House shifting checklist for India: 6 weeks to moving day

Updated 5 October 2026 · 9 min read

Shifting home in India is a project with three moving parts: the people (packers and movers, your society, the new landlord), the paperwork (gas, electricity, address changes) and the things (dozens of boxes that all look the same). This checklist covers all three, week by week. Print it and tick it off.

6 weeks before: plan and book

• Fix the shifting date. Avoid month-end if you can — lifts, trucks and packers are busiest then.
• Get written quotes from at least three packers and movers after a home survey (in person or on video). Ask what is included: packing material, loading, transport, unloading, unpacking, and transit insurance.
• Check the mover is a registered business: a GST number on the quote and a fixed office address.
• If your employer reimburses the move (common for bank, PSU and government transfers), ask HR which movers and bills they accept before you book.
• Measure large furniture and the new home’s doors and lift so nothing gets stuck on the day.
• Start a folder (paper or phone) for the quote, receipts, the inventory and photos.

4 weeks before: sort, give away, use up

• Go room by room: keep, sell, donate, scrap. Everything you don’t move is money and time saved.
• Sell old furniture and electronics on OLX or Facebook Marketplace; call the kabadiwala for newspapers, cartons and scrap.
• Stop buying groceries in bulk; plan to use up rice, atta, oil and frozen food.
• Return borrowed things; collect things you lent.
• Book a carpenter/electrician for fixtures you are taking (curtain rods, lights, water purifier, inverter, AC).

3 weeks before: permissions and services

• Society NOC and lift booking at both ends: write to the society office or manager with the date, time and truck size. Many societies need a no-dues certificate before they issue a moving-out pass.
• LPG: if you are moving within the same distributor’s area, ask for an address change. Moving to another city or distributor, apply for a transfer (a Transfer Voucher) and surrender the cylinder and regulator at the old distributor.
• Electricity and water: request a final meter reading and bill for the date you leave; pay and keep the receipt.
• Broadband and DTH: request a shift-of-connection to the new address, or cancel and return the router and set-top box (get a receipt).
• Security deposit: tell your landlord the date in writing; agree on a handover inspection.
• Arrange school transfer certificates if the children are changing schools.

2 weeks before: start packing

• Pack what you won’t need first: books, showpieces, out-of-season clothes, guest bedding, the loft.
• One room at a time. Never mix rooms in one box — it makes unpacking twice as slow.
• Number every box and write the room on the top and one side (see how to label boxes for shifting).
• Keep a contents list per box. The fastest way: photograph the open box before you tape it — WhatsWhere turns the photo into that box’s contents list.
• Heavy things in small boxes, light things in big boxes. No box heavier than one person can lift.
• Wrap crockery individually; stand plates on their edge; fill gaps with clothes or paper.

1 week before: the important things

• Do not hand these to the packers: jewellery, cash, passports, property papers, cheque books, certificates, laptops, hard drives and medicines. Carry them yourself in a bag that never leaves you.
• Defrost and dry the fridge 24 hours before; drain the washing machine.
• Click photos of electronics with their cables plugged in, so you can reconnect them.
• Pack an “open first” box (see below) and a suitcase for the first two days.
• Confirm the truck, the packers’ arrival time, the lift slots and parking at both buildings.
• Update your address where it matters: Aadhaar (myAadhaar), bank and insurance, the voter ID (Form 8 for shifting), and vehicle registration on Parivahan if you are changing city.

Moving day

• Be there when the packers start. Walk them through what goes and what stays.
• Check the mover’s inventory list against your own boxes before you sign it. Count the boxes.
• Photograph valuable furniture and electronics before loading — condition photos matter if something arrives damaged.
• Note the truck number, the driver’s phone number and the mover’s lorry receipt or consignment note.
• Do a last walk-through: lofts, the top of cupboards, the balcony, the meter box, the bathroom shelves.
• Hand over keys, take photos of the empty flat for the deposit, and get the society’s gate pass.

Delivery day at the new home

• Count boxes as they come off the truck and tick them against the inventory.
• Tell the movers which room each box goes to (room names on every box make this quick).
• Open and check anything fragile or expensive before the movers leave. Photograph damage immediately and note it on the delivery receipt — see how to claim for damage.
• Check furniture assembly and that electronics power on.

The first week: what to unpack first

1. The “open first” box — kettle, tea, two plates, cups, a knife, toilet roll, soap, towels, phone chargers, a torch, basic medicines, a change of clothes, bedsheets.
2. Kitchen basics so you can eat at home.
3. Beds and bedding before the first night.
4. Bathrooms.
5. Children’s rooms — familiar things settle them quickly.
6. Everything else, one room at a time.

• Get the gas connection and the broadband activated.
• Register with the new society office; collect parking stickers and access cards.
• Check the inventory: has every numbered box been opened? Is anything missing?
• Update your address with the employer, school, courier apps and the gas distributor.

The best time of year to shift

Demand for packers and movers in India peaks around the festive season and the year-end, when people move with transfers, new jobs and school calendars. If your date is flexible, mid-month dates outside the monsoon are easier to book. Book early during Diwali and wedding season.

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