Settlement, school and weekdays: choosing the best day to move house

R1Start with the dates you cannot move

• Settlement. If you are buying, you cannot move in until the keys are yours. Ask your conveyancer when keys are usually released on the settlement day, rather than assuming the morning.
• Selling and buying on one day. Moving out and in on the same settlement day is common, and it works, but it leaves no slack if one settlement runs late.
• The end of a lease. Check when you must hand back the keys and when the final inspection is, and leave time for cleaning after the truck has gone.
• The new lease. Ask when you can collect the keys and whether the property will be ready.

Once those dates are known, book the move. The house removalists in Adelaide page explains how a move is planned around settlement and the keys.

R2Early in the week or late

A move early in the week leaves the rest of it for the jobs that follow: connecting the internet, waiting in for deliveries, calling Service SA, unpacking the kitchen. Businesses and government offices are open, so a problem with a connection or a key can be sorted the same week. A move at the end of the week gives you the weekend to unpack, but anything that goes wrong waits until Monday.

Weekends suit people who cannot take time off work, and children who are not at school. If you are moving on a weekend, ask the removalist which days they move and book early.

R3School terms and school holidays

For families, the school calendar matters as much as the week. A move in the school holidays means no school run on moving day and time for the children to settle before term starts. A move during term means the children are out of the house on the day, which can make it easier to pack and load. Either works; decide which matters more for your family. Our page on residential removalists in Adelaide covers moving with children and pets.

R4Times and places worth avoiding

• Busy streets at busy times. Near Jetty Road, Henley Square or a shopping strip, a weekday or an early start usually means easier parking for the truck.
• The city during restricted hours. Vehicles are not allowed into Rundle Mall from 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 9.15 pm on Friday and 9 am to 5 pm on weekends, according to the City of Adelaide.
• A day that clashes with the building. Apartment buildings often set move times and lift bookings. See apartment removalists in Adelaide.
• A very hot day, if you have the choice. Long carries in the heat are hard on everyone, and plants and food suffer in the car. Keep water handy whatever the forecast.

R5Morning or afternoon

The time of day matters as much as the day. A morning start gives the crew cooler hours for the heaviest carrying and leaves the afternoon for unpacking the beds and the kitchen. It also leaves room in the day if something runs late. An afternoon start can suit a settlement where the keys are released later in the day, but it pushes the unload towards evening, and towards a first night spent among unopened boxes. If the keys are the limit, the old house can sometimes be loaded in the morning and the truck unloaded once the keys arrive: talk the timing through when you book, so the plan fits the day you actually have.

R6The day after matters too

Whatever day you pick, keep the next one as free as you can. The first day in a new house is spent finding things, connecting things and returning to the old house for whatever was missed. Take it off work if you can, and plan nothing else for it at all. The first-night box makes the evening of moving day work; our article on the first-night box lists what goes in it.

R7Booking the day

Once the date is set, book as early as you can, and give your removalist the full picture: both addresses, the inventory, the access at both homes and the times that cannot change. Then work back from moving day with our moving house checklist, which starts eight weeks out.