What You Will Require
Preparing for Icey Sidewalks
A vital thing to remember is that icy sidewalks, driveways, and streets are unstable enough under normal conditions but become much more problematic when you're carrying cumbersome boxes or furniture and can't watch your step as attentively. If it's icy where you live, shovel the walkways as perfectly as possible and salt the entire walk between your front door and the back of the moving truck. When you're finished, pack up your shovels and bag of salt in the trunk of your own vehicle or make sure they are packed last in the truck. This will ensure that you can clear driveways and walkways at your new house as well.
Protecting Your Floors
The next ice and snow related problem is the state of your floors. When people are tramping through ice and snow to get into your home, that slush will stick on their shoes and will be tracked all over your spotless floors or, even worse, soak dirty slush into your carpets. To save both the home you're leaving and the one you're moving into, use tarps and plastic sheeting to keep slush-covered boots off your floors.
Planning for Icy Roads in Wichita Falls
The next thing to think about is the possibility that the roads you'll be traveling on are likely to also be covered in ice and maybe even people still traveling from the holidays. You should expect heavy traffic, accidents, backups, and all types of delays. This means that if you have a moving deadline, you will want to leave early to assure that you have a few extra days to both drive to your destination and get everything unloaded in the elements.
For efficiency and safety's sake, you may also want two or three alternate routes or have an app ready to help you plan detours if there is a bad traffic or weather situation on your original planned route.
Landing Somewhere Warm
After a lengthy drive in the moving truck or your own car in a caravan with your moving trucks, you're going to need to warm yourself in your new residence pretty promptly. This means that any delays getting the house open and the heater own can be problematic, especially if the utilities aren't ready yet. Make sure to have water, electricity, and gas, if relevant, turned on at the new place. Try to arrive before of the trucks or ask someone local to access the house and get it warming up ahead of the convoy shows up and starts unpacking.
Take Care of Yourself and Your Movers
Moving in the frigid weather is hard work with a combined risk of getting too cold, overheating, and getting dangerously dehydrated as your body loses moisture in the cold. After you get the heater turned on, you’ll want to make a big pot of hot tea or cocoa along with a pitcher of room-temperature (not freezing cold) water. Keep yourself hydrated and warm with cups of tea and pass mugs or a thermos around for the movers and any friends who are helping you. This way, everyone remains energetic and unlikely to get too exhausted or get a cold during the move.
Moving in the winter is difficult business, but something you can surely handle with a little forward thinking and consideration for everyone involved. By making sure all walkways have the snow and ice removed, the destination home is ready to be hospitable, and everyone drinks enough liquids, you should be able to get all your possessions safely from one icy residence to another.
