Moving House Checklist

It’s always exciting moving house - from spending your first night in your new home to unpacking your belongings, there’s a lot to do - and sometimes the important tasks get forgotten in favour of the more fun new-home activities.

As a removals company in Kent, We’ve been in the removals business for a long time and have helped thousands of families settle into their new house. In this article, we’ve created a moving house checklist of all the essentials; a run-down of everything you need to get done once you get the keys to your new place, from updating your addresses to filing your important documents. So, let’s take a look!

Plan your budget

Once you’ve moved into your new home, it’s a good idea to plan your new monthly budget, as you might find that costs change for your new home. Your mortgage payment might be different from your previous mortgage or rent payment, and your energy bills or utility bills might be different - this is especially true if your new home is larger than your previous one. Set out a monthly budget, taking into consideration food, utilities, your mortgage payment, as well as any other card payments and essentials.

Unpack the essentials

In most cases, you’re not going to be able to unpack the entirety of your belongings on your move-in day. (Although hiring a removal company can speed up the process.) If you’re strapped for time, just unpack the essentials that you’re going to need for the first few days - the kitchen and bathroom should be priority, alongside a space for sleeping.

Once you’ve unpacked the essentials, you can plan the unpacking for the rest of your home, assigning tasks to each member of the home to get things done quicker. Don’t forget that you can always use a storage facility if you have too many belongings and not enough time or space to unpack everything at the one time.

Change the locks

Changing your locks is absolutely essential for the security of your home. While the former owner probably isn’t going to swing by and let themselves in, there may have been copies made of the key throughout the years for family and friends. Changing the locks as soon as possible avoids any embarrassing walk-in situations. You should also create spare keys for any lock-out situations; there will be an inevitable day when someone forgets their keys or even loses them.

You can also use this time to install other security measures in your home, such as a CCTV camera or a ring camera.

Update your address

Ideally, you should have already updated your address before your moving-in date, but this is a good time to ensure and double-check that your address has been updated everywhere. The important contacts (such as your employer, bank, DVLA, any government associations and your utility providers) should be notified first, but don’t forget to update your address for your leisure activities, such as your address on Amazon Prime, Netflix, or subscription services such as Hello Fresh.

You don’t want your former home and its new owners to be bombarded with your old mail - or for important financial or confidential letters/information to go missing. Updating your address 2 weeks before your move-in date is ideal.

Insure your new home

Now that you’re in your new home, it’s a good idea to think about house insurance. Shop around for the best deal - some companies might offer moving-in deals for new homeowners, so don’t just stick with your former insurance company by default.

Take meter readings

Just like you took meter readings of your former home as you left, you’ll need to take meter readings of your new home on your move-in day. This allows you to hand over the readings to the utilities company (whom you should have already informed of your move) so they can calculate your first payment.

Browser energy companies

With energy prices soaring everywhere, now is a good time to browse and shop around for a good deal when it comes to your utilities. You might find that your new home has a different energy rating, or that it costs more to heat (if it’s larger or has higher ceilings, for example.) You can also let your former energy company know that you’re shopping around for a new quote - they might offer some perks or an updated rate to keep you on as a customer!

Get to know your knew home

Once you’ve moved into your new home, take the time to get to know it - this means locating all the important places that you might need in case of an emergency. You should locate the fire and smoke alarms (and check that they’re working - you can do so by lighting a match safely and letting the smoke reach the alarm.)

You should also locate your new home’s circuit breaker (in the event of a power-cut) as well as your shut-off valves, in the event of a leak or plumbing problem.

File all your paperwork in a safe place

It’s easy to displace your mortgage papers and other paperwork as you unpack your new belongings and settle into your new home. To keep everything safe and intact for future reference, buy a filing box (you can find these in WHSmith or any supermarket) and use it to store all the paperwork relating to your new home. Don’t mix these papers up with other letters or unrelated bank statements - keep it all filed separately.

Get to know the area

Once your home is unpacked and you’ve got to know your new home, it’s time to get to know your new area! If you have dogs, it can be a good idea to talk a walk around the area to scout out your new walking route. If you have children, it’s also a good idea to familiarise them with the area on a walk or drive together - especially if they're at the age where they’ll be walking to and from school alone.

You should also take the time to get to know the local shops - where can you pick up a quick pint of milk, or grab a quick takeaway dinner if you don’t have time to cook? Knowing all this in advance makes the first few weeks of your move-in much easier.