Packing – Five Weeks before Your Move:

Create a floor plan of your new home, and begin thinking about where you’ll want to place furniture. Advance planning eases the stress of making major decisions when your furniture arrives at your new home. Mark and label specific pieces of furniture on your diagram, and put it in your moving folder.

Complete any repair work on your old home, and arrange for any critical services needed at your new home.

Notify the post office, magazines, credit card companies and friends and family of your change of address. The U. S. Postal Service offers a kit to make this process easier.

Contact utilities (gas, water, and electricity, and telephone, cable TV) to schedule disconnection of services on the day following your move. You’ll want to have utilities on while you’re still in the house. Call the utilities in your new town to arrange for service to start the day before your move so that you have service when you arrive at your new home. And don’t forget to arrange for an expert, if necessary, to install fixtures upon their arrival at your new home.