Short answer
Clear and salt the path and the driveway before the crew arrives, protect the floors at both ends, keep a winter kit in the car rather than on the truck, and start early so the unloading happens in daylight. Winter weekdays are the easiest dates of the year to book.
Winter is a good time to move
Movers are quiet in January and February. Buildings have elevator windows to spare, weekday mornings are yours, and the crew you wanted is available. The trade is the weather, and the weather is manageable if the path is ready.
The path is your job
- Shovel and salt the driveway, the walkway, the steps and the sidewalk in front of the truck's spot. Do it at both addresses.
- Put a mat inside every door the crew will use. Wet boots on hardwood are the first thing that goes wrong in a winter move.
- Clear a spot for the truck as close to the door as the street allows. In Toronto, check whether the street has winter parking rules on your date.
- If the driveway slopes, salt it twice. A loaded dolly on ice is the one thing the crew cannot fix.
What the crew does differently
We plan winter moves around daylight, with an earlier start so unloading is not happening in the dark at four in the afternoon. Furniture gets wrapped in the house, not on the driveway, so nothing sits in the snow. Floors at both ends get runners. Electronics ride in the cab of the truck when the cold is severe, and we let them come to room temperature before anyone turns them on.
Pack for the cold
- A winter kit stays in your car, not on the truck: coats, boots, a kettle, mugs, a blanket, the snow brush.
- Liquids that can freeze, from paint to plants to some cleaning products, go in your car or get used up before the move.
- Label the box with the first-night essentials and put it in last so it comes out first. Our list of what to pack first and last covers it.
Protect what melts
Wet cardboard fails. Keep boxes off the floor in the garage before the move, and ask the crew to stack in the dry part of the new home first. Plastic bins earn their keep in February; if you are renting boxes from us for the move, tell us it is a winter date and we plan for it.
The day of a storm
If a storm is forecast, call us the day before. Sometimes the right answer is to start earlier; sometimes it is to swap to the next day, and in winter the next day is usually free. On an hourly rate a slow, icy day costs more, so we would rather move the date than watch the clock run on a driveway nobody can stand on.
A short winter checklist
- Path, steps and sidewalk shovelled and salted at both ends.
- Mats at every door, runners on the floors.
- Truck spot cleared and legal for the day.
- Winter kit in the car, electronics in the cab.
- Heat on at the new place before the crew arrives.
The rate and the crew size work the same in the snow, for house and condo movers and for our movers in Brampton, where the trucks start.
Book a winter date. Weekday mornings are wide open.
Questions people ask
Do movers work in snow?
Yes. The crew moves through winter every week. What changes is the planning: earlier starts, wrapping indoors, floor protection, and a cleared path you provide at both addresses.
Is it cheaper to move in winter?
The rate is the same, but winter weekdays are the easiest dates to book and the crew you want is usually free. On an hourly rate a well-prepared winter move is often quick because nobody is waiting for an elevator.
What should not go on the truck in winter?
Anything that freezes: paint, some cleaning products, plants, aerosols. Keep electronics in the cab in severe cold and let them warm up before use.
What if there is a storm on my moving day?
Call the day before. We will start earlier or move to the next day, which in winter is usually available.
