MTS Logo
Moving Tips

How To Plan A Long Distance Move - Your Final 7-Day Countdown

Mete Kalfa

Published Updated 7 min read

Illustration of a mover holding a checklist beside moving boxes and an MTS truck
On this page

Quick answer: In the last seven days before a long-distance move, confirm your date and truck parking, finalize your inventory, decide what to pack yourself, sort out valuation coverage, and set aside documents plus two to three weeks of essentials to travel with you. A clear day-by-day plan is what separates a calm final week from a chaotic one.

I’m Mete Kalfa, Director of MTS Moving. I grew up in this business — we’re a second-generation long-distance moving company based in Mississauga, Ontario, and a member of the Canadian Association of Movers (CAM). Over thousands of interprovincial moves across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec, we’ve learned that the moves that go sideways almost never fail on moving day itself. They fail in the quiet week before it, when a detail gets skipped. This is the countdown we walk our own customers through, written so it’s useful whether you hire us, hire someone else, or move yourself.

Your final-week timeline at a glance

7 days out
Focus
Confirm logistics
Key tasks
Lock in the move date, confirm truck parking and access distance, book the elevator if your building needs a week’s notice
4-6 days out
Focus
Inventory and packing
Key tasks
Finalize your inventory, photograph everything, decide what you pack vs. what the crew packs
3 days out
Focus
Coverage and prep
Key tasks
Confirm your valuation/insurance coverage, re-check your estimate, book the elevator if 3 days’ notice is allowed
1-2 days out
Focus
Personal essentials
Key tasks
Pull documents, jewellery, electronics, meds and 2-3 weeks of clothes to keep with you; confirm travel
Moving day
Focus
Hand off cleanly
Key tasks
Everything boxed or wrapped, nothing loose, walkway cleared, let the crew wrap furniture and fabrics

The rest of this guide goes deeper on the parts that actually cost people money and time.

When should you confirm the move date and parking?

Seven days out, confirm the exact date and how the truck will reach your door. Parking and access is the single most common source of surprise fees, because most movers charge a long-carry fee when the truck can’t park within a set distance of your entrance — for us that threshold is 100 ft.

If access is tight — a narrow street, a loading dock, a long walk from the lot — tell your mover now and send photos or a short video. A reserved spot or a building permit can take days to arrange, so a Tuesday phone call is fixable; a moving-day discovery is not. And if snow or ice is in the forecast, plan to clear the walk before the crew arrives, both for safety and to keep the move on schedule.

How to finalize and photograph your inventory

Your inventory is the backbone of an accurate quote, so it needs to match reality by the final week. If you’ve added or removed items since your first estimate, tell your mover — the shipment’s weight and volume drive the price, and a heavier load than quoted is exactly how a “cheap” move becomes an expensive one at delivery.

Photograph everything as you finalize it. Good photos do three jobs at once:

  • They let your mover verify the inventory and catch a mismatch before the truck is loaded.
  • They document the pre-move condition of valuable items, which is what makes a damage claim straightforward instead of a your-word-against-theirs dispute.
  • They give you a reference for reassembling furniture and finding things at the other end.

This is one task worth over-doing. Five minutes of photos is the cheapest insurance in the whole process.

How is a long-distance move actually priced?

Most reputable Canadian long-distance movers price on weight and distance, sometimes volume, plus any extra services (packing, stairs, a shuttle, storage). Understanding the estimate type matters more than the headline number:

  • A binding estimate fixes the price in advance based on a documented inventory. The quoted number is what you pay, as long as the scope doesn’t change.
  • A non-binding estimate is a projection. The final bill is based on the actual weight and services, so it can move up or down from the quote.

Neither is inherently better, but you should know which one you signed. Ask for it in writing, ask what triggers a change, and keep the shipment honest so a non-binding number doesn’t balloon. For a fuller breakdown of what drives the total, see our long-distance moving cost guide. CAM also publishes plain-language consumer guidance and scam alerts worth reading before you sign anything.

What coverage do you actually have during the move?

This is the part almost everyone gets wrong, and it’s the one that hurts most. The basic coverage built into every Canadian moving contract is released value protection, which limits the mover’s liability to $0.60 per pound ($1.32 per kg) per article — regardless of what the item is worth. A 100-lb table destroyed in transit pays out $60, even if it cost $1,000 to replace (Canadian Association of Movers).

If that’s not enough for what you’re shipping — and for most long-distance loads it isn’t — ask about replacement (full) value protection, which repairs or replaces a damaged item at today’s market price for an added charge. CAM notes the minimum coverage for this option is typically $10.00 per pound of shipment weight (a 5,000-lb load is covered to $50,000) (Canadian Association of Movers). Check your home or tenant insurance too; some policies cover goods in transit and can fill the gap. Sort this out three days before the move, not on the truck ramp.

What should you keep with you and never load?

Some things should never go on the truck. Pack these separately and keep them in your own vehicle or carry-on:

  • Important documents (passport, immigration papers, legal documents, medical records)
  • Jewellery and small valuables
  • Small electronics and their chargers
  • Medications and personal hygiene items
  • Clothes and essentials for two to three weeks

The reason is simple: on a long-distance move your goods may travel for days, and anything irreplaceable or urgently needed should stay under your control. We’ve seen what it costs a family when a box of legal documents goes missing mid-route — the paperwork to rebuild it can drag on for months. Don’t give the truck the chance.

Should you pack yourself or hire packers?

There’s a genuine trade-off here, and the honest answer depends on your time, your budget and what you own.

Pack it yourself to save money and stay in control of your own system — sensible for books, linens and non-fragile goods. Have the crew pack for fragile, high-value or awkward items (TVs, mirrors, ceramics, art), because professional materials and technique meaningfully reduce breakage, and professionally packed items are usually easier to claim on if something does go wrong.

A full-pack service — where the crew handles everything from materials to labelling — is the low-stress option and is often priced per pound, but it costs more; weigh that against the hours and risk of doing it yourself. At MTS we include one hour of free packing labour on moving day and never add a surcharge for packing your own boxes, so you can mix and match. Whatever you decide, one rule is non-negotiable on any move: nothing loose. Everything must be in a box, bin, suitcase or properly wrapped, and fabric items should be in covers so the crew can pad and load safely.

Confirm travel and keep communication open

In the last two days, lock in flights, accommodations and your own travel. If you’re flying on a fixed date, tell your mover so delivery timing lines up with when you’ll actually be there to receive the shipment. Then keep the line open — a good mover checks in again a few days and one day out to reconfirm the details, and you should feel free to call with any change. Our number is +1 (888) 322-1968.

Plan the quiet week well and moving day mostly takes care of itself. That’s the whole point of the countdown: no surprises, because you handled them while there was still time to handle them. MTS holds a 4.9-star rating from 741 Google reviews, and is also listed on Yelp, HomeStars and BBB (Mississauga) — but the reviews follow the boring discipline above, not the other way around.

Related guides

Mete Kalfa

Director, MTS Moving

Mete Kalfa is the Director of MTS Moving and a second-generation long-distance relocation expert. Specializing in inter-provincial moves across Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, he leverages decades of family legacy and active Canadian Association of Movers (CAM) membership to provide transparent insights that protect consumers from industry scams.

Connect on LinkedIn