Moving made easy: Move-out day doesn't have to be the longest day of your life

Whether you're moving around the world, across the country, or just down the street, relocating is always difficult. Here are some tips for making your next move easier:

1. Who's Gonna Move You? Decide if you want to hire someone, or do-it-yourself. Look at all the costs carefully; don't assume you will save money if you do-it- yourself. Don't forget about costs for insurance and gasoline for the truck, not to mention the value of your "sweat equity"

2. Junk it. Get rid of anything you no longer need or want. There is no point in moving these items to your new home and then discarding them.

3. Boxes, boxes, and more boxes. Make sure you have plenty of supplies including boxes packing tape, and a large marker for marking the boxes.

4. Label. Mark all boxes and containers with the contents of the box and what room in the new home the box should go to.

5. Notify. Send a change of address notice to everyone you want to notify of your move. Also, make a list of all services that need to be notified of a disconnect date. Examples are:
Telephone service.
Electric company.
Gas company.
Water company.
Trash service.
Cable or Satellite Service.
Internet Service.