Moving Home Checklist

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Moving Home checklist

It’s a well-known fact that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do. Throw in 3 national lockdowns and a worldwide pandemic and it’s certainly not made the process any easier.

Despite this, the housing market has been booming. People have been re-evaluating their situations, wanting to move closer to family, downsize, upgrade, move to the countryside… the list goes on. With this in mind and the housing market remaining so fluid, we thought it would be helpful to provide you with a Moving Home Checklist. Below, we’ll advise you on the steps to follow once your home has been sold, helping you to start sorting through your belongings to get organised and ready for the big move.

Getting Organised

There is a lot to be said about a well organised home. Decluttering all those things hidden at the back of cupboards and under beds will initially make the organising, packing and unpacking a whole lot easier. It may also potentially save you money if you choose to use a removal service.

Whether you are the kind of person who loves a checklist, a colour coded spreadsheet or a post it note – find something that works for you. Here’s how you can try and pack as efficiently as possible:

TMQ’s Top Tips

  • Materials – you’ll need a variety of packing materials, including bubble wrap, strong boxes, sticky tape, brown tape and paper (try to avoid newspaper as this can leave ink prints on precious belongings).
  • Distribute weight evenly – include a mixture of heavy items at the bottom of the box and lighter items at the top. This way you won’t cause yourself, or the removals team, a back injury by trying to lift heavy items.
  • Our favourite one – colour coded labels. Colour code the house by room, e.g. living room is blue, kitchen is red, bedroom one is yellow etc. and put the relevant sticker on the box with the relevant contents in it. It will make unpacking so much easier.
  • It may seem really obvious but make sure you label up fragile items clearly so that everyone knows to handle these special items with extra care.

Phone Line/Broadband

For most of us, moving into a house with no Internet is not ideal (especially if you work from home or have children), so it’s worth putting this on your to-do list sooner rather than later.

If the house you’re moving to already has a phone line and broadband connected, then you can get in touch with your provider about a week before your move to inform them. This way, they can make sure everything is ready for you ahead of moving day. If your new house doesn’t already have a landline and broadband, or is a new build then you’re going to have to book an appointment and arrange for an engineer to come out and install one for you.

Changing Your Address

It’s important to start changing your address a few weeks before you move. The Post Office has a mail redirection service so you won’t have to worry about any of your mail getting stuck at your old address. However, it’s still worth getting in touch with any major companies yourself, such as your bank or building society, the DVLA and your utility provider to inform them of your change of address.

Meter Readings

This can easily get overlooked but it’s an important one that you’ll definitely need to do. Make sure you make a note, or take a photo on your phone, of the meter readings when you leave your current house. Do the same when you move into your new home too, as the utility provider will need this information for you to pay your final bill and set up your new account.

Removal Company or DIY?

Regardless of how many belongings you have, moving house is never easy. It’s a case of all hands on deck, so call on as many friends and family as you can to help with the move, and even better if they have a van or a large car they can bring along. If you don’t have friends and family nearby, or perhaps you’d rather get everything moved quickly and efficiently, then you might want to consider hiring a professional removals company.

Moving Home Checklist

Moving Home Checklist

 

We hope this guide helps provide you with a clear breakdown of the keys things to consider when you are moving house. See also our Guide to Buying A Home for a thorough breakdown of the things you need to consider when buying a house; from saving a deposit to finding the right mortgage, finalising your mortgage and protection policies.

If you need any extra advice, help or guidance then drop us an email with any questions or give us a call. We are always here to help. Give us a call on 01392 660219 or drop us a line at info@tmq.org.uk.