Inventorying Your Home Before Moving Long-Distance: 11 Tips

Preparing an inventory list of things you need for a new house is one of the most important steps you need to work on when moving long-distance. Ideally, you should handle the inventory lists of things for a new house yourself because you, of all people, know of the things you need for a new house and what you’re going to let go of. If you have already worked on a list of household items for your place, getting an estimate on the moving cost will also be easier.

Thus, putting together your inventory list or a list of household items you plan on moving should be the first order of business. When you contact our professional movers to move things you need for a new house, at californiamoversusa.com, we'll give you an estimated cost of moving based on your household items list for the new home, the distance to be traveled, and so on. Your household items checklist will not only give us a fair idea about the amount of labor needed but will also make the process much more efficient for you.

Read on to find out why inventory lists for things for a new house are so important and how you can make yours highly efficient:

1) Only Mention Things You Absolutely Need, In Your Moving Inventory List

Your top priority regarding the things to do before you move into a new house is to create a screened moving inventory checklist. Your moving inventory list should mention only the items you need to get moving. You probably have a ton of useless stuff lying around in your place – all the books you’ve read, old clothes, old shoes, and so on – you should give these to charity. This way, not only will you shorten your moving inventory but also save up on the moving costs by reducing the volume of items to be moved.

Also, note that your packing inventory list should be thorough – don't leave any important stuff out of the moving inventory because that might create confusion later.

Make this a priority in your list of things to do before organizing an apartment move.

2) Sort Your Moving Inventory Checklist

Next, you should begin sorting your moving company inventory list – this would be simpler if you're using a computer/mobile software like MS Excel for this purpose. One of the most important things to do before you move into a new house is packing your stuff efficiently, and for that, you should create a packing inventory list that groups your household items based on their similarities. This way, the packing will be simpler, and you won't have trouble unpacking and placing your stuff in your new home.
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Of course, if at any point you feel confused about what to do before moving into a new house, just ask our team of professional movers – we’d be glad to assist you!

3) Use Digital Software To Make Your Home Moving Checklist

The good old pen-and-paper works fine, and you can indeed make a thorough list with them, but they are not so effective when it comes to editing, eliminating, sorting, and other things of this sort. The ideal way to make your moving home checklist is via spreadsheet software or other checklist software available on mobile phones and computers. MS Excel, for instance, allows you to customize your home inventory list to your liking, allowing you to make it more understandable, refined, and categorized.
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Plus, you can edit your home moving checklist as many times as you like.

4) Use Pictures To Make Your Household Inventory List

​Instead of writing down a list of things to move, you can also take pictures to create a picture-based home inventory checklist. Of course, this can also be in addition to your written house inventory list, and it will allow you to better keep track of your items.

5) Videotape Your Inventory

Your home inventory worksheets can also be further backed by video proof of your items to be moved. Household inventory forms are sufficient on their own but if you add a video to the equation, you'll have visual cues to remember the things you need in your new place. This will allow you to better relate to the things mentioned on your home inventory worksheet.

6) Design Your Moving Inventory Sheet As Per Your Packing Scheme

We mentioned earlier that you should list similar stuff under one category – this is another approach that will yield the same results. Just note the contents of each box, label the boxes, and mention the items on your movers inventory forms as such. This way, you’ll be able to use the moving inventory form as a reference for unpacking.

7) Designate A Special Category For Fragile Items In Your Household Inventory List For Moving

This is pretty self-explanatory, but on top of mentioning such items on your home inventory list for moving, make sure that such items are packed with utmost care so that they don’t get damaged during the move. The more detailed your household inventory list for moving, the better.

​8) Color-Code Your Household Item List

​Your moving home list should be easy to read – the perfect way to do so is to use colors, not just for aesthetics but for categorizing your items into groups. A home move in the checklist will become twice as effective with a color-coding scheme.

9) Have Your Household Goods List Reviewed By Professionals

​Before moving household goods, have your move inventory reviewed by the professional movers so that there are no mistakes or omissions. Your household inventory should be error-free, and the best way to ascertain this is to get an expert opinion on the matter.

10) Use A Premade Moving Inventory List Template

​Instead of creating a new home inventory from scratch, you also have the option to use templates for home contents inventory worksheets in MS Excel and other software. Drafting your inventory packing list has never been easier!

11) Add Details To Your Basic Household Items Checklist

What is home inventory? Is it merely a list of moving items, or should it have more? Ideally, you should include as many details, without being too expansive, in your household inventory spreadsheet for the reference of your movers. For instance, if your furniture is antique, don’t write it up as simply furniture.
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Hopefully, with this, you'll move one step closer to getting relocated long-distance!