Ever wondered why your cat is always attracted to cardboard boxes no matter how many toys you buy it?

Are you packing and planning a house move this winter?

Moving is stressful at any time of the year but moving house in winter comes with additional hurdles to a successful move. These hurdles mainly come in the form of wintry weather conditions which can cause problems on the pavements and roads for the removal men.

However, moving house in wintertime can also boast advantages over moving in the spring/summer. Firstly, as the winter tends to be ‘off season’ for removals, there are more moving services available. As a result, removal companies will often reduce their prices so moving in the winter can also be cheaper for you.

If you’re moving house in winter, Big Brown Box recommend you read our top tips below on how best to move with as little as stress as possible.

1. Check the weather forecast. If the weather forecast is for snow, hail or sub-zero temperatures we recommend that you put grit the driveway, path and steps at both your current home and your new home to prevent anyone slipping when carrying heavy moving boxes.
2. Make sure you have heating on in your new house. It would be beneficial if you can speak to the vendors to request that they leave the heating on low so that the new house isn’t freezing when you arrive. If there is a period of time when the house will be empty, leaving the heating on low will also prevent the pipes freezing which can cause you major problems at your new house.
3. Buy weatherproof packaging materials. Make sure you have purchased heavy duty protective polythene covers for your sofas, armchairs and mattresses. This will protect them against rain or snow as well as damp, dirt and dust in the removal van.
4. Use heavy duty moving boxes. We always recommend you purchase unused heavy duty moving boxes. Used boxes that you could pick up from the local supermarket or shop may not be as durable and may be more susceptible to collapsing if they get damp or wet.
5. Think about your floors. You should also consider what flooring you have in your new house. Moving in winter can mean many people traipsing through your house with wet or muddy shoes. If you have light coloured carpets or laminate floors we advise you inform your removal company of this. This allows them to put appropriate covers on the floors which will limit damage to the carpets and prevent people slipping on the laminate floors.
6. Pack a survival kit. No matter the time of year of your move, we always recommend packing a survival kit. However, the contents of your survival kit will vary in the winter. Make sure you have a kettle in your survival kit with plenty tea, coffee and soup. This helps warm you up in the cold weather. You should also pack extra jumpers, socks and a scarf in your survival kit. This is especially important if you have not been able to arrange to have the heating kept on in your new house.

For more advice on moving house, read our all of our Moving Tips >>>

Moving to a new home can be a very scary experience for young children so it is important to comfort them as much as possible during the move.

One way to make them feel involved in the packing process and to reassure that they don’t have to leave all their toys behind is to allow the kids to pack a survival kit for the move.

What should be in the survival kit?

The difference between your survival pack and the kids one is that yours will be boring, make sure the kids’ survival kit is all about fun!

Before anything is packed you can get them to decorate the outside of the cardboard box so that their survival kit is personal to them.

Another great way to involve them in the packing process is to allow the kids to choose their top 5 items including toys, books and games as well as any comfort blankets or cuddly toys to include in the survival kit. This should ensure that your kids are able to keep themselves entertained both before and immediately after the move so you can get on with some packing/unpacking.

To ensure their survival kit box contains only fun items, normal items included in a survival kit for moving such as toiletries, clothing and snacks should be packed in a separate suitcase/bag. However, to keep the kids involved, you can ask that they look out and sort the items into the case.

Allowing your kids to pack their favourite items and giving them access to them straight away after you have moved house should ensure that the new house does become a home and the kids will settle quickly.

Moving house is time consuming and sometimes it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day.

However, if you have planned properly, you can save a lot of time.

We have written a lot of information and guides on how best to pack your belongings safely prior to moving house. Today, we are going to turn your attention to the best way to unpack when you reach your new home. Reading our top tips on unpacking after a move will speed up the unpacking process, ensuring you can enjoy your new surroundings sooner.

Before the day of your move, make sure you have cleaned, dusted and hoovered every room in the house. It’s much easier to clean thoroughly when you have space and don’t have to work around moving boxes and furniture.

When packing your moving boxes, we strongly advise that you label your boxes with the destination room in your new house. This is to help you when you reach your new house. When taking the boxes off your removal van, ensure they are all placed in the correct room in your new house. This should be easy if all the boxes are labelled properly.

Do not start unpacking any boxes until all the boxes are off the van and in the right room! Once you are happy all the boxes are correctly placed, you can start unpacking.

It is recommended you unpack all the boxes in one room before moving on to the next. Therefore, it is important you have done some planning and have a strategy for the order in which you are going to tackle the rooms.

It is best to start packing the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms before you start working on the public rooms. Generally, it is more likely that you will need the items in these rooms more urgently and frequently than the items in the public rooms. This is especially important if you are unpacking later on in the day and are not likely to finish all the unpacking in the one day. The public rooms, garage and garden items can then be unpacked the following day.

Unpacking at your new house isn’t particularly hard or difficult but it can be made a lot quicker and easier with some planning and organisation. Following the simple guide above will allow you to settle in and enjoy your new surroundings quicker than you may think is possible!

Have you equally shared the burden of moving house with your partner?

As anyone who has planned a move will know, moving house is one of the most stressful experiences in life. But the question is, who is the most likely to suffer the stress in your house?

Research carried out by Confused.com has revealed the different tasks and roles assumed by the man and woman of the house when moving house.

Overall, the decision to move and where to move to is a joint decision for the majority of couples. However, this does actually depend on age. The research shows that as we get older, the more likely we are to consult with our partners with the younger generation (16-24 year olds) the least likely to make a joint to move house whereas 55% of couples aged 55+ will involve their partner or spouse when deciding to move house.

The results show that while men are happy to buy moving boxes and organise the removal company, they appear less happy to actually carry out the physical task of packing the boxes! Only 39% of men will take charge of packing boxes when moving house compared to 54% of women.

Men do however take the lead when it comes to dealing with the finances for the new house. 52% of men take responsibility for managing the money ahead of the move compared with just 42% of women.

However, responsibilities are more evenly split when it comes to informing current utility companies about your move and also organising the bills at the new house.

Whoever is taking responsibility for the tasks in your house, Big Brown Box has helped make the process of moving house easier with the Moving House Checklist. The moving house checklist outlines the main tasks which need to be undertaken and the people/companies you should contact and gives you the chance to sign off each task. This ensures you can share the load and the stress during your move!

To download the Big Brown Box moving checklist, click the link below:

Big Brown Box Moving Checklist