I have moved three times since I began entering sweepstakes on a daily basis. I have mastered the art of not missing out on a prize.
To me, moving residence is even more stressful than moving your email provider because you can’t control the entire process. The best you can do is manage it and have faith you will get all your prizes, even the surprise ones.
What do I mean by manage vs control?
POST OFFICE
This step is mostly controllable. When I moved, I chose to pay for the post office’s mail forwarding service for a full year. (You may wish to choose a shorter option.) This will forward all letters to your new address. You will have to read your postal service’s guidelines regarding packages, express post, etc.
USPS: mail forwarding
CANADA POST: mail forwarding
NEW TENANTS/HOMEOWNERS
This step is manageable. I say manageable as you cannot control other people’s actions. What I did to best manage receiving any notification or package that arrived after I moved was to leave the new occupants:
- the manuals for all the appliances,
- takeout menus for our favorite local restaurants,
- a bottle of wine and a corkscrew,
- and a welcome note, along with a request to let me know if any packages arrived for us.
As we only moved a short distance away I was able to go and pick up the few packages that were delivered. If you move too far to retrieve any missed deliveries, you could arrange for the packages to be shipped to you at your cost.
Also, courier forwarding options are not the same as the post office and you need to check to see what your options are for each:
FEDEX: forwarding
PUROLATOR: forwarding
UPS: forwarding
WINNING NOTIFICATIONS
If you receive a release form with your old address, let the sponsor or management company know you moved between entering and being notified, then provided them with your new contact details. They understand people move and want to get you your prize. They are happy to update their records sending your win to your new home.
Have you been entering sweepstakes for a long time and moved? If so, what did you do to ensure you didn’t miss out on any prizes?
This was great. Any suggestions for someone who isn’t moving permanently until four years. Will be spending summer and vacations at the other house until then.
The post office offers temporary mail forwarding. If you win while away you can either have a trusted neighbor get packages that get delivered to your home or ask the sponsors to send the prize to your summer address.
I opted for the full year of mail redirection too. Some companies may only send statements (life insurance, financials, etc) once a year & I didn’t want to miss anything important if I forgot to give them my new address information.
I don’t believe we missed any courier packages. Unfortunately the people that bought our old place were extremely unfriendly & had plans just leave their teenagers in the place as they lived over 5hrs away.
Great to see this Carolyn, we have a move planned in next few months & I’ve been thinking about this aspect.
Thanks a bunch