Why a Packing Order Matters
A property that’s fully packed when the van arrives loads at two to three times the speed of one where the driver is working around half-packed rooms and bin bags being filled in real time. That difference compounds. A slow load means a late start at the new property, which means everything else in the day gets pushed. If you’re organising house removals and want the day to go smoothly, packing in the right order over the right timescale is the single biggest thing you can do. The checklist below runs from four weeks out to move morning.
Four Weeks Before: Start With What You Don’t Use
The easiest rooms to pack first are the ones you interact with least. Nothing from these areas needs to come out of a box before move day. Good packing services will tell you the same thing: start with the dead weight and the rest becomes manageable.
- Loft, attic, or under-stairs storage
- Spare bedrooms you’re not sleeping in
- Garage or shed contents
- Books, photo albums, DVDs
- Seasonal clothing you won’t need before the move
- Ornaments, decorations, anything on walls you won’t miss for a few weeks
- Board games and hobby equipment you don’t use weekly
Packing these early removes roughly a third of the total volume in most properties and leaves the remaining work more manageable.
Two Weeks Before: Rooms You Can Do Without
Pack anything you can realistically live without for a fortnight. For a typical house and apartment moving job, this is where a decent amount of the bulk comes from.
- Most books and magazines
- Spare bedding and towels beyond what’s in current use
- Anything on shelves or in display cabinets
- Most kitchen equipment except what you use weekly: specialist pans, serving dishes, appliances used occasionally
- Glassware and crockery beyond a basic set for daily use
- Framed art and photos on walls
- Curtains in rooms where privacy isn’t essential
One Week Before: Clothes, Non-Essential Electronics, and Most of the Kitchen
The bulk of the remaining packing happens this week. Work room by room rather than category by category. A finished room is easier to manage than half-packed drawers spread across the whole house.
- Clothes. Keep back enough for the final week plus move day. Everything else goes into laundry bags or boxes.
- Kitchen. Keep one small set of crockery, cutlery, and cookware out. Pack everything else.
- Bathroom. Pack anything you don’t use daily. Keep essentials and medication accessible.
- Living room. Pack DVDs, books, ornaments, anything decorative. Keep the TV, one lamp, and current-use items out.
- Home office. Pack files, reference books, and stationery. Keep only what you’re actively using.
- Electronics you haven’t switched on this week. Games consoles, spare laptops, that sort of thing.
By Sunday you should be living out of a small pile. It’s uncomfortable for a few days and a lot better than trying to pack everything in the final 48 hours.
Two to Three Days Before: Finish the Remaining Rooms
With most of the property already done, the final 48 to 72 hours should be about finishing off. Aim to have completed the following by the evening two days before the move:
- All remaining kitchen items except the kettle, two mugs, and basic breakfast essentials
- All clothes except what you’re wearing and one set for move day
- Bathroom items except daily toiletries
- Home office completely packed
- All furniture that needs dismantling (beds, wardrobes, tables) broken down, with fittings bagged and taped to the frames
- All boxes labelled on the top and at least two sides with the destination room
Count the boxes at this stage. If the number is very different from what you expected, it’s easier to adjust the van booking now than on the morning itself.
The Night Before
Three things to sort the night before:
- The essentials box. Kettle, mugs, teabags, phone chargers, toilet roll, medication, a change of clothes, and your toiletries. Add any documents you’ll need on the day: tenancy agreement, completion papers, keys. This goes in your car or the van cab, not in the back with everything else.
- Valuables and anything irreplaceable. Passports, financial paperwork, birth certificates. These go in your car, not the van.
- Any devices you’re still using. Put them on charge before you go to bed.
Confirm arrival time with your driver and check the parking situation at both ends. Lay out what you’re wearing tomorrow. The small things you forget to sort tonight are the ones that slow the morning down.
Morning of the Move
- Strip the bed and pack bedding into a laundry bag
- Pack the last bathroom and kitchen items
- Dismantle the bed frame if it hasn’t been done yet
- Empty the fridge and freezer. Cool bags for anything you want to keep, the rest gets donated or binned.
- Take final meter readings (gas, electric, water) and photograph them
- Dispose of anything that won’t travel: food waste, old cleaning products, anything you don’t want at the new property
- Walk through every room one final time before loading begins
Keep the essentials box, any valuables, and your personal bag by the front door or in your car so they don’t end up in the van.
During Loading
- Keep internal doors wedged open. The route in and out should be clear.
- Put down old sheets or cardboard on high-traffic routes if the floors mark easily
- Stay nearby. The driver will have questions.
- Before the van leaves, walk every room. Open every cupboard. Check behind doors, inside built-in wardrobes, in the shower. You will find something.
Don’t get in the van until you’ve done that walk. Items left behind after handover are difficult and sometimes impossible to recover.
Between Properties
Lock up and return keys to the agent or landlord if that’s needed. If you can, travel to the new property separately and get there before the van. It means the place is open and you can direct where things go rather than standing outside waiting.
At the New Property
Before the van unloads:
- Check every room and confirm which is which. Stick paper labels on doors if it helps.
- Photograph the condition of the property and any existing damage, particularly if renting
- Take initial meter readings
- Decide where larger furniture will go so the driver can place items correctly first time
Direct items to rooms by referring to the labels on the boxes. A box marked “Kitchen — everyday” goes straight to the right cupboard rather than into a general pile to be sorted later.
The First Evening
Unpacking in full takes days, not hours. The priorities for the first evening are straightforward:
- Make the bed. Sheets, duvet, pillows. A made bed is the single biggest factor in whether the first night feels manageable.
- Set up the kettle, fridge, and a basic kitchen
- Find the bathroom essentials
- Locate chargers and devices
Everything else can wait. The goal for the first evening is a functional living arrangement, not a finished house.
More Packing Guides
Part of a series covering the practical side of packing for a move:
- How to Pack for a Move: What Actually Works (and What Slows Everything Down) — containers, principles, and what not to do
- How to Pack Your Belongings for a Move: Room-by-Room Practical Guide — the right container for each type of household item
- How to Pack Plates, Glasses and Fragile Items for Moving Day — wrapping and boxing crockery, glassware, mirrors, and ornaments
- How to Tape and Seal Boxes Properly for Your Next House Move — the H-tape method, double-taping, and which tape actually works
