Make your friends, relatives and suppliers aware of your move, and also remember that it will be mandatory to notify the following entities of your change of address:

• Municipality
• Gas and electricity
• Phone
• Physician

If you own a car, motorcycle, or want to alert one or more service companies here is a list of entities and companies you should contact if you are a customer or user of theirs:

• Condominium administration
• Insurance
• Cars & Motorcycles
• Banks
• Credit card
• Cell phone
• Web names
• Periodicals
• Mail
• Professions
• Employer

It's time to start packing (if you decide to do it yourself). Think of fabrics, curtains, carpets that need repair or just cleaning. Gather together all the various personal documents (health records, school records, certificates, deeds, receipts, invoices, financial documents, etc.), and those pertaining to the car, scooter or other vehicles you own.

If you deem it necessary, arrange to open or move bank accounts at a bank closer to your new home. If you have children, arrange for their accommodation for moving day and make sure to involve them in preparing for the move: for example, ask them to take care of their toys.

Make specific arrangements for the relocation of your plants and any pets.

If you have approached a moving company make final arrangements for the exact date and time of the move. Make contact with a qualified plumber for any changes in gas-water connections to be made at the new home.

If you have decided that not everything you have in the old house will also be needed in the new one, make arrangements with charities, or if it is furniture or old appliances that you want to get rid of, make arrangements with the waste hauling company to clear it out if the local company makes such a service available.

Give the moving company a list of phone numbers where you can be reached in case of need. Close any open accounts with your suppliers in the area you are leaving. Turn in your borrowed books and videotapes and remember the clothing, textiles, or rugs you took to the laundry in the previous days.

Request a day off or leave from your job. Prepare temporary nametags with your name for the entrances, intercom, and mailbox. If you have an alarm system, inform the service company and public safety of your move. In case you have decided not to do the packing yourself, it is time to call the moving company for this task.

Avoid packing or having flammable or corrosive materials packed. Arrange heavy objects in small packages and light objects in wider packages. Personally arrange for the packing of valuable items and entrust them to family members or friends. Prepare a separate container for important or first-aid medicines.

If possible, consume the frozen foods contained in the freezer, which you will then defrost along with the refrigerator.

Prepare a "survival kit" with toiletries, sheets, towels, alarm clock, and clean clothes that you will carry yourself. If the kitchen in the new house will not be functional immediately after the move, think about canned foods or make sure where there are pizzerias or restaurants in the new area.

On the day of the move Go to the old apartment before the moving company workers arrive, so that you can facilitate the work and be able to answer any questions they may ask you. Take note of the closing readings of the various meters in your name (gas, electricity, water). Check that everything packed has been loaded and all furniture and household goods have been cleared out. Try to have materials unloaded and deposited in the house according to a logic of immediate usefulness: personal items, food, clothes that you will need immediately or the next day should be easy to find at the end of the move. Before any balance to the moving company, check that what is in the loading document has all been unloaded and brought home intact. If you have furniture from the old apartment reassembled, check the correct placement of the furniture and the various features.