Welcome to Octopus Moving Company | Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina
Welcome to Octopus Moving Company | Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina
Most moves go wrong in the last ten days, when packing, utilities and the mover’s arrival window all land at once. This moving checklist spreads that work out, starting eight weeks before the truck arrives and ending in your first week at the new place. It covers what to book and when, what a crew needs from you on the day, and the address changes that carry real deadlines. Octopus Moving runs local, long-distance and interstate moves out of Malden, Providence, Raleigh, Charlotte and Chicago, so the timing below reflects how moves actually get scheduled in those markets, not a generic template.
A moving timeline works because every task has a lead time built in. Movers fill their calendars weeks ahead, mail forwarding takes days to switch on, and a truck permit has its own application window. The order below suits a two- or three-bedroom home; a studio can compress the first month into two weeks.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks out | Decide what is going and what is not. Sell, donate or dump the rest. Get written quotes from licensed movers and check each company’s USDOT number. |
| 6 weeks out | Book your mover and lock the date. Reserve storage if your closing or lease dates do not line up. Order boxes, tape and paper. |
| 4 weeks out | Start packing rooms you do not use daily. File your USPS change of address. Tell your landlord or building manager and ask about elevator reservations. |
| 3 weeks out | Schedule utility shutoff at the old place and turn-on at the new one. Apply for a Boston moving truck permit if you need street parking. |
| 2 weeks out | Update your bank, insurer, employer and subscriptions. Confirm the arrival window with your mover. Take apart furniture you can handle yourself. |
| 1 week out | Pack everything except a few days of essentials. Defrost the freezer 24 to 48 hours before. Set aside cash for tips and gather documents you will carry yourself. |
Octopus Moving asks customers to book at least two to three weeks ahead, and in spring and summer the Saturday slots go first. If a gap opens between move-out and move-in, temperature-controlled storage from Octopus Moving starts at $75 a month for a room or less, with a one-month minimum, and the crew handles pickup and delivery so you never touch the boxes twice.
Supplies cost less through your mover than most people expect: small boxes are $4, large boxes $6, and wardrobe boxes rent for $10 each. The full packing service and supply prices are on the site, and the crew can pack the fragile rooms if you run out of time.
For the mail, the USPS change of address page says to allow up to two weeks for forwarding to begin, and the online form charges a $1.25 identity verification fee. Standard forwarding then runs for 12 months. In Boston, a moving truck permit from the Parking Clerk is optional but reserves two parking spaces from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., costs about $110 for two metered spaces, and can only be requested online 15 days to eight weeks ahead. On a Beacon Hill or North End street with no driveway, that permit is the difference between a long carry and a curbside load.
Moving day is faster when the crew can start loading the minute they arrive. With Octopus Moving, a two-person crew shows up with a 20-foot box truck, moving blankets and floor protection, with gas and tolls already in the $139 hourly rate. Every mover is a full-time employee supervised by the owner, not a day laborer picked up that morning. Your part of the moving house checklist is short:
Settle the valuation question before anyone lifts a box. FMCSA’s guidance on liability and protection explains that interstate movers must offer two options: full value protection, the default, and released value, which costs nothing but pays no more than 60 cents per pound per item. A 25-pound television covered at released value is worth $15 if it breaks. States set their own rules for in-state moves, so ask which option you are signing for. Federally you have nine months after delivery to file a written claim, but the crew would rather hear about a scratch on the day.
Unpack in the order you will need things: beds first, then the bathroom, then enough of the kitchen to make coffee and one real meal. While the crew is still there, check the big items against your inventory. Then work through the moving to do list that has deadlines attached:
Out-of-state moves add a new license, registration and plates on top of that list. Our guide to what a Boston to North Carolina move involves covers the costs and timing on that route. Student moves run on a different calendar, with arrival windows set by the school rather than by you, and our article on student moves in Providence covers how to plan around them.
The complaint people raise most about movers is not damage. It is a final bill higher than the number quoted on the phone. Octopus Moving prices local moves by the hour, from $139 for two movers, $209 for three and $279 for four, with the truck, blankets, floor protection, gas and tolls included. So the final number moves with time on the job, and these are the things that add time:
Run this checklist for moving quotes before you sign: what the hourly rate includes, whether there is a minimum number of hours, how travel time is billed, how stairs and long carries are charged, which valuation option is on the contract, and the deposit and cancellation terms. A mover who answers all six clearly is a mover whose final bill will look like the estimate. Octopus is licensed and insured under USDOT 3125432 and MC 90264, both printed on the site so you can look them up.
Two situations change the math. A whole-home move is usually best handled by residential movers for houses, apartments and condos, where the crew size is matched to the square footage. A single heavy piece, or a few antiques that need extra wrapping, is a job for furniture movers who handle heavy and antique pieces on a shorter booking. Ask which one fits; paying a four-person crew to move two dressers is the kind of surprise this list exists to prevent.
Start packing four weeks before moving day, beginning with rooms and items you do not use every day: books, seasonal clothes, decor, the guest room and the garage. Leave the kitchen and bathroom for the final week so the house stays livable, and label every box with the room it goes to, not just what is inside.
If you are under two weeks out with nothing boxed, a packing crew saves money, because unpacked rooms on moving day are billed at the hourly rate.
Book movers in Boston at least two to three weeks ahead, and four to six weeks ahead for a spring or summer date or anything near September 1. Octopus Moving can sometimes fit a last-minute move when a slot opens, but weekend dates in peak season are usually gone well before that.
The September 1 lease turnover is the busiest moving week in the city; Boston even blocks off common drop-off spots from August 31 to September 2 so trucks can unload without a permit.
Movers will not transport hazardous or perishable items: propane tanks, gasoline, paint thinner, aerosols, fireworks, opened food, plants on long-distance trips, and anything alive. Most crews also decline cash, jewelry, passports and prescription medications, not because they are dangerous but because you should carry them yourself.
Drain fuel from lawn equipment and grills beforehand, and drive perishables and plants in your own car.
Throw away or donate anything you would not pay to move at $139 an hour: expired pantry items and medications, old paint and chemicals, broken electronics, worn furniture that will not fit the new layout, duplicate kitchen tools, and clothes you have not worn in a year. Every box you cut is time off the bill.
Do the purge at the eight-week mark so donation pickups and bulk trash days happen before packing starts.
Yes. Print this page: the timeline table works as a moving checklist printable and lays out every task from eight weeks out to the first week after you arrive. Tape it to the fridge and cross tasks off as they are done, which is still the easiest way to keep a household on the same schedule.
If you want it tailored to your move, the Octopus Moving team will go through the timeline with you on the phone when you book.
The one decision that makes everything else on this list easier is booking the mover early, because the date sets every other deadline. If you are moving in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina or Illinois, or between them, call (781) 333-5383 or get a free moving estimate and we will walk through the timeline with you.
