Moving day can be messy, and the mess continues as you unpack and get things arranged in your new home. While the mess of moving--even locally--cannot be avoided entirely, you can take some steps to smooth the transition by preplanning your move well before your move-in date. Here are some preplanning tips that can really help you stay ahead of the moving game when the big day finally arrives.

1. Take measurements.

Before your moving day, go to your new home and take the time to measure each room and wall. You'll save yourself a headache and a half if you know how wide the doorways are, how narrow the staircase is, and how many feet of wall space you have in the new living room. You can then measure your couches, beds, shelves and other bulky items to make sure getting them in the new house is actually possible. After all, you don't want to go to the trouble of moving a sectional only to find that it doesn't fit in your new living room. If you measure spaces and furniture before moving day, you know where you can put things, how they can be oriented in the room, and whether or not they are even worth hauling up the stairs. 

As a bonus, knowing your measurements can help you with your moving sale -- you can sell pictures, furniture, and decor that will not fit in your home, helping to offset the costs of a move.

2. Take a detailed inventory.

Before you begin packing, go to each room in your current house and make a list of every item there -- books, jewelry, and wall decor included. Then, proceed to cross things off the list as they are packed into boxes. This way, when you unpack, you can use the same list to cross things off as they come out. It will help guide you immediately to the things that may have gotten lost, or a box that may have gotten left behind. You won't be scrambling through boxes or wondering vaguely if something might have gotten misplaced. With a concrete inventory, it'll be smooth sailing during the organizing phase of unpacking your belongings. 

3. Arrange for storage solutions ahead of time.

Every house has differing sizes of closets, built-in shelves, cupboards in the kitchen, and other things. Part of the mess of moving is that once you get to your new home, you have to reconfigure where everything is stored an kept. Before moving, take pictures of your normal storage spaces. Take the pictures to your new home and try to gauge where you might relocate the items in the new storage places. You might find you are coming up short on places to put things. For example, if you kept all your books on a built in bookcase in your old house, but your new house does not have a builtin, you'll likely need a new bookcase. Take a look at what your storage needs are and purchase items like new shelves or an extra dresser before you move to make it easier to put things away when you're unpacking.

4. Have your appliances serviced before your move.

You might not have considered giving your fridge, stove, or washing machine a tune-up before moving, but this is actually a great idea. Moving appliances can be messy, and properly cleaning, uninstalling, and draining them before moving can help from nasty puddles forming on the truck. Also, if they are given the green light and properly tuned by a pro before you ever bring them into the new house, you reduce the need for after-moving repairs that will only make you life more messy. Many moving companies might even require an appliance be serviced before loading them up.

Contact a local moving company, such as Wheaton World Wide Moving, for more information.