Moving in the Winter Season–7 Easy Tips to Follow

Moving in the winter season may sound like a harrowing experience, but not when you are moving to a warmer climate. It’s actually a great time of year to move to Florida, as the state tends to have more rain during the summer months than during the winter. Plus, the farther south you drive, the road conditions will pose fewer threats in a warmer climate. No matter the time of year, moving out of state requires careful planning–whether it’s 50 miles or 5,000. Following these simple tips should make your move far less harrowing.

Clean, Donate, Sell, Purge

Naturally, the less stuff you need to move the better. Go through your stuff, room by room, and clean out what you don’t need or want. Create separate piles for donations, online selling, or have a yard sale to help you purge completely. Many folks have old clothing and books that occupy a lot of space–are you really going to use them or are you just hanging onto them for “someday?”

Involve the Family

No need to take it all on yourself. One easy way to make your move a fun, family affair is to involve each family member. They can sort through their own stuff, pack it and label their boxes.

Digitize

This is another way to involve the family. Digitize photos, files, important documents, prior years of tax returns and back-up documents. A variety of digital options exist these days: portable thumb drives, one large back-up drive, or store your documents in a cloud server such as Amazon or Microsoft, to name a couple.

Moving Supplies

We all have treasured valuables that can’t be replaced. How to best snuggle them up for a long move takes planning as well. Bubble wrap is a simple solution, or specific types of moving supplies for kitchen items, closet contents and fragile items are available for rent/purchase via U-Haul.

Keepsake Boxes

Try to limit your content to items that hold sentimental value. Perhaps each family member can have one container for this purpose.

Physical Move

If you’re moving in the winter and will not be packing the truck yourself, acquire more than a couple of quotes from professional movers who are licensed and insured. Some movers charge by weight; some charge by the space that’s filled in their truck. Do you settle for the arrival of your household items within a date range, say the first week in March, or can you request delivery to your new home on a specific date? Is there a price difference for that convenience? Do the movers offer moving insurance? Tax deduction: Check with your accountant about the possibility of your moving expenses being tax-deductible.

Your Automobile

Will you be driving your car to your new home or shipping it? There is a plethora of personalized driving services that can cater to your schedule and some major moving companies offer that service as well.

And before your final arrival, perhaps you can turn your move to Florida into a mini-vacation. Spend a day or two at your favorite resort hotel on the beach, or relax with a few games of golf.

Make moving in the winter season work for you–after all, you are headed toward Florida, and they don’t call it the Sunshine State for nothing!