The big day has finally arrived, and you’re ready to move into your new place. Huge excitement all around. It’s time to get your moving day essentials in order because… This is moving day!
Your moving essentials should include keys to the new place, labeled boxes, cleaning supplies, a moving van (or friends’ cars), a tool kit.
To make a move out to your own house a breeze, we’ve pulled together a helpful list to get you started.
If you want, grab our free new house essentials checklist it details every thing you will need in your new place.
Dolly
This one is going to save you time and your back. Trust me. Rent one, buy one, but no matter what, make sure you have one for moving day. It’s great for all your moving boxes (if you need free moving labels, you can grab ours here).
Honestly, besides the few times, we have moved some bigger items. I rarely use the dolly we have, but for the price, it’s nice to have for times when you need one. This one has over 1000 ratings and gets a 4.1-star rating.
Especially after we bought forearm straps (see next part).
Forearm Moving Straps
These are worth their weight in gold! It’s how we were able to move from one house to another without using any movers.
My wife and I were able to lift a 250 TV with barely any effort. Every time someone is moving, these straps are the first thing I bring.
Use them once, and you will be the moving day hero you always knew you could be. We have used them to move fridges, TVs, ovens, dishwashers, dryers, anything huge that you think you can’t lift, you probably can with these straps. It’s incredible what they allow you to do!
Plus, this video shows you just how easy it is to lift things.
(Ok, time to nerd out. The straps use physics to help lift the item from the base, which means you don’t have to bend over a thrust with your back trying to lift it up. So worth it.)
Gloves
Between broken glass, splinters, and just getting your hand caught in a doorway carrying an awkward box. Trust me; you will want to have some of these on hand.
These are Amazon Prime products and are at a great price, have over 5,000 reviews, and have a 4-star rating.
Moving Essentials: Van
If you don’t have a truck or van to carry everything around in, you should look into renting a U-Haul for at least a few hours. I thought that it would be super expensive, but it’s really affordable. There are multiple places you can rent a van from. We went with U-Haul, and it was so much better. It’s also a lot easier to get people around for one load of boxes instead of making 147 trips with your Tiburon across town (been there, done that, got a van the next time).
If you need a container for moving, check out U-pack; they have great prices and offer free quotes.
Moving Boxes
You probably should have some boxes and everything boxed up before moving day. But if you are a minimalist and only have a few things, you can pick up boxes at various places.
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Liquor stores are a great resource for free moving boxes. But if you are short on time, you can always buy them from Amazon here.
You will also need moving labels. Here are some free moving labels to help you out with your move!
Cleaning Supplies
Moving into your new place means someone is likely moving out. Maybe you are a clean freak (this is a judgment-free zone), or maybe you don’t really care.
Still, the best time to clean up a place is when there is nothing in your new home.
Use the emptiness as an opportunity to clean the house and get things as clean as you would like. This varies for everyone, so find your level of cleanliness and get it done. While you are cleaning, you may want to buy a new toilet seat. You deserve a new throne. I’ll leave it at that. Just make sure it’s the right one, there’s round or elongated toielts so make sure you know the difference.
Tools
There will probably (and by probably, I mean 100% going to) be a few little things that need to happen when you move in. It’s a good idea to have a toolset of some kind around for when these things pop up.
Replacing the locks, hanging frames, tightening screws, and swapping out light switches (those beige ones, we’re originally white, I know, Ewww, right?) are all going to need tools. Get yourself an all-in-one set to start and upgrade as you need to.
Screwdrivers, wrenches, a tape measure, stud finder (insert bad joke here 😉 ) all come in handy. (Especially the tape measure, it will save you an argument or two in the first couple of days when you are hanging things on walls.)
Friends
This one makes all of the moving so much easier, faster, and more fun. Six months before your move date, start offering a helping hand to people in your network who are moving.
This is a great way to help out and see what taking over a house is like first-hand. It also builds up some sweat equity with your buddies and makes it a lot easier to have some friends to call on when your big moving day arrives.
Beer and Pizza
Finally, and most importantly, on your moving timeline, you need refreshments for everyone who has chipped in to give you a hand.
Make sure to have plenty of pizza and beer. The best advice I can give you is to make sure the boxes of breakables are safely in your new place before everyone starts cracking a nice cold.
Enjoy your move! You only get to move into your first house once! Once you are settled in, make sure to check out the things to do after you move into a new house, so you have all your boxes checked.
Love cooking? Make sure to check out our Kitchen Essentials Checklist
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