Planning to move houses soon? A well-organised moving home checklist is key to a stress-free relocation. As your trusted local Reading removal company, Wilkins Removals is here to make sure everything runs smoothly, both before and on your moving day. This guide, along with our printable moving house checklist, will walk you through all the essential steps to help you prepare for your move to Reading.
What Is a Moving Home Checklist?
A moving home checklist helps you stay organised and ensures nothing is forgotten during your residential removal. It covers everything from confirming your moving date to packing and notifying the necessary people. You can even download our printable moving house checklist in PDF format to stay on top of everything when moving into your new home.
View Moving House Checklist PDF
Things to Consider before your Reading Removal
As you work through the moving home checklist, we have got some main steps listed out to help you prepare for your residential removal:
Confirm the Moving Date
Make sure to finalise and confirm your moving date with all parties involved before booking your home removal company.
Find a Reading Removal Company
Choosing a trustworthy home removal company that can cater to your needs for moving in or out of Reading is crucial. As a local house removal company in Berkshire, Wilkins Removals offer tailored removal services, ensuring your belongings are safe and arrive at your new place smoothly. We provide free, tailored quotes for any size of house removal in Reading.
Click here to see why choosing a professional moving company is more beneficial and safer than using a ‘man and van’ for your house move.
Make arrangements and update your addresses
Before your official home removal, make sure to notify important people and institutions about your change of address – follow our moving home checklist to tick off all the people and services you need to inform. Redirect your mail and update your address with utility companies, banks, and other services.
Organise Belongings before your house removal
Declutter Your Home
Before packing for your home removal, go through your belongings and decide what to keep, donate, or discard. This will make packing much easier and reduce moving costs.
Pack your Belongings and Label Boxes
Begin by gathering packing materials and start with non-essential items, clearly labelling each box with its contents and the room it’s intended for. To stay extra organised, consider creating an inventory list of what’s inside each box, which will make unpacking much easier when you arrive at your new home in Reading.
For fragile or valuable items, ensure they are packed securely with plenty of cushioning to avoid damage during transit. You might also colour-code boxes by room or priority to simplify the unpacking process further.
Get Ready for your Moving Day
Pack an essentials bag for your first night in your new home, including items like a toothbrush, towels, toiletries, a phone charger, and some snacks. Make sure your phone is fully charged, and double-check that you have all the keys to your new house.
If friends, family, or a professional removal company are helping with your move, confirm the details with them, including your new Reading address and the schedule for the day.
Follow the Moving House Checklist
To ensure everything is covered before your home removal, follow the moving house checklist carefully. It will help you stay organised, track essential tasks, and prevent any last-minute surprises. From packing, disposing, booking to updating your address, checking off each step will keep your moving journey on track and stress-free.
Your Move to Reading: Local Area Considerations
Avoid traffic during your Reading Removal
When planning your home removal, it’s important to consider local traffic patterns. Busy areas such as the Oracle shopping centre, Reading Train Station, and Madejski Stadium can cause significant delays, especially during peak hours or events. If possible, schedule your house removal to avoid match days or weekends with high traffic.
Additionally, if you’re moving during the Reading Festival (held in August), plan ahead to avoid road closures and heavy traffic near the festival grounds. Likewise, moving during school term times or around the University of Reading’s student move-in/out periods (late September and early June) can cause delays. Wilkins Removals can help plan your house move around these events for a smoother home relocation.
For current roadworks, road improvements and streets that may impact your Reading removal, check out Reading Roads and Streets and live interactive road delay maps from One.Network.
Live map showing road works and delays in Reading. Interactive map from One.Network.
Parking when Moving into Reading
Many central and residential areas in Reading require parking permits for moving trucks. Be sure to secure temporary permits from the local Borough Council in advance before your residential removal. Wilkins Removals can assist you in obtaining the necessary permits to ensure your home removal goes without a hitch.
Check general parking places, services, terms and conditions from Reading Borough Council here.
Flood Zones in Reading
Certain parts of Reading, especially those near the River Thames and River Kennet, are prone to flooding. If your new home is located in these areas, it’s important to monitor weather forecasts and be aware of flood warnings. For those moving house into flood-prone areas, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with local flood maps and consider taking out relevant insurance to protect your belongings during your Reading removal.
Navigating Central Reading during your house move
The central part of Reading has several one-way streets, particularly around the Oracle shopping centre and other busy areas. If your home move involves navigating these roads, it’s important to be aware of the local traffic flow and plan your route carefully. Larger vehicles, such as removal trucks, may need to follow specific routes or detours. Wilkins Removals has experience navigating these routes, ensuring your Reading home removal is as efficient as possible.
For those bringing bicycles, the city also has a growing network of cycle lanes—ideal for environmentally-conscious movers. You can arrange for safe transport of your bicycles with Wilkins along with all your other belongings.
Moving to Reading: Local Services and Amenities
When moving house, it’s important to get familiar with the essential services in your new area. This includes waste and recycling schedules, which vary depending on your borough. Ensure you know the collection days for rubbish, recycling, and garden waste. For larger or unusual items, you may need to arrange a special pick-up with the council or take them to a local recycling centre.
Beyond waste management, consider other local services that may impact your Reading removal:
Utility providers: Make sure to set up or transfer your accounts for electricity, water, and gas before moving. Thames Water serves most of Reading, so it’s a good idea to contact them early.
Public transport: If you’ll be commuting or using public transport, be aware of any planned engineering works or disruptions around Reading Train Station. Local buses may also have changes that could affect your home removal.
Local amenities: Explore nearby parks, schools, and community centres to settle in quickly. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, Wilkins Removals can offer advice based on our years of experience with home removals in Berkshire. To get the best of local services in time for your Reading removal, see the full list from Reading Borough Council here.
Why Choose Wilkins Removals for Your Move to Reading?
Choosing Wilkins for your Reading home removal means that we have the local expertise, familiarity with Reading’s neighbourhoods, traffic patterns, and regulations, and we can make a significant difference in the smoothness of the move. As a local removal company, we know the best times to move to Reading and how to navigate narrow streets, which can be common in older residential areas of the city like Caversham and Tilehurst.
To further streamline your move, Wilkins Removals offers a range of tailored professional services to suit your specific needs such as inventory management, shipping, packing and domestic storage.
Packing Services for your Reading Removal
We understand the importance of secure packing, which is why Wilkins Removals offers professional packing services with your home removal in Reading, ideal for fragile or valuable items like antiques or artwork. From carefully packing your non-essential items to labelling each box for easy unpacking, we handle your belongings with care, ensuring a hassle-free move.
View our Packing Services
Storage with Removals Service
If you need extra space during your move, our domestic storage services are available for both short-term and long-term needs. Whether you’re in transition or simply not ready to move certain items, Wilkins Removals offers secure short-term and long-term temporary storage options to keep your belongings safe.
View Domestic Storage Services
Final Steps for a Smooth Reading Removal
Moving to a new home in Reading can be a seamless experience with the right preparation and assistance. Following our printable moving home checklist will help ensure that every aspect of your move is covered, allowing you to settle into your new home with ease.
Ready to get started? Contact Wilkins Today or call us for a free quote on 01491 572037 and let us help make your Reading removal move a breeze.
