Moving house checklist & guide – the essentials.

Before writing this article I typed ‘moving house checklist’ into Google to see what was already available for homeowners looking for reliable information and help when moving house.

I found articles with a huge amount of information and endless bullet point lists against allocated timeframes, much of which would be irrelevant for many people, after all, different people have different needs and are working to different timeframes when moving house.

The aim of this guide is to help make moving home easy and less stressful, so I’ll be focusing on the essentials that apply to most people when moving house.

OK, let’s get stuck in.

There are really only a few key areas you need to focus when moving house in order to help you achieve a stress-free move:

1. Book your moving company

First on your moving house checklist is to book your moving service as soon as you’ve sold.

Research first

• Taking a bit of extra time to do some thorough research before booking can make a massive difference to helping you achieve a stress-free move.
• You can start researching before you sell your house. Ask your real estate agent, use Google reviews, nocowboys.co.nz, trademe.co.nz and community facebook pages to find removal companies that you’re happy using.

Make contact

• Pick your top 3 or 4 and get in contact by email (it’s good to have everything in writing).
• Use the our Inventory Checklist & Space Calculator and include it in your email to the moving company so they can provide you with an accurate quote. It’s likely they’ll also want to visit your property to complete their own inventory.
• Be sure to tell the moving company what access to the property is like (as this can affect pricing) to avoid stress and surprises on moving day and at billing time.
• Be clear about your needs and requirements from the beginning and clarify what is and what isn’t included (like insurance).

Book early

• Don’t spend too long deliberating. If communication has been good, the team is experienced and the price is right, book in your chosen company as soon as you can to have the best chance of securing your preferred move date.

2. Purge and declutter

Purging is an important element on your moving house checklist, especially if you are downsizing, want to make a break from the past or need a fresh start in your new home.

Recycle, donate, sell

• Donate or dispose responsibly of items that are no longer useful to you – it will give you a great feeling rather than just chucking everything into a skip.
• To donate, use your local community facebook page or contact local charities (some of which will pick up from your home).
• Only aim to sell significant or quality items as it can be a real time sink with minimal return trying to get cents for small or less valuable items.
• For everything that’s left, chose a junk removal company that recycles and disposes of trash responsibly.
• If it all gets too much, make a minimum commitment – donate 5 items and recycle 5 items.

If you need help to get this hugely rewarding but challenging task done, ask a friend or contact a professional organiser, like Move by Design.

3. Get packing

Being organised and having a plan can really help make packing as painless as possible.

Source your supplies

• Check out your local community facebook page for recycled moving boxes. Try to get double-walled if you can as they provide better protection.
• If buying new boxes, consider eco-friendly products.
• Some moving companies offer a discount if you purchase their boxes and return them as they can use them again.

Get organised

• Start your packing whilst you’re decluttering to save you double handling items.
• Pack less-used items ahead of time and set yourself a target like one box a day or one room a week.

Pack carefully

• Make sure you pack breakables or precious items properly or pay a professional packer such as Move by Design to take care of it. This will help save time and avoid disappointment when unpacking at your new home.
• Pack any valuables separately and plan to transport them yourself. This may include jewellery, passports, delicate plants.
• Label boxes clearly, consider colour coding for each area of your new house. This will make it easier when unloading and unpacking.
• Keep a separate moving day box to hold all the things you’ll need handy on move day.

4. Get your new house move in ready

Depending on your budget, taste and tolerance, there may be some things that you consider absolutely need to be done before, or as soon as, you move into your new home, such as:

5. Tell them you’re moving

Notifying service providers of your move can seem like a big task, but there are ways to make it more manageable.

• Use the Move by Design Change of Address Checklist to keep track of everyone you need to notify about your move.
• Check out changemyaddress.co.nz as a way to contact multiple service providers at the same time.
• For banking and financial services notify them through your online login, or phone them. These services will require you to go through their own identification checks before changing your personal details.

6. A week before your move

7. The day of your move

Congratulations, you made it! Just a few more things to tick off and you’re sorted.

• Make sure someone is around to answer any questions the furniture removal company have. If you want certain items offloaded first, make sure they are aware as they’ll need to load these on to the van last.
• Keep your moving day supplies box separate in a safe place so the furniture removal peeps don’t load it by accident.
• Take meter readings if you don’t have a smart meter.
• Double check draws, cupboards and the washing line to ensure you haven’t left anything behind.
• Leave a welcome note for the new owners and include your new address so they can forward any unexpected post.
• If you’re moving with Move by Design, make sure you’ve arranged your fun-filled day catching up with friends, having a relaxing massage or shopping for items for your new home, whilst we take care of everything. Just rock up in the afternoon to see your new home perfectly ready for you to enjoy.

I hope you’ve found this moving house checklist and guide helpful. For our extended version which contains more tips, plus our Change of Address Checklist and Inventory Checklist & Space Calculator, click on the link below.

Want to experience a truly stress free move?

If you’d like to make a commitment to making your next move completely stress free and easy, contact us to talk about your needs and we will make it so!

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