Clear Lists
Get the app →
Moving Checklist: Utilities and Home Services
Which utilities to cancel, transfer or start, two weeks before moving day.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
Saved in this browser. Send it to Clear to keep it on your phone.
Utilities are the part of a move that slips through the packing-tape chaos, and every moving-company checklist agrees on the same rule of thumb: notify every provider at least two weeks before your move date. This list covers both sides of the job, disconnecting at the old address and reconnecting at the new one, for the services people actually run into: internet and cable, gas and electric, water, trash and recycling, landline, home security, and the smaller recurring services like lawn care or cleaning that are easy to lose track of entirely.
Why these items are on the list
- List every current utility and service. Start here: you can't cancel what you haven't inventoried.
- Cable / satellite TV. Ask whether the provider serves your new address before cancelling; a transfer is often easier than a new signup.
- Internet. Same transfer-or-cancel question as cable; book the new installation before moving day.
- Gas or oil. The final meter reading matters for your last bill.
- Electric. Schedule the disconnect for the day after you leave, and connect at the new place before you arrive.
- Water. Water's often municipal, so check the local utility's own transfer process.
- Garbage and recycling. Many municipalities require separate notice, apart from the utility bundle.
- Landline phone. Decide if you're keeping the number before you call.
- Home security service. The equipment sometimes needs to be professionally uninstalled.
- Lawn care / landscaping. Easy to forget if it's been on autopay for years.
- Home cleaning service. Same story here: check for a cancellation notice period.
- Update your mailing address with the Postal Service. Do this alongside the utility calls, not as an afterthought.
It's a list you can keep open on your phone and tick as each call gets made. A partner or roommate can tick along with you, so you both see what's done.
When to use it
Any time of year works; there's no strong season for it.