Text guides
Moving house
Turn a move into specific jobs, from measuring furniture to handing over the old keys.
- Build your own change-of-address checklistMail forwarding catches some letters for a while, but it doesn't update anyone's records.
- Decide what to keep before paying to move itMoving something costs money and space, so weigh that against what it would take to replace it.
- Pack a first-night box for a moveThe first-night box holds what you'll need before anything else gets unpacked: easy food, a few tools, chargers, clean bedding and toiletries.
- Check whether furniture will fit through the doorwayWhether a piece fits depends on the whole route into the room.
- Compare moving quotes on the same termsMoving quotes are comparable only when every company priced the same job.
- Make box labels that survive moving dayA good box label tells a mover where the box goes and how to carry it in a few seconds.
- Keep a pet out of moving-day trafficMoving day means open doors, loud noise and strangers, and that's when pets slip out.
- Build a room-by-room moving inventoryA room-by-room inventory lets you count what left and what arrived.
- Plan the photos to take before handing back keysPhotos taken right before you hand back the keys give you a dated record of how you left the place.
- Organize utility handovers for a moveUtility handovers go smoothly when you plan stop dates at the old place and start dates at the new one together.