MOVING TIPS
Moving Tips
These are the things we would tell a friend. Some of them will cost us a booking on a busy date and we would rather say them anyway.
When to Move, If You Have a Choice
Demand is not evenly spread, and the busiest dates are the ones where everything else — trucks, crews, elevators, loading zones — is also under pressure.
- Mid-month is quieter than the end of the month, almost everywhere
- Mid-week is quieter than a Friday or a Saturday
- Avoid the end of April and the end of August in Waterloo Region — student lease turnover
- Avoid long-weekend Fridays and Mondays
- The first available slot in the morning is usually the cleanest day
- Late autumn and winter are quieter, weather permitting
How to Take Hours Off the Day
- Be genuinely finished packing — this is worth more than all the others together
- Sort out parking before the day at both ends
- Book the earliest and longest elevator window available
- Have every box labelled by destination room
- Decide before the truck arrives where the big pieces go at the other end
- Get everything you are not taking out of the house first
- Keep the routes clear and the household out of them
Winter Moving in Southern Ontario
Winter moves are cheaper and easier to book, and they are perfectly manageable. What they require is preparation of the ground rather than of the furniture.
- Shovel and salt at both ends, the walk and the driveway
- Grade plus ice is the real hazard — a sloped driveway may mean loading from the street
- Lay protection inside: wet boots and cardboard are not friends
- Keep the heat on at both properties, and the doors propped rather than swinging
- Allow more driving time, particularly on rural and county roads
- Some things should not sit in a cold truck — electronics, plants, liquids
- On-street parking bans follow snow events in most Waterloo Region municipalities
What People Always Forget
- The garage, the shed and the loft
- The disposal of paint, fuel and chemicals we cannot carry
- That the freezer needs defrosting the day before
- Curtains, blinds, mirrors and anything screwed to a wall
- The storage locker in the apartment building
- Photographing the cabling behind the television
- That a possession time is not the same as a move-in time
- Booking time off for the day after, not just the day
What Actually Helps on the Day
Be present, be decisive, and stay out of the loading route. The most valuable thing a customer does on a moving day is answer questions quickly — where does this go, is this coming, which of these two is the one you meant.
Tea and coffee are always appreciated and never expected.
Ready to Get This Moving?
Tell us what is moving and we will come back with a real plan and a real price — or call and talk it through with someone who does this every day.
Prefer to talk? Call us.
Questions Families Ask Us
Is it cheaper to move mid-week?
Our rates are published and do not change by day, but a mid-week or mid-month move is easier to book, easier to schedule well, and often a faster day because everything around it — elevators, loading zones, traffic — is under less pressure. On an hourly move that is real money.
Is a winter move a bad idea?
Not at all. It is quieter, easier to book, and entirely manageable with shovelled, salted paths at both ends. The genuine hazard is grade plus ice, which occasionally means we load from the street rather than the driveway.
What is the single best thing I can do?
Finish packing. Nothing else comes close. Unfinished packing is the most common reason a moving day runs long, and it is the one variable entirely within your control.
Should I tip the crew?
It is never expected and always appreciated. There is no standard and nobody will think less of you for not doing it; a good review is worth as much to us.
Planning a Move?
Tell us your dates and we will tell you honestly which of them will give you the better day.
Prefer to talk? Call us.