Moving house generates more to-do lists than almost any other life event. The problem isn't that people don't know what they need to do — it's that they underestimate how long things take, and end up doing everything in the last two weeks when they should have been spreading it over eight.
This checklist is designed specifically for moves within Staffordshire and the Midlands, with local references where they're useful. Work through it in order and you'll arrive at moving day prepared rather than panicked.
Eight weeks before
- Research and shortlist removal companies. Get at least two or three quotes. Ask each company what's included — packing, dismantling, insurance coverage. Don't just go for the cheapest.
- Decide on your moving date. If you're in a chain, this is controlled by the chain. If you're not, pick a weekday — Tuesday or Wednesday are often cheapest and least congested.
- Start decluttering. Work through the house room by room. Anything you haven't used in two years probably doesn't need to come with you. Lichfield's charity shops, Cannock's donation centres and Facebook Marketplace are all options for things worth passing on.
- Notify your mortgage lender if your circumstances have changed since you applied.
- Check your contents insurance covers you for the move itself — many policies don't.
Four to six weeks before
- Book your removal company. Once you have an expected completion date from your solicitor, book immediately. End-of-month Fridays — particularly the last Friday of any month — are the most in-demand days and fill weeks in advance across Staffordshire.
- Order packing supplies. More than you think you'll need — boxes, tape, bubble wrap, marker pens. A three-bedroom house needs roughly 30 to 40 medium boxes, 15 to 20 large boxes and a couple of rolls of bubble wrap minimum.
- Start packing non-essential rooms. Spare bedroom, loft, garage, dining room if it's rarely used. Label everything: room, contents, and whether it's fragile.
- Redirect your post with Royal Mail — about £40 for twelve months. Do this early.
Two to four weeks before
- Notify everyone of your new address. DVLA, HMRC, your bank, your employer (payslips and P60), your GP and dentist, children's schools, electoral register, subscription services, utilities, insurance providers.
- Contact your utility providers. Gas, electricity and water — all need a leaving date at the old property and a start date at the new one. Broadband takes two weeks to set up from scratch — don't leave this until the last minute or you'll be without internet for your first fortnight.
- Confirm your removal booking. Let your removal company know if anything has changed — access, volumes, timing.
- Arrange childcare and pet care for moving day. Moving day is stressful enough without managing children and animals at the same time.
One week before
- Pack almost everything. Leave out only what you genuinely need for the week — a set of clothes per person, toiletries, the kettle, mugs, toilet roll and your phone charger.
- Defrost the freezer. This takes 24 to 48 hours and needs to happen before moving day. Use up food as you go rather than trying to move a full freezer.
- Photograph your electronics setup. The back of the TV, the router, the gaming console — take a photo before you unplug anything. You'll thank yourself when you're setting up at the new house.
- Confirm moving day timing with your solicitor and removal company. Completions can happen anytime before 5pm. A realistic target is 1pm for key collection, which means you should be loading from midday.
💡 Prepare an essentials box for night one — kettle, mugs, tea/coffee, phone chargers, toilet roll, change of clothes, snacks and a basic first aid kit. This goes in the car with you, not the van, so you have it immediately when you arrive.
Moving day
- Take meter readings at the old property — gas, electricity and water. Photograph them.
- Do a final walk through every room, including loft, garage, garden shed and under stairs. Check wardrobes, under beds, inside appliances.
- Leave the old property keys with the estate agent or solicitor as agreed.
- When you arrive at the new property, take meter readings again before the removal team starts bringing things in.
- Direct the removal team to the correct rooms — you don't want to unpack everything from one room to find it was all meant to go somewhere else.
- Check off your inventory as items are unloaded if you've made one.
After you move in
Change the locks on your new property as a matter of course — you don't know who has copies of the old keys. This is an hour's work for a locksmith and money well spent.
Register with a local GP and dentist if you've moved to a new area. Check your children's school places are confirmed. Update your address with any subscriptions or services you missed in the pre-move sweep.
And then — make a cup of tea, sit down and take a moment. Moving house is one of the biggest things you'll do. You've done it.