Moving in two weeks and nothing is booked

The shortest workable path when moving day is close: confirm the dates others set, book a scope you can still get, file the mail change, pack against a register, and run the day from one sheet.

This page works on a phone, with or without setup. It is the method in The move calendar, Moving services compared and The packing system, cut to what fits in two weeks. Do the sections in the order they appear; each one links the chapter that explains it.

1. Today: confirm the dates someone else set

Write down moving day and the dates that box it in: the day the lease ends or the sale closes, the day you can get into the new home, and any school or work date that cannot move. Then find the deadlines that belong to someone else and check each against its source, not against memory:

Put moving day in setup and open the move calendar: every row is dated from it, and the “set by” column says which rows belong to someone else. Rows already in the past are not lost; do the ones set by someone else first. The deadlines other people set explains each.

2. Today or tomorrow: book a scope you can still get

With two weeks left, the question is less which way of moving is best than which one has a date. In our experience labor-only helpers, a rental truck or a portable container are often easier to book at short notice than a full-service interstate mover, which needs a survey and a written estimate before it can quote. Our practice Price two scopes, not two of the same kind, on the quotes sheet, and book one.

• Hiring a mover: check its USDOT and MC numbers (interstate) or your state's license, insist on a written estimate after a survey, and choose valuation in writing. Checking the mover takes about ten minutes per company.
• Moving it yourself: size the truck or container by cubic feet and by payload, not by the number of rooms on the rental page. The volume calculator does both. Sizing explains why.

A price that arrives by phone with no survey, a large deposit or no USDOT number is a reason to keep looking, not a bargain. The services table shows who packs, loads and drives in each scope and whose rules cover it.

3. This week: file the mail change and give notice

File the USPS change of address now, on the USPS site only or free in person on PS Form 3575; mail can stop for 7 to 10 business days before forwarding starts. Fake change-of-address sites charge large fees, so type the address yourself. Give your landlord written notice if you have not. Mail covers the details, and the change of address sheet lists the rest for after the move.

4. This week: decide what goes, and what cannot go on the truck

Walk each room once and give every large item a decision: move, carry yourself, sell, donate, give away, recycle or store. Two weeks is short for selling; donating and recycling are faster. Set aside what cannot ride on the truck (propane, gasoline, paint, aerosols, pool chemicals, ammunition, firewood) and what you carry yourself (documents, medicines, keys and valuables). The inventory holds the list; what cannot go on the truck says whose list names each item.

5. Days 10 to 2: pack against a register

1. Codes for the new home. Give each room there a letter and put the letters on the room codes sheet.
2. A number on every box. As you close each box, write its number, code and priority on it, and its contents on the box register.
3. Least-used rooms first. Books, out-of-season clothes and the things on high shelves go first; the open-first boxes go last.
4. A weight you can carry. Heavy things in small boxes. A box rated for 65 pounds is a strength rating, not a lifting guide.

The packing system explains the codes, the register and box weights.

6. The day before and the day: one sheet

The day before, fill in the moving-day sheet: phone numbers, the run sheet with a name on every row, and who has the children and pets. Pack the essentials box that rides with you. On the day, stay with the crew through the inventory and sign nothing blank, or keep the box register in your hand if you load yourself. Walk every room of the old home, photograph the meters, and return the keys. At delivery, check items against the inventory and write any damage on the papers before you sign. Moving day covers each part.