Moving house in the winter is not ideal. However, depending on when your completion date falls you may have no choice but to move in the winter.
There can however, be a few positive to moving at this time of year – if you plan on hiring a removals company it may be cheaper as they’re not as busy and may be more flexible with prices. You’ll also have a better chance of securing the date you want.
Let’s take a look at some ways to make your winter move as smooth as possible, moving can be stressful enough!
Hire Professionals
It can be hard enough to recruit some helping hands during the summer months, so in the winter we would encourage you to hire a professional moving company. They will be experienced in moving in such conditions, packing belongings safely, and driving large vehicles on potentially slippery roads. It may cost you a bit more but they’ll have it done in half the time. If you need a hand in sourcing a removal company, we’re here to help.
Stay Warm
Make sure you have gas and electricity ready to start supplying your new house. Contact the utility companies to ensure that they’ve been set up correctly and will be working on moving day. If the house is vacant, see if you or someone else could get early access to turn it on, if not see if the people leaving could turn it on for you. This will also reduce the chances of any pipes freezing.
If you do this a couple of days in advance and discover that the boiler in fact is not working, you will have a better chance of getting an engineer out to fix it.
Start Early
Unlike the summer months when the sun doesn’t set till later in the day, in winter it can set as early as 4:30pm. You really don’t want to get stuck carrying boxes in the dark so it’s imperative you start as early as possible. As mentioned, check that the lights are working including any outside fixtures that will light up any pathways. It may be an idea to bring spare bulbs and a hand held torch.
Keep any liquids, plants or anything else that wont survive sub-zero temperatures in the house till the last minute.
Keep paths clear
There is a good chance that there may still be ice or frost on the pathways in the early morning. Carry some sand or salt in your vehicle and make sure that you treat both the houses you are moving out of and in to. You don’t want to be slipping whilst carrying boxes, and if one of the removal people gets injured it can really slow down the process.
Get good weatherproof packing materials
Budget boxes can be tempting, and you might get away with them in the summer – but cardboard boxes don’t fare well in the rain. In the winter you are going to need to buy sturdy boxes that won’t fall apart on you. Also don’t be shy on the tape, wet tape doesn’t stick as well so go over seams and joins with more tape than you would normally use.
We’d recommend using a tape gun which makes short work of sealing boxes and for a handy bonus, say goodbye to searching for the end of the tape.
For larger items such as sofas, armchairs and mattresses invest in heavy duty covers which will protect them from getting scratched but will also keep them dry.
Consider hiring a self storage unit to host your belongings whilst you undertake the moving process. Shed's might just not cut it in the wet cold winter months. This will give you time to unpack as you go and not be living in a world of clutter for months.
For self storage tips and tricks visit our Facebook Page @RussellSelfStore