Moving house checklist: the complete UK timeline

The moving house checklist, week by week

Tick items off as you go — the boxes tick on screen, and the whole house moving checklist prints cleanly if paper is more your style. Work top to bottom; the order is the point.

8+ weeks before

• ✓Confirm your completion or tenancy dates in writing — every booking below hangs off them.
• ✓Get removal quotes early — good crews' Fridays go first, and comparing is where the savings are. Start collecting quotes now, book later.
• ✓Declutter room by room, one room per weekend — every box you shed comes off the removal quote. Facing a full clear-out? House clearance handles it in one go.
• ✓Relocating for work or school? Start school applications and give work your dates now — both queues are longer than the removal one.
• ✓Need somewhere for the gap between homes? Price storage together with your removal quotes, not separately — one firm, one bill.
• ✓Measure the big furniture against the new home's doorways and stairs — sell what won't fit now, not on moving day.

4–6 weeks before

• ✓Book the removal company. Expect a deposit around 10–20%, and get the refund terms in writing in case your date slips.
• ✓Book Royal Mail redirection — it takes about 5 working days to start, so it can't wait until moving week.
• ✓Start your notify-list: bank, insurers, DVLA, utilities. The complete who-to-notify list — with the how and when for each — is in our change of address guide.
• ✓Order boxes, or book help — packing services fill fast in summer, and materials arrive a week or two ahead.
• ✓Book time off work for moving day — and the day after. You'll want both.
• ✓Small flat, small load? A man and van may be all you need — but book it now all the same; the good ones aren't sitting free on Fridays either.

2 weeks before

• ✓Start packing the rooms you use least — loft, spare room, garage. Label every box with its room and contents.
• ✓Arrange van parking at both ends — permits or bay suspensions where needed; councils often want about a week's notice.
• ✓Sort childcare and pet care for moving day — it's a long day and the front door never stays shut.
• ✓Plan meals around the freezer — everything in it needs eating (or giving away) before moving week.
• ✓Set up a "do not move" corner — passports, documents, jewellery and keys travel with you, never in the van.

Moving week

• ✓Defrost the freezer 48 hours before the van arrives — it's the classic forgotten job for a reason.
• ✓Pack the first-night box: kettle, mugs, tea, phone chargers, bedding, towels, loo roll, bin bags. Keep it in your car, not the van.
• ✓Confirm arrival time, both addresses and mobile numbers with the crew.
• ✓Finish packing everything except kitchen basics — every box sealed and labelled before moving day, not during it.
• ✓Fit the washing machine transit bolts if you still have them — the crew will thank you.

Moving day

• ✓Read the meters at both properties and photograph them — date-stamped photos end billing disputes before they start.
• ✓Final walk-round before the van leaves: windows locked, garage, shed and loft checked. The loft is where things get left.
• ✓Direct the crew room by room at the new place — boxes go to the rooms they're labelled for, not the hallway.
• ✓Hand over your keys as agreed — and collect every key for the new place, including windows, garage and meter boxes.
• ✓Keep kids, pets and the first-night box well away from the van loading.

The first week after

• ✓Register for council tax and update the electoral roll at the new address.
• ✓Register with a GP and dentist — transfers take longest exactly when you need them.
• ✓Find the stopcock, fuse box and boiler manual before you need any of them at 11pm.
• ✓Test the smoke alarms and replace tired batteries — a first-week job, not a someday job.
• ✓Check redirected post is arriving, and update anyone still writing to the old address.