Changing address is not just about packing and moving your furniture. You might have to budget, create lists, delegate tasks among your family members, plan your journey, coordinate with packers and movers, keep your files safe, and buy supplies for your new home.
The stress of keeping track of everything can overwhelm you while moving. But fortunately, there are many mobile applications that will assist you during the entire process.
Whether it is about taking notes, planning your journey, storing your documents or managing your tasks, apps can definitely make your house moving easier. You don’t always have to download all the apps that are available. Selecting a few apps based on your needs can make the process of moving easier for you.
Here are some basic moving apps that will make relocation easy for you.
Use Checklist Apps to Stay Organized
One of the most challenging things about house shifting is keeping track of all the work that has to be done.
You might have to hire packers and movers, sort out your belongings, arrange for packing material, update your address, shift utilities, inform important people, and prepare your new house.
With a checklist application, you can keep all the items together in one list. You can make different lists for packing, document-related work, move-related activities, and work after the move.
For instance, you can have lists such as:
- Things to pack
- Important documents
- Moving day essentials
- Tasks before shifting
- Tasks after shifting
As you finish each activity, you can put a tick beside it. This helps you know which things you still have to do.
You can get simple note and checklist applications which are already present on your phone instead of a complicated relocation-oriented application.
Use Task Management Apps for Family Coordination
In case more than one person is participating in the relocation process, communication might become complicated.
One relative believes that someone else took care of the movers, and the other person thinks that someone else has taken care of the packing supplies.
In order to avoid such complications, you might want to use task management applications which will give each member the opportunity to understand what should be done.
You can set up common tasks for each individual. For instance, one person will take care of documents, another will take care of the moving company, and one will make sure that the electricity and Internet in your new house work properly.
This is particularly useful when a big family, a couple, or a whole office is relocating.
It helps to minimize repetitive calls and keep everyone informed.
Use Navigation Apps to Plan Your Moving Route
Moving apps can be quite handy during moving day, especially if you are relocating to a new area.
You can find the route from your previous to your future home, calculate the travel time, and find out where there might be traffic jams.
This would be particularly useful when coordinating with the vehicle transporting the goods.
Prior to the move, you can check whether there are any narrow streets, road works, traffic jams, or anything else that may influence transportation.
If you are moving to another city, navigation apps would also be helpful in planning places where you may have a rest, fill the tank, buy some food, and other things.
It is a good idea to enter the address of your future home in advance.
Store Important Documents Digitally
In the case of house moving, it is easy for some crucial documents to get mixed up with regular boxes unless you organize yourself well.
Some documents such as identification documents, lease agreement documents, property documents, insurance documents, invoices and documents related to moving should be stored safely.
This can be achieved by using safe cloud-based storage or a document management application.
You can scan your documents and place them in appropriately labeled folders, like:
- House documents
- Moving quotation
- Bills & Invoices
- Insurance documents
- Identification documents
- Utility documents
But it should be noted that digital copies do not substitute the necessity to store your original documents safely.
It will be good to have digital copies as you can refer to them quickly when required without going through your paperwork.
Use Budget and Expense Tracking Apps
Moving house comes with numerous expenses.
Some of the expenses could be incurred on packers and movers, packing supplies, transport, cleaning, renting, deposit, furniture, appliances, utilities and various unexpected requirements.
Without keeping track of your expenses, it would be hard to tell how much money you’ve spent on your moving.
An app designed for budgeting or even a spreadsheet app would come in handy when keeping track of the expenses incurred.
The budget for moving can be divided into groups such as moving expense, travel, setting up of the new home, cleaning and emergency expense.
Keeping track of the expenses can also help you compare the budgeted amount of money and the actual amount of money that was spent.
There is no need for a complex financial application to keep track of the expenses.
Use Inventory Apps or Digital Spreadsheets
Inventory becomes important when you have many items at home.
You don’t have to solely depend on your memory but make sure that you create a digital list of important items before packing them.
You can either use an inventory application, spreadsheet, or notes-taking tool to list down major items.
For instance, you can create categories such as:
- Items in the living room
- Bedroom items
- Kitchen appliances
- Electronics
- Important documents
- Valuables
You can also take pictures of valuable items prior to packing them.
It will become easier for you to confirm your items after the delivery and unpacking.
An inventory becomes especially handy in case of moving over long distances when your items are in transit for more time.
Use Communication Apps to Stay Connected
Communication is necessary when different people become part of the relocation process.
There might be a need to communicate with family members, the moving company, building managers, property owners, or other service providers.
An efficient communication app will help you communicate your location, exchange pictures, exchange critical information, and plan the moving activities.
For instance, you can set up a temporary family group dedicated to the relocation process. Critical information like moving plans, the new address, assignments, and pictures of documentation can all be placed in one place.
Maintain effective communication to make sure you have access to critical information like bookings and others.
Use Home Planning and Design Apps
When planning to move to a new apartment, there are several home planning apps which might help you plan the placement of furniture and other objects.
You can use this application in order to make a general plan for the room even prior to moving.
In case you are buying a new furniture or wondering whether the one you already have will fit into the new room, such an application will be useful for you.
You do not need to develop an interior design plan for the professionals, just a general sketch will be enough to place major furniture.
With the help of such plan you will be able to tell the movers about the places where your furniture should be placed.
Use Shopping Apps for Last-Minute Essentials
Once you have relocated to your new residence, you may find out that you require even more necessities for the household.
Cleaning items, kitchen basics, storage materials, power strips, light bulbs, and many other basic necessities could be needed.
The apps that help buy and deliver the items could make this process more convenient without having to make another trip when you are busy.
But don’t buy everything before you have unpacked your items, as you may already have all these items but haven’t found them yet.
Use Weather Apps Before Moving Day
Weather can have an impact on moving out of the house, especially during the monsoons.
It would be wise to check weather conditions before the moving date so that you are prepared for any rain, heat, or other such factors that might impact the process of loading and transport.
In case of rainfall, you can speak to your packers and movers about waterproofing of boxes and containers and protection from the elements.
Weather applications are especially helpful when you are moving to new cities as weather conditions will differ at the start as well as destination points.
Use Utility and Service Provider Apps
In fact, many utility and service providers give an option to handle accounts via their apps or websites.
Considering what services are provided in your region, you might use this possibility to track bills, make payments, change services or check account details online.
Before relocating, prepare a list of all the services related to your previous apartment and mark those, which have to be switched, cancelled or changed.
Once you have arrived at your destination, make sure that all the necessary services like electricity, water, internet connection and others are properly arranged.
Use Location-Sharing Features on Moving Day
During moving day, it may come in handy for the family members and the moving manager to know where everybody is.
The ability to share location will allow coordinating meeting times and prevent any problems associated with the new address.
In particular, some family member may have arrived at the new residence before the truck to ensure accessibility there.
At the same time, another family member may be traveling separately with all the necessary documents and belongings.
The ability to use temporary location sharing when needed may prove to be helpful while relocating.
Always check your privacy settings and stop location sharing after its completion.
Use a Digital Moving Folder
Perhaps one of the most straightforward and helpful tips would be to create a single digital file of all your moves.
Here you can store your quote, invoices, list of items, pictures, contacts, new address information, and any other related information.
You may also store screenshots of your conversations and booking.
Having all the information in one place will help you save plenty of time when you have to retrieve any information.
Give meaningful names to your files to make sure you can find them later.
For instance, instead of naming a file “IMG_2026,” give it an appropriate name, like “Moving Quote” or “Agreement for New House.”
Don’t Depend Only on Apps
Apps can simplify the process of moving, however, they should assist in this process not take the place of common sense and preparation.
All the necessary phone numbers have to be written down or memorized at least in several different places. Your phone should be charged before the moving day and you can take a charger with you if needed.
Important documents, keys, medication, wallets and any other things should stay with you and not depend only on the electronic data.
It is also useful to have a simple printed or hand-written moving list.
A Simple App Setup for House Shifting
Ten applications are not required for you to arrange your moving.
All you need is one checklist or notes application, one communication application, one navigation application, one cloud service for storing your data, and one budgeting/spreadsheet application.
This set may be enough to control almost everything related to your move and make your life easier without turning your smartphone into a mess.
It is very important to use these applications regularly; otherwise, there will be no point in having the ideal moving application.
Make your life easier by choosing the applications you like and creating the system before the packing starts.
Final Thoughts
There is no doubt that technology can ease the process of house shifting. There are apps that allow users to check items on their moving checklist, apps that can be helpful while choosing the most appropriate route, there are cloud storages that can store digital documents and apps that can help to control the moving budget.
When the number of participants is high, task management and communication apps can be used. Home planning apps will assist you to arrange your furniture and weather or utility apps will help to prepare for all necessary moving-day needs.
At Sunrise Packers & Movers, proper planning is essential in order to conduct the successful moving. Digital applications can be helpful to organize belongings, documents, schedule and communications of our customers before moving day.
The key to success is to maintain everything simple. Select a few apps that suit you, draw your moving checklist in advance and keep all the necessary information together.
In this case, with a proper planning and useful digital applications, your relocation management will become easy from the first day of packing up to the last stage of settling in.