One of the worst parts of moving house is tackling all the packing that needs to be done. But while your primary focus will be on what you need to pack, don’t forget to think about what you need to leave behind too.

You may well have already stated any main items you plan to leave behind when you put your house on the market, such as carpets or kitchen appliances, plus extra negotiations may have taken place with the buyers for additional items to be left, such as curtains or fittings. But apart from the fixtures and fittings, there are other items that need to be left behind for the new owners.

Keys are of course one of them (essential for getting in!), but it’s not just the door keys and any spare sets that should be left. If you’ve got locks on any windows in your home, you need to ensure these are left behind, and if you’ve got a side gate that locks, internal doors with locks or a garage, then keys for all these doors needs to left behind too. If you’re feeling really keen, you could also label them, as finding a bunch of random keys and not knowing what they belong to can be a tad confusing for new owners.

The other thing you should remember to leave behind is any instruction booklets for household appliances. If you’ve agreed to leave kitchen appliances, then this includes things like the cooker, fridge or washing machine. Also vitally important are instructions for the boiler, fire and any alarms that might be fitted.

These are very easily overlooked, but won’t be much use for you to take with you and could prove tricky for new owners to be without. In the case of gas fires, for example, a new rule brought in by British Gas in the last few years means that engineers are not allowed to service a gas fire unless they have an instruction leaflet. Home owners with relatively new gas fires may not find this a problem, as instruction leaflets can be obtained with a little research, but for those with older fires that are no longer manufactured, or produced by defunct companies, being stuck without any instructions means no service is possible, or at least not from British Gas.

Another handy piece of information to leave behind is your local council refuse guide (usually send out to you once a year) detailing when the refuse and recycling collections will be made each week – and, of course, the bins themselves!

Any other suggestions for things to leave behind? Or have you experienced some strange things left behind in your new home?