2 min read

Student moving checklist and timeline

A practical week-by-week student moving checklist to help you pack, plan, and move between semesters without the stress.
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Student moving checklist and timeline

Planning your move can be difficult, especially when you’re juggling coursework, deadlines, and exams. This student moving checklist and timeline will help you stay organised and fully prepared for moving day.

3 months before

  • Secure your next accommodation.
  • Finalise your moving day and note any gap between leases.
  • Start decluttering to minimise your packing volume, time and money. 

Want to make packing easier and start fresh in your new space? Check out our decluttering guide packed with expert tips, viral Cleantok trends, and motivation to keep you going.

2 months before

1 month before

  • It's time to pack, starting with items you don’t use. You can even save time and hire a professional packing service to handle it for you.

2 weeks before

  • Arrange a professional clean before moving out. Confirm if your new place will be cleaned (by the previous tenants) before moving in.
  • Confirm the move-out time with your current landlord and your move-in time with your next landlord.

1 week before

  • Pack your final items, and put together a bag of essentials to keep with you on moving day.
  • Check in with your moving service to finalise the details.

Moving day

  • Walk through your current student accommodation with your landlord to note any damages (and hopefully secure your full deposit back).
  • Meet your movers and move!
  • Walk through your new student accommodation to note any pre-existing damages. Assess if you’ll need to book a cleaning service before unpacking.

After moving day

  • Start unpacking (or hire professionals to do it for you).
  • Set up your WiFi if needed.
  • Change your address with your university, bank, insurance, etc.

Moving as a student can feel overwhelming, but with a solid checklist, you’ll have everything under control from start to finish. Start early, stay organised, and lean on reliable student movers if you need help with the heavy lifting. Once the boxes are unpacked, you can focus on what really matters: settling into your new home and the year ahead.

Read our student moving guide for more tips on finding your accommodation, packing, budgeting and more, and start your new student life chapter with confidence.

What do our customers say?

Read reviews of Wise Move to learn stories from our customers.
R 2,500
La Lucia, Umhlanga
Umdloti
10
Stuart
Reviewed 1 hour ago
Ash and the guys were great. Move was easy and done well. Would recommend
R 3,500
Knysna Central, Knysna
Aston Bay, Jeffreys Bay
10
Patricia
Reviewed 13 hours ago
Professional and engaging. Highly recommended
R 2,800
Blue Valley Golf Estate, Centurion
Lynnwood, Pretoria
10
Lara
Reviewed 14 hours ago
To the beautiful team, who went above and beyond for me. Thank you for journeying with grace, energy and the most beautiful light. Jodi, what an incredible privilege to have had you by my side. You and your team, are simply remarkable!
R 850
Bryanston, Sandton
Olivedale, Randburg
10
Keri
Reviewed 19 hours ago
What an absolute pleasure to deal with Matimba and his Guys!! Super efficient, fantastic communication and updates, punctual, professional, friendly, affordable, and the list goes on!! I highly recommend them - 11 Stars out of 10 actually!! Thank you so much Matimba!!
R 2,300
Broadacres Park, Sandton
Valhalla, Centurion
10
Muhammed
Reviewed 1 day ago
Great guys. Went above and beyond. I would definitely use them again