Moving in St. Pete: the 30-day checklist (and the things only locals know).

By Ryan · Mar 28, 2026 · St. Petersburg, FL

If you Google "moving checklist," you'll get a thousand identical lists. This one is St. Pete specific — Duke Energy timing, hurricane-season scheduling, the three neighborhoods where box trucks struggle to park, and how to bundle your move with a junk haul to save a couple hundred bucks.

30 days out

• Book the truck. Whether it's us or someone else, summer weekends in St. Pete book up 3+ weeks ahead. Mid-month weekdays are easier (and ~10% cheaper for many movers, including us).
• Schedule junk removal for the same day or day before the move. Bundling a move + haul on the same visit saves about $150 because we're already there. See the bundle quote.
• Inventory what's NOT moving with you. The rusted patio set, the broken dresser, the box of cables. That's the haul-out half of the move.
• If you're going more than 50 miles, call a long-distance mover. We don't do that — we'll refer you.

14 days out

• Schedule Duke Energy transfer. Allow 5 business days, especially in summer. Online transfer is easy if you don't owe a deposit.
• Schedule water transfer. St. Pete water requires online or phone setup, no in-person. Allow 3 days.
• Mail forwarding via USPS. Set the start date for moving day. Free online.
• Internet — Spectrum or Frontier? Spectrum dominates most of St. Pete. Schedule the install at the new place 5–7 days out; you can usually keep your account number from the old address.
• If you're in an HOA, notify them. Especially Snell Isle and the gulf-side neighborhoods — they often want a 7-day-advance notice for moving truck access.

7 days out

• Pack non-essentials. Books, off-season clothes, decor.
• Confirm the truck. We'll text you 7 days out with a confirmation. Other companies, call them.
• Watch the hurricane forecast. June–November, check NHC daily. If a named storm is in the Gulf, we'll proactively reach out about rescheduling — better to move 2 days early than 2 days post-storm with debris everywhere.
• Plan parking. See "neighborhoods with box-truck parking issues" below.

3 days out

• Pack the kitchen, mostly. Leave coffee maker + 2 plates + 2 cups + paper towels.
• Defrost the freezer if you're keeping the fridge. If we're hauling the old fridge away, no need.
• Drain gas from yard equipment. Lawnmower, weed whacker, generator — required for safe transport.
• Photograph electronics setup. Cable arrangements behind the TV, etc.

Day before

• Confirm the 2-hour arrival window. We text you the day before with a window like "8–10am." Other movers, call to confirm.
• Charge your phone, label boxes by destination room.
• Take a final walk-through, plug all the holes you forgot.

Three St. Pete neighborhoods with box-truck parking issues

1. Old Northeast. Tight historic streets, alleys with overhanging trees. We send a 16-ft (not 24-ft) truck for OldNE moves to fit the alley clearances. Ask any mover what truck they're sending.
2. Downtown / Edge District. Metered street parking, sometimes need a temporary "no parking" permit from the city for 48 hrs. We file these.
3. Snell Isle / Vinoy area. HOA notification typically required, and the bridges have weight restrictions for large trucks.

Hurricane-season scheduling

The honest answer: don't schedule a non-urgent move in the second half of August through mid-September. The 2024–2025 storm seasons taught us that even forecast-only systems disrupt moves (you can't load a 16-ft box truck in 30mph wind). If you have to move in peak season, build a 3-day buffer into your plan and have a backup arrangement.

The bundle: move + junk haul in one day

The thing nobody tells you about moving: ~30% of the stuff you "moved" gets thrown out within the first 6 months at the new place. Save yourself the round trip — have us haul out the broken patio table, the bedroom set you outgrew, and the boxes from the attic during the move, not 6 months later.

We're literally already there. The cost is roughly half what a separate junk-removal trip would be, because we're not paying a separate dispatch.

See your move + haul price — three taps, no phone tag.

— Ryan