Moving home in Kendal: a practical packing checklist

Moving home is a lot to hold in your head at once. This checklist breaks it into manageable stages. Adapt it to your own timeline, whether you are moving across Kendal or further afield in South Lakeland.

Six to eight weeks before

• Decide what is coming with you, what you will sell or donate, and what might go into storage for a while.
• Start gathering sturdy boxes, tape and labels.
• If there is a gap between moving out and moving in, look at short-term storage options and compare sizes.
• Note key dates: completion, key handover, and any time off you need.

Four weeks before

• Begin packing rooms you use least: lofts, spare rooms, garages and seasonal items.
• Label every box with its room and a short description on more than one side.
• Photograph how electronics are connected before unplugging them.
• Update your address with banks, utilities, your GP and any subscriptions.

Two weeks before

• Pack most books, ornaments and non-essential kitchen items.
• Dismantle furniture you will not need, keeping fixings in labelled bags taped to the item.
• If you are using storage, book it in good time and confirm how access works on the day.

The week of the move

• Pack an "open first" box: kettle, mugs, chargers, medicines, toiletries, bedding and basic tools.
• Defrost and dry the freezer if it is moving.
• Keep important documents and valuables with you, not in the van or in storage.

Moving day

• Load heavier items first and keep a clear path through each property.
• Do a last walk round every room, cupboard and outbuilding.
• Take meter readings at both properties.

Where storage fits in

Storage can take the pressure off when dates do not line up, when you are renovating a new home before moving everything in, or when you are downsizing and need time to decide. Our facility at Mintsfeet Trading Estate, Kendal, has loading areas, customer parking, trolleys and wide corridors to make moving in and out easier. Facility access is 07:30–21:30.

Read our guide on preparing for self storage, or see our home storage page for more.