Moving home in winter: Six Tips
The winter months can sometimes be unpredictable when it comes to the weather. Rather than it dampening your moving plans, take some steps to ensure that moving home in winter is as seamless and stress-free as possible.
Check the weather app
Rain has the potential to cause havoc on your moving plans so being prepared for any inclement weather can reduce those moving day jitters. Your weather app will be able to tell you what is expected, and it is best to plan for any event and those just in case moments.
If it does look like rain, purchase some plastic sheeting from your local hardware store to cover furnishings and floors, even old sheets can work in these scenarios to protect those precious items. Matting outside the entry doors will also help in minimising the potential for dirt to be tracked through the property.
Hire the professionals
Where you can, hiring professional removalists can make the move an easier process. They can help you pack up your belongings and deliver them to your new home so that you can minimise the heavy lifting and focus on unpacking and settling into the new property.
Outsourcing the clean-up to professional cleaners, carpet cleaners and gardeners can also make life easier and if you are renting, this can ensure that you are taking steps to help get your bond returned sooner with an easier handover.
Outsource your connections
There are some great companies that can assist with the connections and disconnections of your services to get you set up sooner in your new home and have the lights on for move-in day. They can also help with closing off old accounts for your previous residence and finalising those accounts.
Label your boxes
This one is the same whether you are moving home in winter or any season. Do the little things like labelling your boxes relevant to the room that they belong to or what they contain when you are packing up. If you have hired removalists this will help them identify the areas that the boxes need to go when they are unpacking in your new home, and you will be able to unpack the ones that you need more urgently.
Prepare for a full day
When you are organising your time of move-in winter, keep in mind that the daylight hours are shorter. Get started as early as you can to use most of the daylight that you have.
If you have pets or children, moving day can be quite a stressful experience. You might consider where possible to arrange for friends or family to care for them which can reduce potential anxieties around the move.
Having a bag of essentials on hand including things like a small tool kit, some smaller cleaning items, snacks and even a change of clothes while they might seem insignificant, can help make the day run smoother.
Schedule an overlap when moving home in winter
Alternatively if you can, see if you can see if you can arrange a move in date that is a few days before your move out date. Allowing yourself more than one day for the move can always make final tidy-ups and unstacking necessaries in your new home a little calmer.
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