Alltime Removals has been moving families across Bedfordshire since 2002, and the same question comes up at nearly every survey visit: where do we start? We are AIM-registered, MoveAssured approved and rated 4.8 stars on Reallymoving, and most of our work still comes from word of mouth in Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Luton and Milton Keynes. That means we see the same questions move after move.
This moving house checklist breaks the whole process into clear weekly stages, from eight weeks out to the day you unpack the kettle. It is the plan we walk customers through during a survey visit, written out in full so you can use it whether you book a removals firm or not. Work through it in order and you will arrive at your new home tired but calm, with the right boxes in the right rooms. If you would like a survey visit and a tailored removals quote, the form takes a minute.
| Stage | Weeks out | Key actions |
|---|---|---|
| Planning | 6 to 8 weeks | Fix a moving date, book surveys, decide what to clear |
| Preparation | 4 weeks | Order packing materials, update addresses, book time off |
| Packing | 2 weeks | Pack non-essentials, make a first-night box, confirm job sheet |
| Final checks | 1 week | Defrost freezer, confirm parking, take meter readings |
| Last day | Day before | Pack last items, charge devices, get an early night |
| Move | Moving day | Walk crew through house, take readings, hand over keys |
| Settling in | After moving | Register with GP, update DVLA, unload storage if needed |
6 to 8 Weeks Before Moving
This is the planning window, not the packing window. Use it well and the rest of the move feels easy.
Start with the date. If your sale is going through conveyancing, ask your solicitor for a likely completion week rather than a fixed day, then book a survey visit with two or three removals firms. A proper survey takes around thirty minutes. The adviser walks the house, lists what is going, what is staying, and any access issues at both ends, then quotes a fixed price built around your inventory rather than a per-hour rate that creeps. If a firm refuses to visit and only quotes by email, treat that as a warning sign. Our guide on how to compare removal quotes explains what a good quote should include.
Decide what you are taking. Anything you have not used in two years is a candidate for the charity shop, a local selling site, or the tip. Clearing now is cheaper than paying a remover to load, drive and unload things you are about to throw away. Our guide on how to declutter before a house move walks through the keep, store, donate and dispose method.
Order school records and medical notes if you are moving outside your current GP catchment. These take longer to transfer than people expect. Tell your landlord, your insurer and your mortgage provider in writing. Insurance in particular needs adjusting on the day, not after.
4 Weeks Before Moving
The four-week mark is when the move becomes real. The kit arrives, the diary fills up, and the small jobs start eating evenings.
Order packing materials, or ask your removals firm to deliver them. We supply book boxes, tea chests, bubble wrap and tape to anyone who books a move with us, and we offer a separate packing service that runs from breakables only up to a full pack and unpack with material disposal. Packing well is the single biggest factor in whether things arrive intact, so be honest about whether you have the time.
Book time off work for the move day and ideally the day either side. People underestimate how tired they will be. The day after a move is for unpacking the kitchen and finding the bedding, not for a Teams call.
Update your address everywhere it is on file. Bank, employer, GP, dentist, optician, vet, gym, schools, the DVLA for both your licence and your V5C, the electoral roll, and every insurer and subscription. Our address change checklist lists every organisation that needs telling, when to do it, and how to set up a Royal Mail redirection to catch the ones you forget.
If you have children, walk them through the new postcode and road on a map. Older children should know your new mobile number by moving day.
2 Weeks Before Moving
Two weeks out is for the active packing of everything you do not use day to day.
Start with the room furthest from your front door, usually a spare bedroom or study, and work back towards the kitchen. Pack books in book boxes only, as they are sized so a full one is still liftable. Tea chests work for everything else. Label every box on two sides and the top with the room it is going to in the new house, not the room it came from. The crew loads by destination, not origin.
Make a first-night box and keep it with you. Kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, a few biscuits, toilet roll, hand soap, clean towels, phone chargers, a change of clothes for everyone, the children’s favourite toys, any prescription medication, and a basic toolkit. Mark it clearly and load it into your own car last so it comes out first.
Confirm your moving date in writing and ask for a copy of the job sheet. Check the access notes match reality at both ends: lift access in a Luton flat, permit parking on a tight Hemel Hempstead street, a long carry to a barn conversion outside Woburn. A firm that knows about an obstacle in advance plans for it. One that finds out on the day charges for the time it costs.
Run down the freezer. Cancel the milk. Book a cleaner for the day after the move at the old address.
1 Week Before Moving
The final week is for closing loops, not for packing miracles. If you are still packing on day six you are too far behind, so call your removals firm and book a packing crew. We can usually fit one in at a few days’ notice.
Take meter readings on the morning you leave and again the moment you arrive. Photograph the dial both times and email the photos to yourself. Send the readings to your old supplier, your new supplier and your water company. The photo evidence is the only thing that consistently wins disputed bills.
Empty and defrost the freezer fully. A full upright freezer takes around twenty-four hours to defrost and drain, which is why this job belongs in week one, not on moving day.
Disassemble flat-pack furniture if you are doing it yourself, and bag every fixing in a freezer bag taped to the largest panel. If you would rather not, our crews dismantle and reassemble as part of the standard service.
Confirm parking at both ends. Most councils in our patch, including Central Bedfordshire and Luton, issue temporary suspension cones or removal permits if you ask in advance. The lead time is usually ten working days, so this belongs in week two if you live anywhere with controlled parking.
The Day Before Moving
The day before is for tidying loose ends, not starting new ones.
Pack the last of the bathroom and kitchen, leaving only what you need for breakfast and bedtime. Charge every phone, tablet and battery pack you own. Keep your important documents, jewellery, cash, passports and laptops together in one bag that travels with you in your own car, never in the lorry.
Strip the beds and bag the bedding by room, so each bed can be made up first thing the next night. Reassembling beds first is something we always do for our customers, because a tired family with a made bed copes far better with the chaos around it.
Walk the house with a notebook. Anything you find that has not been packed has thirty minutes left to be packed. Get an early night, and set two alarms.
Moving Day
Be up and dressed before the crew arrives. The lorry is usually with you between 7.30am and 8.30am on a domestic job, sometimes earlier on long-distance moves.
Walk the lead remover through the house. Show them anything fragile, anything that goes in your own car, and anything that stays. Hand over your room plan if you have made one. Get the coffee on, and keep children and pets out from underfoot, ideally with a grandparent or friend for the day.
Take a final meter reading. Sweep through every room, cupboard, the loft, the garage and the shed before you sign the inventory. Empty bins, lock windows, and leave the keys where the agent has asked.
At the new house, walk the lead remover through your room plan before unloading starts. Boxes labelled “Kitchen” go in the kitchen, not stacked in the hall. This is the single biggest time saver of the day. Take meter readings the moment you have the keys. For a fuller run-through of the day itself, see our guide on what happens on moving day.
After You Move In
The first week is for living, not for unpacking everything in one go.
Set up the kitchen, the bathroom and the beds. Connect the broadband. Register with a local GP and dentist if you have moved practice areas. Update your driving licence and V5C through the gov.uk portal, which takes around a fortnight to confirm, and update the electoral roll the same day.
If you used storage during the move, book your unloading window once the new place is straight. Our depot near Dunstable has 24-hour access seven days a week, so you do not have to do it on a weekend if a Wednesday evening suits better.
Walk the new neighbourhood properly. Find the nearest shop, pub, park and tip. The sooner the new address feels like home, the sooner the move feels finished.
If you are moving a business rather than a house, our office removals service handles everything from filing and IT to access permits and out-of-hours weekend moves. Different checklist, same plan.
If this checklist has confirmed you would rather hand the move to a family business built on recommendations since 2002, request a survey visit and a tailored quote or get in touch with the team. An adviser will visit, walk the house, and come back with clear pricing and a job sheet that fits your day.
FAQ’s
Six to eight weeks is the most reliable window for locking in the date you want, especially on a Friday or at the end of the month. We accept short-notice bookings whenever we have a slot, so it is always worth a call even if your completion is only a fortnight away.
An adviser visits your home and takes a detailed inventory of what is going, what is staying, and any access issues at both ends. The visit takes around half an hour. We then build a fixed quote around the inventory rather than charging per hour. The survey is free and there is no obligation to book.
Yes. Our storage at the Houghton Regis depot has individually alarmed units of various sizes, 24-hour access, and long or short-term rental priced by cubic feet. It is a common need when a sale completes faster than a purchase, and we move things into and out of storage as part of the same job.
Yes. Bed frames, wardrobes, dining tables, garden furniture and most flat-pack items are dismantled, transported and reassembled by our team as part of the standard service. We bag and label every fixing so nothing goes missing on the way.
Yes. Our packing service runs from a breakables-only option, where we wrap and box the kitchen and glassware while you handle the rest, up to a full pack and unpack with material disposal. Many customers in Houghton Regis, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard book the breakables option a week before the move.