The Chicago Moving Checklist

Eight weeks is when good Chicago moves are won. The best dates, especially the last weekend of the month and the first of the next, book up fast, so get a quote and a firm date on the calendar now. When you call us, tell us about both buildings: stairs versus elevator, walk-up or high-rise, alley access or street-only, and whether there's a loading dock. The more we know early, the more accurate your binding estimate will be and the fewer surprises on move day.

This is also the week to ask both buildings, the one you're leaving and the one you're entering, for their move-in and move-out policies in writing. Many Chicago condo associations and apartment buildings require a reserved elevator window, a refundable move deposit, and a certificate of insurance from your mover before they'll let anyone load. Get those requirements now, because a COI request can take a few business days to process and some buildings only allow moves on weekdays.

If you're decluttering, start now. Every box you donate or toss is one you don't pay to move. We can talk through what's worth wrapping and hauling versus what's better left behind before your estimate is final.

Four weeks out, start your utility transfers so nothing lapses in the gap between addresses. In Chicago that usually means three accounts. Set up or transfer electricity with ComEd, set up gas with Peoples Gas if your place has gas heat, a gas stove, or a gas dryer, and handle water through the City of Chicago Department of Water Management, which is typically the building owner's account in rental buildings but yours to confirm in a condo or single-family home. Schedule electric and gas to switch on at the new address a day before you arrive, and keep the old service running through move day so the lights and heat stay on while we load.

Now book the two things buildings care about most: the freight elevator and the certificate of insurance. Reserve your elevator window at both ends in writing, and pad it. A loaded freight elevator and a long walk to the dock eats more time than people expect. For the COI, send us the exact requirements from each building's management, the coverage limits, the additional-insured language, and who to address it to. We issue certificates of insurance through Progressive and get them to your building's management office well ahead of move day so nobody's scrambling in the lobby.

If your move is interstate, this is also the week to confirm packing help, label your boxes by room, and set aside anything you'll carry yourself, like documents, medications, and valuables.

Two weeks out, change your address everywhere it matters. File a change of address with USPS so mail forwards from move day forward. Then update the accounts that won't forward on their own: your driver's license and vehicle registration with the Illinois Secretary of State, voter registration, your bank and credit cards, employer and payroll, insurance, subscriptions, and your doctor and pharmacy. Illinois law expects you to update your license address within a short window of moving, so don't let it sit.

If parking is tight, and on most Chicago residential blocks it is, look into a temporary no-parking permit so the truck has a spot right out front. The City of Chicago issues temporary no-parking signs through your ward's aldermanic office, and you'll want to request them well before move day. Without a clear spot, the crew may have to carry your belongings an extra half block, and on a permit-zone street your own moving truck can be ticketed. Tell us where the truck can stage, whether that's a dock, an alley, or a permitted curb, and we'll plan the carry around it.

Confirm your reserved elevator windows again now, refill any prescriptions you'll need through the transition, and start running down the food in your fridge and freezer so there's less to move or toss.

The week of your move, we'll call to confirm the finer details: arrival window, your building's elevator and dock reservations, the COI status, special items like a piano or a glass tabletop, and exactly where the truck will park. This is the call where loose ends get tied off, so flag anything that's changed.

Finish your packing so the crew arrives to a room that's ready to load, not still being boxed. Label boxes by the room they're headed to in the new place and mark the fragile ones clearly. Set aside an essentials bag for the first night, phone chargers, a change of clothes, toiletries, basic tools, paper towels, and anything you can't dig for after a long day. Take photos of the backs of your electronics before you unplug them so reconnecting is simple.

Confirm both utility transfers are scheduled correctly, verify your no-parking signs are posted if you requested them, and put your no-parking signs out the night before so neighbors don't fill the spot. Plan for parking, kids, and pets on the big day, because a calm, clear space lets the crew work fast and careful.

On move day, a uniformed, trained crew arrives in your confirmed window with the equipment included at no fee: furniture dolly, hand truck, straps, hand tools for assembly, and rope and tie-downs. We do a quick walkthrough so we're aligned on what's going, what's fragile, and what stays. Then we pad and wrap furniture, protect floors and door frames, and load with everything secured for the drive across town or across the country.

Keep the essentials handy: your phone, your COI and building contacts, the keys and fobs for both places, and a little cash if you plan to tip. Walk the old place one last time before we pull away, every closet, cabinet, the basement storage locker, and that one high shelf people always forget. Check that windows are latched and you've left any keys or fobs the building asked for.

At the new address, we place items room by room using your labels, reassemble the furniture we took apart, and walk through with you before we go. Confirm your electricity and gas are live, your water is on, and do a final count against your inventory. Then it's yours to settle into. That's the whole point. Take care of people, period.