Moving house is one of those things that conjures shudders from deep within our bones. It’s exciting of course – especially if we are moving into our first home, one that we’ve either bought or built – but we also have to deal with a seemingly never-ending to-do list.
With so much on our plates and a relatively compressed amount of time, it’s easy to forget important tasks that make the moving process smoother, from packing through to unpacking and beyond. To make life easier for you, here’s our essential moving house checklist.
1. Change Your Address
Yes it means taking the time to log into your various accounts and change your details but it saves you the hassle in the long run of having your mail go to the wrong address and losing important documents. Update your contact details with:
Your banks, phone company, the electoral commission, any insurance companies, superannuation fund, on your drivers licence and vehicle registration, loyalty programs and store cards, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, any schools or university, with your accountant, childcare, electricity company, credit cards, employers and, if you’re feeling particularly thorough, your friends and family!
2. Connect Your Utilities
Depending on the company, you can actually do most of this online now, meaning you don’t have to wait on hold for hours anymore, just to speak to someone. You will need to organise your internet a few weeks before you move as many internet service providers operate on a booking basis so to avoid spending the first couple of weeks in your new home without internet (yes, this means no Netflix!), book ahead. Connecting your energy simply requires informing your provider of your new address and the date of connection.
3. Have Your New Home Professionally Cleaned
Even if it’s brand spanking new, it’s a great idea to get your new home professionally cleaned before you move into it. If it’s been empty for a period of time, or if builders were the last people in your new home, it’s likely to be dustier than you think. Save yourself the disappointment of opening up your new front door into a dust pit and have someone run through it quickly the day before you move.
4. Plan Ahead with Children and Pets
Make sure you’ve thought about what you’re going to do with your kids and pets on moving day, if it’s applicable to you. Call on your support network to look after any dependents so you can focus solely on the move without having to keep half an eye on little ones.
5. Organise Home & Contents Insurance
If you have home and contents insurance, make sure you call your provider and ensure you’re covered throughout your move and in your new address. It is advisable to have your old policy cover you until the day after you move and your new policy cover you from the day before you move, just to be safe.
6. Keep Your Unpacking Items Together
Any tools you might need to get your new home set up should be packed in one handy box for easy access when you are ready to unpack. It’s a good idea to include an allen key, scissors, screwdrivers, glue, duct tape, masking tape and any screws from furniture you had to dismantle (put them into labelled zip lock bags for the ultimate ease) all together. It will save you valuable sanity and time on the other end!
7. Pack Things for Your First Night in One Box
Another handy tip to save your sanity, have a box for all the things you’ll need to be comfortable on your first night in your new home. From clothing to toiletries, towels, sheets for your bed, toilet paper and any kitchen essentials like tea bags, coffee, cutlery and other kitchen utensils. Nobody wants to be frantically searching for their toothbrush after hours of hauling boxes!
8. Leave Sentimentality Behind
How many boxes are you packing and carrying to your new home because you still have some attachment to the items you haven’t looked at or used in years? Be honest, are they just going to sit in your garage collecting dust? Moving house is a great time to declutter. Be a little ruthless and get rid of anything that you know in your heart you won’t be using in your new home.
