2. SETTLE YOUR OLD LIFE.

(6 to 3 weeks before Moving Day)
Medium Range Items (2 weeks to 5 days before Moving Day)
Close Combat (4 days before Moving Day up until you leave)

Long Range Items

1. Give notice to your landlord [Moving Day minus 6 weeks]

Even if your lease is up on a specific date, your landlord will want to be sure that you are planning on vacating on that day. If you are on a month-to-month lease, this is particularly important, and you should give more than just one month's notice. Common decency -- and an outside chance of legal hassle -- dictate making the phone call and letting the landlord know; at the very least, just put a note in with your rent check saying adios in advance.

2. Contact moving companies [MD minus 5 weeks]

If you do decide to go with a professional mover, we'll go over how to deal with them below. But this is the time you should contact them -- if you leave it too late, no amount of money will be enough to get them to move your stuff.

3. Chuck out all your crap [MD minus 3 weeks]

This is a major hassle but trust us, doing it will make your final packing infinitely easier.

4. Collect your important documents [MD minus 3 weeks]

You don't need to do this too early, but as long as you're digging through all your garbage, you may as well put aside your important documents at the same time. In a safe place, gather together all of your legal, medical, and insurance documents.

Medium Range Items

1. Change of address notification [MD minus 2 weeks]

Even if you've already gone ahead and changed your addresses for subscriptions and other people, it's always a good idea to pass along your forwarding address to the post office. Get a form online from the Post Office.

2. Garage sale or charities [MD minus 10 days]

Remember all that crap you found around the house -- let's get rid of it. If anything is valuable, you should be scheduling a garage sale to get rid of it; or you can always donate it to Goodwill or The Salvation Army.

3. Schedule pick-up [MD minus 10 days]

If you're going with professional movers, you'll want to check back in with them at this stage to schedule a specific time for the pick-up and/or packing of your stuff. If you're driving your own moving van, check out Budget Truck or U-Haul for the info.

4. Gather records [MD minus 7 days]

You've already put aside all the important documents you have, but that's probably not all the relevant ones you'll need. Swing by your dentist's office and clinic to pick up dental and medical records. Other documents you may need include ones kept by your lawyer, your school, your religious institution, or your accountant.

5. Recruit moving day help [MD minus 7 days]

Unless you're using a full-service moving company, you'll probably need some friends to help you shift your stuff about. If you can't rustle up any friends for this, we'd love to help but we haven't written SYW-Get-A-Life yet.

6. Moving supplies [MD minus 5 days]

You're going to need boxes, tape, and packing material for your move; you can order them online from Staples.

Close Combat

1. Arrange a place to stay on your last night in town [MD minus 5 days]

Chances are, your old place will be barren on the last night you're in town, so unless you want to crash in a sleeping back on the bare floor with no food, you should make alternative arrangements.

2. Close bank account [MD minus 2 days]

Shutting down a bank account can be a real drag to do from a long distance, so you should arrange to withdraw all your funds before you leave town. This can be as easy as writing yourself a check for the balance of your account, but could be much more involved. It differs from bank to bank, so schedule an in-person visit to your personal leech.

3. Service your car [MD minus 2 days]

If you're using your own car to transport either yourself or your stuff to the new city, you really should have it tuned up and serviced professionally before you leave.

4. Gather your travel necessities [MD minus 2 days]

So you've put together all the big documents by now, but you want to make sure you have your driver's license, registration, passport, wallet, credit cards all within handy reach.

5. Pick up rental truck [MOVING DAY]

No surprises here: if you're planning on using a rental truck, you'll have to pick it up and load it on the big day.

6. Pack & go [MOVING DAY]

By now, you're packing should be all done, but you'll need to plan on saving a couple of hours to load up your truck. Then get the hell out of there.

7. Disconnect utilities [MD plus 1 day]

Yes, we've said to cut off the utilities the day after your move. Yes, it may cost you an extra 23 cents to keep everything running one more day, but on moving day, you're going to need power. And a phone. And water. Just call these places after you leave and cut off the utilities once you've gone.

8. Moving expenses form [MD plus 7 days]

Moving can be a very expensive enterprise, but don't get too depressed -- one of the few charitable decisions made by the IRS is to exempt these costs from taxable income. We suggest you wait a few days to decompress from your move, but then fill out the IRS's Form 3903 while all the expenses are still fresh in your mind. Oh, and be sure to save your receipts.