The moving checklist, in calendar order: three weeks before, one week before, the day itself and the day after. With the costs compared and the mistakes that cost the most.
A moving checklist is written by counting backwards from the day you hand over the keys. Three weeks before you decide and book, one week before you pack, on the day you move, the day after you settle in. Below is the list to tick off, and further down the reason for each line.
Three weeks before, check your contract for the notice period and fix the day you hand back the keys.
Inventory the room: what travels with you, what goes into storage, what you'll never see again.
Book the vehicle or the pickup service. It's at the top because it's the only line that depends on someone else's calendar.
Two weeks before, get real boxes, bubble wrap and wide tape. Don't economize on the tape; I'll explain why further down.
In the last week, pack what you don't use (books, off-season clothes, ornaments) and write on every box what's inside and which room it goes to.
Check the elevator, the courtyard, the door hours. In Milan, stopping a vehicle outside for occupations of up to 14 days requires a public-space occupation permit and the Canone Unico charge.
Two days before, empty the fridge and cabinets, close the utilities if that's on you, and pack the first-24-hours box: sheets, a towel, a charger, two plates.
On moving day, documents, keys, phone and wallet stay in your pocket. Before handing back the keys, one photo of every room.
The day after, only the first-24-hours box gets opened. The rest wait, and would wait anyway.
Three weeks before you hand back the keys. That's the minimum to gather boxes, pack without rushing and find a free pickup date, instead of taking the only one left, which is always Sunday at seven in the morning.
For students, moving season falls between the end of the June exams and the start of July. If your date sits in there, so do plenty of other people's, and what runs out first is the services' free dates.
The first step is on the contract: how many days of notice the termination needs. Every other date depends on that number, so read it, don't remember it. The decisions to make before the list, and the deadlines for utilities and residency, are in the guide on how to organize a move.
Sturdy medium boxes, about 40x30x30 cm. An oversized one, once full, can't be lifted, and you learn that exactly once: the second time your back reminds you. Big boxes are for blankets, pillows and clothes; books and heavy things go in the small ones.
Then the tape. Get the wide kind, at least 5 cm, and reinforce the bottom with two crossed passes. Narrow tape is packaging's greatest legal scam: it costs little, it looks like tape, and it gives way when the box is halfway down the stairs. I bought it once. I still remember the pasta rolling down the steps very clearly.
For fragile things, clothes and towels work instead of bubble wrap: they protect and they're traveling anyway. If you don't have time to pack, we can do the packing for you, and you pay for the time. Materials and mistakes to avoid are in our guide on how to pack your boxes.
In many rented apartments the furniture belongs to the landlord, and it's the one part of a move where doing nothing is the right call. If some furniture is yours (the IKEA nightstand, a lamp), decide beforehand whether to take it or resell it. We do dismantling and reassembly on a quote. If you're moving a whole apartment, we do the move too, also on a quote: you deal with one contact from start to finish.
For small corded appliances the best option is the original box, if you've kept it on top of the wardrobe for two years. If not, wrap them in towels inside a box, away from heavy things. Battery-powered devices can go into storage too, as long as they're switched off and in good condition: only a damaged or swollen battery stays out.
And here the tape comes back. An appliance carefully wrapped in a box sealed with narrow tape is an appliance carefully wrapped inside a problem.
Moving dates don't line up?
If the old lease ends before the new one starts, your things can wait in storage. We pick up from your home, from 1 m².
Would you rather talk to a person?+39 02 999 444 21WhatsApp
Moving storageThe three routes cost in different ways, and comparing them only on the price of the vehicle gets the sum wrong. A rental is paid by the day, fuel is extra, and your own hours go into it: loading, driving, parking, unloading, returning the vehicle. Self storage charges for the unit's size, even if you only fill half of it. Doorstep pickup takes the transport off your hands, and the transport has its own price, written in the quote.
| Rented van | Self storage | Doorstep pickup, storage by the m² | |
|---|---|---|---|
What you pay | Daily rental, fuel, possibly insurance | The unit's rate, in fixed sizes | A fixed monthly rate for the size in m², plus a one-off pickup and transport charge; redelivery is paid when you book it |
How long it takes | Half a day or a full day, twice | An afternoon there and an afternoon back | The time it takes to pack, plus opening the door |
Do you need a license? | Yes, and often a credit card in your own name | Not for the unit, yes to get there | No |
When it's the right call | Lots of furniture, one single trip, someone to help you load | You need to access your things often while they're stored | Few square meters, no car, dates decided by someone else |
You book online, choosing a date, an address and a size. On pickup day you or someone you delegate is there, and we carry the boxes down. They stay in an indoor, access-controlled warehouse, each one labeled and logged. When you want them back you book the redelivery, in Milan or the provinces around it; if you've moved to Rome or London in the meantime, we ship them to you on a quote.
You pay a fixed monthly rate for the size you take up, by the square meter, plus a one-off pickup and transport charge. Redelivery is booked and paid separately, and you see the price before confirming. The detail is on pricing, and you can estimate the size with the space calculator.
If your move has a pause in the middle, because you leave the old place before you can get into the new one, the right page is moving and storage in Milan. If you're a student clearing a room in June, it's off-campus student storage.
Three, and they all get paid for in the same afternoon. The first is not reading the notice period and discovering two weeks before leaving that sixty days were required. Then handing back the keys without photographing the rooms, and arguing about the deposit with no evidence at all. And where a permit is needed to stop the vehicle, not asking for one means spending the move relocating the van.
One costs no money but a day: packing without labelling. Ten identical boxes in the middle of a room are a multiple-choice quiz where every answer is wrong. Write contents and room on the side, because another box goes on top. That's physics.
The last one you already know, and I write it for completeness: narrow tape.
If the part weighing on you is the transport, the online quote tells you what it costs to take it off the list: pick a date, an address and a size, and see the figure before confirming. Who we are, and why we do this, is on about us.
If you have an odd case, like a piece of furniture that fits no box, a date that keeps moving or two different addresses, write to us from contacts before booking. We usually reply within a few hours, and odd cases are the interesting part of the job.
Three weeks before you hand back the keys. That's the minimum to gather materials, pack without rushing, and book a vehicle or a pickup on a date you chose.
It depends on what you keep and what you leave, and it's better to think in square meters. The space calculator estimates the size from what you have, and the scale starts at 1 m².
A van wins with lots of furniture, one single trip and someone to help you load. Doorstep pickup wins with few square meters, no car, and when the date is set by the contract.
In many municipalities yes. In Milan, occupations of up to 14 days for a move are subject to a temporary public-space occupation permit and the Canone Unico charge, and the city's page explains how to apply. Elsewhere the rule differs: check it when you fix the date, not the day before.
Clean sheets, a towel, the charger, two plates and two glasses, any medication you take and a change of clothes. It's the only box you open on the first evening, so label it so you recognize it in the dark.
They're evidence of how you left the property, and they matter if the deposit is disputed. Take them with the rooms empty: the date stays in the photo's metadata.
Moving dates don't line up?
If the old lease ends before the new one starts, your things can wait in storage. We pick up from your home, from 1 m².
Would you rather talk to a person?+39 02 999 444 21WhatsApp
Moving storageHow many boxes you need for a move, from a single room to a three-bedroom: the table by home type, the right sizes, what goes in each box and how much it can weigh.
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Where to find moving boxes: the supermarkets and stores that give them away, the big stores and websites that sell them, swap groups, and when it makes sense to have them brought to your door with the move.
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Verified reviews on Trustpilot.
“Excellent service. Whenever I had doubts or questions, they responded very quickly, within a day or two max. The redelivery service is as quick and convenient as it possibly can be, made my life as a student very easy.”
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Read on Trustpilot“Everything was super easy, very fast response from the company, the boxes were kept properly, any additional requests were granted. Would recommend!”
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Read on Trustpilot“Thank you very much for your support while we moved out of the student residence. The service was very professional and communication very clear and fast. We will be using your service again soon.”
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