*This is a collaborative post
Are you moving house this Winter? With dark evenings, unpredictable weather and freezing cold temperatures, Winter is a fairly challenging time to move house – particularly if you have a young family and lots of possessions to move. A far cry from the relaxed Summer evenings when the warmer, lighter nights provide you with the comfort of a more leisurely pace and more relaxed moving experience; moving house in Winter can actually be fairly stressful!
From movers to locating the kettle, here are some must have hints and tips to help you move home in Winter without the additional worry and pressure.
Allow more time
Don’t under estimate how long it can take to safely pack up and box your possessions, particularly if you have lived in your current home for some time and have amassed a substantial number of smaller items or furniture. If you have the space, start boxing up items sooner rather than later – perhaps targeting one room at a time. Trust me when I say you should NOT leave things till the last minute, especially when the nights draw in early. Boxing up in the (limited) daylight hours is far more efficient and is the safest way to ensure that nothing is missed or forgotten. You should also allow yourself some grace time at the end to do final checks.
Protect your possessions from the elements
Make sure you pack up your items appropriately. Whilst cardboard boxes are great and you can buy strong moving packs for sturdier items; they are unlikely to fully protect your furniture or precious possessions against the weather if you experience heavy rain or snow on the day that you come to move. Consider using waterproof sheets or plastic wrapping to fully protect items and target the more bulky items first.
Keep your paths and walkways clear
If it is snowy or icy on the run up to moving day, ensure you keep your paths and walkways as clear as possible, using grit or salt and / or snow shovel to clear the space. The last thing you need is for someone to slip or fall during the moving process.
Communicate with your movers
Movers tend to be busier during the Winter months so ensure that you book well ahead of when you need them. Check the weather forecast on the days leading up to the move to make sure they are still able to get to you, allowing time for contingencies should the worse happen.
Ensure the house you are leaving is safe
If temperatures drop down to below freezing and you don’t have the benefit of Heatline, make sure you’ve protected outdoor taps and pipes from bursting – as the last thing you need is something to go wrong during exchange and completion. Leave the heating on low to ensure the house doesn’t freeze during the small period of time it is empty.
Keep the essentials in one easy accessible box
No one wants to spend those first moments in your mew house trying to track down the box with the kettle! Keep one box the is easily accessible with obvious items like a kettle, mugs and coffee, phone chargers and shower items so you can easily have some small luxuries whilst you settle in.
No one said that moving house in Winter would be easy but hopefully these tips will help make it as stress-free as possible. Once you’re all settled in, the heating is on and you finally get under the covers for the night, it will all be worth it!
