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Moving day checklist

Moving home can be stressful. But if you use the house move checklists in our 3-step guide you can make your moving day smooth and fraught-free.

Step 1: Packing

What are you taking with you?

If ever there was a time to declutter, it’s when you’re getting ready to move. But decluttering an entire home can feel overwhelming, so here’s how to turn that feeling around.

1) Make a list of rooms in your home

2) Categorise room contents (e.g. clothes, toys, books, essentials). The essentials are important - any items you’ll need straight away should be kept separate and their box marked with a different coloured marker pen or tape so it stands out.

3) Label boxes clearly by room and category (e.g. Lounge: books. Kitchen: cables & utensils. Bedroom 1: ornaments. Bedroom 2: essentials). This way you - and anyone who’s helping you pack - will know exactly where to put each item; it also means that if you’ve got people helping you unload your boxes at the other end, they’ll know which room to put them in.

4) Start packing room by room, ticking each one off from your list as you go.

5) Ask yourself “do I still need this?” as well as "will it work in my new home?"
Do so for every item you pick up. If the answer’s ‘yes’, pack it; if it’s a ‘no’, set it aside in a separate box to either sell or donate. Selling or donating are great ways to reduce unnecessary landfill. You can either take unwanted items to a local charity shop, or sell them at a car boot sale or on online forums like Facebook Marketplace, Vinted, and eBay.

 

2) Help

Who will be there on moving day?

1) Your kids? Will having your children with you on moving day be a help or a hindrance? If the latter, it might be worth arranging childcare for them; if you think they could lend a hand and would want to be involved, great. But if not, that’s ok, too. It might be exciting for them to arrive at their new home with everything already unpacked.

2) Family and friends? If they offer to help, take them up on it - an extra pair of hands can make the job of moving feel a lot easier.

3) Professional packing teams? They can make the moving process feel less overwhelming by packing and unpacking everything for you.

4) Removal vans? Hire them yourself or pay a professional removing company to load and unload your boxes for you. If you label each box properly, your removal team may well be able to put them into the right rooms of your new house, ready for you to unpack later. When booking removal vans, check you have a large enough vehicle (or vehicles), and get at least three quotes so you can choose the one you feel is best value.


3) Spread the word - Let people know you’re moving

Avoid blips in communication and running up bills at your old home by telling your family, friends, and utility providers that you’re moving and - if relevant - what your new address is. You’ll need to:

  • Set up postal redirects. – use Royal Mail’s redirection service to forward any post marked for your old address, to your new one. Post can be redirected for up to six months, giving you plenty of time to update family, friends, and suppliers with your brand new postal address.
  • Energy and water suppliers, and your Council
  • Before you move:
  • Tell your electricity, gas, and water providers that you’re moving. Make sure you give at least 5 working days’ notice to your water provider, and 48 hours’ notice to your energy provider(s).
  • Give your suppliers a forwarding address to ensure you receive your bill. You’re likely to be given 28 days to pay, but if your final bill says you are in credit, it means they owe you money which you’ll need to claim back.
  • Tell your Council you’re moving so they can cancel or transfer your council tax payments.

As you leave:

  • Read your meters - it should be the last thing you do before you lock up your old house and move out for good. You’ll need to give the readings to each supplier, so it’s a good idea to photograph them at your property in case you don’t agree with your final bill.
  • If you have a smart meter, make sure it’s working in smart mode so it can send the final reading to your provider automatically. Don’t know if it’s on smart mode? Use the free tool from Citizen’s Advice to check.
  • If you’re on a fixed tariff, you may be charged an exit fee for breaking your contract early; however, if you’ll be using your existing supplier(s) at your new home, you may be allowed to keep your contract. Try to find out before you move so you don’t get any nasty surprises. If you’re breaking the contract, check what the exit fee is, and if you’re sticking with the same supplier(s), ask if you can keep your contract, or whether you have to break it and go onto a standard tariff fee at your new home.

When you move in:

  • Take your new home’s meter readings straight away. Again, it’s a good idea to photograph them.
  • Contact the existing suppliers at your new home to tell them you’ve moved in and to give them the readings. You’ll automatically be put on a ‘deemed contract’ - this will be a ‘default’ or ‘standard variable’ tariff, which may not be at the most competitive rate.
  • Notify your new local Council that you’ve moved in so they can make sure your initial council tax bill is correct and includes any exemptions or discounts you’re entitled to.
  • Sewage may be charged by a different company when you move, this means you might get a separate bill for it. You can find out more about this on the Citizens Advice website
  • Want to switch suppliers? It’s unlikely you’ll be able to change your water supplier, but if you want to change your energy provider(s), look at comparison sites to find the best deals. And remember, you won’t be able to transfer to a new supplier until you’re formally responsible for your new home. Switching won’t be instant either: you’re likely to need to pay one final bill from the existing supplier. For more advice, check online with the Citizens Advice.     
  • TV, phone and broadband

This is something you can do in advance. Afterall, do you really want to be left hanging offline for days? Research by Uswitch in 2020 found that 1 million households found themselves without broadband for eight days after moving house; and one in three used up their mobile data allowance while they waited to be connected.

  • Check your TV, phone and broadband contract: is it fixed-term? Is it ending soon? Can you cancel it if you need to, without incurring a penalty (if you’re being charged above the rate of inflation, you probably can).
  • Would you be better off with a different provider? If you’re unhappy with your existing provider, or if it doesn’t operate in your new area or service the type of property you’re moving into, look for fresh new deals with alternative suppliers.
  • Explore bundles - what are the best deals you can get for your phone line, broadband and TV combined?
  • Contact your provider, let them know you’re moving so they can issue you with a final bill for your old home, and cancel, transfer, and even upgrade your contract depending on whether you’re staying with them when you move.
  • Update your TV licence to reflect your new address. The easiest way to do this is on the TV Licensing website. You’ll need your TV licence number, but don’t worry if you can’t find it - TV Licensing can always tell you what it is.

Whether you’re buying your first, second or even your third home, moving into a new one is a landmark day and a major accomplishment! Take a photo to celebrate, and if you’re on Instagram, tag us at @bloorhomes as we’d love to share your day with you! 

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