Prepare Documents and Files for a Removal
Moving house or relocating the office is equally hard to do. There is so much involved in the process of removal that one can easily feel overwhelmed or even frustrated because of it. Organizing documents and files isn't everyone's specialty. Most of us keep documents and paperwork in shoes boxes, somewhere in a drawer. We don't really think about these piles of files until we face a relocation and we realize that it's a good idea to go through each and every paper and sort them out. It can be hard to do that as it takes time and some thinking. While we have rooms and boxes waiting to be packed, sitting down and spending time with documents might seem like a waste of time, but it really isn't. An easy way to deal with this task is once you know the moving date, but you haven't started packing the rooms yet, to simply devote half an hour and deal with these files. Here are the basics of this task.
Collecting Personal Records
Especially if you are moving long-distance or internationally, make sure you collect your children's records from school. Most schools don't mind forwarding the records to the new school, but it's best to have additional copies of all diplomas, certificates and grades, just to be extra careful. If your children will be applying for university or college make sure you obtain a copy of their transcripts. Some schools might charge a fee for that or it may take longer than you think, so the earlier you deal with this, the better. If you don't know your new address yet or you children's school address, it's best to get the copies yourself just to make sure you have all you need. Another thing to deal with is medical records of the members of your family. This is extremely important - go to your GP, dentist and other specialists and ask for condensed versions of everyone's records. If you have had any operations or illnesses, you may need a special record for that too. If you have managed to find a new family doctor at the new location you can ask for the records to be forwarded, but always insist on an additional copy to keep with you. If you are moving out of the country or across states it can be a problem to transfer all that data, so make sure you have the full medical records. If you have pets you will need their records from the vet too, especially if you are moving internationally. Most countries have specific requirements in terms of the immigration of pets, so inform yourself on them and be prepared with all the medical information. Gather your financial records and be extremely careful when packing these. Keep them in one file and don't label it. If anything happens to that file you need to act immediately. If you have to throw some documents, shred them or destroy them yourself as identity thieves do check bins around the houses that are having a removal. Sort out your receipts and bill statements and if you don't need anything anymore destroy it. Once you have a pile of everything organize them in file folders or seal them in envelopes. You can use files and envelopes of different colours so you know what's inside. However, you don't have to put a label: medical record or financial record on top. Once again, remember that thefts and other accidents happen. It's best to be as discreet as possible when transporting records with personal data.