Moving House at Christmas

Moving House can be difficult at the best of times, but moving house at Christmas or around the festive period can add an extra strain on your household. Most people try and avoid moves around December, but although the market slows down, sometimes it can happen due to poor timing. If you’ve found yourself moving house at Christmas, here are some tips to help you through.

The average time to move home takes around 8-10 weeks, so in December you may feel rushed in order to feel completely settled by Christmas. It’s definitely possible, provided that you remain organised and in control during what is already a stressful time. Here’s what you can do to make the transition easier:

• Plan ahead
• Prepare to pack
• Consider weather conditions
• Consider your workload
• Change of Address

It’s all in the Planning

Although this is the case with any move, it’s especially important in the festive season. Moving at Christmas is no easy feat, so ensure that you’ve confirmed your moving date well in advance in order to prevent any unexpected changes that could delay your move until after Christmas.

Keep your planning schedule realistic. If you’re planning to move in the holiday season (or just before) be prepared for the cold weather, visiting guests and anything else that may pop up. It will be worth letting your family and friends know about the move, they may even offer their help if they have some time off. It’s best to aim to move before the 24th December to give you time to settle in before Christmas day, particularly if you’re planning any specific festivities.

Prepping the Packing

In order to move home at Christmas successfully, packing is a huge consideration. How you pack will determine how easy it is to move into your new home and unpack quickly. Labelling boxes correctly, grouping like household items together, and finding strong, durable boxes will all be important factors in successful packing. If you’re particularly concerned about Christmas decorations in your new home, make sure you know where they are so they can be set up as soon as possible!

If you’re extremely time limited and need some help, there are plenty of packing services available, with friendly staff to help you organise your move. Having movers pack on your behalf may make things more efficient and carefully secured to avoid breakages and damaged items. It will also be important to inform your Kent removal company of how many boxes/hefty items you have so that they can give you an accurate removal quote, as well as to provide a big enough van on the day.

Giving yourself plenty of time to pack your things will allow you to create an effective inventory as you go, meaning in the rare event that something becomes lost or misplaced, you’ll know about it. It will also help you when unpacking so boxes are allocated to the correct rooms, which can save huge amounts of time when unpacking. All of the above packing tips can help make your move more efficient so that you’re able to settle into your new home in time for Christmas.

Consider the Weather

Given the time of year, you never know what the weather might do on moving day. A spell of snow or stormy weather could prove disastrous if you haven’t prepared properly. Consider getting some grit salt closer to the time if you feel the weather may be snowy or icy. Clearing snow and ice from walkways is extremely important if you and your movers will be travelling to and from the removal van for the day. You may also want to get your vehicle serviced (if you have one), so your car will be in the best condition to transport goods during treacherous weather.

Keep an eye on weather updates and follow them closely up until the day of the move. Conditions may change for better or for worse, but it’s important to be prepared just in case.

Consider your Workload

Whether it’s Christmas shopping, present wrapping or sorting out decorations, ensure you don’t leave everything until the last minute. If you plan your Christmas shopping earlier than usual to get it out of the way, you’ll have less to worry about as moving day approaches. You may even want to leave your Christmas gifts with a trusted friend or family member whilst the move is underway to prevent any damage or mishaps on the day.

Change Your Address

You want to make sure that Christmas cards, household bills and other letters are sent to your correct address. This means you will need to act quickly in terms of informing organisations, family, friends and utilities of the change of address. After all, you’ll need to let Santa know you’ve moved, right? You may also wish to set up a temporary mail redirection to ensure that your mail gets to the correct person on time.

Knowing Your New Home

If the moving day is close to the holiday season, you’ll need to know some important things in order to have a seamless transition into Christmas. Bin day and recycling collection are vital when it comes to getting rid of wrapping paper and Christmas waste, so make sure you know what happens and when so you don’t need to store your rubbish.

To keep warm and dry you’ll also need to know about the utilities in your new home. You will need to inform your utility companies of your move, including the moving date to minimise the disruption (if any). Limited working hours during the holidays may disrupt this, so ensure you’ve informed them well in advance.

Have Fun!

Despite having a lot to organise, t’s important that you take the time to enjoy your family and friends, as well as taking some time to relax. Moving house is said to be one of life’s most stressful experiences, but it doesn’t have to be if you organise the day correctly.

If you’re looking for a reliable removal company in Kent to help you move house before Christmas, Goodfellows can help. If you’re looking for friendly and approachable staff with an outstanding Check-a-Trade rating, Goodfellows has over 30 years of removal experience. Submit an enquiry with us today and we’d be happy to help.

Goodfellows Removals offer a wide range of Kent removals and Kent storage services, accommodating the following areas:

Sevenoaks Storage and Sevenoaks Removals

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