This "owner's manual" for moving house provides a quick overview of key planning steps – make moving easy!
Updated 17. August 2021
Have you finally found your dream apartment, or at least one where the family will have more room? If you are even moving to another city? So that you can enjoy your anticipation unclouded, a good organization and planning of the move are important. A moving checklist helps to hand over the old home in tip-top condition and to arrive happily in the new one.
Step by step: start planning early and calculate costs. Make the moving checklist your new friend. If you time your move well and work through everything from signing the contract to the final cleaning, you will soon be able to relax in your new four walls.
Moving tips for the months before:
Make sure you check relevant deadlines! The earlier you think about it, the smoother the move will go:
Submit leave early – the most important moving tip is to be there yourself!
Add a cost breakdown to your moving checklist and pay attention to security deposits and double rent payments, if applicable.
Cancel and re-register for electricity, gas or oil as well as internet and telephone connection, homeowner's insurance, gym, clubs and more.
Book a moving company or a moving truck and organize helpers, mail forwarding as well as parking lot blocking and bulky waste pickup.
Are renovations necessary? Handymen are in demand; get a quote as early as possible.
The countdown
Once the most important deadlines have been taken care of, it's time to start planning and organizing the details of the move:
Order boxes and packing materials, even for fragile things.
Organizing a move is always a good opportunity to clean out: check the basement, storage spaces and drawers and dare to say "goodbye". This also affects the "emptying" of the refrigerator and icebox. Do not forget to defrost.
Subdivision by room or category and easy-to-read or color-coded box markings make practical planning and organization of the move easier.
Let all relevant contacts know your new address.
Get everything you need for renovation and final cleaning.
What does your household look like?
Final cleaning and handover
Everything is well marked, packed and stowed in the car or already in the new home and the renovation is done. Now it's time to clean up the dust kicked up during the move and hand over the old apartment in a presentable condition.
Take a top-down approach: Start the final cleaning by removing any dust, cobwebs or any tape left over from the renovation, clean the windows and wipe down the frames.
Then turn your attention to the kitchen. In the case of fitted kitchens, the stove and stubborn grease stains from roasts and fumes pose a particular challenge. An intensive cleaner with microcrystals such as Viss scrubbing milk or a cleaning spray with ultra grease solvent such as Viss power and shine for the kitchen are suitable to clean the stove and surfaces quickly and sustainably and remove fingerprints.
They also work well in the bathroom to remove long-neglected water and limescale stains or soap marks. The Domestos product line helps dissolve mold and urine scale in the toilet. It is also suitable for all surfaces that need more intensive cleaning and for cleaning trash cans.
Always test cleaning products on a small area first and read the manufacturer's instructions carefully before use.
Vacuum and clean all floors and tiles at the end.
After the final cleaning, walk through all rooms with the next tenant or landlord, take written notes and photos of the condition and any damage; record meter readings and hand over all keys.
Planning your move is "half the battle"
Free living excepted – but a time savings and an even frame of mind are all guaranteed by these moving tips. The specific timing of moving preparations depends on the individual, but with this moving checklist as a foundation, nothing can go wrong.
Be aware of costs and deadlines for notices and orders.
Make a detailed time schedule of the move.
Allow enough time for mucking out, packing and redecorating or final cleaning; the devil is in the detail – or else: in the drawer.
Originally published 11. October 2018
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