Are you moving from one house to another and need hard-core advice and a top-notch storage facility? You can learn more about an excellent storage facility here while we continue our moving house checklist.
Let’s begin with the moving marathon!
The Checklist For Moving House in 2023
Below is our 20-point checklist condensed into a checklist. If you’d like to learn more about each step, we’ve delved deeper below.
- Find a Reputable Removal Company:
- Research thoroughly to ensure the safety of your belongings during transit. STORED offers comprehensive services that can make your move smoother.
- Give Plenty Of Notice:
- Notify your landlord or check your lease agreement (usually requires 30–90 days notice).
- If selling, contact your real estate agent in advance
- Declutter Your Home And Possessions:
- Donate, replace, or discard items you don’t use.
- Take inventory of your belongings and plan the packing process.
- Book A Cleaning Service For Moving Day
- Hire a professional cleaning service for a stress-free move.
- Update/Cancel Utility Suppliers:
- Inform electricity, gas, phone, and broadband suppliers about your move.
- Pack Your Boxes In Advance:
- Start packing non-essential items a month before moving day.
- Label each box to help with the unpacking process.
- Pack An Overnight Essential Bag:
- Include clothes, toiletries, medications, electronics, important documents, snacks, and water.
- Exhaust Perishable And Frozen Food:
- Minimize food waste and unnecessary packing by using up food before the move.
- Take Photos Of Your Electronics:
- Document the setup of all electronics for easier installation at your new home.
- Address Minor Home Repairs:
- Ensure you get your deposit back or enhance your home’s selling price by addressing minor damages.
- Update Address On Accounts:
- Inform banks, tax agencies, loan providers, and others about your new address.
- Get New Household Essentials:
- Invest in new essentials like trash cans, shower curtains, and brooms.
- Make Arrangements For Pets:
- Consider hiring a pet sitter for the moving day and update their ID tags.
- Find Places In Your New Community:
- Look for essential services and establishments in your new area.
- Take Measurements To Plan Furniture:
- Measure your new home to ensure all furniture fits properly.
- Request Off From Work:
- Plan your move around a weekend or ask for leave from work.
- Say Goodbye to Neighbors:
- Spend time with friends and neighbors before you move.
- Leave Towels, Linens, Etc. Unpacked To Use On Moving Day:
- Use cloth products as protective material during the move.
- Redirect Your Mail:
- Update your address with the post office and use services like SlothMove for efficient mail redirection.
- Find A Trustworthy Storage Company:
- Consider using STORED for any items you can’t immediately accommodate in your new home.
Bonus Tip: If you need assistance, STORED offers comprehensive moving and storage services.
Extended Version of our Essential Moving Home Checklist
Below, we’ll provide you with the details for each point in our checklist to help you understand each point and how to do them.
Find A Trustworthy Storage Company
If you have a lot of stuff that you can’t take to your new home, store them in a secure storage unit. It’s ideal for people who are moving to smaller flats or downsizing.
STORED offers multiple convenient and secure storage units in London and across the UK. Since STORED uses a convenient model, you won’t have to worry about transporting your belongings.
Just book an online appointment, find your ideal storage unit, and our experts will pick up everything from your doorstep. They’ll pack, load, transport, and store your belongings in a designated unit until you need them back. Think of STORED as your personal removal firm.
STORED also offers the best prices on all storage units, so you won’t have to worry about piling up bills while you move like a pro. If you’re a student, you should try our student storage.
Give Plenty Of Notice
You’ve found your perfect new dream home, congratulations! Before you pack up and move, you need to notify the relevant parties, such as the landlord or the person you’re selling your current house to.
If you have been renting, please refer to the terms of your lease. Normally, a 30-day notice period is enough, but certain leases have a notice period of up to 90 days.
If you have any outstanding council tax or home insurance funds, take care of them beforehand. If you own your current home, get in contact with your real estate agent.
Give yourself and the agent enough time to list your old home and find potential new buyers. If you’ve already sold the house, keep communication lines open with the new owner.
Declutter Your Home And Possessions
Moving becomes very easy if you declutter and organize your possessions. Moving is the perfect excuse to declutter your house and get rid of things you don’t need. This is also a good time to take inventory of all your belongings before the moving date.
Make a list of the things you can donate, easily replaceable items, and items that you won’t need in your new house, but might need later on, like an Old Grandfather Clock. If you want to give away furniture clothing, try some second-hand furniture shops in London that offer free removal services.
Think about how many boxes you will need and where everything will go on your new property. If you have some items like furniture, or other antiques, that hold sentimental value, but no practical use, maybe it’s time you put them into a storage unit.
If you’ve already been planning this, prepare your items for long-term storage. Pack all the other things neatly and safely into labelled moving boxes. Bubble wrap fragile items to reduce damage, and remember to keep a list of what you’re packing to avoid misplaced and lost items.
Book A Cleaning Service For Moving Day
Many people will choose to clean their homes from top to bottom themselves. This will only add to the stress of the whole moving process. Instead, hire a reliable cleaning company to do everything for you.
Also, self-cleaning is commendable but inefficient, especially if you live in a rental flat. Cleaning companies have the right equipment and methodologies, so they won’t damage anything, and you won’t get a call from your angry ex-landlord.
Research local cleaning services and check reviews to get the opinions of customers who’ve used them previously.
Update/Cancel Utility Suppliers
You need to notify electricity, gas, phone, and broadband suppliers a few weeks before the day of the move. Here’s what you need to do:
- Write down a list of all the utilities you are currently paying for.
- Notify each supplier separately about your house move and cancellation.
- If the supplier is willing to transfer said utility to your new address, request their assistance.
- Ideally, you should only transfer the necessary supplies.
You can set up your Internet and other utilities after the home move. For the utilities you will be cancelling, give the relevant suppliers an accurate date of cancellation.
On or before the day of the move, take meter readings. For your convenience and safety, take a picture of each meter with a timestamp that shows the date and day of the picture. Send the pictures to the relevant supplier to notify them and avoid overcharges.
Pre-plan your electricity and water if you are moving during the winter to ensure there are no frozen pipes. Furthermore, ask the owner of your new property where necessary controls like the fuse box and stopcocks are. It will save you trouble down the road.
Pack Your Boxes In Advance
Do not delay the packing and moving process to the last minute. You’ll be too stressed and might end up forgetting essential things. Ideally, you should start packing at least a month before the big day.
Make a note of everything you need to pack and tick each item off your list when you’re done. Try packing small materials like decorations, books, or DVDs first. These are the items that you won’t need immediately and might end up forgetting later.
Move on to bigger things, until you’re only left with the essentials. Use the right packing materials, including boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, plastic covers, packing paper, and styrofoam.
Label every packing box to keep an inventory of your possessions and make things easier to find when unpacking. Hire a removal van on the final day to transport everything safely and save on fuel costs.
If you’re having a hard time packing and moving things, call a reliable moving company like STORED. Book an online appointment, and our team of experts will collect, pack, and transport everything safely to your new home. We even have packing supplies, to make moving easier.
Pack An Overnight Essential Bag
Moving is one of the most stressful activities that anyone can encounter or undertake. So when you start planning your move, don’t forget to pack an Essential Bag for your first night in your new home.
Use a backpack that has multiple compartments. Store all of your essential items in the backpack, like your charger or clothes, before you move to your new home. Some things you should consider including in your moving day survival kit are:
- Change of clothes
- Toiletries
- Towels
- Toilet tissue
- Medications
- Electronics/chargers
- Passport/important documents
- Wallet
- Snacks
- Water
- Some extra cash
Keeping a checklist will help you identify the essential items that you might need on your first day after the move.
Exhaust Perishable And Frozen Food
The stress of moving might give you some cravings, so don’t hold back. Consume all the perishable items that you have in your fridge. If you’ve got quite a lot of food, throw a last-minute moving party for your neighbours.
To keep the waste low, make your last big grocery trip about two weeks before the big move. Buy things that you will cook and use right away to minimize the food you throw away.
If you run out of groceries in the days leading up to the big move, think about eating out or buying the food you’ll need per meal. Your moving day will come quicker than you expect, and you won’t want to find a box of leftover food you have to discard.
Take Photos Of Your Electronics
Take a photo of how all your electronics are set up and the way the cords are connected in the back before you pack them away. It will make reinstallation in your new house much easier.
Use this approach with your television, internet, gaming system, surround sound, or anything else that could cause confusion.
If you can, take photos of the make, model, and serial number of your devices. This could be practical if a device requires replacement or for account setup at your new home.
Bonus points if you kept the boxes your electronics came in. If so, repackage them in the box to make for easy transport to its new location.
Address Minor Home Repairs
One of the most important things to remember when moving from a rental home is to address minor repairs. Occasionally a landlord will refuse to refund your security deposit if there are even small scratches on the wall.
Be sure to repair anything that’s within the budget and that’s described in your lease to maximize your chances of receiving all or most of the funds back.
If you are selling your home, you can still put this tip into practice. The more you fix up before the sale, the better the offer you will receive.
Update Address On Accounts
Your friends and family need to know you’re moving to a new home. Send out postcards or leave a notification message on their social media channels to notify them of your new address.
A change of address is necessary on significant documents and with authorities like banks, tax agencies, loan providers, clubs, and organisations.
Get New Household Essentials
If you’ve thrown away some old essentials or removable items, this is the prime time to go shopping. Visit a local market to get essential items like trash cans, shower curtains, brooms, etc.
This gives you a good reason to start over fresh with new clean products and none of your old house lingering. You could even buy some new furniture or other household items if the old ones don’t cut it any more.
When you’ve unpacked the fridge, restock it with items from the local supermarket. Revamp your wardrobe and customize your experience, to make things enjoyable.
Make Arrangements For Pets
If you’re a pet owner, you need to take steps to ensure the safety of your precious little babies. On moving day, you might want to find a pet sitter. You’ll want to keep your animals away from the action to ensure they don’t get hurt or in the way.
Another option is to have one of your family members assist with watching your pet, either outside in the backyard or in one of the back rooms. Don’t forget to get new ID tags for your animals with your updated address.
And please pack some food for your pets, so they can get their vital nutrients after you move into your new home.
Find Places In Your New Community
Moving to a new area can be difficult, but don’t let that stop you from researching the new community. Find your new doctor, dentist, school for your kids, and community events to ease the transition to your new area.
This might also be a good time to transfer your medical records or get referrals from your current medical professionals. You don’t want to be in a situation where an emergency comes up, and you’re not sure where to go or which clinic is on your insurance.
Take Measurements To Plan Furniture
Plan where all of your current furniture will fit. If possible, visit your new abode before moving day and take measurements of each room to ensure that your belongings will go where you want them to go. You also want to make sure everything will fit through the doorways.
Make a rough plan or sketch of where you want each item placed. This allows you to guide your moving service better, especially when placing larger items.
Request Off From Work
One of the most important things on your moving house checklist should be spare time in the run-up to moving day. If possible, request time off work to relieve some of the stress.
If you plan your move for a Friday, you can then have the weekend to unpack and get everything organized in your home. This will, of course, depend on your employer and if you have the time to request off.
If you predict that it will take you multiple days, plan it around the weekend to give you an extra two days. You can use this time to move, unpack, organize, and clean your new home.
Say Goodbye to Neighbors
If you are moving far from where you currently live, reserve some of your time to spend with your local friends and neighbours. Plan some outings or host a going away party, so everyone can have time to say their farewells.
Whether it’s multiple events or just one, making time with your loved ones will make the stressful time before a move a little easier.
Plan these outings early in the month because you won’t want to leave it until the last minute. Once you make the move, you can start making arrangements to catch up with the friends you didn’t get the opportunity to see beforehand.
Leave Towels, Linens, Etc. Unpacked To Use On Moving Day
Towels, Linens, and other cloth products can be great to use as furniture movers. You can fold towels and lay them down while moving furniture to save the floors from being scratched, or put them in between items during the move to avoid damage.
Depending on how many towels or linens you have, some can be used during packing as well. Smaller towels or wash cloths can be used to wrap dishes in. These are also easily replaceable, so you won’t have to carry extra boxes.
Redirect Your Mail
Remember to change your address on your mail. The Royal Mail has a redirection service that transfers your mail from your old address to the new one. You can also use SlothMove or an alternative service to take care of mail redirection and address changes.
Go the extra mile and update your address with the Post Office at the source, to avoid redirection issues in the long term.
Looking for an Extra Hand?
If you’re overwhelmed by all of this information, don’t worry. We’re here to lend you a hand, or two at that!
Call STORED, and we’ll make moving to a new house easier than a stroll in the park. Our experts are always ready to help.
Copy and download our moving house checklist to make things easier for yourself. That’s all for this moving home guide. If you’ve got any more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Happy moving!
