Downsizing removalists in Adelaide, from the family home to a smaller one

House Removalists Adelaide is a service of Moveall Australia Pty Ltd, a South Australian owned and operated removalist. Downsizing moves booked through this site are carried out by Moveall.

R1A downsizing move starts with a floor plan

The most useful thing in a downsizing move is a floor plan of the new home with the room sizes on it. A unit or village developer usually has one; if not, a tape measure and a sheet of paper will do. With the plan in hand, every piece of furniture can be judged against the room it is meant for, before anyone has carried it anywhere.

Measure the furniture you would most like to keep: the bed, the lounge, the dining table, a favourite chair, the cabinet that holds the good china. Mark them on the plan. Leave room to walk round the bed and to open the wardrobe, and check the width of the doorways and the turn in any hallway or stairwell. A lounge that fits the room but not the door is a lounge that stays behind.

R2Deciding what goes

The deciding takes longer than the moving, so start it weeks ahead. Work one room at a time and put everything into one of five groups.

Group	What it means	When to settle it
Coming with me	Fits the floor plan and is used or loved	First, so the inventory and quote can be built
To the family	Pieces children or grandchildren want	Early, so they can collect before moving day
To sell	Good furniture that will not fit	Early: selling takes time
To donate	Useful things nobody in the family needs	In the weeks before the move
To dispose of	Broken, worn out or unsafe	Before packing starts, garage and shed included

Only the first group goes on the inventory, which matters because the quote is built on it. Moveall’s terms explain that a fixed-price quote relies on the inventory list from the quote, and items added on the day are charged by the hour. If the family is collecting some pieces on moving day, tell us, so they are not loaded by mistake.

R3Moving into a unit, townhouse or retirement village

Smaller homes often come with rules a family home never had. Before moving day, ask the village manager, the strata manager or the building manager a few questions and send us the answers.

• When are moves allowed? Some villages and buildings set move-in days or hours so other residents are not disturbed.
• Where can the truck stop? Internal roads, visitor parks and turning space can be tight. Tell us how far it is from where a truck can stand to the front door.
• Is there a lift? If so, does it need booking or padding for a move?
• When are the keys released? Plan the move for after the keys are in hand, not on the hope that they will be.
• Is anything already in the new home? Built-in furniture, whitegoods or window furnishings that change what needs to come.

Moving into an apartment with a lift and a loading dock has its own plan, set out on apartment removalists in Adelaide.

R4Packing for a smaller home

Packing a family home that has been lived in for years is hard physical work, and it is the part of a downsizing move most worth handing over. Moveall’s Wrap & Pack service packs all approved household items and supplies the boxes and packing materials, including purpose-made boxes and wrapping for fragile items, TVs and artwork. Moveall says you can head out for the day and come back to a house that is ready for the truck.

For a downsizing move, the labels matter more than usual. Label each box for the room it is going to in the new home, not the room it came from: three bedrooms of linen may all be going to one cupboard. Pack only the ‘coming with me’ group, and keep the rest clearly apart so it is not packed by mistake. More on how a house is packed is on packing and moving services in Adelaide.

R5Moving day for an older parent

Moving day is long and noisy, and it is no place for someone who tires easily. Many families take their parent to the new home first, or to a relative’s house, and bring them in once the main rooms are set up. Moveall’s terms ask for a clear, safe path between the truck and the home, so keeping the busy part of the day clear of people is safer for everyone.

• Set up the bedroom first. The bed made, the bedside lamp working and the clock where it always sits.
• Then the kitchen. The kettle, a cup and the everyday plates where they can be found.
• Familiar things early. A favourite chair, photographs and the radio make a new room feel lived in.
• Medicines in the car. Never on the truck, and in the bag of whoever is with the parent.

R6Organising a parent’s move from a distance

Often the person organising a downsizing move is a son or daughter in another suburb or another state. That works: our customer care team can talk the move through by phone or email with you, the quote is built on the inventory you give us, and the booking can be made online in under two minutes. Moveall accepts the major credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Afterpay. Tell us who will be at each home on the day, and who makes the decisions if something changes.

R7Heavy furniture, pianos and the good cabinet

Downsizers often keep the pieces with the most meaning, and those are often the heaviest: a piano, a solid timber sideboard, a display cabinet. Moveall’s Supercharge option adds extra team members and specialty equipment for heavy and bulky items such as a piano, as part of the move. Tell us about them when you ask for a quote, and measure them against the new home before you decide.

R8Leaving the family home

A downsizing move often closes a long chapter, and the last day in the family home can be harder than expected. It helps to plan for it: let the family say goodbye to the house before moving day rather than during it, take photographs of the rooms and the garden, and leave the final walk-through for a quiet moment after the truck has gone. If the house is being sold, check with the agent what is staying with the house, such as curtains, light fittings or a garden shed, before the inventory is finished, so nothing that has been sold ends up on the truck.

R9Care and insurance

Furniture is wrapped in moving blankets and handled under Moveall’s strict handling and packaging procedures. Moveall holds $20 million public liability cover; ask us about transit insurance for your belongings when you book.

Downsizing is one kind of family move. Families moving with children and pets are covered on residential removalists in Adelaide, and the complete move from the quote to the first night on house removalists in Adelaide. Moveall works across the 28 suburbs on its list, shown by region on suburbs we move.

R10Questions people ask