Moving House Checklist (one page)

How to use the moving house checklist

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2. Start from this list. It opens with 44 items in 6 sections.
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4. Cut and add. Remove what does not apply and add anything only you would know.
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6. Tick as you go. Tick items on screen; the progress bar and section counts update as you work.
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8. Print. Print the full list, or only what is left, as a PDF or straight to your printer.

When to start

Start the moment you have a likely move date, ideally eight weeks out. Removal firms and van hire get booked up at month ends and in summer, so the first section is the one that cannot wait. If you are already inside four weeks, do the bookings first and compress the rest.

What is on this list, and what is not

This list is ordered by lead time rather than by room. Anything that needs another person or company to act, such as a quote, a redirect or a meter reading, sits early because you cannot hurry someone else. Packing advice for individual rooms is left off on purpose; boxes are boxes, and the hard part of a move is the admin around them. Utility switching specifics are also left to you, because they vary so much by country and supplier.

The thing most often missed

The open-first box. By the time the van is unloaded, the kettle, the loo roll, the phone chargers and the bedding are in a box somewhere at the back of a stack, and nobody has the energy left to find them. Packing that one box last and carrying it in your own car fixes the first night.

A habit that makes it work

Write the room and a short contents note on the side of every box, not the top. Boxes get stacked, and a label on the lid disappears the moment another box goes on it. A side label also lets the movers sort boxes into rooms without asking you each time.

The full list

6 sections and 44 items to start from. All of it is editable in the checklist above.

8 weeks before

• Get three quotes from removal companies
• Book removal company or van hire
• Set a moving budget
• Start clearing out one room a week
• Give notice to your landlord if renting
• Ask for time off work for moving day
• Look up schools, GP and dentist nearby
• Measure large furniture and doorways

4 weeks before

• Collect boxes, tape and marker pens
• Start packing rooms you use least
• Sell, donate or recycle unwanted items
• Book parking or a lift slot for the van
• Arrange childcare and pet care for moving day
• Use up frozen and pantry food
• Return borrowed items to friends

2 weeks before

• Redirect post to the new address
• Update address with bank and employer
• Notify council tax, insurance and pension
• Arrange final meter readings
• Set up broadband at the new home
• Transfer or cancel gym and local memberships
• Confirm times with the removal company
• Refill any regular prescriptions

Week of the move

• Pack an open-first box for the first night
• Defrost and clean the freezer
• Label every box with room and contents
• Dismantle beds and bag the screws
• Charge phones and power banks
• Get cash for tips and takeaway
• Keep documents and valuables with you

Moving day

• Take photos of meter readings at both homes
• Do a final walk through every cupboard
• Check the loft, shed and garden
• Lock windows and leave keys as agreed
• Point movers to the right room for each box
• Check the new home for damage before unloading
• Make the beds before you are too tired

First week in the new home

• Find the stopcock and fuse box
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
• Change or rekey the external locks
• Register with a GP and dentist
• Update your address on the electoral roll
• Update your driving licence address
• Flatten and recycle empty boxes