A countdown to moving home

One way to minimise the stress of moving is to plan ahead and list all you need to do. We hope this schedule will help you, especially during those last crucial four weeks prior to the big day.

Make sure you notify everyone of your move!
If you're unsure who to contact, click here to view our checklist.

4 weeks before moving

• Notify your local council about your moving date and where to send their final bills for council tax.
• Organise the redirection of mail for each person receiving mail at your home. Your local Post Office will have the necessary forms.
• Notify your employer, bank, building society, creditors and any club or magazine subscription companies of your new address.
• Ask your doctor(s) and dentist(s) for any possible recommendations in the area you're moving to.
• Get copies of renewable prescriptions to cover the period until you arrange a new doctor.
• Decide which items should be discarded or donated to charity. (Consider going to a car boot sale if you have lots of things to discard.)
• Notify your gas, electricity, water, telephone and/or cable suppliers of your move and arrange to have your service turned off after your departure. Also tell them where to send their final bills.
• Notify the utility companies (gas, electricity, water, telephone and/or cable) of your requirements at your new address.
• Notify schools, and any organisation of which your or your family are members, of your impending move.

3 weeks before moving

• You may want to sketch out the floor plan of your new home so you can decide where you want to put your furniture.
• Decide which items you will pack yourselves. Call your removal company to arrange free delivery of all your packing material.
• Make a list of names, addresses and numbers you will need or want to remember.
  Pack your local phone book, Yellow Pages and/or Thomson Directory so you can contact businesses and people after your move.
• Notify your removal company if you have changed anything about your move: household goods, storage requirements, dates of the move, etc.
• Don't forget your pets! Make arrangements for someone to look after the cat, the goldfish or Rover on the day.
• Check with your insurance company about any temporary additional insurance requirements and don't forget to transfer/change your insurance cover for your new home.

2 weeks before moving

• Do any of your appliances need a service? Ask your local service company whether they need a service before or after the move
• How do you get to the shops, the train station or the school from your new home? You may want to look at a map or walk the route to school with the kids this weekend.
• Return anything borrowed from your neighbours, and collect things that you have loaned.
• Remember that most recycling depots will NOT accept 'wet' tins so call the local Council on what to do with those old paint cans in the shed/garage. Dispose of old oil the same way but be careful about petrol or cleaning fluids.
• Notify the gardener, newspaper man and the window cleaning man that you are on the move. If you're moving within the same area, they may cover your new home as well.
• If moving your satellite dish, make arrangements to have it taken down.
• Call your gas and electricity supplier and make arrangements for your meters to be read on the last day if you cannot do it yourself.

1 week before moving

• Where necessary transfer any bank and savings accounts so you don't lose interest.
• Determine which of the items you are taking with you and what you are going to pack and set them aside in a designated area.
• Where necessary have rugs and curtains cleaned. (Remember to keep them in protective bags.)
• Use up your frozen food supply.
• Drain the fuel from lawnmowers and other power equipment.

1 day before moving

• Pack a box of things you'll need as soon as you arrive at your new home. (This might include non-aerosol cleaning supplies, disposable plates and cups, light disposable plates and cups, light tools, drinks and snacks, bathroom items and bin bags.)
• Take this box with you or ask the driver to load it last and unload it first.
• This is usually the day on which the packing is done. If you have asked us to pack your items for you, make sure all packing services have been performed.
• Defrost, thoroughly clean and dry your refrigerator.

Moving day

• Stay calm and collected and your home move will be completed with the minimum stress and bother!
• Be on hand when your removal company driver arrives and throughout the loading process. (If you can't be there, make sure someone can direct the movers. Make sure the driver has in writing the name and phone number of that person if it is not you.)
• Make a final tour of your old home. See that nothing is overlooked. Don't forget to take a reading of the meters. If in doubt on how to read them, take a photo of the dials.
• Sign the bill of loading and make sure your new address and phone number are correct.
• Lock all windows and doors, and turn off all switches.

Domestic removal solutions 0800 783 7795