The Monmouth County Moving Checklist: 6 Weeks Out to Unpacked

Monmouth County covers a lot of ground. A move in Rumson looks nothing like a move in Millstone, and neither one looks like squeezing a truck onto a Spring Lake side street in July. This checklist covers the stuff every Monmouth move has in common, then breaks down what to plan for depending on which part of the county you're moving to or from.

If you're moving within Ocean County instead, the Ocean County moving checklist is tuned for that.

First, which Monmouth are you moving in?

The county breaks down into roughly three kinds of moves. Knowing which one you have changes how many totes you need, how you load the truck and what can go wrong.

6 weeks out: lock in the big pieces

• Pick your dates. End of the month and summer Saturdays are the busiest days of the year for movers across the county. Midweek and mid month are easier to book and usually cheaper.
• Book movers or a truck. Get at least two quotes. If your building or HOA requires a certificate of insurance from the mover, ask for it now, not the week of.
• Check the rules on both ends. HOA move policies, condo elevator reservations, street parking permits in shore towns. Five minutes on the phone now saves a ticket later.
• Start the purge. Go room by room with three piles: move, donate, toss. Every item you don't move is one you don't pack, carry or unpack.
• Schools: if you're switching districts, call the new district now. Registration usually asks for proof of residency, like a deed, lease or utility bill.

4 weeks out: book the totes and handle the paperwork

• Book your totes. Email us your dates, your home size and both towns. We need at least 24 hours, but a week or two ahead is safer at month end. Not sure on size? See the room by room guide.
• Selling? Request the fire certificate. In New Jersey, a home sale needs a certificate showing working smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and a portable fire extinguisher, issued by your local fire official. Towns often ask for a couple of weeks notice, and some towns also do their own resale inspection. Call your town's fire prevention or code office now so it doesn't hold up closing.
• Schedule utilities. Set a stop date at the old place and a start date at the new one:
  • Electric: JCP&L serves most of Monmouth County.
  • Gas: New Jersey Natural Gas covers most of the county.
  • Water and sewer: varies by town. Many towns are on New Jersey American Water, some run their own, and some homes are on a well.
  • Internet: book the install early. Appointments can be a week or more out.
• Trash and recycling: pickup is handled town by town in Monmouth. Look up your new town's schedule and whether bulk pickup needs an appointment.

2 weeks out: tote delivery week

• We drop off your totes. Clean, sanitized and ready. You don't need to be home, just tell us where to leave them.
• Pack the deep storage first. In Monmouth that usually means the garage, the basement and the attic. Holiday decorations, sports gear, off season clothes, the bins nobody has opened since the last move.
• Clear out what can't go on the truck. Paint, propane, pool chemicals, gas cans. Monmouth County runs a household hazardous waste facility at 3211 Shafto Road in Tinton Falls that's free for county residents. Keep things in their original labeled containers and call ahead for hours.
• Label two ways: the room it goes to and how soon you need it. A strip of painter's tape on the lid works great and peels right off.
• Stack smart. Heavy totes on the bottom, light ones on top, four to five high max. Keep stacks out of walkways so nobody trips carrying a dresser.

1 week out: the final push

• Update your address with the MVC. New Jersey law asks drivers to report a new address within one week of moving, and you can do it online on the NJ MVC site. Do USPS mail forwarding the same day.
• Everybody else: banks, insurance, employer, subscriptions, voter registration and your kids' activities.
• Pack the kitchen. Leave out a few plates, a pan and the coffee maker. Everything else goes. Dishes pack best standing on edge in a tote with a towel between them.
• Pack a first night tote and keep it out of the truck: chargers, toiletries, medications, sheets, towels, toilet paper, snacks, a change of clothes and the tools you'll need to put the beds back together.
• Defrost the freezer a day or two before if the fridge is going with you.
• Need more time or more totes? Let us know before your pickup date. Extra weeks are a flat rate per package, and if you're running short we can bring more.

Moving day

• Load totes into the truck in tight stacks. Straight walls mean they fill the space edge to edge without shifting.
• Walk every room, closet, cabinet and the garage rafters before the truck pulls out. Check the shed and under the deck too.
• Take photos of meter readings and the empty house, and leave garage remotes and keys where the new owner expects them.
• At the new place, put each tote in the room on its label. Unpacking goes twice as fast when nothing has to move twice.

After the move

Unpack at your own pace. Every package is a full 2 weeks, so there's no rush to empty everything on the first weekend. When you're done, stack the empty totes somewhere we can reach them, like the porch, the driveway or an open garage, and we'll pick them up. You don't have to be home and you don't have to clean them.

How many totes for a Monmouth County move?

Here's where most Monmouth moves land. Big basements, packed garages and shore gear push you up one tier.

Delivery and pickup are included anywhere in Monmouth County. See every package.

Common questions