Moving Day in Quebec is right around the corner.
Speaking of, it’s time to plan ahead on how to wiggle that couch around your old place’s pesky corner.
Quebeckers take distinct pleasure in being different from the rest of Canada. Sometimes these differences manifest as unique festivals and sometimes they take the form of collective madness that is Quebec’s Moving Day.
Every summer on July 1, old leases expire and new leases begin while the streets of Montreal fill up with sweaty people, bulky vans, pick-up trucks, and fully-loaded bicycles as citizens swap out the old for the new.
The FRAPRU (Front d’Action Populaire en Réaménagement Urbain) website estimates that 200,000 people move every July 1 in Montreal. So get your four-way-hazard lights ready, here are the best tips to make your Moving Day as easy as possible.
Get the proper transport
It’s essential to be prepared on Moving Day. Plan ahead and rent a truck well before Moving Day (also to save costs) and find movers. Big moving companies obviously charge more this weekend because it’s their busiest weekend of the year. Don’t try to rent a truck and find movers on July 1. Now is a good time to offer pizza and/or beer to your friends to help you move, especially those buddies with pick-up trucks.
Don’t move what you don’t need
You’re paying for everything on Moving Day so plan ahead, don’t move things you no longer need – time is too valuable. If you find something in your old place that you don’t envision using at the new location, give it away, sell it or toss it. You’ll be busy enough, no need taking that broken microwave with you this time.
The City of Montreal offers movers an opportunity to dispose of their belongings sustainably at one of its seven Écocentres. Find the location nearest you at the Ville de Montreal website.
Change your address
Changing your address is extremely important and fairly easy. Visit the Service québécois de changement d’adresse website and you can update six departments with a single step.
- Élections Québec
- Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale
- Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec
- Retraite Québec
- Revenu Québec
- Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec
Transfer Hydro-Québec to your new address
Movers who are transferring to a new address can do so online and save $25 instead of doing it by phone. Hydro-Québec recommends that you change your address at least seven days before your planned moving date.
Be box conscious
Head to a local grocery store or bar and ask for old cardboard boxes. Label your boxes while you’re packing them keep a list of what is in them. When you move, keep all corresponding boxes in its new room.
Be sure to identify items that need special handling and place them in secure places during transit so they don’t break. For high-value items, keep them with you. If it’s worth money, don’t take chances on it going missing during the move.
Scout your old and new areas
Check access points for loading and unloading at each stop of the move. Make sure your transport vehicle can fit from your old spot to your new and that it can park for a considerable amount of time. If you’ve hired movers, make sure to tell them if there are stairs (and how many flights) or an elevator. Nobody wants to be surprised day of that your favourite armoire doesn’t fit in your new place.
Pets and kids
The Montreal SPCA says close to three times the amount of pets are abandoned around moving day. They recommend to find a place that takes animals, trying to work out an agreement with the landlord or finding the animal a new home with someone you meet through social media or a family member.
Be sure to make arrangements for both pets and small kids to be taken care of on Moving Day. People walking backwards with heavy furniture items and boxes is no place for small loved ones to be underfoot.
Find your new garbage day schedule
In Montreal, garbage, recycling and compost services vary not only from borough to borough, but from street to street. Visit the Ville de Montreal website and enter your new postal code to see your new place’s schedules.
Be available
When expediting the move, be sure you’re readily available. With so many moving parts (literally), make sure you’re contactable. Be certain your old and new places are either unlocked under watch or that there are keys handy. Nobody wants to sit and wait for you to come unlock a door on Moving Day.
Pizza, beer and water
You have to take care of your help. This weekend is supposed to be dangerously hot in Montreal, have water and sunblock on site and reward your recruiters with the traditional pizza and beer.
Happy moving, Quebec.
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