Interstate movers usually base their estimates on the weight of your furnishings and the distance of the move. Make sure your written estimate is not a guess, but a binding estimate. If you are moving intrastate - within the state - movers will normally estimate the cost of the move on an hourly basis rather than by weight. Movers are licensed for either intrastate or interstate moving, so make sure the mover you are hiring has the right type of license. Once you have an estimate and choose a mover, you will need to decide whether you are going to have the movers handle all or only part of the move.

Some consumers will try to save money by packing the boxes, leaving only the actual moving for the movers. If you are going to do the packing yourself, you will still have to pay for packing materials such as boxes, packing tape, packing material and bubble-wrap for your valuables. You should estimate how much time and expense all this will take and decide whether you will actually save money. It may be that the time, money and liability involved make it is smarter to have someone else do the packing - especially since movers packing your goods bear the responsibility for any losses. Remember that movers will carry all of your personal possessions, so consider purchasing moving insurance.

Moving should be broken down into the different activities that you will need to schedule. These activities should include:

• Inspect and sort through the areas where you have been storing goods, including the garage, storage shed, attic, basement, loft and closets.

• Separate the items in these areas into categories, such as: "moving to new home," "donate to charity," donate to church," "save for garage sale," "take to the dump," and "give to neighbors."

• Make a list of items you will not be able to move. These might include frozen foods, household cleaning supplies, garden chemicals, gas, oil, and household or outdoor plants. Then consider how you will dispose of these items. For example, begin eating the frozen food, give plants to neighbors, and donate cleaning supplies to a church or community group.

• Begin a list of everyone you need to notify of your move, including relatives, friends, credit card and insurance companies, doctors and dentists, and schools.

• Notify contracted services, such as gardening service, pool service and water conditioners - which may require 30 days' notice to cancel their services - of your move.

• Start gathering everything that the movers will not be taking in one location. This will help on moving day.

• You will need to start taking down pictures and personal items from the walls, and begin patching the holes that remain.

• Schedule house and carpet cleaners.

• Don't pack valuable jewelry, guns or collectibles. You may want to take them to a relative or a friend until you move and retrieve them later, since these small items can be lost or stolen.

Your checklist for the last week should include the following:

• Inform the post office to forward your mail to the new address.

• Inform newspapers and magazines of your new address.

• Inform your telephone and utility companies, bank, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), credit card companies, and insurance company of your new address. (To download this form, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download at Adobe's web site)

• Provide friends and employers with your new address.