The Moving Checklist You Need Eight Weeks Before the Van Arrives

A calm moving day starts long before the crates arrive. Working to an eight-week timeline gives you breathing space to compare quotes, line up paperwork, brief the family, and keep costs under control. This checklist is designed for UK households navigating chains, school calendars, and busy city streets, with room to tailor the detail for your own home.

Eight Weeks Before Moving Day

1. Gather quotations from at least two BAR-registered or trusted local removals companies and check their availability for your preferred week.
2. Walk every room with a clipboard and mark items to sell, donate, recycle, or keep—decluttering early shaves hours off packing day.
3. Create a shared digital folder for contracts, mortgage updates, school letters, and supplier references so you always know where documents live.
4. Confirm key dates with your conveyancer or landlord and note deadlines for completion, notice periods, and parking suspensions.

If you have pets or young children, agree who will care for them on moving week. Pencil in survey appointments and block out busy weekends now before diaries fill up.

Six Weeks Before Moving

Momentum matters here. Six weeks out, focus on lining up practical support so you are not firefighting later.

• Lock in annual leave with your employer or block out time if you are self-employed.
• Confirm school transfers, GP registrations, broadband availability, and parking permits in your new area.
• Order specialist packing materials for artwork, musical instruments, wine collections, or IT equipment.
• Measure larger furniture against the access points at your new property and plan dismantling needs in advance.

Host a weekly ten-minute catch-up with everyone involved in the move. It keeps expectations aligned and surfaces small issues (like missing Allen keys) before they become stress triggers.

Four Weeks to Go

With a month on the clock, the focus shifts to locking down suppliers and conquering the paperwork mountain.

• Book storage if you need a buffer between properties or have renovation work planned at the new address.
• Notify utilities, council tax, home insurance, and subscriptions of your leaving date; photograph meter readings and diarise the final call.
• Start packing rarely used items such as seasonal decor, spare bedding, archive files, and attic contents—label every box with room and contents.
• Plan your move-day essentials crate with tea, coffee, cleaning kit, phone chargers, medicines, and the kids' favourite toys.

“Every hour you invest four weeks out saves you three on moving week. Future you will be grateful.”

— Operations Lead, New Dawn Movers UK

Use a digital checklist that lives on your phone so you can tick off tasks as you go and share updates instantly with the household.

Two Weeks Out

Two weeks before the van arrives is prime time for confirming the fine print and preparing your home for handover.

• Share a room-by-room inventory with your removals crew and flag fragile or high-value items.
• Arrange services for your boiler if selling, and collate manuals, spare keys, and alarm codes for the new owners.
• Book professional cleaners if required by your tenancy agreement or if you would prefer to outsource the sparkle.
• Run down freezer stock and pantry items so you are not decanting half the supermarket into a cool box.

The Final Week

Treat the last seven days as quality control. Confirm final timings, prepare the property for inspection, and keep energy levels up.

• Reconfirm arrival times with the removals crew, estate agent, and key holders—send a quick reminder the night before.
• Set aside a clear workspace for paperwork, labelled envelopes for keys, and the go-bag you will carry personally.
• Defrost the freezer 24 hours before loading and wedge doors open to prevent odours.
• Walk the property with filler and a microfibre cloth to leave every room tidy and presentable.

Morning of the Move

• Fuel the team—boil the kettle, stock up on biscuits, and keep bottled water chilled.
• Take date-stamped photos of each room, including meter readings, once it is empty.
• Keep passports, financial paperwork, and valuables in a clearly labelled personal bag that never leaves your side.
• Run one final sweep of cupboards, loft, shed, and garden before handing over the keys.

Stick to this structure and you will arrive on moving day with a confident plan, a happy crew, and time left to enjoy that first celebratory cuppa in your new home.