Moving Day Checklist for Kelowna: Hour-by-Hour Plan
Updated: 2 days ago
A good moving day checklist for Kelowna comes down to three things: finish packing the night before, start loading by 8am with the heaviest totes first, and keep one open-first tote and a "travels with me" bag in your car. Here's the hour-by-hour plan we give every customer, from the evening before to the moment we pick up your empty moving totes.
Moving across town from Glenmore to the Mission, or from West Kelowna to Lake Country? The plan is the same. Only the drive time changes.
The night before moving day
Most move-day stress comes from packing that should have been finished yesterday. Aim to have every tote packed, lidded and labelled by dinner time, so the morning is only loading.
Pack the last kitchen tote: everything except a kettle, a few mugs, paper plates and a roll of paper towels.
Pack your open-first tote: sheets, a towel per person, toilet paper, chargers, snacks, dish soap and a phone stand.
Set your "travels with me" bag by the front door: keys, IDs, your lease or sale papers, daily meds, laptop and cash.
Slide a label card into the clear sleeve on the side of every tote: room, tote number and anything fragile. No tape needed.
Charge your phone, confirm the truck or trailer pickup time and text whoever is helping.
Take the bed apart, bag the bolts with the Allen key and put the bag in the open-first tote.
If you're in a strata building, double-check the elevator booking and where the movers or your truck can park. Our condo and strata move-day guide has the full list.
Moving day morning: 6am to 8am
Get up a little earlier than feels necessary. The first two hours set the pace for the rest of the day.
6:00am: coffee, breakfast and a quick walk-through. Strip the beds and pack the bedding into the open-first tote.
6:30am: kids and pets. Drop pets with a friend or set up a quiet closed room with water and a sign on the door.
7:00am: clear a path. Prop doors open, lay a blanket on the stairs if they're finished wood, and in fall or winter sweep or salt the walkway.
7:30am: group the totes. Heavy totes (books, tools, pantry) by the door, then furniture, then light totes and the fragile ones last.
Tip: stack totes no more than 3 or 4 high while you wait. Lower stacks are easier to see, easier to roll and safer for kids walking by.
Loading: 8am to noon
This is where plastic moving boxes pay off. Every tote is the same size, so they stack square in a truck and roll out on the free dolly that comes with every Bin Ready package.
Load in this order
Heavy totes first, flat on the floor and against the front wall of the truck.
Big furniture next: sofa, dressers (emptied), bed frames and the mattress on its side.
Medium totes and boxes of linens fill the gaps around the furniture.
Fragile totes ride on top, never under anything heavy.
The open-first tote, bedroom totes and bathroom totes go on last so they come off first.
Roll, don't carry
A stack of three totes on a two-wheel dolly is one trip instead of three. Tip the dolly back, keep the stack against the frame and go down stairs backwards, one step at a time. Lifting with your legs still matters for the heavy ones, so keep each tote to about 18 to 20 kg.
The last hour at the old place
Once the truck is full, slow down for fifteen minutes. This is where keys, chargers and deposits get lost.
Open every cupboard, closet, drawer and the dishwasher. Check the laundry and the fridge.
Check the garage, the shed, the balcony and any building locker.
Take photos of every empty room, especially if you're getting a damage deposit back. Our damage deposit checklist covers the cleaning.
Read the meters, lock the windows and leave the keys where your landlord or realtor asked.
Arriving at the new place
When you pull up, start with the room you'll sleep in, not the kitchen.
Unload the open-first tote and the bedroom totes first, then make every bed.
Read the label card on each tote and drop it straight in its room, stacked low with the labels facing out.
Set up the bathroom: towel, soap, toilet paper. It makes the place feel like home on night one.
Leave everything else for tomorrow. Our first-weekend unpacking plan breaks it into one room a day.
After the move: send the empties back
You have 14 days with every package, so there's no rush to unpack in a single weekend. When you're done, nest the empty totes, stack the lids, and text us. We pick up the empties for free anywhere we serve. Need longer? Just $2 a tote per extra week.
Bin Ready drops off clean 102L moving totes with yellow snap-on lids and a free dolly, then picks up the empties when you're settled. We don't haul your belongings or store anything, and we're not a moving company. We just make packing and moving day faster.
Start: 20 totes, $99
Apartment: 30 totes, $149
Home: 40 totes, $189
Family: 65 totes, $249
Every package covers 14 days, which works out to about 35¢ a tote per day. Not sure how many you need? Read how many moving totes do I need, then book your totes here.
We deliver across Kelowna, including Glenmore, Dilworth, Rutland and the Upper and Lower Mission, plus West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland, Vernon and Penticton. More guides are on our moving tips page and the Bin Ready blog.
Moving day FAQ
What time should I start on moving day?
Start by 6am and begin loading by 8am. Morning loading beats the afternoon heat in summer and the early dark in fall and winter, and it leaves time for the drive and unloading before dinner.
What should I pack the night before moving day?
Everything except a kettle, a few mugs, toiletries and your bedding. Pack your open-first tote and set your "travels with me" bag by the door the night before, so the morning is only loading.
How should I load moving totes into a truck?
Heavy totes go in first, flat on the floor against the front wall. Furniture next, then medium totes in the gaps, fragile totes on top, and the open-first and bedroom totes last so they come off first.
When do you pick up the empty totes?
Any time within your 14 days. Nest the empties, stack the lids and text (250) 826-6990. Pickup of the empties is free. More answers are on our FAQ page.
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