Moving in 2 weeks... help!

[poshme]

and I have 3 DCs - 6, 4, 18mo
we hadnt expected to be moving this soon (thought it would be about another 6 weeks).

We will be using packers/movers but have not yet got quotes. Have done nothing about changing utilities etc - havent moved for 10 years so just cant remember what order to do things and am feeling rather panicky.

top tips and priorities please - and remind me of what I'm likely to have forgotten!

Get movers quotes first. When you have decided you will know a) what you need to do ( are they packing everything? will they dismantle stuff? Do you need to unplumb washing machine?) and b) how long they need.

Get chucking stuff you don't want to take because if they are packing everything they will pack EVERYTHING. Think about what rooms stuff will go into, try and place stuff that you want packing together in the same place.

You can start phoning people about address changes etc now. I called about the council tax a month before we moved, for example. As post comes through the door make the call about moving, it almost acts as a self-writing list.

I am in the middle of an international move and I was a headless chicken until I had sorted the movers.

try Simply Moving for removals quotes from a few places - I got it off another thread on here, and got a few really good quotes from them.

Once you have the movers sorted, sort out your buildings/contents insurance - you need your insurance to start from the day you exchange.

Are you on BT at home for phone/broadband, does the new house already have this? If you, you just need to call them and get it transferred. If you're on cable now, check if the new house has cable, and if not is it in a cable area.

Utilities - you don't need to cancel yours til the last minute, but make sure you do call on them moving out day and give them meter readings. Water, if you're on annual rates just write to them to say you have moved, otherwise do a meter reading for them too.

TV Licence - make sure you transfer this over when you move.

Also worth trying Shipley Removals if I'm not too late on this thread! Sorry - they give quotes to you from lots of different companies apparently.