The Moving House Checklist: What to Do and When
A week-by-week moving house checklist from a Rossendale removals firm, working back from eight weeks out to moving day.
A move rarely comes apart in the first week of planning. It comes apart in the last fortnight, when the van’s booked but the loft is still full, nobody’s told the school, and the freezer is frozen solid. The fix is to work backwards. This moving house checklist starts eight weeks out and counts down to the day itself, so the awkward jobs are done long before the small ones pile up. Treat it as a moving home checklist you can adjust: bring the dates forward for a big house, or squeeze them if your move is booked in a hurry.
Eight weeks before
This is the planning stretch, and the single most useful thing you can do is book your removals firm. Good crews get booked up for Fridays, month-ends and the school summer holidays first, so an early call gives you the pick of dates. Our phone is answered any time of day for quotes, and if you ring outside staffed hours you can leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we can. We’re a family firm and have been moving local households from our base in Rossendale since 2016, and you can see what a full house move covers on our House Removals page.
Decide now whether you’re packing yourself or having it done. If you would rather not spend three weekends wrapping crockery, packing is included when you book us to do it, and we bring the boxes. Either way, this is the moment to start clearing out, because anything you’re not taking is one less thing to lift and one less box to fill. If there’s a lot to shift, a house clearance is a fixed price we agree before we start.
If your sale and purchase might not line up, or the new place isn’t ready on time, look at storage early. Ours is managed storage: we collect your things, keep them safe and bring them back when you’re ready, rather than you renting a unit and hauling boxes there yourself. There’s more on the Storage page.
If you have children, sort schools now. In-year moves and September admissions both take time, so contact the new school and the local authority early, and tell the current school your leaving date. If you’re renting, check your notice period and give notice in writing. Start a single folder, paper or digital, for everything to do with the move: contracts, reference numbers, quotes and dates. You’ll be glad of it the first time someone asks for a detail while you’re standing in an empty hallway.
Six weeks before
With the big decisions made, turn to what actually comes with you. Go room by room and split everything into keep, sell, donate and throw away. The less that travels, the quicker the day goes and the smaller the job.
A few things cannot go on the van at all. We can’t move flammables such as petrol, hazardous chemicals or transit-risk items like paint cans, so use them up, give them away or take them to the tip in good time rather than finding a half-full can on moving morning.
Anything heavy or precious is worth flagging now. Pianos need trained hands and the right equipment, so moving one is something we plan for rather than improvise. The same care goes for antiques, mirrors, artwork and anything sentimental. When we move you, your goods are covered in transit and in storage, but it still helps to know what needs extra attention before the day.
While you’re at it, measure your bulky furniture and the doorways, stairs and lifts at the new place. A wardrobe that won’t turn on the landing is far better discovered now than at 8am on moving day.
Four weeks before
Four weeks out is admin month. Work through everyone who needs to know you’re moving, because a missed notification tends to surface at the worst possible moment. A good checklist for moving house covers the council for council tax and the electoral roll, your gas, electricity and water suppliers, your bank and building society, your employer, your GP and dentist, and your car and home insurers. Tell the DVLA about your driving licence and vehicle logbook, sort your broadband and TV licence, and update any subscriptions or regular deliveries.
Set up Royal Mail post redirection around now. It can take several working days to start, so arranging it early means nothing important lands on the new owner’s doormat after you’ve gone.
Update your home and contents insurance for the new address, and check you are covered for moving day itself. Your belongings are insured while we move and store them, though your own policy should cover things at either end.
This is also when serious packing begins. Start with the rooms you barely use: the loft, the garage, the spare bedroom, out-of-season clothes and books. Label each box with its room and a line about what’s inside. If the packing runs away from you, our Packing Service can take it off your hands, boxes included.
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Two weeks before
Two weeks out, pin down the logistics. Confirm your completion date with your solicitor or estate agent, and ask when you will actually get the keys. A lot of moves hinge on that handover, so it’s worth knowing whether you’re in at midday or waiting until late afternoon.
Sort parking for the van at both ends. If either street is narrow, busy or on a permit scheme, contact the local council about a parking suspension or a temporary permit so the crew can load and unload close to the door. Some councils need a couple of weeks’ notice, which is exactly why this belongs here and not in the final week.
Ring us to confirm the booking and talk through the plan: access, parking, anything tricky like a piano or a long carry, and how close the van can get at each end. The more we know, the better the morning runs.
Book any time off work, and sort childcare and a plan for pets. Animals travel with you rather than on the van, and on the day they are best kept in a room the crew aren’t using, or left with a friend, so nobody props a door open at the wrong moment. Keep packing steadily, so that by the end of the fortnight only daily essentials are still out.
One week before
The final week is for the practical, physical jobs. Defrost the freezer a day or two before the move and mop up the water, because a frozen freezer can’t go on the van and a wet one makes a mess of everything around it. Run down the fridge and freezer so there’s little left to throw out.
Pack a first-night box and keep it with you rather than on the van: kettle, mugs, tea, phone chargers, a change of clothes, medication, toilet roll, and whatever the children or pets need. Put your important documents, keys and valuables in the same place, and don’t let them get loaded by mistake.
Confirm your meter reading plan so you know what you’re noting down and where the meters are at both houses. Take down curtains and blinds if they are coming with you, and disconnect the washing machine and other appliances. Finish your labelling, and set anything aside that is being sold or given away so it isn’t loaded onto the van. Book a cleaner or set aside time to clean the old place once it’s empty, since most tenancies and plenty of sales expect it left tidy.
Moving day
On the morning, before anything is switched off, take meter readings at the old house: gas, electricity and water. Photograph each one with the date showing, so there’s no argument later about the final bill. Do a last walk round the loft, the shed and the garage, and check nothing has been left in fitted cupboards.
When the crew arrive, walk them through what’s going and what’s staying. Keep your essentials box, documents and valuables with you, and keep pets settled in their room or away with a friend. If some of your things are going into storage before the new place is ready, we can collect, store and then redeliver them once you’re set, so everything doesn’t have to arrive at once.
At the new house, take meter readings again as soon as you are in, and photograph those too. Find the stopcock and the fuse box early. As the van is unloaded, tick boxes off by room so nothing is quietly left behind, and build the beds first if you can, so there’s somewhere to sit down at the end of the day. Your things stay covered right through the move and any storage, so if a piece needs a careful hand, say so and the crew will see to it.
Getting a quote
Once you know your moving date, the next job on the list is a quote. Tell us the size of your home, where you’re moving from and to, and anything that needs special care, and we will put a price together for your move.
Ready to get moving?
Get a free, no-obligation quote from Bridge Removals & Storage, your friendly, local removals team. Tell us a little about your move and we’ll take care of the rest.