How to prepare your home 3 days before the packers arrive

Three days before: decisions and documents

Start with the things that need thinking, not muscle.

• Separate your "carry myself" items. Passports, property papers, chequebooks, jewellery, cash, medicines, chargers and laptops should travel with you, not on the truck. Put them in one bag now, and tell the crew that bag is off-limits. Every professional mover will respect this — we insist on it.
• Book the lifts — both ends. If either address is in a gated society, apply for the service-lift slot and mover gate pass now. In busy Gurgaon societies these take a day or two to confirm, and a move without a lift booking can lose hours at the gate. (If you've booked with us, we do this coordination for you — but the society may still need the resident to apply.)
• Decide what's not going. Every home has furniture or bags that aren't worth moving. Selling or donating them now means you're not paying to transport things you'll discard at the other end.

Two days before: the kitchen and the fridge

• Run down the kitchen. Cook from what's open. Open packets of atta, rice, spices and oil travel badly — they spill, attract moisture and can spoil cartons around them. Sealed packets are fine.
• Defrost the fridge tomorrow night. Mark it on your phone now: the fridge must be empty, defrosted and dry 24 hours before loading. A fridge moved with ice inside leaks into its own motor compartment and onto everything below it in the truck.
• Drain the washing machine. Disconnect it, drain the pipes fully, and tape the pipes and cord to the body.

One day before: the walk-through

• Photograph anything you're worried about. The TV screen, the glass dining top, the wooden almirah's polish. Date-stamped photos protect both sides if there's ever a damage discussion.
• Empty the lofts and top shelves. Things hidden above wardrobes are the most commonly forgotten items in any move. Bring them down where the crew can see and pack them.
• Keep aside a "first night" bag. One change of clothes per person, toiletries, basic utensils, kettle, tea, phone chargers. At the new home, you won't want to open twenty cartons to find a towel.
• Confirm timings. Reconfirm the crew's arrival time, the lift slots and any parking arrangement for the truck. Five minutes on the phone saves an hour on the day.

What NOT to pack (or let anyone pack)

Movers in India cannot legally carry certain items, and some things are simply a bad idea in a closed truck:

• Gas cylinders — return them to your distributor and take the subscription voucher; transfer it at the new address.
• Inverter batteries with acid, loose diesel/petrol, and paint thinners.
• Alcohol across state lines — rules vary by state and quantities are restricted; carry personal quantities yourself where legal.
• Perishables and plants on long routes — a sealed truck gets hot; plants rarely survive intercity transit.

On the morning itself

Have someone home who can make decisions, keep the "carry myself" bag physically with you, and walk the crew through the house once before packing starts — pointing out fragile items and anything with existing damage. Then let the crew work; a good team has a rhythm, and the packing list at the end of the day is your record of everything that went into every carton.

Moving soon? See how our household shifting service runs, or WhatsApp us for a free survey anywhere in Gurgaon.