The home-buying process can be stressful enough without all the little odds and ends to tie up and, of course, the actual moving day. Here is a handy list of things to do — including a few you may never have thought of — to prepare for the big move:

• Make a list of people you need to notify you are moving. Get those cute little cards that say “We’ve moved!”
• Call your credit card companies and bank and let them know of your change of address.
• Order new checks from your bank with your new address.
• Change your address on your driver’s license, and also remember to register to vote at your new address.
• Provide the post office with your forwarding address two to four weeks ahead of the move.
• Cancel your newspaper and magazine subscriptions, or change the address so it will arrive at your new home.
• Make sure you call and get a turn-off date on your utilities for your old home and a turn-on date for the utilities at your new home.
• Check the insurance coverage for the items you’re moving. Also, don’t forget to call your insurance carriers and let them know your new address.
• Clean out your appliances before packing them.
• Pack your plants in boxes with holes for air circulation.
• Have a “first open” box with the things you’ll need most, like toilet paper, soap, trash bags, scissors, hammer, screwdriver, pencils and paper, cups and plates, water, snacks and toothpaste.
• When you get to your new home, make your bed first. That way when you get tired, you’ll have a place to crash!

Stacey McCarthy is a real estate agent with the McCarthy Group of Keller Williams. Her Real NEastate column appears every Wednesday on NEastPhilly.com. See others here. Read other NEast Philly columns here.