The move calendar: working back from moving day
Fix moving day against the dates other people set, mark which deadlines are hard and which are only our suggestion, and date every task back from the day.
Start here Essentials
For a first pass, this chapter asks you to fix moving day, find the few deadlines other people set around it, and give every task on the move calendar a date and a name. Everything marked Go deeper is optional.
- Write down moving day and every date that boxes it in. The lease end or closing, the new home's first day, the school calendar. Enter moving day in setup (fixing the date).
- Open the move calendar and mark the rows someone else set. Check each one against its source: the lease, the agency's page, the city's page, the rental contract (deadlines other people set).
- Put the earliest of those deadlines on your phone's calendar today. For most renters it is the date the lease's notice is due (notice periods).
- Give every row a name. Yours, a helper's, the building manager's, or the company you are paying (who does what).
Minimum time: about 45 minutes, plus the time to find and read your lease's notice clause. Done when: the move calendar is dated from moving day, every row set by someone else is confirmed against its source, and every row has a name.
Deadlines other people set Understand
A move is a dated project. Most of its tasks have no fixed date: you decide when to sort the hall closet or start packing the books. A few tasks have a date that someone else sets, and missing one of those costs money, a reservation or a legal right. We call these hard deadlines: dates set by a lease, a law or regulation, a city or building, a government agency, or a company you have a contract with. Everything else on the list is a lead time: how far ahead a task is worth starting, which is a judgment, not a rule. This manual's convention
The move calendar is one list of both kinds, every task dated from moving day, with a column that says who set the date. The split matters because the two kinds bend differently. A lead time can shrink when the move is close. A hard deadline does not move because you are busy, and some of them run from a date other than moving day: the end of the tenancy, the day you vacate, the day the goods are delivered. When time is short, do the rows set by someone else first.
The table lists the hard deadlines a household move commonly meets. Which ones apply depends on whether you rent or own, how far you move, who moves your goods, and who you are. The state and city figures are examples, chosen to show the range; your own state, city, building and contract set yours.
| Deadline | Set by | What the source says | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice to end your tenancy | Your lease; state law for a month-to-month tenancy | A fixed-term lease sets its own notice terms. Month-to-month examples: California, at least 30 days' written notice; Florida, at least 30 days before the end of a monthly period; Texas, one month after notice is given unless a signed agreement sets another period | Renters |
| Pre-move-out inspection | State law, where the state has one | California: no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends. New York: no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end | Renters in a state with the rule |
| Closing or possession date | Your purchase or sale agreement | The agreement's own dates | Owners selling, buyers moving in |
| USPS change of address | USPS | File up to 90 days before the move and up to 30 days after. Mail is inaccessible for 7 to 10 postal business days after the start date | Everyone who gets mail |
| Utilities stop and start | Each utility, under state rules | Pennsylvania, as an example: tell the utility at least seven days before your moving date, or you may pay for service at the old address | Every account holder |
| Street or truck permit | The city | Boston: apply online at least 15 days and no more than eight weeks ahead. San Francisco: allow at least 5 business days | Where the city issues one |
| Building move rules | Each building or association | Its own rules: permitted days and hours, elevator reservations, an insurance certificate from movers | Apartment, condominium and community buildings |
| Bill of lading | Federal regulation | An interstate mover gives you the bill of lading to sign at least 3 days before loading, and you may cancel without penalty for 3 days after signing | A hired mover crossing a state line |
| USCIS address report (AR-11) | Federal regulation | Within 10 days of moving | Noncitizens, with listed exceptions |
| Selective Service address | Federal regulation | Within 10 days of a change | Registrants |
| License and registration | Your state | From 10 to 90 days in our five state examples, depending on the state and whether you are a new resident | Drivers and vehicle owners |
| Deposit return (the landlord's deadline, which you watch) | State law | New York 14 days; Florida 15 days, or 30 to give notice of a claim; California 21 calendar days; Texas 30 days | Renters |
| Damage claim | Federal statute | An interstate mover may not give you less than 9 months to file a claim | A hired mover crossing a state line |
Sources for the table: the month-to-month notice rules in California Civil Code 1946, Florida Statutes 83.57 and Texas Property Code 91.001; the inspections in California Civil Code 1950.5 and New York General Obligations Law 7-108; USPS's Change of Address: The Basics; the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission's consumer rights booklet (PDF, November 2023); Boston's moving truck permit page and the SFMTA's temporary signage page; 49 CFR 375.505 for the bill of lading; USCIS, How to Change Your Address; 32 CFR 1621.1 for Selective Service; and 49 U.S.C. 14706 for the claim window. The license windows and deposit returns are cited in Changing your address.
Notice periods: the lease first
For most renters the first hard deadline is the notice to vacate: the written notice a tenant gives the landlord that they are ending the tenancy. How much notice, in what form and by what date is set first by the lease. A fixed-term lease runs to a stated end date, and its own terms say whether and when notice is due before that date; the state defaults in the table are written for a month-to-month tenancy, one with no end date that renews each rent period. Three examples show how the defaults differ: California counts at least 30 days from written notice and lets the parties agree to as few as seven; Florida wants the notice at least 30 days before the end of a monthly period, so the rent date matters; Texas ends the tenancy on the later of the day named in the notice or one month after the notice is given. Ask the authority
Read your lease for four things and write them in the notes column of the notice row: how many days of notice; whether the days run to the end of the lease or to the end of a rent period; how notice is delivered (California's section names personal service or certified or registered mail, as one example); and whether it counts from the day you send it or the day the landlord receives it. If the lease does not answer one of them, ask the landlord in writing and keep the answer. Deliver the notice by the method the lease names and keep a dated copy. Learn First Home Basics: the lease, the walk-through and the condition record covers reading a lease in more depth.
Owners and buyers have the same kind of anchor in the purchase or sale agreement: the closing date and the date you hand over or take possession. Put each on the calendar as a row set by someone else, and ask the agent or attorney handling the sale what the agreement says happens if closing moves. Ask the authority
Deadlines that fall after moving day
Several hard deadlines fall in the days after the move, when unpacking crowds them out. Some run on a short clock. A noncitizen who must report to USCIS has 10 days. A Selective Service registrant has 10 days. A driver's license address change is due within 10 days in two of our state examples, and a new resident's vehicle registration within 10 to 30 days in others. Changing your address gives every figure with its source. The calendar puts these rows after moving day so they are dated before the boxes arrive.
Two more run from other anchors. A renter's deposit return is the landlord's deadline, counted from the day you vacate, surrender the home or end the agreement, depending on the state; the calendar row reminds you to watch for it. If a hired interstate mover carried your goods, the federal minimum for filing a damage claim is 9 months, and the calendar asks you to write the date 9 months after delivery; your bill of lading may give longer. Damage, delays and disputes explains the claim.
The calendar's weeks are our suggestion, except on rows that name who set the deadline. Even on those rows, the figure we print is an example or a default: your lease, your purchase agreement, your building's rules, your state's law or your city can set a different date, and that source decides. Read your lease for its own notice terms; the state defaults above apply to month-to-month tenancies. This manual gives no legal advice. Whether you can end a lease early, what happens if notice is late, and what you owe for the overlap are questions for the lease, your landlord, your state's consumer or housing agency, or a lawyer. Ask the authority
Notice and deposit rules in four states, side by side
The four states below are examples, chosen because together they show how much the rules differ. Each row comes from the statute section we read on November 2, 2026; a blank means the section we read does not cover it, not that the state has no rule.
| State (example) | Month-to-month notice | Pre-move-out inspection | Deposit back | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | At least 30 days' written notice; the parties may agree to not less than seven | On request, no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours' written notice; you may fix the listed items | Itemized statement and balance no later than 21 calendar days after you vacate. A deposit paid electronically comes back electronically unless you agree otherwise in writing (added by AB 414, in force January 1, 2026) | Civ. Code 1946; Civ. Code 1950.5 |
| Florida | Not less than 30 days before the end of any monthly period | 15 days after the agreement ends if the landlord makes no claim; a claim needs written notice within 30 days, and the tenant has 15 days to object | 83.57; 83.49 | |
| New York | Not in the section we read | On request, no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end, with 48 hours' notice and a list of proposed deductions | Itemized statement and balance within 14 days of vacating; a landlord who misses it loses the right to keep any of it | GOL 7-108 |
| Texas | Ends on the later of the day in the notice or one month after notice, unless a signed agreement says otherwise | On or before the 30th day after you surrender the home; the landlord need not refund until you give a written forwarding address | Prop. Code 91.001; ch. 92 |
Two points from the table change the calendar. First, the inspection and the deposit run from the end of the tenancy or the day you leave, not from moving day, so a renter whose lease runs past moving day re-dates those rows. Second, the Texas code says a tenant may not withhold the last month's rent against the deposit, and presumes bad faith if one does; plan to pay the last month. Your own state's rules are on its statute site or its attorney general's tenant page.
Lead times nobody sets
No agency tells a household how far ahead to book a mover or a truck. FMCSA, the federal regulator of interstate movers, publishes tips and a moving checklist, and neither gives a booking lead time. What its checklist does say takes time: get estimates from at least three movers or brokers, check each one's federal registration, and do not accept a verbal estimate (FMCSA, Moving Checklist; FMCSA, Tips for a Successful Move). Three surveys, three written estimates and a comparison do not fit in a weekend. Figures such as "book 8 to 12 weeks ahead" appear on mover and broker sites, which cite no primary source; we do not use them.
So the weeks on the move calendar are our suggestion. We built them by working back from what tends to have a queue or a wait: surveys and estimates, reservations for trucks, elevators and helpers, the permit windows above, packing a room at a time, and the 7 to 10 business days in which USPS forwarding has not started yet. Our suggestion
| When (our suggestion) | Tasks on the calendar | Why that week |
|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks or more before | Fix the date and list the dates that box it in; start the inventory; give notice by the lease's own date | Every other row dates from moving day; the inventory feeds the estimates |
| 7 weeks | Ask at least three movers for written estimates, or price two or three ways of moving; ask both buildings for their move rules | Surveys need appointments; building rules can rule out a date |
| 6 weeks | Check the mover's registration or license; choose and book; book storage if there is a gap | Checking comes before paying a deposit |
| 5 weeks | Reserve the truck or container and line up helpers; sell, donate and book pickups | Pickups and resale take days to arrange |
| 4 weeks | School records; pet entry rules; start packing the least-used rooms; apply for a street permit | Boston's online window closes 15 days before |
| 3 weeks | Schedule utilities to stop and start | Pennsylvania's example asks for seven days; three weeks leaves room |
| 2 weeks | File the USPS change of address; ask about a pre-move-out inspection; deal with hazardous items | USPS asks you to notify senders at least two weeks before; the forwarding gap needs a head start |
| 10 days to 1 week | Refill prescriptions; confirm the mover or helpers and the elevator | Confirmation catches a booking that slipped |
| 3 days to the day before | Pack all but the open-first boxes; read the bill of lading (interstate hired moves); prepare appliances by the maker's instructions; pack the essentials box; fill in the moving-day sheet | The 3-day bill of lading rule; appliance makers' own waits |
| After moving day | Anchor furniture and check alarms; AR-11, license and Selective Service; voter registration and the IRS; vehicle registration; watch for the deposit; write the claim date | The short legal windows after a move |
Two rules of our own sit behind the table. This manual's convention First, a row's date is the day you start it, not the last day it can be done. Second, when a suggested date is already past, the task is not cancelled: do it now, rows set by someone else first, and change the date to the day you will really do it. Where your own lead time is uncertain, ask. A call to two truck rental branches or movers asking for their first open date is the honest lead time for your date and your town. Test it
Why no source gives a booking lead time
We looked for a primary source on two numbers moving guides like to print: how far ahead to book, and what share of moves happen in summer. FMCSA's tips (updated October 8, 2026) and its checklist (updated November 4, 2024) give neither. The Census Bureau's mobility tables count who moved in the past year and why, but not in which month. The figures in circulation, such as a share of moves between Memorial Day and Labor Day, come from mover, broker and listing sites that cite no survey we could read. A lead time also depends on things no national figure captures: your town, your date, the size of the move and the scope you hire. So the calendar gives weeks and labels them as ours, and the honest test is the first open date the companies you call can offer.
A compressed calendar: moving in under two weeks
When moving day is less than two weeks away, most of the calendar's rows are dated in the past. Do not try to catch up on them in order. Sort them instead. Our suggestion
- Rows set by someone else. The lease's notice (if it is late, the lease and the landlord decide what follows), the building's rules and elevator, the USPS change (file today: the 7 to 10 business day gap is already part of your move), a permit if your city issues one in time (Boston takes in-person applications 3 days to 8 weeks ahead; San Francisco asks for at least 5 business days).
- Who moves it. A scope that can still be booked for your date. An interstate mover has to give you the bill of lading at least 3 days before loading. When FMCSA adopted that rule in 2022, movers asked for an exception for moves booked less than 3 days ahead, and FMCSA did not make one, so plan on at least 3 days between the bill of lading and loading. Moving services compared lists the scopes.
- What goes. A short decision list in place of a full inventory: what you carry, what goes on the truck, what stays. Your inventory has the categories.
- Packing and the day. Boxes numbered against a register, then the moving-day sheet.
The quick start puts this path on one page.
Fixing the date
Moving day is the one date every other row is counted from, so it is worth fixing before anything else. It is rarely a free choice. It sits between the day you have to be out of the old home and the day you can get into the new one, and other people's calendars press on it from both sides.
Write down every date that boxes the move in, with its source:
- The last day you can stay. The lease end, the end of the notice period, or the possession date in a sale agreement.
- The first day you can get in. The new lease's start date, the closing date on a purchase, or the move-in date a community gives you.
- School calendars at both ends, if children are moving: the last day at the old school and the first day you can enroll at the new one. Children, pets and older relatives covers records and timing.
- Building rules at both ends: permitted days and hours, elevator reservations, insurance certificates. A community that allows weekday moves only, or an elevator held from 9 a.m. to noon, rules out dates and times before any company does.
- Work and travel: the first day of a new job, time off you can get, flights.
- The mover's or rental company's first open date for the scope you want.
Overlap and gap
Put the last day you can stay beside the first day you can get in. If the second comes first, you have an overlap: days when you hold both homes. If it comes later, you have a gap: days when you hold neither, and your goods and your household need somewhere to be.
An overlap usually means paying for both homes for those days. It also buys time: to clean the old home, to have a walk-through before the keys go back, and to move on the date that suits you rather than the last possible one. A gap means storage, a second moving day, or both, and a place to stay. A hired mover may offer storage-in-transit, holding your goods in its warehouse between pickup and delivery; Moving services compared covers storage as one of the scopes. Neither is right in general; the cost of rent against the cost of storage and a second day is your arithmetic. Preference
Within an overlap, we suggest moving early rather than on the last day, because the rows that run from the end of the tenancy (the inspection, the walk-through, the return of the keys) then have room. Our suggestion
Choosing the day
- Mark the window. The span between the first day you can get in and the last day you can stay.
- Strike out what the buildings and schools rule out. Days the building does not allow, days the elevator is taken, a child's last week of school if that matters to you.
- Ask for first open dates. From the companies you would hire or rent from, for the scope you want.
- Pick a date and a fallback. Write both down. A fallback date costs nothing to hold and saves rebuilding the plan if the first slips.
- Enter moving day in setup. The calendar dates every task from it.
If you do not know the date yet, leave setup's moving day blank: the calendar's tasks stay undated and in order. If you have a likely date, enter it and write "provisional" in the notes of the first row; every row dated from moving day moves when you change it. Rows set by someone else do not move with it. The lease's notice date, the inspection window and the deposit return stay tied to the lease, so check them again whenever moving day changes. This manual's convention
Who does what, and the calendar sheet
Professional move managers, who plan moves for households and especially for older adults, work from a written move plan. The training outline of the International Association of Movers lays one out from a survey of the home, through scheduling, to a closing section on setting expectations and assigning responsibilities. NASMM, the move managers' trade association, publishes a free consumer guide whose questions for a move manager show what such a plan divides up: interviewing, scheduling and overseeing movers; sorting and disposal; floor plans for the new home; and transferring utilities and the mailing address (NASMM, Guide to Rightsizing and Relocation (PDF)). The same guide's first tip is to start early, and its last is to ask for help early.
A household's move needs the same split, written down. We give every row on the calendar one name: the person who will make sure the task happens, even if someone else does the work. This manual's convention One name, not "us," because a task owned by two people is easy for both to assume the other did.
- Tasks you do carry your name.
- Tasks you pay for carry the company and, in the notes, the person you deal with and how to reach them. The row is still yours to confirm.
- Tasks someone else controls, such as an elevator reservation or a landlord's inspection, carry the name of the person who decides, and the confirmation goes in the notes.
- Tasks for children or an older relative carry the name of the adult responsible, and the person involved in the notes.
Helpers on moving day have their own roles, set out in Moving it yourself; the moving-day sheet in Moving day takes the day itself hour by hour.
The calendar sheet
The move calendar is a table in this browser, seeded from your setup and dated from your moving day. Its columns:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Task | The task in a few words, as a thing to do |
| When | The suggested week, from 8 weeks or more before to later after the move |
| Date | The day you will start it; seeded from moving day, and yours to change |
| Set by | Who set the deadline: lease or landlord; regulator or law; city or building; USPS or agency; mover or rental company; our suggestion |
| Chapter | Where this manual explains the task |
| Who | One name |
| Done | A check when it is done |
| Notes | The rule and where you read it, a confirmation number, the person you spoke to |
The set by column does the work this chapter describes. A row set by our suggestion can move freely. A row set by anything else is checked against that source: the lease clause, the regulation or agency page, the city's or building's rules, the contract. Write what the source says, and the date you read it, in the notes. When you confirm the row, it stops being our example and becomes your deadline.
Setup decides which rows appear. A renter sees the notice and inspection rows; an owner sees the closing row; a self-move sees the truck and helpers; a hired interstate move sees the bill of lading and the claim date; children, pets and older relatives add their rows. Add any task the seed missed with "Add a task," and delete what does not apply. The moving binder prints and exports the calendar with the other sheets.
Who moves, how far and why Go deeper
The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey asks people whether they lived somewhere else a year ago. In the 2023 survey, the latest whose tables we found (released December 10, 2024), 7.8 percent of people aged 1 and over had moved in the past year: 25.6 million people. More than half of those movers, 54.1 percent, stayed in the same county; 23.4 percent moved to another county in the same state; 17.5 percent moved to another state; 5.0 percent came from abroad. In 1948 the rate was 20.2 percent (Census, CPS historical geographic mobility tables, Table A-1; Census release, December 10, 2024). So the most common move is a local one, like the fictional example in this chapter.
The same survey asks why. Of 2023 movers, 41.3 percent gave a housing reason (a newer, better or larger home, 13.8 percent; cheaper housing, 9.4 percent; wanting to own, 6.8 percent), 22.7 percent a family reason, 21.0 percent a job reason (a new job or transfer, 12.5 percent), and 15.0 percent another reason (Table A-5 on the same page).
| 2023 movers (CPS) | Share |
|---|---|
| Same county | 54.1% |
| Another county, same state | 23.4% |
| Another state | 17.5% |
| From abroad | 5.0% |
A figure often quoted is that an American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. It comes from a Census method page that applies 2007 American Community Survey rates to an imaginary group of 100,000 people, allowing no more than one move a year; Census says it does not collect lifetime moves directly. By that calculation, an 18-year-old could expect 9.1 more moves and a 45-year-old 2.7. The data are from 2007, and mobility has fallen since. The American Community Survey also reports a higher one-year rate than the CPS; the two surveys ask differently, so their rates are not compared here.
See it: Noor's calendar See it
Noor Haddad is a fictional person; every fact about her, her apartments, her lease, her helpers and her truck is invented for this manual. She is 29 and uses she/her. She rents a 1-bedroom apartment on the third floor of a walk-up and is moving 6 miles to a 1-bedroom on the fifth floor of an elevator building. Moving day is Saturday, April 3, 2027. Her lease ends April 30 and requires 60 days' written notice (fictional lease terms). She is renting a 15-foot truck and hiring two helpers for 3 hours.
Known: moving day; the lease end; the 60-day notice term. Counting back 60 days from April 30 gives Monday, March 1, as the last day for notice. Noor delivered written notice by the method her lease names in February and kept a dated copy. She sits down to build the calendar on Saturday, March 6: four weeks out. The move runs early in an overlap: she holds both apartments for most of April, which leaves room for cleaning and the walk-through before the keys go back.
Assumed: that her lease counts the 60 days back from the lease end and from the day the landlord receives the notice. That is Noor's reading of the clause, and her landlord's written acknowledgment of the notice settles it. That her city issues no permit she needs for a truck in front of a walk-up for a few hours: her city's own permit page settles it (the page names no city for her).
Open: when the new building's elevator can be reserved, and whether it wants an insurance certificate from her helpers (the building manager settles both; Moving it yourself follows the answer); her state's window for changing the address on her license (her DMV's page settles it, in Changing your address); and when she returns the keys, which starts her state's deposit clock (her lease and her landlord settle it).
With moving day in setup, the calendar seeds the rows for a renter moving across town by rental truck with helpers. Seven of them are dated before March 6. Noor sorts them the way the chapter suggests: the row set by her lease is done (the notice); the truck and helpers, dated February 27 as our suggestion, she reserves that afternoon; the inventory and the building rules she starts that week. The table shows the rows she checked against a source and a sample of the rest.
| Task (fictional) | Date | Set by | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Give the landlord written notice | By Mon, Mar 1 | Lease or landlord | Noor | Done in February; dated copy kept; 60 days from the lease |
| Reserve the truck and two helpers | Sat, Mar 6 (was Feb 27) | Our suggestion | Noor | 15-foot truck; helpers 3 hours |
| Ask both buildings for move rules; reserve the elevator | Mon, Mar 8 | City or building | Building manager | Open: hours and insurance |
| Ask the city whether a truck permit applies | Mon, Mar 8 | City or building | Noor | The city's page, with the date read |
| Schedule utilities to stop and start | Sat, Mar 13 | Our suggestion | Noor | Old apartment stops when the keys go back, not on moving day |
| File the USPS change of address | Sat, Mar 20 | USPS or agency | Noor | USPS allows from Jan 3; mail can pause 7 to 10 business days |
| Ask about a pre-move-out inspection | Re-dated to mid-April | Regulator or law | Landlord | Runs from the lease end (April 30), not moving day; her state's rule decides |
| Confirm the truck, helpers and elevator | Sat, Mar 27 | Our suggestion | Noor | |
| Moving day: load, last walk-through of the rooms emptied, drive | Sat, Apr 3 | Our suggestion | Noor | Helpers 3 hours |
| Change the address on her license | Tue, Apr 13 (placeholder) | Regulator or law | Noor | Placeholder at 10 days until she reads her DMV's page |
| Watch for the deposit return | From the day she returns the keys | Regulator or law | Landlord | State window counts from vacating or surrender |
Two rows needed re-dating because their deadlines are tied to something other than moving day. The seed puts the inspection two weeks before moving day, March 20. In a state like California, the inspection window opens two weeks before the tenancy ends, so for Noor it would open about April 16, after she has moved; she moves the row and writes "ask the landlord; depends on the state" in the notes. The utilities row stops the old service at the end of the tenancy, not on April 3, because she keeps the apartment through April. The AR-11 and Selective Service rows do not apply to her, so she deletes them. Under these assumptions her calendar is complete; the elevator answer and her DMV's window are the two facts that will change it.
- FMCSA, Moving Checklist: the federal regulator's own planning list, with no lead times, for anyone hiring a mover.
- USPS, Change of Address: The Basics: the filing window and the forwarding gap that set the USPS row.
- City of Boston, Reserve a Parking Spot for Your Moving Truck: one city's permit windows, as an example of a row set by a city.
- NASMM, Guide to Rightsizing and Relocation (PDF): the move managers' trade association's free guide, with the tasks a move plan divides up.
Practice: date your calendar Practice
Minimum: the move calendar dated from your moving day, with every row set by someone else checked against its source and every row carrying a name. Time: about 45 minutes, more if you have to find the lease or the agreement. Materials: your lease or purchase agreement, both buildings' move rules if you have them, your phone's calendar, the move calendar (or a sheet of paper with the same columns), and setup.
- Set moving day. Enter it in setup. If it is not fixed, enter your likeliest date and write "provisional" in the notes of the first row.
- Read every row. Delete what does not apply, add what the seed missed (a closing date, a child's last day of school, a building's move-in day).
- Check the rows set by someone else. For each, open the source: the lease clause, the agency's page, the city's page, the contract. Write the rule and the date you read it in the notes. Re-date any row that runs from something other than moving day.
- Put the earliest hard deadline on your phone. With a reminder a few days before it.
- Give every row one name. Then print the calendar or keep it open where you will see it.
Test a lead time. Pick the row with the longest suggested lead (estimates, or the truck), call two companies, and ask for their first open date for your moving day and a fallback date. Write the answers in the notes. If the first open date is later than the calendar's suggestion, move the row and everything that depends on it. Look up your state's tenancy rules on its statute site or attorney general's tenant page: notice, inspection and deposit, with the page and date, beside the four state examples.
Your move Your move
Check your work Check your work
Criteria
- Is moving day entered in setup, with a fallback date written down?
- Is every date that boxes the move in (last day out, first day in, school, building) on the calendar as a row with its source?
- Does every row set by someone else have the rule and where you read it in its notes?
- Have rows that run from the lease end, the day you vacate or the delivery day been re-dated from that day?
- Is the earliest hard deadline on your phone with a reminder?
- Does every row have one name?
Worked example
Noor's calendar passes. Moving day is in setup; the notice row cites her lease and is done; the elevator and permit rows name who decides and are marked open; the inspection and utilities rows are re-dated from the lease end; the license row is a placeholder labelled as one until she reads her DMV's page. Every row has a name, and the rows she does not need are gone. It does not settle whether her helpers need an insurance certificate or what her state's license window is; the building manager and the DMV do.
Common mistakes
- Treating our weeks as rules. A row set by our suggestion moves when your situation needs it to. Only rows with another source are fixed, and the source fixes them, not the calendar.
- Treating a state default as your lease. The month-to-month rules in the table do not override a fixed-term lease's own notice terms.
- Counting everything from moving day. The inspection, the deposit and the claim date run from other days. Look for rows whose source names a different anchor.
- "Us" in the who column. One name per row.
- Dropping past rows. A row dated in the past is still a task. Do it now, or delete it because it does not apply, and say which in the notes.
What is still unresolved
The calendar says when; it does not say how the goods move. Moving services compared settles the scope, and its answer adds or removes rows. What goes on the truck is Your inventory. The exact windows for your license, registration, voting and federal records are in Changing your address and on your own state's pages. What your lease allows if you need to leave early or late is for the lease, the landlord, and your state's housing agency or a lawyer.