10 Things to Do Before Moving House in Melbourne(And How to Make Your Move Stress-Free)

Moving house is one of the biggest life events most of us will ever experience. It ranks right up there with starting a new job, having a baby, and getting married on the list of life’s most exciting — and most stressful — milestones.

The good news? Most of the stress that comes with moving house is not inevitable. It doesn’t come from the move itself. It comes from feeling unprepared, rushed, and disorganised in the days and weeks leading up to it.

At Gem Movers, we’ve helped thousands of Melbourne families and individuals relocate across the city and interstate. And in all those moves, we’ve noticed one consistent pattern: the people who have the best moving day experiences are the ones who did their preparation properly in the weeks beforehand.

So what does proper preparation actually look like? Here are the 10 most important things to do before moving house in Melbourne — the ones that make the real difference between a chaotic moving day and a smooth, stress-free one.

1. Book Your Removalist Early — Much Earlier Than You Think

This is the single most important item on this list, so it earns the top spot.

Melbourne’s removalist market is busy year-round — and at peak periods like January, Easter, end of financial year, and school holiday transitions, quality removalists book out weeks, sometimes months, in advance. If you wait until two weeks before your move date to start calling around, you’ll either end up with a company that isn’t right for the job, or you’ll be paying premium rates for last-minute availability.

When to book:

• For local Melbourne moves — at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance
• For interstate moves (Sydney to Melbourne, Brisbane to Melbourne) — 8 to 12 weeks in advance
• For moves during peak periods (January, Easter, June) — add an extra 4 weeks to those timeframes

When evaluating removalists, always get at least three written quotes, check their Google reviews carefully, confirm they carry public liability and transit insurance, and make sure the quote is itemised so there are no surprise charges on moving day.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: The earlier you book, the more flexibility you have on date and time. Late bookings limit your options and almost always cost more. Lock in your Gem Movers booking as soon as your moving date is confirmed.

2. Declutter Ruthlessly Before You Pack a Single Box

Moving house is the most powerful decluttering opportunity of your life — and most people waste it entirely by packing everything they own and dealing with it later.

Here is a simple truth about moving: every item you don’t own is an item you don’t have to pack, transport, unpack, and find space for in your new home. Less stuff means fewer boxes, which means lower removalist costs, faster loading and unloading, and a new home that feels organised from day one rather than overcrowded from the start.

How to declutter before a move:

Work room by room, and for every item ask three questions:

• Have I used this in the last 12 months?
• Does it earn its space in my new home?
• Would I bother buying this again if I didn’t already own it?

If the answer to all three is no — it goes.

Where to send your decluttered items in Melbourne:

• Donate: Vinnies, Salvos, Brotherhood of St Laurence, and Op Shop drop-offs are available across all Melbourne suburbs
• Sell: Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and eBay are excellent for furniture, appliances, and quality clothing
• Recycle: Hard rubbish collection is available through most Melbourne councils — check your council’s schedule
• Bin: Broken, worn-out, or genuinely unusable items — let them go without guilt

Start decluttering at least 6 to 8 weeks before your move. Give yourself time to sell items properly rather than giving everything away in a panic the week before moving day.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: A good declutter can reduce the size — and therefore the cost — of your move significantly. We’ve seen clients reduce their load by 20 to 30 percent through a thorough pre-move declutter. That’s a real saving on your removalist quote.

3. Start Packing Non-Essential Rooms Early

The biggest packing mistake Melbourne movers make — after labelling boxes wrong — is leaving all the packing until the week before the move. Then they’re scrambling, stressed, and making poor decisions about what goes where.

The smarter approach is to start packing non-essential items as early as 6 weeks before moving day, and work progressively toward packing essential rooms in the final days.

What to pack first (6 to 8 weeks out):

• Books, magazines, and decorative items
• Seasonal clothing and spare linen
• Garage and storage room contents
• Spare room and guest bedroom items
• Artwork, photos, and wall decorations

What to pack mid-way (2 to 4 weeks out):

• Kitchen items you rarely use (specialty appliances, extra crockery, baking equipment)
• Hobby and craft supplies
• Children’s toys they can do without temporarily
• Most of the home office, except daily essentials

What to pack last (final few days):

• Daily clothing and toiletries
• Everyday kitchen items and appliances
• Bedding and bedroom essentials
• Children’s comfort items and daily toys
• Electronics in daily use

Label every box clearly as you go — room, contents, priority level, and fragile warnings where needed. For a full guide to professional box labelling, read our post on The Right Way to Label Moving Boxes.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: Pack one room at a time and finish it completely before moving to the next. Partially packed rooms create chaos and make it easy to lose track of what’s been done.

4. Notify Everyone Who Needs to Know Your New Address

Address changes are one of the most tedious parts of moving house — and one of the most important. Missing a single key notification can mean lost mail, interrupted services, or a fine from a government agency that had no way of contacting you.

Who to notify before you move:

Government and financial:

• Australia Post — set up mail redirection (redirectionfees apply; do this at least 2 weeks before moving)
• Australian Tax Office — update via myGov
• Medicare — update via myGov
• Centrelink — if applicable, update via myGov
• Electoral roll — update at aec.gov.au
• Your bank and any other financial institutions
• Superannuation fund
• Private health insurance provider
• Your employer’s payroll department

Services and utilities:

• Electricity provider — arrange disconnection at old address and connection at new address
• Gas provider — same as above
• Water — notify your water authority (Melbourne Water / local council)
• Internet and phone provider — arrange transfer or new connection
• Pay TV or streaming service accounts with a billing address
• Any subscription boxes or regular deliveries

Personal and professional:

• Your GP, dentist, and any specialists
• Children’s school or childcare centre
• Your children’s extracurricular activities and clubs
• Friends and family — a group message works perfectly

Online accounts:

• Amazon, eBay, and any online shopping accounts
• Loyalty programs (Flybuys, Woolworths Rewards, frequent flyer accounts)
• Insurance providers — home, contents, car, life

💡 Gem Movers Tip: Create a simple checklist in your phone’s notes app and tick off each notification as you complete it. Australia Post mail redirection is a great safety net, but it is not a substitute for updating your address directly — it only lasts 3 to 12 months and doesn’t catch everything.

5. Arrange Utilities at Your New Home Before You Arrive

There is nothing worse than arriving at your new Melbourne home on a hot January afternoon to discover the electricity hasn’t been connected, there’s no internet, and the gas won’t be on until next week.

Arranging utilities in advance is simple — but it needs to be done early enough that everything is active on the day you arrive.

What to arrange and when:

Electricity: Contact your chosen provider at least 2 to 3 weeks before your move date. If you’re staying with the same provider, a transfer is straightforward. If you’re switching, compare rates first — moving house is a great opportunity to find a better electricity deal in Melbourne.

Gas: Same process as electricity. If your new home has gas appliances, ensure connection is booked before moving day. A cold shower on your first night in a new home is a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons.

Internet: This is the one that catches people most off guard. NBN connections can take anywhere from 5 to 15 business days to activate at a new address. Contact your provider — or a new provider — at least 3 to 4 weeks before your move. If you work from home, this is not optional lead time. It is critical.

Water: In Melbourne, water is generally connected automatically when you take possession of a property. However, you’ll need to notify your local council and water authority of the change of occupancy for billing purposes.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: Moving house is also an excellent time to review all your service providers and compare. Electricity, gas, internet, and insurance — use the change of address as a trigger to make sure you’re on the best deal available.

6. Measure Your New Home Before Moving Day

This one sounds obvious. And yet every single week, Melbourne removalists arrive at new properties to discover that a beloved sofa won’t fit through the front door, a king-size bed frame can’t make it up a narrow Victorian staircase, or a large fridge won’t fit in the kitchen alcove.

The solution is simple and takes less than an hour: visit your new home with a tape measure before moving day.

What to measure:

• Every doorway your large furniture needs to pass through
• Hallway width and any tight corners
• Staircase width and ceiling height on stairs
• Lift dimensions if moving into an apartment (crucial for large items)
• The space where large appliances will be placed — fridge recess, laundry alcove, dishwasher cavity
• The rooms where large furniture will live — will your current sofa fit the new living room configuration?

If a piece of furniture won’t fit, you have time to find a solution — disassemble it, sell it, arrange specialist movers, or change your floor plan. If you discover the problem on moving day, your options are dramatically more limited and more expensive.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: When you share your new address with us, tell us about any access challenges — narrow staircases, tight hallways, apartments with small lifts. We assess these in advance and bring the right equipment and team size for the job. No surprises on moving day.

7. Sort Out Parking and Access for the Removalist Truck

One of Melbourne’s most common moving day headaches — and one of the most avoidable — is not having adequate parking for the removalist truck at either property.

In inner Melbourne suburbs like Fitzroy, Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton, Brunswick, and St Kilda, street parking for a large truck can be genuinely difficult. If the truck has to park 200 metres from your front door, every single item has to be carried that extra distance — adding significant time and cost to your move.

What to organise in advance:

For street properties:

• Check local council parking restrictions for your street
• Apply for a temporary parking permit for the removalist truck if needed — most Melbourne councils offer this. Contact your local council at least 1 to 2 weeks before your move
• Arrange for neighbours to move their cars from in front of your property on moving day — a friendly knock on the door or a note in the letterbox a few days before usually does the trick

For apartments:

• Contact your building manager to book the service lift or goods lift for your moving date
• Confirm loading dock access and any building rules about moving hours (many Melbourne apartment buildings restrict moving to business hours only, or require bookings)
• Get the access codes or fob for the service entrance
• Confirm whether there are any restrictions on the size of truck allowed at the building

For both:

• Share the parking and access details with your removalist well before moving day so they can plan accordingly

💡 Gem Movers Tip: Parking problems on moving day are one of the most common causes of delays and added costs. As experienced Melbourne removalists, we’re familiar with many of the city’s trickier addresses — but always tell us about access challenges upfront so we can prepare.

8. Clean and Prepare Both Properties

Moving house is the ideal time to clean thoroughly — both properties need attention before and after the move.

Your current home (before you leave):

If you’re a renter, the condition you leave your home in directly affects your bond refund. In Victoria, tenants are required to return the property in the same condition it was in at the start of the tenancy, fair wear and tear excepted.

A professional end-of-lease clean is strongly recommended and widely available across Melbourne — typically costing between $250 and $600 depending on property size. Many cleaning companies also offer carpet steam cleaning, which is often required under Victorian tenancy agreements.

If you own the property and are selling, a thorough clean before handover is expected and appreciated by the new owners.

Your new home (before your belongings arrive):

If at all possible, clean your new home before the removalist arrives with your furniture and boxes. It is far easier to mop floors, wipe down cupboards, and clean bathrooms in an empty property than to work around boxes and furniture.

If you can access the new property a day or two before moving day, use that time for a thorough clean. If not, arrange a professional cleaner to go through ahead of you.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: Ask us about timing your move to allow a cleaning window. For many Melbourne moves, we can coordinate loading and transit to give you a few hours at the new property before the truck arrives.

9. Prepare an Essentials Box (And Keep It With You)

We’ve covered this in our box labelling guide, but it bears repeating here because it is genuinely one of the most impactful things you can do for your moving day comfort.

Pack one clearly labelled Open First box or bag with everything you will need in the first 24 hours at your new home. Keep it in your car — not on the removalist truck — so it’s always accessible regardless of when the truck arrives.

Your essentials box should include:

• Kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, and sugar
• Phone chargers for every device in the family
• Toilet paper — at least one roll per bathroom
• Hand soap, a small towel, and basic toiletries
• Medications for the next 48 hours
• A change of clothes for every family member
• Sheets and pillowcases for every bed
• Children’s favourite comfort items or toys
• Important documents — tenancy agreement, settlement papers, ID
• Snacks and easy food for moving day
• A box cutter for opening other boxes
• Basic cleaning spray and cloth
• Cash for tipping your removalist team or grabbing takeaway

Label this box on every side in a way that makes it impossible to miss — bright tape, large lettering, or a different colour marker entirely.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: The Open First box is the single most practical thing you can do on moving day. The families who have one arrive at their new home and feel immediately settled. The ones who don’t spend an hour frantically searching through boxes for toilet paper and phone chargers.

10. Do a Final Walkthrough of Your Old Home

This is the step most people skip in the chaos and emotion of moving day — and it’s the one they most often regret.

Before you hand over the keys to your old Melbourne home for the last time, do a slow and thorough walkthrough of every single space in the property.

Your final walkthrough checklist:

Every room:

• Open every wardrobe, cupboard, and drawer — things get left behind in drawers more than anywhere else

• Check behind doors and in corners

• Look up — items on top of wardrobes and high shelves are easily missed

• Check window sills and under beds

Kitchen:

• Check every cupboard including high ones

• Check the fridge and freezer — defrost if needed

• Check under the sink

• Remove any items left on benches

Bathrooms:

• Check medicine cabinets, vanity drawers, and shower shelves

• Don’t leave cleaning products behind unless intentionally

Outdoors:

• Check the garden shed, letterbox, and any external storage

• Collect garden tools, pot plants, and outdoor furniture

• Return any items belonging to neighbours

Practical final checks:

• Turn off all lights, fans, and air conditioning

• Check all windows are closed and locked

• Turn off taps and check nothing is dripping

• Take meter readings for electricity and gas — photograph them with your phone

• Collect all sets of keys, garage remotes, and any access cards

Hand over the keys only once you are completely satisfied the property has been left in good order and nothing has been left behind.

💡 Gem Movers Tip: We always encourage our clients to do their final walkthrough while our team is still on-site — so if something is discovered at the last moment, we can help retrieve it or add it to the truck before we leave.

Your Pre-Move Timeline at a Glance

Final Thoughts: Preparation Is the Secret to a Stress-Free Move

The best moving days are not the result of luck. They are the result of good preparation — started early, executed consistently, and supported by a professional removalist team who knows exactly what they’re doing.

Every item on this list is something you can start on today, regardless of how far away your moving date is. The earlier you begin, the calmer moving day will feel — for you, your family, and everyone involved.

At Gem Movers, we are proud to be Melbourne’s trusted removalist — helping thousands of families and businesses relocate safely, quickly, and stress-free across all Melbourne suburbs and interstate. Our experienced team is here to carry the weight — literally and figuratively — so you can focus on the excitement of your new beginning.

👉 Get your free moving quote today and take the first step toward your best move ever.

Gem Movers is Melbourne’s trusted removalist service, helping families and businesses relocate safely, quickly, and stress-free across all Melbourne suburbs and interstate. Contact us to find out how we can help with your next move.