Moving Into a New House? Your Essential Checklist

Put keys, entry codes, medications, important documents, chargers, toiletries, a change of clothes, and basic cleaning supplies on your move-in checklist, and keep them with you rather than in the moving truck. If you have children or pets, add their food, supplies, and comfort items so the first night does not depend on finding the right box.

Confirm when you can get in, how you’ll receive the keys, and whether electricity, water, gas, and internet will be available when you arrive. Before furniture fills the rooms, walk through the house, note any damage or maintenance concerns, locate the main water shutoff and electrical panel, and clean the spaces that will be hardest to reach later.

Measure doorways and the spaces for large furniture and appliances, then label boxes by destination room and mark the ones you’ll open first. Give movers or helpers a simple room plan, and set aside a clear path for carrying items in; these steps can reduce unnecessary lifting and keep essentials from disappearing into a stack of boxes.

Add smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, door locks, window latches, and any needed child- or pet-safety measures to your early walk-through. Your first-few-days list should also include groceries, trash and recycling arrangements, a basic tool kit, and time to assemble beds before tackling less urgent unpacking.

Update your address with the postal service, employer, banks, insurance providers, and other important accounts, and keep utility confirmations and moving documents together. Our moving house checklist and timeline can help you organize tasks around moving day, while our No-Stress, No-Regrets Moving House Checklist gives you another way to keep your own list in one place.

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