Two weeks out is the point where a move either comes together calmly or starts to slide. Almost everything that goes wrong on moving day was decided, or forgotten, in this fortnight.
Fourteen days out
- Confirm your mover in writing. You want the date, the arrival time, the crew size and the rate on paper.
- Ask your building what it requires. In Chicago this usually means a Certificate of Insurance from the mover and a reserved freight elevator. Both buildings, not just the new one.
- Check whether your street needs a moving permit. Many city blocks do. Without one the truck parks further away and an hourly move gets more expensive.
- Book time off. Do not plan to work from home on moving day.
Ten days out
- Start on what you never use: off-season clothes, books, spare bedding, the back of the closet.
- Deal with anything movers legally cannot take: propane tanks, gasoline, paint, aerosols, fireworks, ammunition. Most household hazardous waste can go to a city drop-off site.
- Arrange transfer or disconnection dates for internet, gas and electricity. Internet is the one people regret leaving late.
- Use up the freezer rather than trying to move its contents.
One week out
- Pack everything except daily essentials, and label boxes by the room they are going to, not the room they came from.
- File your change of address with USPS, then update your bank, insurance, employer and driver’s licence.
- If you have children or pets, arrange for them to be elsewhere on the day. It genuinely makes the move faster and safer.
- Confirm parking and elevator reservations again. Buildings lose bookings.
The day before
- Pack an essentials box you keep with you: medication, chargers, documents, toilet paper, soap, a towel, a change of clothes, basic tools, coffee.
- Defrost the refrigerator and leave the door ajar overnight.
- Charge your phone and put the crew’s number in it.
- Take meter readings and photograph the empty rooms once cleared — useful for a deposit or a sale.
Moving day
Be there when the crew arrives to walk them through what goes and what stays, and point out anything fragile or awkward before loading starts. Keep the essentials box and any valuables — jewellery, passports, laptops — with you rather than on the truck. Do a final walk through every room, including closets, the basement and the garage, before you sign anything.
Sunshine Movers handles the permits, the Certificates of Insurance and the elevator bookings as part of the job. Call (847) 812-5848 or email sunshinemovers2@gmail.com.