Basic Services Checklist

It may seem obvious, but tidying up utilities is a task that’s often forgotten amid all the fuss of packing up and removing furniture. Imagine finally moving the last box or piece of furniture into the house, firing the movers, and then trying to sit down for a well-deserved cup of tea only to discover that you haven’t fixed the electrical problem. The phone is also useless because no one has bothered to plug it in, so you can’t order those takeaways you promised everyone to say thanks for helping. And you don’t have to cook any food either. After the stress of it all, you need a hot shower to wash off the day, but there’s no gas to heat the nonexistent water because neither has been organized. You can’t even flush the toilet! The only way to avoid this nightmare is to have your utilities well organized before you enter your new home, which will save you a lot of time and possibly annoyance. Here is a summary of the minimum you should have solved to ensure you can get into your house:

• Telephone. This should be the first thing you organize. Number one on the list for a reason: if all else fails, at least you’ll be able to ask for help. Remember: you will need a connected phone line before you can connect to the Internet.
• Gas. Does your new home run on gas for cooking and hot water heating? For many people, this is a big deciding factor when looking for a new place, so make sure you know what powers what before you create unwanted confusion.
• Energy. With battery-powered candles, torches, and other light sources, you can survive without it for at least a few days. But as with everything else, try to do it before moving day.
• Water. This should be high on your priority list. Clean water is a simple necessity in life. You probably use it more than you realize, and that reality will crumble if you haven’t fixed this. Not to mention the horrors of not being able to flush the toilet.
• Internet. This may not seem as necessary as the others, but can you really live comfortably without it? You’ll have to do some research with this one. Different providers will offer different ways to bring the Internet to your home. You can often check the signal strength or availability of an area online (another reason to fix it while you still have your old connection). Find the best solution for your area. Sometimes you will have few options or your internet provider may even allow you to keep the same account when you move, but be sure to check how good the service will be.
• Give yourself enough time. Late connections, mistakes, and leaving it until it’s too late to organize could ruin your perfectly designed move. Utility providers aren’t known for their speed, and your distraught phone call about a complete lack of utilities on moving day is unlikely to register as an emergency with them.

Most of us have experienced a blackout at some point: the candles and lanterns, huddling around each other to keep warm, the complete lack of anything to do. It takes us back to the dark ages reasonably quickly. It can only be made worse by a lack of running water. Unfortunately, it’s the utility providers who hold those keys to modern life, and if you’re about to move and haven’t talked to them yet, it’s time to do so. It may seem obvious to some, but public services are so taken for granted that they are often simply not considered important until it is too late.