How to Prepare for a Winter Move with Self Storage
Although spring and summer are usually prime times to move, it’s still common for folks to find new homes during the winter. The housing market is slower in the winter, often leading to dropping house prices and lower mortgage rates.
Have you found your dream home this winter? You’ll need practical tips and methods to make your move seamless—factors like snowy roads and freezing temperatures often make moving in the winter challenging.
Fortunately, your friends at mystorage have gathered essential winter moving tips and tricks so you can head to your new living space with peace of mind.
Tips for Moving in the Winter
While you can’t control your move’s time, weather, and conditions, there are several practical tips and tricks you can use while moving in the winter. Let us share eight essential winter moving tips for this new and exciting chapter of your life.
1. Plan Ahead
Moving is often an overwhelming process, and last-minute packing can only worsen the situation. Planning for your winter move can be as simple as adequately organizing and labeling your belongings. We also recommend using a moving truck rental to transport larger, heavy boxes and bulky furniture to save time and energy.
2. Keep an Eye out for Severe Weather
Arguably, one of the biggest issues with moving during the winter is the weather. From freezing temperatures to road-closing blizzards, our advice for moving is to watch the forecast for your moving day. The National Weather Service will give you detailed predictions and reports of the impending weather.
If you’re currently leasing an apartment before your move, try to create enough overlap between your move-out and move-in days in case of weather delays.
3. Consider Hiring a Moving Company
If you’re downsizing for retirement or traveling as a young family, consider hiring professional movers for your winter move. You may need to readjust your moving budget, but lifting the responsibility of loading boxes and navigating snowy roads allows you to focus on safely traveling to your new home with older family members, young children, or pets.
4. Pack Winter Essentials
With how brutal the winter weather can be, be prepared for the unexpected and pack winter essentials for the move. Among the most critical supplies to bring with you include:
- Winter hats, gloves, and scarves
- Phone chargers
- Snow shovels
- Nonperishable snacks and bottled water
- Car ice scrapers or snow brushes
- Extra blankets and coats
- Jumper cables
- First aid kit
5. Get Your Utilities Situated
Before your move, have all your utilities transferred—you don’t want to head to a chilly home without power! Your most essential utilities to prepare include electricity, gas, water, and the internet. Contact your local providers to answer any questions.
6. Clear Your Walkways
Once move-in day arrives, you’ll need a clear path to move your belongings into your new place, especially if you need to carry sensitive items like electronics. In your home, keep doorways, halls, and staircases free of clutter to avoid tripping hazards.
For sidewalks and driveways, shovel out snow and treat for ice with salt so you, your loved ones, or professional movers can safely walk to and from cars or moving trucks. If you know icy weather is on the way, be proactive and apply liquid anti-icers to your driveway.
7. Be Flexible While Moving During the Winter
While planning helps iron out some potential wrinkles in your winter moving day, it’s not foolproof. Give yourself and your loved ones grace while adapting to sudden changes or hurdles like snowy traffic delays. Keep the kids’ favorite treats in the car, make a fun playlist, or play car games to keep the mood light.
8. Shield Your Belongings From the Cold
For larger items, like furniture and appliances, you can use plastic wrap or tarps to shield them from snow, rain, or freezing temperatures. For more delicate items, like dishes or electronics, wrap them in thick blankets or towels for extra protection.
However you prepare your belongings for moving, try to avoid leaving them in a car or moving truck overnight. Vehicles quickly cool down in the winter, and if you leave your vinyl records or glass vases in your car or truck, it’s like sticking them in the freezer overnight.
Tips for Winter Moving and Storage
If winter weather slows your move down, we have even more advice for moving during this chilly time of year: rent a self storage unit. When you use self storage to tuck away your belongings, you can avoid leaving your belongings in a chilly car or moving truck overnight.
If you’ve never used self storage or you need a refresher, we’ve got you covered with some helpful winter storage tips.
Declutter Before Your Move
We strongly recommend going through and decluttering your belongings before moving. The easiest way to declutter is by tackling one room at a time. Categorize items into one of three categories:
- Keep
- Donate
- Throw away
For items you plan to keep, think about how often you use them. If you’re moving during the winter, your summer clothes can go in your storage unit so you can prioritize moving your more essential belongings to your new home.
Pack Strategically
Once you have sorted your belongings, it’s time to pack! A packing and moving checklist will make the process easier and infinitely more organized. Whatever a packing and moving checklist looks like to you, keep a few steps in mind:
- Gather plenty of quality packing and moving supplies, such as boxes, packing tape, and Bubble Wrap.
- Group similar items together and place them in appropriate-sized and labeled boxes corresponding to the box’s contents.
- Keep boxes easier to carry by not placing several heavy items into one large box.
Rent Climate-Controlled Storage
Want an additional shield from snow, ice, and cold snaps for your items while they’re in storage? Rent a climate-controlled storage unit. These units maintain a consistent temperature range to shelter your temperature-sensitive belongings, like electronics, furniture, and books, from extreme cold or heat.
Rent Winter Self Storage at mystorage Today
When you need a reliable personal storage unit for your winter move, reach out to mystorage for help. We proudly offer a wide selection of small, medium, and large storage units at accessible locations across Virginia.
Ready to simplify your winter move? Find your nearest mystorage location or contact us to rent or reserve your storage unit today!