Moving house is consistently ranked among the most stressful life events. Most of that stress comes from not knowing what to do when. We have built this 8-week checklist from forty years of Eastbourne removals — the order in which we tell our own families to do things.
The hidden truth about moving stress is that 80% of it is concentrated in the final two weeks, almost entirely because customers leave decisions and admin until then. If you start eight weeks before — even loosely — those final two weeks become calm. If you start two weeks before, the final two weeks are chaos. This checklist is structured around that observation.
One more practical note: if your move date is uncertain (still subject to a property chain), use this checklist anyway. Treat the date as a target. The administrative steps still need doing; the packing steps are easy to adjust. Better to be ready three weeks early than three days late.
This is the planning window. The earlier you start, the calmer the next eight weeks will be.
The single biggest cause of post-move stress is missed change-of-address notifications. Tackle this in one focused session.
For a printable PDF version, request one with any quote — we will email it to you.
Over 40 years we have seen the same problems happen on move days again and again. None of them are catastrophic on their own, but together they turn a normal move into a stressful one. Plan around these five and your move day will run much more smoothly.
Problem 1: Keys not ready at the new property. Your seller's solicitor confirms keys at 1pm, then it slips to 2pm, then 3.30pm. Your lorry sits outside the new home for two hours. Mitigation: build a 2-hour key-delay buffer into your move plan, and ask if you can drop the lorry at the seller's solicitor's office or a neighbour's drive in the meantime.
Problem 2: Parking obstructed at one end. Even with parking suspensions in place, builders' vans, school-run cars and bin lorries appear on the day. Mitigation: arrive at both addresses 30 minutes before the lorry to physically hold the parking space if needed.
Problem 3: Stuff still in cupboards / attic / shed. The "I will pack that on the day" items that did not get packed. Mitigation: schedule a final walk-through the evening before, with a torch, and pack anything unmissed.
Problem 4: Lost paperwork. Your solicitor calls to ask for the EPC and you cannot find it. Mitigation: photograph every important document to phone-cloud storage at the 2-week-before stage. Originals can travel with the loose-papers box.
Problem 5: Children and pets underfoot. A 4-year-old at an active move site is a hazard. Mitigation: arrange childcare or a relative's house for move day. Same for pets — kennels or a friend's house, returned to you that evening.
The first month after a move is when most "we will sort that out" tasks slip and then never get done. Use this 30-day list to keep momentum:
If you have any questions about your upcoming move in Eastbourne or East Sussex, give us a call on 01323 848 008. We are always happy to share practical advice — even if you have not decided whether to use us yet.
Generic moving checklists are written for an imaginary average street. Real Eastbourne and East Sussex moves come with their own quirks — parking, hills, narrow Old Town lanes, seafront one-way systems and conservation restrictions. After forty years of running daily routes across the area, here are the local details we wish every customer knew before move day.
Plan parking before you do anything else. Eastbourne’s Old Town, Meads, the seafront roads off Royal Parade, and large parts of Hailsham and Lewes have limited or permit-only kerb parking. A 7.5-tonne lorry needs three to four car spaces in line with no parked cars within the loading window. Apply for a parking suspension through your local council at least ten working days before move day — Eastbourne Borough Council issues these via the East Sussex Highways portal. The cost is modest (typically £50–£90) and pays for itself the first time you avoid a 70-metre carry to the lorry.
Hills and steps shape your timing. Properties in Meads, Old Town, around the Wish Tower, and on the Hailsham ridge often have steep front steps, basement flats, or steep approaches. Tell your remover at the survey — they may bring an extra crew member or schedule a slightly longer day. Hill-bound flats with no parking nearby also benefit from a shuttle: a small van that ferries between your door and the main lorry parked further along.
Watch for utility timing. Southern Water and EDF often miss switch-over readings by 24–48 hours. Take meter photos at both addresses on the morning of the move — gas, electric and water — and email them to yourself with the timestamp visible. If a bill arrives in two months citing wrong readings, the photos settle it instantly.
Tell the broadband provider four weeks ahead, not two. Openreach engineer appointments in East Sussex routinely run two to three weeks out. Sky, BT and Virgin all need this lead time. If you absolutely need internet from day one, schedule a mobile hotspot or 4G router as a fallback — especially if you work from home.
Council tax: ten minutes saves a fortnight of letters. Eastbourne, Wealden, Lewes and Hastings councils all run online change-of-address forms. Fill in both the closure of your old account and the start of your new one the day after completion. If the new property has been empty, you may be entitled to a short single-occupancy discount — ask at the same time.
One last local nicety: seafront and seaside-town moves attract gulls. If you’re unloading food, plants, or anything edible-looking from the lorry, do it through the back door if there is one. Two crewmembers and a steamer trunk are no match for an opportunistic herring gull.
None of these are obstacles — they’re just the small operational details that turn a stressful Eastbourne move into a smooth one. A surveyor who has worked the area for years will raise most of them on the survey visit, but it never hurts to bring them up first. The five minutes spent planning parking, hill access and meter readings before the day is the cheapest insurance you can buy against a long, frustrating move-out morning.
Call us today for a free, no-obligation quote — or use our online form. Whether it's a one-room move or a full international relocation, we've handled it before.