How to Plan a House Move: An 8-Week Moving Checklist That Works

What is the first thing to do when you decide to move house?

Fix the date, or the best estimate of it, and write down two other dates: when you must give notice (if you rent) or when contracts are due to complete (if you are buying or selling), and when the keys change hands at each end. Every other task hangs off those dates.

Then hold a short kick-off with everyone in your household. Agree who leads each part of the move, how money decisions are made and when you will check in each week. A move is a project with a fixed deadline and a team that has usually never worked together on one. Fifteen minutes of agreement in week 8 prevents a lot of 11pm arguments in week 1.

Finally, build a budget for the whole move, not just the van. Deposits, overlap rent, cleaning, packing materials, parking permits, pet care and food on moving days all add up, and a new deposit often has to be paid before the old one comes back.

What does an 8-week moving checklist look like?

Eight weeks is long enough to declutter properly, get honest quotes and give notice, and short enough to keep momentum. The table below shows the shape. Each row is a week; each column is a stream. If your move is sooner, start at the row you are in and compress.

Should you hire movers or move yourself?

There are four ways to move: full service (they pack, load, drive and unload), part movers (you pack, they do the lifting and driving), a man and van by the hour, or fully DIY with a hired van. The useful rule is to pay professionals for the parts that can hurt people or break expensive things, and do the parts that only need time yourself.

Long distances, heavy items, lots of stairs and little time off work all point towards professionals. A small flat, a short distance and fit helpers make DIY reasonable. When you compare costs, include what DIY leaves out: fuel, mileage and one-way fees, van insurance, food for helpers, a second day if loading overruns, and the limits on what home insurance covers while your things are in transit.

How do you compare moving quotes fairly?

Get three quotes for the same inventory and date, and insist on a survey, in person or by thorough video, for anything bigger than a studio. A quote made without seeing your things is a guess, and guesses tend to be corrected upwards on the day.

Ask every mover the same questions and compare totals, not headline prices. A quote far below the others is a question, not a bargain: it often means fewer crew, a smaller vehicle, little cover for damage or extras added on the day.

• Is the price fixed, or an estimate, and what could change it?
• What is included: packing, materials, dismantling, crew size, vehicle?
• What cover is included, what does it pay per item, and what does fuller cover cost?
• How long do you have to report damage?
• What are the deposit, payment and cancellation terms?
• Are they registered or licensed where that is required? In the United States, the FMCSA says interstate movers must give you its booklet 'Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move' and keeps a database where you can check registration.

How should you pack and label moving boxes?

Declutter first. Every item is handled at least four times in a move, so anything you will get rid of is cheapest to remove before it is packed. Work one room per 90-minute session, starting with the room you use least, and give every item a decision: keep, sell, gift, donate, recycle or bin.

Then give every box three things: a room code and colour (K for kitchen, B2 for the second bedroom), a number (K-01, K-02) and a few words of contents. Log each box on an inventory before you tape it, and tick it as it is loaded and again as it arrives. Numbers let you count, so you know at once if a box is missing. At the new home, a door sign in the same colour on each room means anyone carrying a box knows where it goes.

Pack the least-used spaces first and the open-first boxes last: kettle and mugs, bedding for each bed, toilet roll and towels, basic tools. Keep important documents, keys, medicines, chargers and valuables out of the van altogether.

Who do you need to tell when you change address?

More organisations than you expect, and most will not tell each other. The Canada Revenue Agency, for example, states that it will not share your new address with other government departments. Keep one master list and work it in three waves: before the move (employer, schools, insurers, the vet, anything you are cancelling), moving week (banks and cards, online shops, family, a pet's microchip record, mail forwarding) and after you arrive (tax authority, driving licence, voter registration, doctor and dentist, the new council).

Some changes carry legal duties. In the UK, GOV.UK says changing the address on your driving licence is free and you can be fined up to £1,000 for not telling the DVLA. In the US, the IRS uses Form 8822 for a change of home mailing address, and USPS mail forwarding runs for 12 months after an online change of address, which asks for a small identity verification fee. Treat forwarding as a safety net: each forwarded letter is an organisation you still need to tell.

Book internet at the new home early, often four weeks ahead, and on moving day read and photograph every meter at both homes.

How do you get your deposit back when you move out?

Evidence beats memory. Find your check-in inventory or report early, read the lease for notice and cleaning terms, and give notice in writing the way the lease requires, keeping proof of sending. Ask for a pre-check visit two or three weeks before you leave, so you can fix anything while there is time.

Clean to the standard the lease requires, then photograph every room with the date visible. Attend the check-out inspection if you can, return every key for a receipt, give your forwarding address and request the deposit in writing. Many places distinguish fair wear and tear from damage, and rules differ: in England and Wales, for example, GOV.UK says landlords must protect a deposit in an approved scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and those schemes offer dispute resolution. At the new home, do the reverse: photograph every room before you unload and send the move-in condition report on time.

How do you make moving easier for children and pets?

Children cope better with change they can picture. Tell them early with a simple, true reason, read a short story about the move with photos of the new home and school, and give them real jobs and an open-first box of their own. Keep routines as normal as you can and set up their rooms first. Most children are unsettled for a while; if changes in mood or sleep last for weeks, talk to the school and your doctor.

For pets, see the vet weeks ahead, update the microchip record and plan moving day so they are away from open doors and strangers. Set up one quiet room first at the new home. International pet moves need months: Great Britain, for example, requires a microchip before the rabies vaccination and a wait of at least 21 days after it, according to GOV.UK.

How do you run moving day itself?

Choose one move lead, give everyone a copy of an hour-by-hour run sheet, and treat the day as two handovers. At the old home: a final sweep of every cupboard, loft and shed, meter readings and photos, keys returned for a receipt. At the new home: photos and meter readings before the first box comes off the van, door signs up, one person directing boxes by colour and another ticking them off by number. Leave slack before each handover, make the beds and find the kettle, then stop. The boxes will still be there in the morning.

If you want to check how strong your plan is before you start, the Plan Strength Assessment with an Eight-Week Re-Measure from AssessAll measures it now and again after the move. And to make sure the weekly tasks actually happen, Jobulary's guide to if-then plans shows how to tie each task to a specific time and place. The Moving House System kit from Bodhih Training puts all of this into one planner, four forms, colour-coded box labels and ready-to-send letters.