For many people thinking about a move, the portion that involves the actual moving is the most overwhelming. Buying a new residence is exhilarating—beginning a new chapter in life, whether you're buying your dream residence in Tulsa or downsizing, there is something about a move that makes you feel like you are starting over. Then, you see all your musty old possessions and that rocketship you are riding over the stars to your new place dies and you find yourself in a pile of old books and kid's artwork that you need to take care of. However, if you organize your move and follow an elementary checklist, you can manage to pack your life and move it to Tulsa without a lot of worry and anxiety.
It's customary to have a moving time frame of roughly three months, so this timeline figures you've got that much time to make it happen. All that’s required to get started is a large file folder.
Three Months Out
Pick your moving company—think about if you desire full-service moving or you want to do it yourself or a service level in the middle, sort of an a la carte option. A moving specialist comes to your residence and goes through to estimate how many moving vans and how many boxes you will require, figure up time to load, drive time, and unload, and provide you a quote for other items, like packing, taking apart furniture, and storing, if necessary. After you figure out your moving company and services needed, make sure to confirm you are on their schedule. Put a copy of the estimate in your folder. One huge thing is now done!
It is never too early to begin purging—which items to give to a charity, pitch, or move with you. How you go about the process is up to you, what works for one person does not work for all. Ignore all the blogs and YouTube videos and get started on what works for you—one weekend you may sort through and start to pack up what's moving, another day you could choose to continue purging and leave things where they are. There truly is no perfect way to accomplish it, so do not stress out if you do not follow the "rules".
Two Months Out
This is normally when you start feeling a little hurried—the docket is turning faster than it should be, and the truth is that besides selecting your moving company and trashing takeout menus and mismatched mittens, you have not completed a thing.
If you will be resigning from your job and haven't talked over your move with your supervisor, now is a great time--it provides them the time to prepare someone to pick up where you are leaving off so they are prepared when you exit.
If you have choosen to do your own packing, think about it again. Help is a phone call away; your moving company can assist with professional packers to do the job—they'll schedule for closer to your move since they come in and get the packing accomplished quickly, and you'll need shoes and the coffee pot until the final day.
Let any service providers know that you'll be leaving—if your move is within the same town, give your yard service the new address and you are finished. Beyond that, here are several of the crucial ones.
Medical—doctors, orthodontists, dentists
Any more, most medical practitioners are part of bigger networks and your records are available to new providers. Ask your physician for referrals. They network well and might have old buddies from medical school they can recommend. While dentists and orthodontists don't have those networks, they will help guide you old-school, too.
Prescriptions
As pharmacies merge you could be able to maintain your current pharmacy chain, but to be prepared keep hard copies of all your prescriptions in your file folder so that you will have them on hand in the event of a glitch along the process. The last thing you want is to run out of allergy medication the day you are loading the truck and have to deal with a new pharmacy.
School
If you have children in school, enrolling them in a new school district is unavoidable—you need every document in existence to register them—birth certificate, social security info, proof of address (a copy of your contract if you have not closed in Tulsa yet), and immunization records at least. Ask precisely what you will need, and be proactive and keep all the important paperwork in a safe place—the file folder.
If you have kids in college and you're leaving the state, find out the process for maintaining in-state tuition. Each state has different rules, and the purpose for the move and the distance can be a deciding factor—some states allow in-state tuition if you're moving to a contiguous state.
Keep sorting and boxing—set a goal for a room every week, or all the closets in a week.
One Month Out
By now you should have sorted, systematized, and put all your non-essentials in methodically packed and labeled boxes in an out-of-the-way place. Right. This is when you get fierce with sorting--especially if you have selected to have the moving company pack everything that is left. It is amazing how really inconsequential that old lamp becomes when you don't like it anyway and now it's going to cost you to move it. So, throw it out and keep going.
Activities--Community, Religious, Social
If, by accident, you have forgotten to mention to anyone that you are moving, you need to now. Especially any volunteer activities you're a part of, and if you're overseeing committees or on any boards, you hopefully have previously notified the groups so they can fill the gap you're leaving. Don't forget to turn in any files or records you’ve collected (Girl Scout cookie moms) to the person stepping into your old role. If you're part of a nationwide organization, (Rotary, Junior League) submit your transfer documents--you can many times do these online.
Many mainline churches and synagogues provide the opportunity to transfer memberships; after you're settled and have established a new religious home, they will manage that for you when you are ready to have a new church home.
If you belong to any organization, you will want to update your membership--depending on the organization, you may be able to maintain a non-resident status when you move to Tulsa.
Activities--Youth Sports, Clubs
If you have kiddos, you will experience the joy of finding new play groups, music teachers, soccer teams, and gymnastics studios. The good news is that club level teams are everywhere, if you've got athletes. And, social media mom's groups are a good way to find other kid's activities. Don’t forget that everyone has an opinion, but you'll at the very least get a good number of contacts for trumpet and cooking lessons.
Two Weeks and Counting
Contact all your utilities and set up the cancel-service request. Don't forget your internet and cable--you might be able to just switch some services if your provider is in your new locale as well (gas, electric, TV, internet) but unless you are local you will most likely require new accounts. Set up your new accounts as you terminate the old ones, and don't forget the mail. You can set up your new home address and delivery stop dates online, and if you need a PO box you can accomplish that online too.
If you are moving across the country, confirm travel reservations or airline tickets. If you are moving with your furry friends, be sure the hotels allow animals.
One Week to Go!
Pretend you're departing on vacation and pack a suitcase or two, so you can get everything else ready to move. Hold a “Clean Out the Fridge” week, and use paper products whenever possible so that you can pack up the rest of the kitchen.
If you're moving any items from your yard, wait until the last minute to dig the plants up, and put them in big tubs for the move.
Confirm with the movers when they will be at your house to begin loading.
Moving Day
You're ready to move. You've got all your possessions ready to go on the moving van, so hang onto your folder, unplug the coffee pot and get moving.
