Tips & Advice for Home Movers

Our checklist is designed to help you do things in the best order, all leading up to the big day! We’ve found that our customers who have a smooth removal day have printed this guide and ticked the jobs off the list, freeing their time up on moving day, which is great if something unexpected crops up.


If you know you’re moving but you don’t know the date then don’t be complacent. Many people make the mistake of convincing themselves that “it’ll be alright” rather than making preparations. The list may seem long but some jobs can be done quickly so tick them off and you’ll feel better.

Everyone seems to want to move on a Friday, at the end of the month, in the summer. We appreciate that people who are buying/selling property and moving on completion of contract will have to accommodate everyone in their chain but - if you can choose to avoid peak times this will help. 

Also ask your conveyancing solicitor about the cut-off time which is mentioned in the exchange documents. This is the exact time on moving day when you’re contracted to vacate your house for the buyer. It’s often 1PM as a default but there’s no reason why you couldn’t agree a different time with your buyer. It’s much more time-consuming to load a removal van than to unload it so it makes sense to have a later cut-off time if you can.

Anything which is fitted or connected will need expert attention. Great if you can do this yourself but if you can’t it’s worth asking for recommendations for someone who can. Shelves may need unscrewing, light fittings may need taking down. The cooker, washing machine, dishwasher and maybe the fridge will need disconnecting. It’s worth having a plan for this. We’ve lost count of the people we’ve moved who’ve struggled to disconnect their washing machine because the connection tap was seized with chalk from the water supply. A good tradesman will know how to get around problems which you won’t.

If you have a freezer full, an extensive pantry and bulging cupboards in your kitchen it’s time to thin them out. Save yourself some money at the supermarket by depleting your stocks. For short distance moves we often move freezers with contents but only at the risk of our customer. If there’s a delay on moving day you’ll have enough to think about without worrying if the freezer is defrosting. There’s no gain in paying to move foodstocks and anything that could tip or spill is a hazard best eliminated. If you’re moving into store we can’t take food so you’ll have to seperate all food from the removal.

You can do this online at royalmail.com or you can collect a special form from the post office. Also send some cards to friends and family informing them of your big event. There are various resources aimed at helping you remember everyone who needs to be informed, check out:- iammoving.com or else slothmove.com which will inform all your utilities at once and loads of others saving time with this tedious task. So many people to inform, don’t forget your Doctor, Dentist, Optician & Vet. Also the Electoral Register, Vehicle log books, TV licence, Local Council (tax) and HMRC Inland Revenue.

Arrange for your landline to be disconnected and reconnected at your new house. We’ve occasionally seen customers in some disarray because this went wrong. Best make sure important people know your mobile number at this stage and also inform them if you’re moving to somewhere with no signal. Estate agent, Solicitor, Removals Company come to mind. Also keep track of your phone charger - it might be worth investing in a car charger for your mobile phone.

We need to get our removals vehicles as close to the door for both loading and unloading. Where parking restrictions exist you may need to inform the local council or the private parking company if there is an enforcement on private land. If parking is very busy you may need to reserve a spot for the lorry by parking your cars there the night before. If our presence is likely to inconvenience your neighbours it’s polite to put a note through their door a day or two in advance.

Make sure you know where you’re going to collect the keys to your new property from, who is in charge of them and when they’ll be available. If you’re buying a house ask the vendor in advance to show you any difficult locks, to label all keys and to show you how to operate any burglar alarm. On moving into your new house, time will be at a premium, so you don’t want to waste half an hour fiddling with keys and locks. Similarly it’s polite to label all your spare keys and leave them out for your buyer so they don’t have the same problem.

Especially if you’re packing yourself you need to evaluate how long you’ve got before moving day and what needs to be done. Better to be brutally honest and admit that you’re snowed under than to tell yourself “it’ll be alright”. If you’re confident that’s fine but if you’re not get some help. It’s hard to do everything and lots of people underestimate how long things take.

We’ll happily quote to dismantle/reassemble furniture. If you’re doing this yourself it’s time to think about this. Any furniture which is just too big to move will have to be dismantled - beds, cots, wardrobes and desks. You might feel confident to do this yourself on the morning of removal day but if you’re not - do it early. When we provide a dismantling service we remove the screw-in pegs which lock chip-board furniture together (otherwise these are easily knocked sideways) also we stretch-wrap the smaller bits and fittings together to aid reassembly.

This is also the time to make sure your Handyman is on schedule with any unscrewing of fixtures or disconnecting of appliances.

Fridges must be empty for moving, reduce the contents of your fridge to a minimum. If you’re moving locally and you want us to move your freezer with frozen contents then please place contents into carrier bags so we can easily remove them and replace after the freezer has been carried to the lorry. If you’re moving long distance your freezer needs to be completely defrosted. If you’re moving into store we also recommend that you use a bleach spray and wipe the interior dry with kitchen roll.

If rain is forecast it’s helpful to get potted plants, garden furniture & kids toys undercover to save them going on the removal lorry wet with your house contents. In the summertime we’ll thank you to avoid watering potted plants just before moving day.