Almost all of the stress comes from leaving things late, so the dull jobs are the ones worth doing first. None of it's difficult. It just has to happen before the week of the move rather than during it.
Before the boxes come out
Get rid of anything you do not want to pay to move. Charity shop it, sell it, or take it to the tip, and do it while you've still got empty weekends. Then start on the rooms nobody uses: the spare room, the loft, the garage, the cupboard under the stairs. Those can be packed a month out and you won't miss a thing.
Packing
Label boxes by destination room, not contents. It is the single change that makes unloading quick, because the person holding the box doesn't need to know anything except which door to walk through. Pack a first-night box and guard it: bedding, towels, toiletries, chargers, the kettle and two mugs. Nobody wants to open forty boxes at nine in the evening looking for a toothbrush.
The day itself
Confirm times and access with everyone a day or two ahead, so nobody's sitting outside a locked building. Then deal with the old supply before you leave: Citizens Advice tells you to give "at least 48 hours' notice" that you're moving, and to keep "a note of the readings and the dates you took them, in case you don't agree with your final bill." That note is the whole of your evidence if the closing bill looks wrong, and it costs you thirty seconds on a day you'll never get back. The checklist covers what to read at the new address.
These sit in the move, alongside the moving house checklist, which covers who has to be told and when, and the new home essentials checklist for what you actually need in the first week. When the dust settles, a moving house gift of the new place is a good first thing to put on an empty wall.
Meter reading advice and the note-keeping point quoted from Citizens Advice, read 3 September 2026.
Written by Craig Fearn, Our House Print. Last updated .