The Ultimate Moving And Storage Guide

Four Tips For Moving On A Cold Winter Day

by Gail Wheeler

Many people try to avoid moving in the dead of winter, but sometimes you have no choice. If you find yourself packing to move to a new residence while the snow is flying and the thermometer is dipping below zero, follow these tips to ensure you and your things make it through the endeavor in one piece.

Put plenty of salt out the night before.

Salt takes some time to effectively melt ice and snow. If you wait until the morning you plan on moving to put salt down, you'll be slipping and sliding down your driveway. Salt the night before, and do so generously. Make sure you shovel and salt some extra space to the side of where you'll be parking the moving truck from a place like Caccamise Moving & Storage Co so that your helpers have space to stand and work while loading.

Make sure the heat is turned on at the new place ahead of time.

There's nothing more frustrating that arriving at your new home or apartment, cold and wet from a morning of packing, and finding that the place is 40 degrees inside because nobody turned the heat on. Call the utility companies a week in advance of your move and ensure the bills are switched to your name on the day you move in, if not the day before. If you have one, talk to your new landlord to ensure that either you or the landlord can go over to the apartment the day before and turn the heat to a comfortable temperature.

Pack cold-sensitive items with you in your car.

Your expensive electronics, some prescription medications, many cosmetic items, and some cleaning solutions should not be frozen. Make sure you pack these items separately, and advise your helpers not to put them in the moving truck. The back of the moving truck might never get warm. Instead, take them with you in your personal vehicle, or put them in the heated cab of the truck.

Wear waterproof clothing.

Between lifting boxes into the back of the truck, running out to the garage to get some last-minute items, and making trips down the street for coffee, you're going to get wet at some point. To avoid a day of shivers and chills that could leave you sick, wear waterproof outerwear. This is a lot easier than counting on finding a change of clothes in your packed home.

Moving on a frosty winter day is not most people's idea of a good time. However, you will make it through the experience if you follow the advice above.

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