10 Things You Need to Do Before You Move Out

by Maid Prime - January 24, 2020

There’s no question that Portland residents move around a lot - people in the USA on average move every five years. Moving into a new home or apartment can be very exciting but the entire process can be very stressful if not organized in advance. To make sure your moving experience less tedious make sure to follow the next ten steps before moving out of your home:

  1. Make sure you have collected all the keys you have made for your home. This includes those you gave to your family, friends or dog sitter, the last thing you want is someone having access to the property after moving out!
  2. The next point on our list is having a garage sale. The best way to ensure your move is quicker is to sell your things - plus you make extra cash on top of it all. Packing all your items just to unpack it all again can be very time consuming so the best thing to do would be to sell it. This ensures you won’t have a headache on the day of your move. Plus if your neighbors can reuse the things that you might have had to haul to the dump.
  3. As a courtesy to the people moving into the home after you leave make sure to clean all the appliances left behind. Yes this does include the inside of the oven, fridge, washer and dryer.
  4. Another task that can take up some time is having to change your billing addresses. This includes everything from your bank to online accounts such as eBay. The last thing you need is your mail or packages to be delivered to your old address. So make sure to devote time to tackle this prior to your move out date.
  5. The second part is to make sure to visit your local post office to set up mail forwarding to your new home so you would not miss any important mail or bills once you move into your new home.
  6. Hire a professional house cleaner if possible. Especially if you are renting a house or an apartment since leaving anything less than a spotless home can cost you getting the security deposit back - this is due to some landlords being extremely picky. When you hire a professional house cleaning service to clean your home up to industry standards you can rest assured that no landlord will argue with the shining cleaning job left by professionals with the right equipment and skillset. Contact us if you are looking for a professional move out cleaning service.
  7. Planning will play a large part in how stress free your entire moving process will be. Make sure that if you decide to do the cleaning on your own time that you schedule the moving to be complete at least one day prior to the day you are planning on cleaning. Normally it is not possible to be able to move everything and clean everything due to the limited time and the fact that you will most likely be exhausted. This way you move everything and the day you come back to clean the home will be left empty which makes cleaning easier. You can also have a house cleaning service come in and take care of your home.
  8. For people that are renting - make sure you read your lease to its entirety at least two months in advance. This will ensure you are aware of any end of lease conditions that you may have not been aware.
  9. Make sure you do not pack any of your essential belongings prior to you the day of the move. Leave the things needed on a day to day basis in a specific drawer so it is not misplaced, this includes toothbrush, toothpaste, hair dryers, toilet paper. It can become extremely frustrating to have unpack countless boxes in order to find one necessary item. Don’t forget that you will have to repack every box as well.
  10. Most certainly do not forget to patch up holes that are left behind from the nails and screws used to hold up you paintings. The best way to remove holes is using wall repair spackling paste. After applying the paste make sure to let enough time pass for the paste to dry, then repaint the walls. In the case that you are renting you may want to ask your landlord prior to repainting the walls.

Make sure to read Lexi's article for more information to make your moving experience as easy as possible.