What Should You Keep With You on Moving Day? Your First-Night Essentials Checklist

Moving day is much easier when the things you need most aren’t buried at the bottom of a box. Keep important documents, keys, medication, valuables and your phone with you, then pack a separate essentials bag or box for everything you’ll need during the move and your first night.

Think about the whole period from leaving your old home to waking up in the new one. You may need toiletries, clothes, chargers and food, plus separate essentials for children or pets. It’s also worth being prepared in case collecting the keys or gaining access takes longer than expected.

Pack a Separate Moving Day Essentials Bag

Keep your moving day essentials separate from the boxes containing your everyday household belongings. Prepare a bag, case, or clearly marked box before loading begins, and include anything you’ll need between leaving your old home and settling in the following morning.

Keep particularly important personal items with you rather than packing them among everything else. The aim isn’t to carry half the house around, but to avoid searching through multiple boxes for a toothbrush, phone charger or clean clothes at the end of a long day.

If you’re doing some or all of the packing yourself, having the right boxes and packing supplies ready in advance can also make those final preparations easier.

What should you keep with you on moving day? Keep documents, keys, medication, valuables, your phone and other important personal items with you. Pack clothes, toiletries, food, chargers, and household basics separately for the move and your first night.

Keep Documents, Keys and Valuables Close

Some belongings are difficult to replace quickly, while others may be needed before you’ve had a chance to unpack. Keep these somewhere secure and accessible rather than putting them into an ordinary moving box.

Your personal moving-day bag might include:

• House keys, spare keys and access fobs
• Any access information needed for the new property
• Wallet, purse and payment cards
• Identification and documents you’ve been told you’ll need
• Relevant moving or property paperwork
• Jewellery and small sentimental valuables
• Important personal electronic devices
• Essential contact information

What you need depends on your move. Check beforehand whether you need certain documents on the day, rather than assuming you can find them once everything is packed.

Pack Medication, Toiletries and Overnight Clothes

Treat your first-night bag a little like an overnight bag. If you can wash, change and get ready the following morning without opening your main boxes, you’ve probably covered the essentials.

Remember to pack:

• Regular medication
• Glasses, contact lenses and related supplies
• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Soap and essential toiletries
• Toilet roll
• Towels
• Nightwear
• A change of clothes
• Clothes for the following morning
• A small first-aid kit, if needed

Keep medication you may need during the day personally accessible rather than simply putting it in a box marked "first night". Follow any specific storage instructions for your medicines; NHS guidance on managing medicines also advises keeping medicines in their original packaging and storing them appropriately.

Keep Phones, Chargers and Contacts Accessible

Charge your phone before moving day and keep your charger somewhere easy to reach. A charged power bank can also be handy, particularly if you spend longer than expected away from a plug socket.

Make sure you can quickly contact the people involved in your move. Depending on your circumstances, this could include your removal company, estate agent, solicitor or conveyancer, landlord or another relevant contact.

It’s also worth keeping important information somewhere other than a laptop that’s already packed away. Plans can change during the day, and having a working phone and the right contact details close by makes it much easier to respond.

Prepare Moving Day Essentials for Children and Pets

Children and pets have their own routines, so give them a separate set of moving-day essentials rather than relying on boxes you’ll unpack later.

For children, consider packing:

• Drinks and easy snacks
• Nappies and changing supplies, where needed
• A change of clothes
• A favourite toy or comfort item
• Simple entertainment for travelling or waiting
• Medication and personal care items
• Anything they’ll need at bedtime

For pets, consider packing:

• Food and water
• Food and water bowls
• Lead, carrier or usual travel equipment
• Waste bags or litter supplies, as appropriate
• Medication
• A familiar blanket, bed or toy

Keep enough with you to cover the journey and some unexpected waiting time, as well as the first few hours in your new home. That way, you won’t need to hunt through boxes just as a tired child needs their comfort toy or your pet needs feeding.

Bring Food, Cleaning Supplies and Simple Tools

You probably won’t want to unpack the kitchen cupboards the moment you arrive. A small collection of food and practical household basics can bridge the gap until you’re ready to start settling in properly.

Useful items include:

• Water and easy snacks
• Simple food for your first evening
• Kettle, tea or coffee, if wanted
• Mugs and minimal cutlery or crockery
• Kitchen roll
• Hand soap
• Washing-up liquid and a cloth
• Bin bags
• A small amount of suitable cleaning supplies
• Scissors or a safe tool for opening boxes
• A basic toolkit
• A torch, if useful

Keep this collection simple. It’s there to get you comfortably through the first evening, not to recreate your entire kitchen and cleaning cupboard in one box.

Plan for Completion or Key Collection Delays

What should you keep with you if your new keys are delayed? Start with anything you couldn’t comfortably be without for a few extra hours: medication, drinks and snacks, phone chargers, suitable clothing and the essentials needed by children or pets.

Keep relevant paperwork and important contact details close too. Most importantly, don’t assume you’ll immediately be able to retrieve something packed among the rest of your belongings.

A short wait for keys is different from having moving and completion dates that don’t match at all. If you’re dealing with a wider gap between leaving one property and entering the next, our guide explains what to do when completion dates don’t line up in more detail.

Check Your First-Night Essentials Room by Room

Before closing your essentials box, picture your first evening in the new home and run through the rooms you’ll need straight away.

Bedroom

• Bedding and pillows
• Nightwear
• Clothes for the following day

Bathroom

• Towels
• Toilet roll
• Toiletries
• Medication

Kitchen

• Water and drinks
• Easy food and snacks
• Kettle and mugs, if wanted
• Basic washing-up items

Around the home

• Phone chargers
• Bin bags
• Basic cleaning supplies
• Simple tools
• Torch

You don’t need everything unpacked on the first night. Concentrate on what will help everyone eat, wash, sleep and get through the following morning comfortably.

Printable Moving Day Essentials Checklist

Use this final checklist during the last 24 hours before your move. Keep it with your essentials bag and tick things off before the main loading begins.

• ☐ Keys and access information
• ☐ Important documents and identification
• ☐ Wallet, cards and payment essentials
• ☐ Medication and personal essentials
• ☐ Phones, chargers and power bank
• ☐ Toiletries, towels and toilet roll
• ☐ Overnight and next-day clothes
• ☐ Children’s moving-day essentials
• ☐ Pet food, equipment and essentials
• ☐ Food, drinks and snacks
• ☐ Bedding and first-night necessities
• ☐ Basic cleaning supplies and simple tools

FAQs

What Should I Keep With Me on Moving Day?

Keep your keys, important documents, medication, valuables, wallet or purse and phone personally accessible. Also pack a separate bag or box with everything you’ll need during the journey and before you’re ready to start unpacking properly.

What Should Go in a First-Night Moving Box?

Pack toiletries, towels, overnight clothes, bedding, phone chargers, food and drinks, basic cleaning supplies and a few simple tools. Families should also include anything children or pets will need that evening and the following morning.

Should Valuables Go on the Removal Vehicle?

Small valuables, sentimental belongings and other important personal items are sensible things to keep securely with you. If you’re unsure about a particular item, check with your removal company before moving day to find out whether any transport restrictions apply.

What If I Can’t Collect My New Keys on Time?

Keep your moving-day essentials accessible while you wait, particularly medication, food, drinks, chargers and anything required by children or pets. Contact the relevant parties for an update. If there’s a larger gap between moving and completion dates, you may need to make additional arrangements.

Prepare for Moving Day With Burke & Wills

Keeping important belongings close and packing a separate first-night box can make the transition between homes much easier. Your exact essentials will depend on your household, but thinking ahead about the journey, possible waiting time and your first night means you can concentrate on settling in rather than opening box after box.

Burke & Wills has provided London home removals for over three decades, with services from packing and loading through to unpacking. If you’re planning a move, contact Burke & Wills for a quote and discuss the support you need.