Your moving delivery day is the date your movers arrive to your new address with all your furniture and boxes of household goods. You’ll have a long to-do list that day, even if you’ve hired the best long-distance moving company to unload and unpack everything for you. 

To help you stay organized and reduce stress, we’ve created a list of tasks to add to your moving delivery day checklist.

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Checklist for a Low-Stress Moving Delivery Day

As your delivery day gets closer and your professional movers make their way to your new place, complete some prep work so you aren’t stuck doing everything at the last minute. Grab your pen and paper and add the following tasks to your moving day checklist:

1. Confirm Your Delivery Date

Your first step is to confirm your delivery date. This may be different from your moving date, especially if you’re making a long-distance or cross-country move. You may have a contract stating your delivery date, but traffic, road closures, and poor weather can still delay your shipment.

2. Decide Where Everything Goes

If you created a moving inventory, go through each item line by line and decide where you want everything to go. Even if you didn’t document all your items while you were packing, you can still create a basic inventory list that includes your furniture, electronics, light fixtures, and outdoor equipment. Label the spots where you plan to keep specific items so that your movers know where to place your belongings.

3. Plan Parking

The moving truck will need a parking spot close to your new home to unload your items and carry them into the house or apartment. They may end up blocking walkways, driveways, and other entrances. Contact your local police department’s non-emergency number to notify them about your moving day delivery. If you’re moving to an apartment complex or condo, let your landlord or building management know when you expect your moving truck to deliver your belongings.

Some larger metropolitan areas recommend obtaining a moving permit, which is a temporary parking authorization. Your municipality may provide you with “No Parking” signs to put in a spot so that your truck has a dedicated space where your movers can unload.

If you’re moving to a neighborhood with a homeowners association (HOA), go over its rules regarding commercial vehicles and parking. HOAs can restrict or prohibit street parking within the community, so ensure you have plenty of space for the moving truck in your driveway.

4. Ensure Access

The movers need access to the rooms in your house. Declutter the area by clearing pathways and unlocking doors so they can navigate your house with ease. You may want to consider using doorstops to keep doors ajar so they don’t struggle to walk through your home while carrying heavy items.

5. Check Off Inventory

Once your movers arrive, grab your inventory list and check off items as they’re unloaded. You can ask them to let you know which boxes or pieces of furniture are coming to help you stay organized. This will help you track your stuff and tell your movers where to put your things as they come off the truck.

6. Inspect Each Box’s Condition

Start inspecting your boxes soon after the moving van arrives. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, your mover is responsible for the value of the goods you asked them to transport. If items are lost, destroyed, or damaged, movers will typically offer to repair the item, replace with a similar item, or make a cash settlement for the cost of repair or the current market replacement value.

Start with boxes containing highly valuable and fragile items first so you can determine if something important is missing or damaged. If it is, make a note and start the claims process as soon as possible. You can move on to your other moving boxes after that. Check that your items and furniture are still intact. Note any damages on your inventory checklist and contact your moving coordinator to file a claim and receive compensation.

7. Have Items Reassembled

If your movers disassembled furniture or other items before moving them, they’re responsible for reassembling them at your new home. Make sure they put together any beds, couches, chairs, tables, and specialty items, such as a pool table. If you took items apart before your move, your movers may agree to reassemble them for you. Note that some movers may charge you an additional fee for this.

8. Confirm Debris Removal

Full-service moving companies may discard debris, such as boxes, bubble wrap, and floor covers, on delivery day if they’re unpacking your stuff for you. Check your agreement to ensure they’ve included this in your moving quote. If you’ve opted to unpack yourself and debris removal is in your contract, ask your moving coordinator when the movers will return to take away discarded packing supplies.

9. Do a Final Walk-Through

Request that your moving crew walk through your house with you before they leave. During your final walk-through, double-check your belongings for any damage and ensure you know where the movers placed your items. Check that they’ve reassembled your furniture and cleaned up any trash or debris. The movers may give you a bill of lading during this time, which is a shipment receipt. Review it before you sign off to make sure they’ve delivered everything to you.

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Tips for a Better Moving Delivery Day

Creating a the best moving checklist for your delivery day is one way to stay organized and reduce stress, but there are other actions you can take to ensure a smooth, worry-free move. The tips below will reduce your chances of issues on delivery day.

Keep Your Essentials Separate

Most tips for moving include advice about packing your essentials in a separate bag. This is especially important when you reach your new home before your moving delivery day. Pack your valuables, a few changes of clothes, pajamas, bedding, towels, toiletries, medications, and whatever else you’ll need before your moving delivery day. Keep these items somewhere safe so that your movers don’t confuse them with the boxes they’re loading onto the truck.

Photograph Your Items

Before you pack, take pictures of your belongings. Documenting your inventory allows you to keep track of any damage that occurs during transport and delivery. You can also take videos or photos of your old home and new house. Include walls, banisters, staircases, windows, doors, and appliances in your pictures. Even though they’re professionals, accidents happen, and your movers may dent, scratch, or crack something. Referencing your videos or photos will help you identify whether the damage was done before or during the move.

Keep Your Moving Coordinator in the Know

Your moving coordinator manages the moving process, schedules, and paperwork. Keep an open line of communication with them to ensure a straightforward move. Update your moving coordinator about schedule changes and ask them any questions you may have.

Give Neighbors a Heads-up

Start off on the right foot with your new neighbors by giving them a heads-up that you expect your moving truck to deliver your items, especially if it’s going to impede their daily routines. They’ll appreciate the notification and may even offer to help you by moving their cars off the street or clearing shared walkways. You can let your soon-to-be former neighbors know when the moving company is going to pick up your stuff so that they can adjust their schedules as needed.

Keep Your Phone Close

You’ll need to keep your phone close by and charged the day before your move, on moving day, and on delivery day in case your moving coordinator needs to finalize any last-minute processes with you. It will also help you in case your delivery crew hits any snags along the way and needs to get in touch with you. Make sure you have all your contacts’ phone numbers saved in your phone for easy access, and don’t forget to keep your chargers close by.

Provide Snacks and Refreshments

Your moving crew will be working hard. You can keep them happy and energized by stocking up on food and drinks to offer to them on moving delivery day. It’s one way to show them you’re grateful for their efforts.

Remember To Take Breaks

Even if everything goes smoothly on moving delivery day, you’re probably going to be exhausted. Taking breaks to eat, drink, and rest will help you manage this stressful life event and stay calm.

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Our Conclusion

Moving is stressful, but you can take steps to make the process easier. Creating a moving delivery day checklist to stay organized will be a big help. We recommend you create a floor plan based on your inventory list and communicate your plan to your moving coordinator ahead of time. You can also get in touch with your delivery crew to let them know you’re ready for them and build in breaks throughout your day to keep your peace of mind.

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FAQ About Moving Delivery Day

How should I prepare for my moving delivery day?

To prepare for your moving delivery day, you can clean your house and clear pathways so that your movers have an easier time navigating tight corners. Decide where everything needs to go ahead of time and walk the movers through your new house while explaining where to put your furniture, boxes, and other items.

What should I do if I have a complaint about my movers?

If you have a complaint about your movers, you should contact the moving services company and explain the issue. You can also file a complaint with the FMCSA’s National Consumer Complaint Database and contact your state’s consumer protection division. 

What should you do after the movers leave?

After the movers leave, you can put boxes in their rooms and unpack them. If you notice that your items are damaged or missing, document what you can with pictures and contact your moving company.

How much do you tip a mover?

You can tip your movers 10%–20% of the total moving cost. Before settling on a final amount, consider whether the movers had a lot to move, whether it was a difficult move, and how long the distance was.

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