The clock on moving day starts ticking the moment the van arrives. Every minute movers spend waiting for you to finish packing, find items, or clear pathways is a minute you’re paying for—and a minute that pushes back your arrival at the new place. Proper preparation before movers arrive makes everything faster, cheaper, and less stressful.
The Day Before: Final Preparations
Most preparation should happen in the days and weeks leading up to your move, but the day before is when you tie up loose ends and set yourself up for a smooth moving day.
Complete All Packing
Everything should be packed and sealed before movers arrive. Not “almost done.” Not “just a few more bits.” Completely finished. Boxes should be taped shut, bags tied closed, and loose items contained. Walking through each room, you should see only sealed boxes, wrapped furniture, and items ready to be carried out.
If you’re not finished packing by the evening before, you’ll either need to stay up late completing it or accept that you’ll be packing while movers wait—neither is ideal.
Label Everything Clearly
Every box should be labelled with its destination room and a brief description of contents. “Kitchen—pots and pans.” “Bedroom 2—books.” “Living room—DVDs and games.” This helps movers place boxes in the right rooms at your new home without constantly asking where things go.
Mark fragile items clearly. Use “FRAGILE” labels or write it in large letters on multiple sides. Consider colour-coding rooms (blue tape for kitchen, red for bedroom, etc.) if you have many boxes—it speeds up unloading significantly.
Dismantle Furniture
Beds, large tables, modular wardrobes, and other furniture that won’t fit through doorways assembled need dismantling before movers arrive. This takes longer than most people expect—budget an hour or more for a bed frame, longer for complex flatpack furniture.
Keep all screws, bolts, and fixings in labelled bags taped directly to the furniture they belong to. Nothing is more frustrating than arriving at your new home and discovering half the bed fixings are missing.
Some furniture—particularly cheaper flatpack items—isn’t designed to survive multiple assemblies. If something feels like it’s being damaged during dismantling, it may be worth considering whether it’s worth reassembling at the new place.
Disconnect Appliances
Washing machines need disconnecting from water supply and drainage, with hoses drained. Fridge-freezers should ideally be switched off 24-48 hours before the move, defrosted, and wiped dry inside. Cookers connected to gas require a Gas Safe engineer to disconnect.
Don’t leave this until moving morning. Appliance disconnection takes time, and discovering a frozen-solid freezer or a still-plumbed washing machine when movers arrive creates delays.
Empty Wardrobes and Drawers
Unless you’ve specifically confirmed with your removal service that they’ll move furniture with contents inside, empty wardrobes, chest of drawers, and desks before movers arrive. Packed furniture is significantly heavier and more likely to be damaged.
Some services will transport drawer units with soft items (clothes, linens) still inside to save box space. Ask beforehand—don’t assume.
Set Aside Items You’re Taking Yourself
Valuables, important documents, medication, jewellery, and anything you can’t risk losing should travel with you, not on the van. Set these aside clearly—ideally in a bag or box you’ll keep with you—so there’s no confusion about what the movers should and shouldn’t take.
Moving Morning: Before the Van Arrives
On the morning itself, a few final tasks ensure movers can start work immediately.
Clear Pathways
Movers will be carrying large, heavy items through your home. Every obstruction—shoes in the hallway, furniture blocking corridors, rugs they might trip on—slows them down and increases the risk of accidents or damage.
Walk the route from each room to the front door. Remove anything that narrows the path or creates a tripping hazard. Roll up rugs, move hall tables, and ensure doors can open fully.
Protect Floors and Walls
Professional movers usually bring their own floor protection, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you’re renting and worried about deposit deductions, consider laying old sheets or cardboard along high-traffic routes.
Door frames and corners are common damage points. Some movers use corner guards; if not, padding vulnerable spots with blankets or towels provides protection.
Prepare Parking
The van needs to park as close to your front door as possible. Long carrying distances dramatically increase moving time. If parking is restricted, arrange a suspension with your local council (typically £30-80, requiring several weeks’ notice). If there’s no official restriction but parking is competitive, consider reserving the space with your own car until the van arrives.
At the destination, the same applies. Confirm you know where the van can park and that the space will be available.
Check Every Room
Do a final walk-through of every room, including spaces you rarely use: the loft, garage, shed, under stairs, airing cupboard. It’s easy to forget items in places you don’t visit daily. Open every cupboard, check every shelf, look behind doors.
Have Your Essentials Box Ready
Pack a box or bag with everything you’ll need immediately at the new place: kettle, tea and coffee, toilet roll, phone chargers, basic cleaning supplies, medications, snacks, and anything you’ll need before you’ve unpacked. This should travel with you or be loaded last and unloaded first.
Prepare Cash and Refreshments
Offering movers tea, coffee, or cold drinks is appreciated but not required. Having the kettle accessible (not packed) makes this easy. Some people also tip movers at the end of the job—if you plan to, have cash available.
What Movers Expect to Find
When the van arrives, movers expect to walk in and start loading. This is what a properly prepared home looks like:
All boxes packed, sealed, and labelled. Furniture dismantled where necessary, with fixings bagged and attached. Appliances disconnected and ready to move. Wardrobes and drawers emptied (unless agreed otherwise). Clear pathways through the property. Parking available close to the entrance. You available to answer questions and direct the process.
What they don’t expect: unpacked items, furniture still assembled that won’t fit through doors, appliances still connected, blocked corridors, no parking, or you still in bed.
Common Preparation Mistakes
Underestimating Packing Time
Packing takes far longer than people expect. A one-bedroom flat might need 20-30 boxes and a full day of packing. A three-bedroom house could require 60-80 boxes and several days. Start earlier than you think necessary.
Leaving the Kitchen Until Last
Kitchens are the most time-consuming rooms to pack—lots of small items, fragile crockery, awkward shapes. Don’t leave it until the final evening. Pack non-essential kitchen items days before, leaving only what you need for basic meals.
Forgetting the Loft and Garage
Out of sight, out of mind. These spaces often contain forgotten items that need packing, plus they’re typically full of awkward, dusty things that take longer than expected. Tackle them early.
Not Having the Right Boxes
Flimsy boxes split. Overpacked boxes are too heavy. Random-sized boxes waste van space. Invest in proper packing boxes in a variety of sizes: small boxes for heavy items (books), medium for general items, large for light bulky items (bedding, clothes).
Ignoring Weight Distribution
Books in a large box create an unliftable monster. Heavy items should go in small boxes. Large boxes should contain lighter items. If you can’t comfortably lift a box yourself, it’s too heavy.
Not Wrapping Fragile Items
Crockery, glassware, and ornaments need individual wrapping—newspaper, bubble wrap, or packing paper. Plates should stand on edge (like records), not flat-stacked. Fill empty spaces with paper to prevent movement.
The Night Before Checklist
Run through this checklist the evening before your move:
All boxes packed and sealed. All boxes labelled with room and contents. Furniture dismantled, fixings bagged and attached. Appliances disconnected and defrosted. Wardrobes and drawers emptied. Essentials box packed and set aside. Valuables and documents set aside to travel with you. Parking arranged for moving morning. Contact details for movers readily available. Refreshments available for offering (optional). Cash available for tips (optional).
If anything on this list isn’t done, you have an evening to fix it. If everything’s ticked, you can relax knowing tomorrow will run smoothly.
What If You’re Not Ready?
Life happens. Sometimes despite best intentions, you won’t be fully prepared when movers arrive. If this happens, be honest immediately. Explain what still needs doing and discuss options.
Movers may be able to start loading rooms that are ready while you finish packing others—though this is inefficient and you’ll likely pay for the extra time. Some services offer packing assistance at additional cost if you’re truly stuck.
What you shouldn’t do is pretend everything’s fine and hope movers won’t notice. They will notice. And standing around waiting while you frantically pack benefits nobody.
The best insurance against this scenario is starting preparation early. If you begin packing two weeks before your move rather than two days before, minor delays and unexpected complications don’t derail everything.
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