Checklist
Moving day checklist
This checklist covers a single day, from the alarm to the first evening in the new home. Say who is doing the carrying and who is in the household, and it shows only what applies.
Before anyone arrives
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Leaving the old home
At the new home
The first evening
Tips for this list
- Give one person the job of answering questions. A crew or a group of friends works faster when there is one voice saying which room.
- Photograph the meters and the empty rooms at both addresses. It takes five minutes and settles most later questions about bills and condition.
- Keep the documents bag on you or locked in the car all day. Open front doors and strangers carrying things is the day paperwork goes missing.
- Water and glove counts are estimates from the number of helpers you enter. Round up.
Questions
What should not go on the moving truck?
Anything you need the same day or could not replace: documents, keys, medication, chargers, valuables and the first-night box contents you want early. A moving company will also have its own list of things it does not carry; ask for it.
What time should a moving day start?
As early as the crew, the truck hire and the building allow. An early start leaves daylight for unloading and time to return a hired vehicle the same day.
Should children and pets be at home during the move?
It is easier for everyone if they are elsewhere or in one closed room. Doors stand open all day and people are carrying heavy things; the checklist adds tasks for either choice when you switch those options on.
Related lists
8-week moving checklist
The full two-month plan: enter your move date and every task from booking to handing over keys gets its own day.
First-night essentials box
The one or two boxes packed last and opened first, sized for your household and the wait for everything else.
Move-out cleaning checklist
Room by room, top to bottom, with supplies counted from the size of the home.