Moving House Checklist
Moving house has been described as one of the most stressful things you can do, but with the proper planning, you can make your big move less worrisome. At Priory, we know every bit of help at these times is appreciated (we know because our lovely van hire customers tell us), so we thought we’d put together a checklist to get you started with your planning and perhaps to remember some of the things you might forget.
Once you have your move date
This is it, you’ve find a new place to call home and while the day of your move might seem an age away, it’ll go lightning fast. Making a start on your preparations now, will make the whole moving process go much more smoothly. The more you do when you have time, the less you’ll feel rushed and panicky when the big day arrives.
- Are you staying in rented accommodation? If so, don’t forget to give your landlord sufficient notice that you’re moving.
- Book your Priory Rentals Van as soon as possible so that we can reserve it for your big day
- Arrange for home insurance to be transferred to your new place
- Order some packing boxes and lots of sturdy packing tape. Make sure you have permanent markers too.
- Make a start on the packing – Begin with the things you aren’t likely to need between now and your moving date. You may wish to consider whether belongings which have cluttered up your house without being used for years really need to come with you and clutter up your new place! Sorry about the spiders in the loft!
- While you still have plenty of time, it’s worth making a list of companies and agencies who’ll need to be notified of your move. If a letter lands on your doormat, add the sender to your list.
- If you have pets, or children too small to help with the move, consider whether a friend or relative could take charge of them on your moving day.
- Is your freezer full of food? It might be time for a clearout! Make a point of not adding food to your freezer and try to make use of what’s in there.
- Many hands make light work – All but the smallest Priory Vans have room for three in the cab, so recruit some strong friends to help on the day before they make other plans.
- A little closer to your move date, pick up the pace with the packing. Make sure each box is sealed and labelled so they can be sorted efficiently at the other end.
- If you have a garage, move boxes and furniture (flatpacked if you can) in there as you pack so that they can be quickly loaded on the day – If you’re hiring a Luton Van from us (highly recommended) bear in mind that they come equipped with tail-lifts, so palletising your packed belongings will make for an easy move! If you don’t have a garage, the room closest to your front door is usually the best staging post.
- If you’re moving out of the area, register with a new Doctor and Dentist, let your exisiting ones know so that records can be transferred.
- Arrange for a locksmith to meet you at your new house as soon after you move in as possible.
The final days before your move
At this point, you’ll be glad of all that preparation back when you had time. All of a sudden it seems like there are a million things that need to have been done. Hopefully, you’ll have already done most of them.
- Pack up your pets and kids and drop them off wherever you’ve arranged for them to be looked after
- Arrange for mail redirection to catch any straggling post.
- By this time all your belongings apart from immediate essentials should be packed and ready to go.
- Follow up with your friends to check they’re still happy to help (and haven’t forgotten).
- Make sure you know where your kettle is (and brew making supplies), also your toolbox, your clothes for the next day or two and your bedding – ideally these should all be packed last and kept together, these are the first things you’re likely to need as you’re getting organised at the other end. Make sure you know where your cleaning supplies are too.
- Make sure any documents you’ll need for the move are easily accessible (including the paperwork for your van hire).
- If you’ve not picked up the keys to your new place already, either do so, or confirm when you can.
- Pick up your Priory Van
The day of your move
All hands on deck! Hopefully your friends have arrived nice and early, the weather’s perfect and you’re fully prepared. Time to move.
- Load up your van – Remember to thank your friends and also to thanks yourself for having the foresight to organise the packing so well.
- Take final readings from your gas, water and electricity meters
- You might like to leave a welcome note to the new occupiers
- Have one last look round your former residence, to make sure nothing got missed. Say goodbye to the old place, we won’t judge.
- Lock up and hand the keys over. Onto pastures new.
Arriving at your new abode
With your belongings safely packed in your Priory Rental Van, drive safely to your new address and imagine how lovely it’ll look once you’re safely there.
- Unlock your new front and begin the unloading. (Kettle first).
- Sort your labelled boxes into the rooms they’ll be unpacked in.
- No matter how immaculate your new place is when you arrive, we understand you’ll want to clean it anyway!
- Take a note of the meter readings
- Begin the process of making your new house a home
- Thank your friends and drop off your Priory Van
Enjoy your new home sweet home
Hopefully you’ll have given yourself a little time to make your new abode livable before collecting the smaller members of your family. We hope you’ll have many happy years making memories in your new residence and we’re delighted to have been a part of your big move. Let us know how you got along, we’d love to hear your stories. Enjoy your housewarming!