You’ve watched your dream Mulberry Home be brought to life and completion day is in sight. All that’s left to do is move in. That’s the easy part, right?
From notifying your utility suppliers to defrosting your freezer, there are plenty of things that you may have forgotten to consider before the big day. To help, we’ve put together a handy moving house checklist. You can download it here or read on below.
Get removals quotes and book
Removals will entirely depend on your circumstances and how much you have to move. If you’re moving to a fairly small property, or if you don’t have a lot of furniture and items to take, it’s worth considering renting a van and getting a few friends or family involved to help.
If you’d prefer a professional service, make sure you get a quote and book in advance to ensure there is space available for your moving day.
Notify utility suppliers
Give all of your utility suppliers notice that you’re planning to move. Your water, electricity, gas, phone and broadband suppliers will all need to know when you’re leaving so that they can switch off services at the right time. If you’re moving any services with the same suppliers across to your new home, try to give as much notice as possible as the switch could take some time.
Tip: Remember to take your final meter readings too; we recommend taking a photo so that you have evidence of the photo’s timestamp.
Declutter, declutter, declutter!
Moving gives you the perfect opportunity to have a big clear out. Go through your things and decide what is and isn’t worth taking with you. Box up anything that you won’t be keeping and drop them off at your local charity shop or clothes bank. It’ll save you a lot of time, effort and space on moving day!
Pack and label boxes
Once you’ve sorted through your belongings, packing should be a little easier. As you’re doing this, make sure to label all your boxes and keep a list of what’s inside each so that you don’t need to root around if trying to find something.
Tip: Try to keep your documents and valuables in a separate box so that they don’t get lost or damaged amongst other items during the move.
Disconnect appliances
Close to moving day, you’ll want to prepare any appliances that you will be taking with you. You will need to disconnect any water supply to appliances like your washing machine and dishwasher, and always keep them upright when transporting to avoid damage.
Thankfully, most modern freezers and fridge freezers come with a frost-free feature which means you won’t need to defrost it. If you have an older one that ices up, it will need to be manually defrosted before you leave.
Tip: Use up as much food in your fridge freezer before you move to prevent waste.
Prepare moving day essentials
It’s almost impossible to have everything sorted and organised in your new home for your first night, so we recommend making up a box or two with all the essentials you will need. Some useful things to include are:
- Kettle and tea/coffee supplies
- Vacuum cleaner
- Cleaning products
- Bin liners
- Loo roll
- Bedding
- Toiletries
- Hand soap
- Towels
- Snacks
- Phone charger
- Hand sanitiser (a sign of the times!)
- Screw driver, hammer, pliers and scissors
Change your address
In the weeks leading up to your move, you should organise your post redirection so that your mail gets delivered to the new address in time. The Post Office recommends doing this at least 5 days in advance.
You will also need to notify:
- Your employer
- Local council
- Electoral roll
- DVLA
- GP and dentist
- Bank(s)
- Utilities
- Insurance providers
Tip: Remember to update your old address for all online retailers. There’s nothing worse than realising your package has been delivered to the wrong house!
Moving day
Once you’ve got everything into your new home, you can start unpacking room-by-room. The kitchen will probably be the best place to start. Other things to check on moving day are that your utilities are up and running and that you have keys to all the doors and windows.
And, at last, take the rest of the night off. Order something delicious from a local takeaway and put your feet up – you’ve earned it!