Now that you’ve found the perfect home for you and your family, the exciting part of checking out a new city and getting settled into your house can begin. However, it is important to not get ahead of yourself and forget that there are still a handful of tasks that need to be completed at your previous house. Whether you were renting the home or owned it yourself and are handing over the keys to the new occupants, there are undoubtedly some loose ends that need to be tied up before your local Fort Worth moving company arrives. When embarking on a long distance move and using the assistance of a trustworthy moving company, it is helpful to get all your ducks in a row, to speak, so that you are ready and raring to go come moving day.

So before you turn your old keys in, moving out, and collect your new ones, make sure you’ve completed the following:

• Contact your utility companies – Regardless of whether you rented or owned your previous home, it is important to make sure you turn off your utilities or have them transferred to your new address, especially if they are in your name. With this, it may also be a good idea to jot down your meter readings yourself to ensure everything matches up once you receive the final bill from the utility company.
• Do your laundry – This may seem weird, but we suggest you do your laundry before packing up all your clothes and moving across the state or country. For one, packing dirty clothes seems like it will just create more work for you once you get to your new place. Additionally, many homes do not come with a washer and dryer to start, which means you will have to either go to a laundromat first thing or buy a set before you have conducted any research.
• Have your mail forwarded – Change your address with your bank, credit card companies, magazine subscriptions, and post office a couple of weeks before you are set to move. It only costs $1 to change your address through the USPS website, and this will save you a lot of trouble down the road.
• Don’t forget to check your storage areas – In order to ensure you don’t leave anything behind, be sure and check all the closets in your home as well as storage places. The crawlspace, attic, shed, and lightly used closets are often the places where people forget they have put items, causing them to leave them behind.
• Do one last sweep through – You can never be too careful. Even if you’ve checked and double-checked your home to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything, do it again right before you leave the house for the last time.

Moving is something that brings up different feelings for different people. Whether it is something that stresses you out or an event you look forward to, as it means starting a new, there are certain tasks that should be performed before leaving your old home. By making a moving checklist and doing your best to stick to it, you will be saving yourself a lot of time and frustration. Be sure and contact your local long-distance moving company once you know where and when you will be moving to in order to ensure the move goes off without a hitch.