From Auckland to Dunedin, Queenstown to Auckland, Rotorua to Wellington, or any of New Zealand’s stunning cities, inter-island moves offer adventure, opportunity, and excitement for Kiwis from all over. With any move, planning is the key to success, and your journey across the Te Moana-o-Raukawa (aka the Cook Strait!) is no different. With a reliable moving inter-island checklist in your back pocket, you can break the move down from a mammoth task into manageable chunks. Here’s our guide to ticking the boxes on your inter-island moving to-do list.
Planning Ahead- 6-8 Weeks
Two months might seem like a long time, but you’d be surprised by just how quickly the move will sneak up on you. Starting your plan now helps to ensure that everything is taken care of by the time the big day comes around.
Finalise dates
The first thing to finalise in your moving plan is the moving date. Doing this now will give you plenty of time to make housing arrangements, both for your current property and your new one. If you’ll be changing jobs, this also means that there is ample time to inform your employer, and start reaching out to potential new ones. You may need to play around with dates to get your move out and move in dates aligned, and now is the time to get that sorted.
Reach out to movers
Whether you’re moving from North Island to South Island New Zealand or the other way around, inter-island moves in Aotearoa require some advance planning. The help of an inter-island moving company can make or break the experience. At Allied Moving Services, we recommend reaching out to movers around this point, so you can start gathering quotes and getting a moving budget together.
Budget
Once you have some quotes in mind, you can choose which movers’ services are best suited to your needs. By now, you should also have an idea of what larger items, like furniture and appliances, you’ll want to take with you, and you can start to create a realistic moving budget.
4 Weeks To Go
Crunch time is coming, and with a month to go, now’s the time to get more hands-on.
Clearout
Moving creates a great, and probably necessary, opportunity to do a full-house clearout. From clothes and books to toys, appliances, and furniture that’s been sitting unused in your garage for years, it’s time to ditch what you don’t need. Try to employ a four-option system, where items are categorised as ‘keep, ‘sell’, ‘donate’, and ‘throw out’. Be mindful of where you’re headed though! If your relocation is taking you south to Christchurch, Queenstown, or anywhere else chilly, those winter woollies in the back of your wardrobe might be handy to hold on to.
Measure things up
With your movers likely booked in by now, you want to make sure that anything you’re taking with you will definitely fit in your new place. Take measurements of furniture and appliances and compare the dimensions to their potential spot in your new home. By measuring things now, you have time to make a plan B for anything that won’t work out. Remember, selling and repurchasing later is always an option for larger items that might now be worth the cost of moving!
Take care of admin
Paperwork and admin is a big part of any move, whether it’s in New Zealand or anywhere else in the world. With a month left before you move to your new home, you should take care of all those pesky administrative details. This can include changing addresses for banking, tax, and other official services, as well as amending the details for any subscriptions or memberships.
If you’re moving with family, then you may also want to take this opportunity to reach out to schools, doctors, and any other such services. These will probably be convenient to have lined up following your arrival.
2 Weeks ‘Til the Move
The countdown is on, so there’s not much time to spare in preparing for your inter-island move.
Supply shop
If you haven’t already been, then a trip to the shops is in order. You can gather all of the packing supplies that you’ll need for your move, from boxes and labels to markers, tape, and packing protection for fragile items. Depending on your moving company, these may be provided, so check with your moving consultant to find out what you’ll need to purchase.
Make an inventory
As you pack up your belongings, make a list of what’s coming with you on your inter-island journey, as well as which box items are packed into. This list will come in handy when it comes to unpacking, as you can easily see where everything should be, and identify if anything hasn’t survived the journey. For fragile items, we also recommend taking photos of their condition before being moved, just in case of bumps on the road or rough seas en-route.
Final Preparations
The final few days and week leading up to your move should be pretty smooth sailing if you stick to your plan. Here are the last few things to take care of before hitting the road!
Kitchen maintenance
You’ve probably been working through your fridge and freezer stashes, so hopefully there won’t be too much left in there by now. What is still there can be moved into an esky while you defrost your fridge and freezer ahead of the move.
Utilities
Give your utilities suppliers a call to make sure that everything is cancelled in your current place so that you don’t get any surprise bills after your relocation. You can also set them up in your new place too, to make sure that you’re on track to move in in comfort.
Back yourself up
Finally, get your essentials packed up and ready for the move. This should include any necessary documents and paperwork, as well as medications, spare changes of clothes, and snacks. You may also want to keep a digital copy of the important documents for added security.