Planning a move is always about finding the right time and circumstances for you to make your relocation during. However, even when planned down to a T and with all of the attention to detail in the world, you unfortunately can’t control the weather. Though nobody wants to be met with an expected storm or snow during their time to move, it does sometimes happen.
Especially if you’re moving off-season or if you live in an area with especially volatile weather, it’s important to have a plan in place to keep your moving day efficient, even in the worst weather since moving days tend to be pretty hard to change for a variety of reasons.
After all, if you try to cancel or reschedule with your corporate moving company the day of your move, or try to move your move-in date without giving your current and new landlord notice, many problems could be caused. So what do you do to have the best moving day process, even in inclement weather? We’ve got the best tips to keep you and your items safe and your entire day moving smoothly.
When it comes to tackling any sort of move, your first priority should always be to lock down the right moving company in Chicago to handle all of the aspects of your relocation. Having experienced Chicago local movers on your side during moves of any size or under any conditions will make a huge difference in how your items are taken care of and how quickly you can get your relocation out of the way. Having a company like Chicago Movers on your side will allow your entire moving experience to go smoothly, whether in the hottest summer temperatures or the dead of winter.
Once you’ve locked down a dependable local moving company who will work with you and ensure that your items are kept as safe as possible for your relocation, make sure you’re prepared for anything with the best moving tips for bad weather.
One of the most important things you can do, regardless of the type of weather you’ll be moving during is to keep open communication with your movers. This only becomes more important when it comes to moving in bad weather. Make sure you know if your moving company has any rules set forth regarding whether they won’t make crews move items under certain conditions, including excessive heat or a lot of snow. This is good to be aware of, especially if you live here in Chicago, where we experience brutal winters, or in an area where things get excessively hot.
Unfortunately, even if you’ve prepared as well as you can, sometimes unexpected things happen – including freak storms or just poor weather conditions the day of your relocation. While moving during bad weather, snow, or excessive heat, being prepared for your movers will make a big difference for you and them. Be ready to go and wearing the right clothing for the weather when they arrive, and try to have water on-hand for them during hot summer days. Have sunscreen around to keep everyone protected from the hot sun, too.
If you’re moving with snow or during the colder seasons, try to layer up as much as possible to keep yourself safe and warm. This includes wearing a heavy jacket, gloves, a hat, and hand warmers. Even though you’re moving in the cold and your body might heat up a bit due to any physical exertion that might happen, don’t forget that it’s still incredibly cold out, and you could easily get sick from walking around in clothing not made for the weather.
Moving in rain? Wear rain boots that won’t make you slip around, and have a good rain jacket ready to go. Try to also have some umbrellas around to cover yourself and your items.
Don’t forget or intentionally not take breaks either. Even if the weather is at its worst, checking in with yourself and taking breaks to drink water, coffee, hot chocolate, or to eat makes a huge difference, even if it slows your move down a little bit.
If you’re all ready to go during your move, only to wake up to an unexpected downpour or snowstorm, make sure to pay attention to weather reports to see if you can wait this weather out. Usually if it’s raining or snow particularly hard, you and your moving company might be able to let it pass and wait the severe weather pattern out – at least it calms down a little bit.
If you anticipate possibly moving during weather that’s not ideal or if your climate tends to be a little temperamental, try to prepare for anything. This means trying to be even more careful about how you pack your things, especially if you’re moving fragile or temperature-sensitive items. Always try to wrap your things in an extra layer of bubble wrap or a few extra layers of packing paper, towels, or blankets.
Usually, you’re pretty able to move your larger furniture like couches or dressers into your moving truck without a ton of extra packaging or padding to shield it from the weather, but you’ll always want to have something up your sleeve to keep these items safe in the event of bad weather.
When dealing with bad weather, try to have some extra materials on hand to cover your furniture with things like blankets, towels, or even tarps or canvas to keep them safe and shielded from the weather.
Now, we’re not just talking about using packing materials to shield and keep the items inside your boxes or totes secured and safe while packed up. Here, we’re more talking about using waterproof plastic totes or bines that can be tightly sealed in order to move your items in inopportune weather. This will keep water, snow, and debris outside and away from your things in the event of moving in poor conditions.
Moving expensive items or fragile things in poor weather conditions will call for the need for them to be packed with even more care. If you think you might move during bad weather, try to wrap expensive or fragile items with an extra layer of packaging and care to keep them safe. This especially goes for electronics, artwork, and more.
Now that you know what to do in the event of moving in bad weather, make sure you’re working with the right Chicago moving company during your relocation. Having the right moving company on your side makes all the difference when it comes to not only moving under good conditions, but especially when it comes to moving during poor ones. See what Chicago Movers can do for you and your household items, and how we can keep your things safe regardless of weather today.
Tony and crew were prompt and professional on the move out of our house and Terence and crew were prompt and professional on the move into our house. Very neat polite respected our furnishings and our time. A big shout out to Troy who was the lead mover on both…
-Gary K
My move went very well. All of the people working for you were great. That includes the office staff, the movers in Downers Grove and the movers in Goodyear. The drivers and movers on both ends worked diligently, carefully and did not waste any time. They were courteous and neat.
-Josephine
Thank you for your wonderful service. I wish I could remember the gentlemen's names because I would tell you how wonderful each one was. I use the term gentlemen because they were. So patient and efficient. I would definitely use your services again and would recommend Hollander Moving to friends…
-Linda T
Moving 3 times in 2 ½ years is not something Lynn would recommend to anyone. For us, it would have been impossible without the assistance of Chris and his crews at Hollander Moving and Storage. We’ve done home-to-home, home-to-condo and condo-to-condo moves. In each situation, we found Hollander’s staff to…
-David
Overall we were very pleased with our experience with Hollander moving. Mr. Bello, our contact in Mexico was attentive to our needs and questions. The ATI packing team was outstanding. It was a pleasure to watch them work together--a real spirit of cooperation. The morning we were leaving Mexico we…
-Tom & Janice
Hollander Movers were better than excellent. My move from Park Ridge to Des Plaines went without a hitch. We even had to make a stop to pick up items from a storage locker. Nick's crew was very careful and professional and even helped with unpacking and hanging some pictures. If…
-Des Plaines
Yes, all the crew members were excellent. We would recommend you. The movers were work horses, very pleasant, and took care of all of our belongings with great care. We are waiting for a call back from Adrienne Ross about an issue. I spoke to her on Tuesday and she…
-Kay & Mel
We were very happy with our move with Hollander and will recommend to family and friends in the future.
-Dana
Good company. Prompt, professional & friendly service. I would recommend them to friends.😊.
-Stephen