A Montreal move is rarely decided on moving day. It is decided in the four weeks before it. Here is what to settle, week by week, so that July 1st is nothing more than a day of carrying boxes.
Four weeks out: measure before you buy
Count rooms, not boxes. A Montreal 4½ usually fits in 35 bins, a 5½ in 50. Book at this point: in June, delivery slots across Greater Montreal fill up weeks ahead.
This is also the time to notify your landlord in writing, reserve the elevator if you live in a tower, and request a temporary parking permit from your borough. In Montreal that permit is requested online and takes a few business days.
Three weeks out: sort for real
Every item you do not move is an item you do not pay to move. Start with the spaces you never open: the back of closets, the shed, the top of cupboards.
Two weeks out: addresses
Update your address with Hydro-Québec, your internet provider, the SAAQ, the RAMQ and your bank. Canada Post offers mail forwarding: it costs little and catches everything you forget.
One week out: pack by room, not by category
Fill one bin per room and label it with the name of the room it is going TO, not the one it is leaving. That is the difference between unpacking in one evening and unpacking over three weekends.
Keep a "first night" bin: bedding, toiletries, chargers, toilet paper, one pot. It travels in your car, not in the truck.
The day before: unplug and defrost
Empty and defrost the fridge, disconnect the washer, fill the car with gas. Photograph the back of your television before unplugging the cables.
Moving day
Walk through every room one last time, closets open, before you close the door. Read the meters. And if you rented bins, stack them empty at the agreed spot: pickup then takes a few minutes.