House Move Countdown Planner

Who this is for

A move, broken into jobs with dates on them. Each line takes a job, the stage of the move it belongs to, the date you have decided to do it by and who is doing it; the browser version counts the days left to each one.

Anyone moving house — buying, selling or renting — who has a list in three places and would rather have it in one, and couples or housemates splitting the jobs between them.

What this helps you track

• Every job of the move on one list rather than in several notebooks
• Which stage of the move each job belongs to
• The date you have set for it, and how many days that is from today
• Who has taken the job on, so nothing is assumed
• What is finished and what is still outstanding as the date gets closer

How to use it

1. Write where you are moving from and to, the date the move happens and who is involved.
2. Add the jobs as you think of them — the printed rows are a starting set, and the blank ones are for everything your move has that ours does not.
3. Put each job against the stage it belongs to, so the list sorts itself into an order.
4. Set your own do-by date for each job. No date on this sheet is ours; they come from your contract, your landlord and the removal firm.
5. Write who is doing it beside each line, and tick it when it is done.
6. Read the days-to-go column in the browser version, or count forward from the date on paper, and print a fresh copy when the plan changes.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why is there no timetable printed on it?

Because moves run to different clocks. A rented flat, a chain of four and a cash purchase have almost nothing in common in the order things happen, so the dates are yours and the stages are only a way of grouping them.

What do the stages mean?

They are the points of a move rather than a calendar: the date being fixed, the run-up, the week it happens, the day itself and everything that follows. Put each job wherever it belongs for your move.

Why does days to go show a minus figure?

Because the date you set has passed. Either the job is done and wants ticking, or it has slipped and wants a new date.

Does it cover the packing and the inventory?

Only as jobs on the list. What went in which box belongs on a moving inventory, and the cleaning at either end belongs on a moving-out cleaning list.

Can two people use the same sheet?

That is what the 'who' column is for. One sheet on the fridge with names against the jobs works better than two lists that disagree.