Moving checklist

Everything worth doing between the day your date is confirmed and the week after you land, in the order it needs doing. Tick things off as you go.

Two movers carrying a sofa down the front steps of a London house

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As soon as you have a date
Four weeks before
Three weeks before
Two weeks before
One week before
The day before
Moving day
The week after

Stage 15 jobs

As soon as you have a date

Usually four to six weeks out. Everything else hangs off these five jobs.

Get the date confirmed in writing by your landlord, agent or solicitor before you book anything else.
Book the day off work, and childcare or pet care if you need it.
Measure your biggest furniture, then measure the doorways, stairwell and lift at both ends.
Get quotes and book your driver. The more notice you give, the more drivers you have to choose from on your date.
Decide what is not coming with you, and book a charity collection or a council bulky waste pickup for it.

Stage 25 jobs

Four weeks before

Start on the parts of the house you barely use.

Pack the loft, shed, spare room and anything in storage.
Order boxes, tape, bubble wrap and marker pens — or add packing to your booking and the driver brings all the materials.
Ask the council about suspending a parking bay if there is nowhere legal to stop outside either address. Notice periods vary by borough.
If either address is in a block, book the lift with the building manager and check what hours you are allowed to load.
Tell schools and nurseries, and start the paperwork for new ones if you are moving out of the area.

Stage 35 jobs

Three weeks before

The admin week. Get it out of the way while you can still think straight.

Give notice to broadband, energy, water and any service tied to the address.
Set up a Royal Mail redirection.
Register with a new GP, dentist and vet if you are moving out of the area.
Update the electoral roll, your driving licence and V5, and your car insurance.
Check your contents insurance covers a move, and ask what the driver's goods in transit cover includes.

Stage 45 jobs

Two weeks before

Confirm everything you have booked, then keep packing.

Message us on live chat if anything about the job has changed — an extra stop, more items, a different floor, a new time.
Confirm the van size and whether you want helpers. It is cheaper to book the right help now than to run over on the day.
Start eating your way through the freezer.
Agree with the agent or solicitor exactly when you can collect keys, and what happens if it slips.
Pack everything except the kitchen, wardrobes and what you use daily.

Stage 56 jobs

One week before

By the end of this week the only things loose should be what you need to live.

Finish the packing. Label every box with the room it is going to.
Take curtains and blinds down if they are yours.
Defrost the freezer, empty the drip tray and dry it out.
Disconnect the washing machine, drain the filter and refit the transit bolts if you have them.
Confirm parking at both ends and send the driver anything they should know — a narrow entrance, a gate code, a one-way street.
Pack the essentials box: kettle, mugs, tea, loo roll, chargers, medication, a change of clothes and the tools to rebuild the bed.

Stage 66 jobs

The day before

Half an hour of tidying up tonight is an hour off the clock tomorrow.

Take apart the furniture that is meant to come apart. Leave flat-pack assembled.
Bag the screws and tape each bag to the item it came off.
Strip the beds you are not sleeping in and bag the bedding.
Move boxes to the ground floor or the hallway if you safely can.
Put keys, documents, chargers, medication and valuables into one bag that travels with you.
Charge your phone, save the driver's number, and clear a path from the front door to the street.

Stage 78 jobs

Moving day

Your job today is to point at things and check nothing gets left.

Take meter readings at the old place and photograph them.
Walk the driver round before loading starts. Point out anything fragile, heavy or awkward.
Keep the essentials box and your valuables with you, not in the van.
Do a last sweep: loft, shed, garden, under the stairs, behind doors, the airing cupboard, the bin store.
Check every cupboard is empty, the windows are shut and the heating is off.
Hand the keys over and photograph the empty rooms in case of a deposit dispute.
At the new place, tell the driver which room each thing goes in as it comes off the van.
Take meter readings at the new address too, and photograph those.

Stage 85 jobs

The week after

Short list, but the first three matter.

Find the stopcock, the fuse box and the meters, and test the smoke alarms.
Register for council tax at the new address and close the old account.
Update your address with your bank, employer, insurers and anyone still sending post to the old place.
Rate your driver. Customers rate the driver after every job, and that rating is what the next person sees when they compare.
Break the boxes down and pass them on to someone else who is moving.

Two things that change the price

Floors and lifts are captured for each address when you book, and extra stops are added in the same step. Get both right at the booking stage and the quote you see is the one you pay, as long as the job runs to the hours you booked. What affects your price.