checks before you pay for a new place as well as the packing. Your ticks stay in your browser; signed in, Snestico adds the open steps to Dashboard → Move Planner and reminds you by email and in your notifications when each one is due.

Eight weeks before

  • Pick your moving day and a budget for the move
  • Read your lease for how much written notice it needs, then give notice in writing and keep a copy
  • Shortlist neighborhoods by commute and rent, and set up saved-search alerts
  • Decide how you'll move: movers, a rental truck, or a few boxes shipped and the rest bought locally
  • Ask several movers for written estimates after they've seen what you're moving, in person or by video
  • Sell or give away what you won't take on the local marketplace

Four weeks before

  • Book your mover or truck in writing; for a move to another state, look up the mover's USDOT number on FMCSA's site
  • Sign a new lease only after a live video tour and reading the whole lease, and pay by a traceable method
  • Collect free boxes, tape and packing paper
  • Start packing the rooms you use least, labeling every box with its room
  • Ask both buildings about elevator bookings, and your city about parking for the truck
  • Set up renters insurance for the new place

Two weeks before

  • Submit your USPS change of address, which takes at least 7 to 10 business days to start
  • Book utilities and internet to start at the new place and stop at the old one
  • Update your address with your bank, cards, employer and subscriptions
  • Confirm the date, time, both addresses and the price with your mover in writing
  • Plan meals to use up the food you have

One week before

  • Pack everything except a few days of essentials
  • Pack an essentials bag: documents, chargers, medicines, toiletries, a change of clothes and bedding
  • Agree key handover times with both landlords
  • Take furniture apart and keep the screws in labeled bags
  • Clean the old place the way your lease asks, room by room

Moving day

  • Photograph every room of the old place, empty, before you hand back the keys
  • Check the mover's inventory before you sign it, and keep a copy
  • Keep documents, valuables and medicines with you, not on the truck
  • Photograph every room of the new place before you unpack and send the landlord a note of any damage
  • Note damaged or missing boxes on the delivery paperwork before you sign

First week in

  • Ask for your deposit back in writing and give the old landlord your new address
  • Update your driver's license and voter registration as your state requires
  • Agree house rules and how bills are split with any roommates
  • Flatten your boxes and give them away free to someone about to move
  • Find your grocery store, transit stop and one local group or event

How do you use this checklist?

Tick a step when it's done; the count at the top shows how far you are. The ticks are kept in this browser, so you can come back to them. Print the list for the fridge, or sign in and add the open steps to Move Planner: enter your moving day and each step is dated from it, eight weeks before to a week after, with a reminder when it's due.

Moving on short notice? Start at the section that matches the time you have left and do the earlier steps first. The ones that can't wait are notice to your landlord, booking the move, and the USPS change of address.

Where does Snestico help with a move?

The search and the checks: live listings with answers about each home, commute times from every listing, Scam Check for a listing or a message before you pay, roommate matching, and the Deposit Protection Kit for the photos and the move-out letter. The local marketplace is for furnishing the new place and for giving away your boxes when you're done. Snestico doesn't move your things; for that, see how to check a mover before you book one.

Common questions

When should I start a moving checklist?

About eight weeks before moving day, because your lease's notice period and booking a mover are what take longest. If you have less time, start at the section that matches it and catch up on the earlier steps first.

How far ahead should I change my address with USPS?

About two weeks before you move. The Postal Service says a change of address takes at least 7 to 10 business days to start, and online it costs a $1.25 identity verification fee.

What should I do on moving day as a renter?

Photograph every room of the old place empty before you hand back the keys, and every room of the new place before you unpack. Those dated photos are what get your deposit back if there's a dispute later.

Sources

How this was made: drafted with AI assistance, then reviewed and edited by Ankush Das, who checks every fact against the sources listed before it is published or updated.